Junior Team Canada has announced the selection of its final roster for the World Junior Championship and for the seventh time in its history has included a young 16-year-old phenomenon, this time forward Connor Bedard .
To surround the gifted youngster, we count on several veterans, including Cole Perfetti, who already has more than 50 games of experience in the American Hockey League (AHL) and in the National League. In total, 22 skaters and three goaltenders were selected by ECJ.
Among these players are 14 attackers and eight defenders.
In addition to Bedard and Perfetti, the Canadian offensive will rely on Shane Wright, Xavier Bourgault, Mavrik Bourque, Will Cuylle, Elliot Desnoyers, Ridly Greig, Dylan Guenther, Kent Johnson, Mason McTavish, Jake Neighbors, Justin Sourdif and Logan Stankoven.
The defensive brigade will be made up of Kaiden Guhle, Carson Lambos, Olen Zellweger, Ronan Seeley, Donovan Sebrango, Owen Power, Ryan O’Rourke and Lukas Cormier.
In front of the net, the task of guarding the goals will be entrusted to Dylan Garand, Brett Brochu and Sebastian Cossa.
Three veterans are back with the team after losing in the final last year: Garand, Guhle and Perfetti. In terms of experience, it is also important to note that Perfetti, Sebrango and O’Rourke together have 160 games of professional experience in the AHL.
Canada will begin the tournament bringing together the world’s best under-20 players on December 26 against the Czech Republic. The championship will be held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.
ECJ will play a first preparatory game next Sunday, against Switzerland.
“We’re going to have a competitive team, we’re going to try to offer fast play. We will be a team with a lot of energy, which takes the initiative and which plays with a lot of discipline, ”said head coach Dave Cameron.
Succeeding in carving out a position with the team at the age of 16, Bedard joined the select group consisting of Wayne Gretzky (1978), Eric Lindros (1990), Jason Spezza (2000), Jay Bouwmeester (2000) , Sidney Crosby (2004) and Connor McDavid (2014).
The eight players cut off from the camp are Zach Dean, William Dufour, Luke Evangelista, Jack Finley, Vincent Iorio, Joshua Roy, Hendrix Lapierre and Ryan Tverberg. Additionally, defender Daemon Hunt was forced to step down due to injury.
7-2 win over academics
Earlier in the day, Brett Brochu stopped 18 pucks and ECJ defeated a selection of college players 7-2 at WinSport Arena in Calgary.
Brochu, of the London Knights in the OHL, had defended the varsity cage for about 30 minutes on Saturday, but this time he was automatically the entire game behind his teammates Canada.
Elliot Desnoyers, William Dufour, Logan Stankoven and Carson Lambos all had one goal and one assist for Canada, who played in the second and final staged game of their selection camp.
“During the two-man power play, I inherited the puck and there was traffic in front of the net. I saw a little bit of space so I decided to shoot and luckily the puck got the strings moving, ”Lambos said of his goal.
Luke Evangelista, Olen Zellweger and Ryan Tverberg also moved the ropes for the Canadian troop. Connor Bedard was the accomplice of two successes of his own.
“The players came to camp with a good attitude and they showed it to me in the way they train, play and behave outside of the rink. They did a really good job, Cameron said. We’ve made some changes to the lines and pairs of defenders. It’s part of the evaluation process. “
Jake Gricius got a goal and an assist for the academics, who finally found the back of the net after more than 105 minutes of play against players from Canada. Tyson Helgesen also scored in a losing cause.
Sebastian Cossa had shut out the academics the day before, but in net he allowed four goals on 22 shots. In relief, Dylan Garand gave up three times in 25 shots.
The three goalies present at the selection camp were already assured of wearing the colors of Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
“I was very excited by this news. It’s big to already have this place and it allows us to focus on our game with the players. We have a great camaraderie among the goaltenders, but we still fight for the number one position. We’re all comfortable with it, ”said Brochu.