'Tips' Simpson; T-Birds' Pickard invited to Team Canada Under-18 Summer Selection Camp

They made quite an impression this season. Now, two young goalies have been invited to test their skills on a much bigger stage. Kent Simpson of the Everett Silvertips and the Seattle Thunderbirds’ Calvin Pickard were among 40 players invited by Hockey Canada to take part in a summer camp aimed at selecting the National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, which will represent Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia and the Czech Republic from August 11 to 15.

Kent Simpson/Photo: Frank Deines III/Everett Silvertips

17 year old Kent Simpson just wrapped up his first full season with the Silvertips. He posted a record of 8-11-3-1 with a 3.85 goals against average and a .892 save percentage. He has one shutout. It came in his very first career start on September 26, 2008 against the Portland Winter Hawks. Everett selected Kent in the first round of the 2007 Bantam draft. Kent is from Edmonton, Alberta.

The Silvertips hope that Simpson becomes the 7th Everett player to take part in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Other Silvertips who have played include: Leland Irving, Brady Calla, Zach Hamill, Shane Harper, Vitaly Karamnov and Kyle Beach.

Calvin Pickard/Photo: David Pitcher/Seattle Thunderbirds

17 year old Calvin Pickard also wrapped up his first full season with the T-Birds. His record: 23-16-1-4 with a 3.05 goals against average and .896 save percentage. He posted 3 shutouts (against the Portland Winter Hawks on October 11, 2008, Spokane Chiefs on February 20, 2009 and Tri City Americans on March 7, 2009). Calvin is from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He and Kent are among 13 WHL players invited to take part in the camp.

Kent Simpson and Calvin Pickard have also been invited to Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence Goaltending Camp, which will take place in Calgary from June 11-14. They are among 14 goaltenders under the age of 20 selected to take part in this camp.

We wish Kent and Calvin the best of luck in the Under 18 camp and will update you on their progress. In the meantime, you can check out what the Everett Silvertips are up to by clicking here to link to their website. To see what the Seattle Thunderbirds have been doing in their off season, click here.