The number of Quebec players who represent the Canadian squad at the World Junior Hockey Championship has been declining for several years. This winter, Joshua Roy, Nathan Gaucher and Tyson Hinds will be the only representatives of the fleur-de-lis.
Hockey Canada announced Monday afternoon the identities of the players who will try to help Canada win gold at the tournament in Halifax.
The defending champions will be able to count on several first-round picks or prospects who will be selected very early in the next National Hockey League (NHL) draft.
Shane Wright (Seattle), Dylan Guenther (Arizona) and Brandt Clarke (Los Angeles) have all played games this season on the Bettman Tour. On the other hand, attackers Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, who are also part of the team, should be drafted among the first three players of the next auction.
Three Quebecers
Unsurprisingly, forwards Joshua Roy, from the Sherbrooke Phoenix, and Nathan Gaucher, from the Quebec Remparts, broke through the formation.
Roy, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, ranks fourth in QMJHL scoring with 43 points in 26 games.
Left-handed, the Anaheim Ducks’ first-round pick, will also be in the tournament. Another Ducks prospect, Tyson Hinds, survived the cuts. The big Phoenix defenseman has collected 28 points in 27 games since the start of the QMJHL season.
PHOTO ERICK LABBÉ, LE SOLEIL ARCHIVES
Nathan Gaucher
Zach Dean, of the Gatineau Olympiques, is the fourth player from the Courteau circuit to have been selected.
The entrenched
Several Quebec players were thanked by head coach Dennis Williams, including Jordan Dumais, the QMJHL’s leading scorer, who scored 54 points in 25 games with the Halifax Mooseheads.
Remparts player Zachary Bolduc, sixth scorer in the QMJHL and first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues, must also return home. Ditto for his teammate, goalkeeper William Rousseau.
PHOTO RON WARD, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Owen Beck
Among the players who could not secure their position with the Canadian team, there is also the hope of the Habs Owen Beck and the defender of the Remparts Evan Nause.
Five forwards, three defenders and two goaltenders were cut.