Kelowna Rockets captain Colton Sissons is a step closer to realizing a childhood dream.

The 19-year-old centre has earned an invitation to Team Canada's final selection camp for the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, Russia.

Sissons is one of 37 players who will attend the Hockey Canada tryout camp, Dec. 11 to 13 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

Twenty-three of those players will be named to Canada's final roster at the completion of the camp.

"Obviously this is pretty exciting for me, it's my first crack at an elite team like this," Sissons said. "I grew up watching this tournament every year and always wanted to be part of it.

"The level of the camp is going to be higher than anything I've seen, so hopefully I'll be able to rise to that."

Sissons, a 6-foot-1, 192 pound North Vancouver native, has 10 goals and 27 points in 27 games with the Rockets this season.

He sat out Saturday's game in Seattle with an upper body injury and is listed by the Rockets as day-to-day.

"Hopefully I'll be ready to go for the camp," Sissons said.

A second-round draft pick of the Nashville Predators in 2012, Sissons will be looking to become the 12th Kelowna Rockets player to be named to Team Canada's world junior squad.

Canada will open the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship on Boxing Day against Germany.

Rocket Shots…The Rockets (17-9-1-1) will host the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday, 7 p.m. at Prospera Place…Kelowna has won 10 consecutive games on home ice…The Rockets saw a five-game winning streak end on Saturday in a 4-2 loss to the hometown Seattle Thunderbirds.

 

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