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Robert Fisher
Staff Reporter
RENFREW – Renfrew native and netminder for the Renfrew Wolves, 17-year-old Kale Osipenko will represent his team and country in the upcoming Junior A World Challenge.
Osipenko is in his rookie year with the Wolves and will play on the Canada East team in the four-team tournament that includes Canada West, the United States and Sweden. The tournament runs from Dec. 7-13 in Trois-Rivières, QC. Five of the 44 players for Canada East are from the Central Canada Hockey League.
“Obviously, I was super excited that I get to represent my country,” Osipenko told the Gazette. “Really, really excited about it.”
In a short tournament, with only four teams, early cohesion as a team will be important. “You’re only playing a couple of games and you’re just getting there and getting close with everybody and getting chemistry up,” he said. Getting that feel for how his teammates play will be crucial, “especially because of how small the tournament is and how little games (there) are.”
The team will have a couple practices after arriving in Quebec and are set to play an exhibition game Dec. 3 against Canada West and a second pre-tournament game Dec. 5 against Sweden. Canada East opens the round-robin Dec. 7 against the United States, followed by Canada West Dec. 8 and closes out the preliminary round against Sweden on Dec. 10.
“We get there, then we have a couple practices and then we’re basically jumping right into the exhibition games,” he explained.
The coaching staff haven’t given Osipenko any indication of what role he will play, starter or backup.
A former Wolves player, Connor Clattenburg, recently made his NHL debut for the Edmonton Oilers and scored his first NHL goal. Asked why he believes Renfrew County players are doing so well, Osipenko said the hockey culture in the area is strong with more players coming into the game. “That’s going to create more talent,” he said and raise the level of play, leading to more opportunities.
Osipenko hopes to show well in Quebec and would like to get picked up by a major junior team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). There’s more scouting in that league, including from U.S. college programs. “From (the OHL) it’s easier to get scouted for Division 1 schools,” he said. “Hopefully I can get to the OHL and then I can get up and climb the ranks.” He said he would like to get into a Division 1 school in the United States because it offers more options. He can play high level hockey and get his degree. He could then carry on in professional hockey or a non-playing career.
robert@thevalleygazette.ca
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