Mort named to roster for Team USA

Spokane Chiefs defenseman Tanner Mort, a Post Falls native, has been named to USA Hockey's under-18 select team that will compete in the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Aug. 9-14 in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

"It's a great honor," said Mort, 17.

Mort was one of 21 players and seven defensemen named to the roster after he attended USA Hockey's Boys' Select 17 Player Development Camp in Rochester, N.Y. The roster was named following the camp's conclusion on July 13.

The camp originally featured 180 players, split among eight squads. On the final day, two all-star teams were selected to help the decision makers evaluate players one last time.

"I felt like I played pretty good, not great and not bad, but solid," Mort said of his weeklong on-ice experience. He assisted on his team's only goal during the all-star game.

"Everyone was so solid I didn't know how they were going to choose.

They're picking a team so they need the right guys and the right players."

He and the other 20 players on the roster learned of their appointment following a lunch USA Hockey put on right after the all-star game.

"I was clueless if I was going to make the final team. I thought that every player improved as camp went on as they got used to their team and the environment. My coach said as camp went on my play improved.

"We were all in the same boat, not playing in a high-speed game for some time, but in the end, the better players played better and it showed through their skill levels during the camp."

Mort was invited to Select 17 Player Development Camp after making it past the invitational Rocky Mountain District Select Camp in early May.

Mort is entering his second season as a Chief after appearing in 28 games last year as a 16-year-old rookie, totaling five assists. He was originally Spokane's fourth round selection in the 2008 WHL Bantam draft. He played one game in 2008-09 and two more in the playoffs.

The 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament will feature eight countries separated into two groups. The United States will play in Group A against the Czech Republic, Finland and Russia. Group B will consist of Canada, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and will play its preliminary games in Piestany, Slovakia.

Team USA has finished in the top three of the tournament nine times since the tournament's inception in 1991, including a first-place finish in 2003.