With the CIBC Canada-Russia series drawing to a close, so too are the decisions on players who will ultimately get invited to Hockey Canada’s selection camp in preparation for the 2019 world juniors.
Hockey Canada’s management team, lead by head scout Brad McEwen, has taken in hundreds of live games and have scoured through hours of video to get a read on Canada’s top U20 players. There have been hours of conference calls and meetings as Canada looks to repeat its gold performance from a year ago.
With the Russians having provided top-notched competition, the series has been a great evaluation tool for Hockey Canada to see their best players live and up close in a best-on-best environment. If we include the CHL-based Russian players, we may see as many as 15 players who have competed in this series represent Russia at the world juniors.
As far as Canada’s team is concerned, there are a few issues surrounding the final selection camp roster. First, there are three eligible players currently plying their trade in the NHL. Robert Thomas (St. Louis Blues) is starting to see more ice time, Max Comtois (Anaheim Ducks) is on a conditioning assignment with AHL San Diego and Michael Rasmussen (Detroit Red Wings) is averaging over 13 minutes per game. Los Angeles’s Gabe Vilardi is injured but skating under the watchful eye of the Kings. Add to that the injury concerns with goalie Matthew Villalta (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) and Jaret Anderson-Dolan of the Spokane Chiefs, and you have a roster that could look drastically different come December 26.
The selection camp roster will be officially announced on December 3, with selection camp taking place in Victoria, B.C. beginning December 10. Here are our projections on how that camp might look:
Goalies (4)
Michael DiPietro (Windsor Spitfires, OHL)
Ian Scott (Prince Albert Raiders, WHL)
Olivier Rodrigue (Drummondville, QMJHL)
*Matthew Villalta (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL)
Defencemen (10)
Evan Bouchard (London Knights, OHL)
Noah Dobson (Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL)
Ty Smith (Spokane Chiefs, WHL)
Josh Brook (Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL)
Calen Addison (Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL)
Jared McIsaac (Halifax Mooseheads, QMHJL)
Nicolas Beaudin (Drummondville Voltigeurs, QMJHL)
Justin Barron (Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL)
Markus Phillips (Owen Sound Attack, OHL)
Ian Mitchell (U of Denver, NCAA)
Forwards (19)
Alex Formenton (London Knights, OHL)
Cody Glass (Portland Wintherhawks, WHL)
Brett Leason (Prince Albert Raiders, WHL)
Jordy Bellerive (Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL)
Connor Dewar (Everett Silvertips, WHL)
Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL)
Trey Fix-Wolansky (Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL)
Morgan Frost (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL)
Nick Suzuki (Owen Sound Attack, OHL)
Ty Dellandrea (Flint Firebirds, OHL)
Isaac Ratcliffe (Guelph Storm, OHL)
Liam Foudy (London Knights, OHL)
Barrett Hayton (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL)
Owen Tippett (Mississauga Steelheads, OHL)
MacKenzie Entwistle (Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL)
Alexis Lafreniere (Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL)
Joel Teasdale (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL)
Joe Veleno (Drummondville Voltigeurs, QMJHL)
*Jaret-Anderson Dolan (Spokane Chiefs- WHL)
Keep an eye on…
Robert Thomas (St. Louis Blues)
Max Comtois (Anaheim Ducks)
Michael Rasmussen (Detroit Red Wings)
Gabe Vilardi (L.A. Kings)
*injured
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