Shane Wright was given the responsibility of captaining Junior Team Canada (JCT) for the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship.
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This was announced by Hockey Canada on Sunday, eight days before the start of the prestigious tournament which will take place in Halifax and Moncton.
Ethan Del Mastro, Logan Stankoven, Dylan Guenther, as well as Quebecer Nathan Gaucher will share the job of assistant captain.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity to represent Canada at home at the World Juniors, and it’s an honor to be named captain of a team with so many great players and leaders,” said Wright.
“Ethan, Nathan, Dylan and Logan deserve this honor, and I look forward to contributing to the success of the team with them in the leadership group. We are happy to play and try to defend our gold medal in front of our Canadian fans in Halifax and Moncton,” added the 18-year-old forward.
Wright was selected by the Seattle Kraken with the fourth overall pick in the last National Hockey League (NHL) draft. The young man started the 2022-2023 season on the Bettman circuit, but had a stay in the American League afterwards.
Back with the Kraken in early December, he took advantage of the Montreal Canadiens’ move to Seattle to score his first NHL goal.
ECJ will begin its journey at the World Junior Hockey Championship on December 26, against the Czech Republic. The maple leaf also has an appointment with Germany, the Autrice and Sweden during the preliminary round of the competition.
Prior to that, Canada will play three preseason games on December 19, 21 and 23. Switzerland, Slovakia and Finland will be their opponents in these preparation duels.