Jay Bouwmeester has been added to Team Canada’s roster for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey 2016, Hockey Canada announced Wednesday.
The St. Louis Blues defenceman replaces Chicago Blackhawks‘ Duncan Keith, who will miss the tournament due to injury.
“First and foremost, we want to wish Duncan the best in his continued rehabilitation, and welcome Jay to the team,” Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong said in a press release. “Our management team and coaching staff felt it was critical to ensure continuity between the number of left- and right-handed defencemen on our roster, and Jay’s experience with what it takes to be successful in these short tournaments can’t be undervalued.”
This will be Bouwmeester’s 11th time suiting up for Team Canada in international competition. He was named to the team during the last World Cup in 2004, and also earned Olympic gold at Sochi 2014. The 32-year-old will join fellow Blues teammate Alex Pietrangelo on the 2016 squad. Bouwmeester had three goals and 16 assists in 72 regular season games with the Blues in 2016-17 and dressed for all 20 post-season games.
Keith was named to Team Canada’s World Cup entry in March. The club’s head team physician, Dr. Michael Terry, released the following statement on Wednesday:
“As Duncan continues off-season rehabilitation on the right knee injury that he sustained last season, we understand his decision not to participate in next month’s World Cup of Hockey. We believe it is in his best interests to focus on getting stronger and not risk further injury.”
The international best-on-best tournament runs in Toronto from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1.
