Bulls’ Remi Elie invited to Canadian World Junior camp

Remi Elie, 19, is in his second season as a forward with the Belleville Bulls. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

By Jayvon Lake

BELLEVILLE – Remi Elie, a 19-year-old forward with the Belleville Bulls, has been invited to try out for the Canadian team going to the International Ice Hockey Federation Junior Championships in Toronto and Montreal.

The World Junior camp will start on Dec. 11 at the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence in Toronto. A total of 29 players were picked for the camp: two goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 17 forwards. The final roster for the IIHF Canadian Juniors will include 22 players.

This is Elie’s first invite to the Canadian World Junior hockey camp. He credits the opportunity to his strong start to the season with the Bulls, along with his great outing in the recent Canada-Russia Subway Super Series junior hockey tournament.

In an interview with QNet News Wednesday, Elie said he was asleep when the announcement was made. Bulls coach George Burnett made the call to wake him up.

“There’s always special calls,” Burnett said. “I remember calling (former Bulls Shawn) Matthias and (P.K.) Subban and others along the way” when they were named to the Canadian IIHF camp. “It’s a special call to make as a coach.”

Elie said: “He woke me up, called me, and just said to stay up for the next hour. He congratulated me for being named to Team Canada camp.”

Elie, a native of Green Valley, Ont., near Alexandria, who is in his second season with the Bulls, will continue to play with the team until the camp begins. The IIHF championships start Dec. 26 and end  Jan. 5.