![ast Ast, Houck make Under 17 Pacific squad, shortening Giants bench even more over holidays]( "Ast")
Giants rookie Anthony Ast made Team Pacific for the Under-17 world challenge. (Getty Images.)
Team Pacific for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge was announced Tuesday, and several WHL clubs will lose players from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4, when the event takes place in Windsor, Ont.
The Vancouver Giants, for instance, have forwards Anthony Ast and Jackson Houck on that team.
Vancouver has a home-and-home with the Kamloops Blazers on Dec. 27-28, so it’ll be interesting to see if Ast and Houck can get into at least the opener of that set. It’s hard to guess when the players might leave, what with the tournament in Ontario.
Former Giants assistant coach Michael Dyck, who still has strong ties to the organization, is running the Pacific bench.
Vancouver hosts Prince George Dec. 30 and Calgary on Jan. 4.
Ast is currently sidelined with an upper body injury but word is that he could play this coming week.
The Giants could be missing defenceman David Musil (Czechs) and forwards Marek Tvrdon (Slovaks) and Brendan Gallagher (Canada), as well as coach Don Hay, to the world junior tournament at that time, too.
