Pistons’ Thiessen and Gaber named to Prospects Game

A pair of Steinbach Pistons have been selected in participate in the CJHL Prospects Game next month.

Goaltender Matt Thiessen and forward Riese Gaber will be joining 38 other players for the CJHL  Prospects’ Game to be held January 23 at Mississauga.

Gaber, 18, recently won a gold medal with Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge. The native of Gilbert Plains was recently traded to the Pistons from Dauphin Kings.

Thiessen, 18, tops all MJHL in two categories: GAA (2.01) and save percentage (.926). The native of Altona has an overall record of 16-2. He recently committed to University of Maine.

Each of the players chosen to participate in the CJHL Prospects Game were selected through the efforts of NHL Central Scouting and are currently among the top 40 CJHL prospects heading into the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas.

“We at the CJHL extend our congratulations to each of the players on their selection to compete in the 2018 CJHL Prospects Game in Mississauga,” stated CJHL President Brent Ladds.

“We also thank and commend NHL Central Scouting for their significant contributions in helping formalize the Team East and Team West rosters.”

ABOUT THE CJHL PROSPECTS GAME

The CJHL Prospects Game is one of the premier Junior A hockey events in the country and provides tremendous exposure for CJHL players to play in front of scouts from all over the hockey world – including the NHL, CHL, NCAA and Canadian universities and colleges.

The President’s Cup is awarded to the winning team in the CJHL Prospects Game.

From 2005 until 2008, the event ran as a single game, but starting in 2009 the President’s Cup was played as a two-game series where the combined score of the games determined the winner of the title.

The contest has now gone back to a single-game format along with player testing, both on-ice and off-ice, having been introduced. Since its inception, Team West has won seven times while Team East has come away victorious on five occasions.

All-Time CJHL Prospects Game President’s Cup results

2006: Team West 5 Team East 4 (Yorkton, Sask.)

2007: Team West 6 Team East 2 (Vernon, B.C.)

2008: Team East 5 Team West 3 (Winkler, Man.)

2009: Team East 6 Team West 3 (Summerside, P.E.I.)

2010: Team West 8 Team East 3 (8-1, 0-2) (Winkler, Man.)

2011: Team East 9 Team West 2 (2-1 SO, 7-1) (Dauphin, Man.)

2012: Team West 9 Team East 6 (4-3 OT, 5-3) (Langley, B.C.)

2013: Team West 8 Team East 6 (5-0, 3-6) (Digby/Yarmouth, N.S.)

2014: Team East 8 Team West 4 (4-2, 4-2) (Digby/Yarmouth, N.S.)

2015: Team West 3 Team East 2 (Oakville, Ont.)

2016: Team East 3 Team West 1 (Surrey, B.C.)

2017: Team West 4 Team East 3 (Cornwall, Ont.)

2018: Team East vs. Team West • Tuesday, January 23, 2018 • 7:30 p.m. ET (Mississauga, Ont.)

The CJHL Prospects Game will also be streamed live online via HockeyTV.com.