Congratulations to Chiwetin Blacksmith of the Ottawa Jr. Senators and Jasper Weatherby of the Wenatchee Wild on advancing to the National Junior A Championship, the RBC Cup.
Chiwetin attended CIHA for three years from 2012-2015, and Jasper for two years from 2012-2014. The pair will now get to reunite on the ice, this time as opponents.After winning the CCHL Championship, Blacksmith and his Jr. Senators went on to play in the Fred Page Cup, which is a four team, round robin tournament that features champions from the Central Canada Hockey League, Maritime Junior Hockey League, La Coupe NAPA, and a pre-determined host team. They would go a perfect 4-0 against the Carleton Place Canadians, Edmunston Blizzard and College Francis Longueiuil to advance to the RBC Cup.Weatherby continues his remarkable season winning the Doyle Cup, which is the Pacific regional championship between the British Columbia Hockey League champions and the Alberta Junior Hockey League champions. Weatherby’s Wild advanced to the RBC Cup after beating the Spruce Grove Saints in 5 games in their best of 7 series. Weatherby’s accolades this year include the BCHL scoring title, BCHL regular season MVP, BCHL Championship, BCHL playoff scoring leader, and a commitment to the University of North Dakota, Division I, in November. He is also ranked 198th among North American Skaters for the 2018 NHL Draft.The RBC Cup is an annual tournament that determines the Canadian Junior A Champion, and features four regional champions along with a fifth host team. The competing teams so far are the Ottawa Jr. Senators (Fred Page Cup Champions, Eastern Canada), Wenatchee Wild (Doyle Cup Champions, Pacific), Dryden Ice Dogs (Dudley Hewitt Champions, Central Canada), Chilliwack Chiefs (host team), and a team to be determined from Western Canada playing for the ANAVET Cup. The tournament takes place May 12th,-20th in Chilliwack, British Columbia.