What an NCAA rule change might mean for junior hockey in Sask.
Nov 18, 2024
Previously, WHL players were declared ineligible to play NCAA hockey in the U.S.
Former Regina Pats star Jordan Weal is getting his shot at Olympic gold.
The 29-year-old product of North Vancouver, B.C., has been named to the team that will represent Canada in men’s hockey in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
This season, Weal is playing with Ak Bars Kazan of Russia’s KHL.
Hockey Canada had to make up a roster for the Olympic team comprising only non-NHL players after that league announced Dec. 22 it wouldn’t be sending its players to Beijing.
Saskatchewan has just one representative on Team Canada: Adam Cracknell, who hails from Prince Albert. The 36-year-old currently plays for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
Weal played three games with the Pats in the 2007-08 WHL season before joining the team on a full-time basis the following season. In his 282 career WHL regular-season games, the centre had 135 goals and 250 assists.
He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round (70th overall) of the 2010 NHL draft but spent most of his time with that organization in the minors.
He subsequently had NHL stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens before heading to the KHL this season.
Weal registered 32 goals and 37 assists in 218 career NHL games. So far this season, he has 12 goals and 18 helpers for Ak Bars Kazan.
The Olympic men’s hockey tournament is set to begin Feb. 3.