Wiercioch Has Three Days To Make Team Canada

(left) Head coach Pat Quinn speaks with head scout Al Murray who was responsible for bringing Patrick Wiercioch to Team Canada this week

From: The Canadian Press

Three practices and three games is all DU defenseman Patrick Wiercioch will have to impress head coach Pat Quinn to make Canada's junior hockey team.

Quinn had never met some of the 38 players who arrived Thursday for selection camp. He'll have to get to know them in a hurry.

"I see this is a big test, the next three days and not only to read the talent levels," Quinn said. "Making the right picks here in three days may not be enough time, so we're really going to rely on our scouts and league people who know these young men a lot better than we do.

"Hopefully we pick the right guys. It's not going to be easy."

Wiecioch will have limited ice time to impress Quinn. A morning skate and an evening intrasquad game are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but just an intrasquad game is on Sunday's agenda. The 22-player team will be named Monday.

Canada goes for a fifth straight gold medal when it opens the 2009 world junior hockey championship in Ottawa on Dec. 26 versus the Czech Republic.

Players were examined by Hockey Canada's medical staff upon arrival. It's common for a player to be sent home with mononucleosis or an injury, even though he tries to hide his condition in order to try out for the team.