With a stand-out start to the 2016-17 season and appointment to a Team Canada roster at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, Eli Zummack has been named October’s Active Care Athlete of the Month.

Now in his second consecutive season with the Okanagan Rockets of the B.C Major Midget Hockey League, Zummack’s 15 points (5G, 10A) in six games so far this season rank him first in team scoring, and fifth overall in the BCMML.

The most recent achievement for the Rockets’ captain is earning a roster spot on Team Canada Black at the 2016 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The 10-day tournament runs from Oct. 27 to Nov. 5, and features teams from Finland, Czech Republic, Russia, USA, and Sweden, as well as Canada White, Red, and Black.

Of the 66 players named to Canada’s three rosters (whittled down from the 111 that were invited to training camp in July), Zummack holds the distinction of being the only current BCMMHL player to make any of them – the Canadian squads are primarily comprised of major junior players from across the country. Of note, current Kelowna Rockets forward, Nolan Foote, will play alongside Zummack on Canada Black.

“He was concerned that he wouldn’t get this opportunity, being a major midget player,” said Eric Blais, head coach of the Okanagan Rockets. “Him making it is an extra feather in his cap, and we’re really happy for him and excited that he was able to get this opportunity.”

A product of the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association and the Pursuit of Excellence, the 16-year-old Active Care Athlete of the Month was drafted by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft, but was traded in January to the Spokane Chiefs in a three-player deal. After attending Spokane’s training camp in August, he was reassigned to the Okanagan Rockets on Sept. 19th, before being temporarily recalled to Spokane’s lineup for two games in October.

Coach Blais has worked with Zummack the past two seasons, and believes he has a very special player on his team.

“He’s an incredibly gifted young man,” Blais said. “His talent is undeniable. His on-ice vision is second to none. He’s an extremely focused young man, determined to be the best he can be. He’s very intense. As our captain, he leads by example. He makes everybody on our team better, and not just the guys he plays with. He embodies everything that I believe a hockey player should be — that’s the kind of value he adds to our team.”

For Blais, having Active Care Athlete of the Month Zummack suit up for his team rather than a WHL club this season is a stroke of good fortune – the Rockets expected he would have become a permanent fixture on the Chiefs lineup this year, but things haven’t played out that way just yet.

“He’s very capable of playing in the WHL,” said Blais. “He may not be with us the whole year, [the Spokane Chiefs] may end up taking him yet. All the more power to Eli if he does make that step this year. We didn’t expect him back, to be honest, so it’s a bonus for us to have him. For now, he’s much better off honing his skills as a top-six forward down here rather than as a third or fourth liner up in the WHL or in Junior A.”

Honourable Mention: Olivia Gran

Representing Canada at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International in Montreal earlier this month, Kelowna’s Olivia Gran earned a silver medal.

The Kelowna Skating Club member opened the Junior division event with a fifth place in the short program and then landed six triple jumps in the free program for a total score of 133.49 and a second-place overall finish.

It was the second international assignment of the season for the 13-year-old Okanagan Mission Secondary School student. In August she represented Canada at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in St. Gervais, France (ninth place).

Later in October, Gran skated to a personal best score in the free program to take the silver medal at the Super Series Autumn Leaves event in Kamloops. Gran and her KSC clubmates will play host to the B.C. and Yukon Sectional Championships at the CNC Nov. 10-13.

Honourable Mention: James Casorso

Selected as a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association All-Canadian prior to the CCAA national golf championship, Kelowna’s James Casorso lived up to his billing with a 12th-place finish in Chartlottetown earlier this month.

The UBC Okanagan student athlete was tied for fourth place at 2-under par after the first two rounds, but faltered on the final 18 holes of the Fox Meadow Golf Course with an uncharacteristic 80.