Forward Claudia Dubois and defender Caroll-Ann Gagné of the Concordia Stingers women's hockey team have been selected to represent U SPORTS at the Hockey Canada Summer Showcase Aug. 5-13 in Calgary.
The national sports organization has invited 70 of its top women's prospects to a development camp and also a women's under-18 team selection camp. A team of U SPORTS athletes and Team Japan will join Canada's group for a week of intense training.
The summer showcase will take place at Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport's Canada Olympic Park where Dubois and Gagné will participate in several practices and intrasquad games, as well as dryland training, fitness testing and classroom sessions.
Stingers head coach Julie Chu is thrilled to see her players offered this unique opportunity.
"We are very proud of Claudia and Caroll-Ann for being selected," she said. "They have earned the right to represent our program and themselves at this camp, and we know they will be great ambassadors for our program."
"This opportunity will allow them to continue to grow as athletes and then return to our Stinger family with an even greater ability to positively lead and impact our team."
Dubois, a third-year athlete from Chicoutimi, Que., was a second team RSEQ all-star last season. She collected 11 goals and six assists in 20 conference games last year. In four league playoff games, she added another five goals and two assists to her totals.
"Claudia has been an impact player in her first two years," Chu said. "She is a power forward that brings a relentless work ethic and has the ability to execute well in big games."
Gagné, a veteran hockey player from Fremont, Que., was a second team U SPORTS all-Canadian last season. She picked up one goal and 12 assists in 20 conference games. She also had three assists in four RSEQ playoff games.
"Caroll-Ann has continued to improve every year and is coming off a great season," Chu said. "She is a tremendous skater with great poise and control in her game."
The Stingers will open training camp in late August and play their first preseason games Sept. 15 and 16 when they host the Brock Badgers and York Lions, respectively.
