It wasn’t the news Dylan Wells wanted to hear: He wasn’t among 32 players invited to Team Canada’s World Junior Selection Camp.
“It was disappointing. It was a dream of mine to play World Juniors,” said Wells.
Wells has a positive outlook and says he will use this as a learning experience and, more importantly, as motivation to be at his very best for the Peterborough Petes down the stretch.
“There’s clearly a lot I can work on. That’s the positive to take out of it. You can improve,” added Wells. “I’ll evaluate my first half, get a good Christmas break and go into the second half recharged.”
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Following the news that he wasn’t going to camp, Wells started three games in three consecutive nights.
He posted a 1-1-1 record but gave the Petes a chance to win each night.
On Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers prospect made 48 saves in a 3-1 loss at Sarnia.
“We know what he is to the Petes organization. How important he is to our club. The last three games is what we saw last year from Dylan,” said Jody Hull, Petes head coach.
During the 2016-17 season, Wells and the Petes caught fire in December. The team went a perfect 10-0-0 and rode that momentum all the way to the Eastern Conference Final.
The hope this year, is for a strong second half for a team that has fallen back to the middle of the pack in the east.
“This season is process. I have to focus on getting 1 per cent better each day. Little improvements lead to big ones,” said Wells.
READ MORE: Can the Petes catch fire in December for a 2nd straight year?
Wells is 13-11-1 this season with a 3.39 goals against average and 0.903 save percentage.
The Petes will play their final three games before the break this week.
They host Ottawa on Thursday, visit Oshawa on Friday and wrap up the first half in Hamilton on Sunday.