January 29, 2013

Local Pee Wee Hockey Players from Long Island, NY Named to International Selects Program

Detroit, MI and Buffalo, NY – The Selects Hockey organization has selected Stephen Kyrkostas and Matthew Crasa (Long Island, NY) at their annual minor peewee international tryout held Dec 30-31 in and Buffalo to join the international program with the West Coast Selects (WCS) and East Coast Selects (ECS) hockey teams. More than 300 invited players from across North America competed for 68 positions, with those selected participating in the program’s International Spring Training development camp in Stockholm, Sweden and the World Selects Invitational in Helsinki, Finland this April/May. Participants will be submerged into foreign cultures and face top international competition in this once in a lifetime experience.

“Stephen Kyrkostas and Matthew Crasa were both superb at the tryout. They not only showed the skill to be a top hockey prospect but also demonstrated great leadership and passion on the ice”, commented Travis Howe (Head Coach of the 2001 West Coast Selects team).

“Great to see all the hard work both of these boys put into their game earned them spots on such prestigious teams. It’s been a pleasure to coach these two and look forward to see what the future holds for these hardworking players,” Eddie Chlanda (PAL PeeWee Minor Tier I Head Coach)

The selection committee (WCS team) consisted of independent hockey evaluators including Travis Howe (son of hall of famer Mark Howe), Coach Jim Bedard, Detroit Red Wings Assistant Coach – Video Keith McKittrick, and other professional hockey scouts. The selection committee (ECS team) consisted of independent hockey evaluators including Selects Hockey head scout Joe Templin, ECS-O 2001 head coach Chris Flowers and other professional hockey scouts.

Selects Hockey is an elite hockey prospect development program owned by Selects Sports Management, Inc. Since 2003, Selects Hockey has worked with top 12-16-year- old hockey players across North America and Europe to expose them to all avenues of hockey in an effort to facilitate opportunities at the NCAA, Junior and Professional levels. Selects Hockey’s growing list of NHL alumni is led by future stars Matt Duchene (), Logan Couture (), (St. Louis Blues), Sam Gagner () and Ryan O’Reilly (Colorado Avalanche). The program has helped over 175 players receive NCAA scholarships over the past 9 years to schools such as Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, University of Michigan and many more. For more information about the Selects Hockey program, please visit the website at www.selectssports.com. For additional media inquiries or interviews with selected players, please contact Travis Howe at (856) 912-6208 or Joe Templin at 856-952-5834.

MATT CRASA #22 – P.A.L.

STEPHEN KYRKOSTAS #10 – P.A.L. ICE HOCKEY