Prince George Cougars goaltender Taylor Gauthier has been selected to Team Canada for the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
The 16-year-old has appeared in four games with the Cougars, where he picked up his first win against his hometown team the Calgary Hitmen.
Extremely proud and honored to be selected to represent my country at the @HC_WU17 ??
— Taylor Gauthier (@tgoats_35) October 17, 2017
Gauthier has a 0.857 save-percentage (SV%) along with a 3.50 goals-against-average (GAA) and was the Cougars first-round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.
In a statement, General Manager Todd Harkins says the Calgary native has shown he has great skills for a teenager.
“Taylor is continuing to grow and develop at the WHL level has already shown great poise despite being just 16 years old. He’s going to be a big piece for our organization over the next several years, and playing against some of the best players at his age level will be great for his development.”
Over 200 World U-17 Hockey Challenge alumni were on NHL opening night rosters, including former Cougar forward and Prince George-born Brett Connolly.
The 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge starts November 5th to 11th in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John.
– with files from Jeff Slack, My PG Now
23 WHL players will represent @HC_Men at @HC_WU17!#WorldU17 ?? | https://t.co/6Fsnac5bxx pic.twitter.com/erwk6fyqan
— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 17, 2017