Brett Harris, of 108 Mile, was among 120 first-year Midget division hockey players who were selected to compete at the 2011 Male U17 BC Cup on May 11-15 in Salmon Arm.
A member of the Prince George Cariboo Cougars Major Midgets, Harris played for the Flyers at the BC Cup, helping them to the final and a second-place finish with a goal and five assists throughout the tournament.
A fractured knuckle, suffered in April at a training camp in Sicamous, was still on the mend and hampered Harris' play somewhat. He hadn't been on the ice since the injury, and missed two Flyers pre-tournament practices.
"I wasn't sure how the weekend would go. It made it hard to shoot, but not too bad."
He says the hockey talent at the tournament was a high level and he was surprised at how much other players had improved since he'd last played with them.
Now, he and the others await word on who will be selected for the next step of the U17 High Performance Program, which is the U17 Provincial Camp. After evaluations, 11 players will be chosen for Team Pacific, which will also include 11 players from Alberta. They will play at the World U17 Challenge against five international teams and four other regional teams from across Canada.
Regardless of whether he makes it further up the U17 ladder, Harris has the Western Hockey League Regina Pats orientation camp to look forward to. The 17-year-old forward was a fifth-round Bantam draft Pats pick in 2010 and remains in their system.
Looking back on the 2010/11 season, Harris says it's been positive, including coming back from a broken leg suffered late in 2009.
"Everything that has happened has been good since the broken leg. I'm feeling more confident, but still working on getting my full motion back."
He says making it to the U17 BC Cup was an important step in his journey.
"I can't make it to the next stage without it. Making Team Pacific would be a huge opportunity for the future, but I'm not feeling pressured. I'll go with the flow and see what happens."
