Prince George Cougars associate coach Jim Playfair delivered an important message to Carson Carels after a game last weekend in Victoria.
At that point, the 17-year-old defenceman pretty much realized he was well ahead of schedule in his quest to fulfil a big hockey goal.
"I kind of had a hunch when (Playfair) came in and told me to stick around my phone and if someone calls me, I better pick it up," Carels said in a phone interview this week when asked to describe how he found out he had made Canada's training-camp roster for the 2026 world junior championship.
"Right after that game, I got a phone call and kind of stepped out the room and heard from Al (Hockey Canada Program of Excellence general manager Alan Millar).
"I didn't really have it on my bucket list. It was definitely on my bucket list for next year. It's kind of normal to do it when you're 18 instead of 17. It's so special to get the call this year even to go to camp."
On Monday, Carels was the youngest of nine defencemen officially selected to go to Niagara Falls, Ont., for Canada's camp. The first on-ice session is Saturday.
Canada will bring eight defencemen in Minnesota for the tourney opener on Boxing Day, meaning at least one blue-liner will be cut (and possibly two if the San Jose Sharks lend Sam Dickinson).
At the start of the season, Carels probably wouldn't have been on anyone's projected list for the national junior team. The blue-liner raised on a cattle farm in tiny Cypress River, Man. (about two hours southwest of Winnipeg) wasn't nearly as well-known as many of the other defencemen projected to go high in next year's NHL Draft.
But the six-foot-one Carels has been a point-a-game player (29 points in 28 games) and a rock defensively for the second-best team in the WHL's Western Conference this season. He opened the eyes of a wider audience with two very strong performances at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge in Alberta last month, part of a great stretch in which the Cougars have won nine of their past 10.
Sportsnet's Jason Bukala had Carels fourth in his November draft rankings, behind only the three players at the top of the board for months (Canadian junior teammates Keaton Verhoeff and Gavin McKenna, from the NCAA, and Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg). Verhoeff is four days older than Carels.
"He plays the game the right way," Millar said of Carels. "He's a complete defenceman. He's a 17-year-old in Prince George (who) plays in all situations. He's essentially their No. 1 D, plays 30-plus minutes a night. He's producing offensively, but if you're 17 years old and your upside is offence and you're not quite there defensively, it's very hard to play at this level. But Carson plays a mature game and he's a big guy. He deserves this opportunity."
Added fellow management group member Mark Hunter: "We like that he's very competitive, which I think is important. We like how he's steady, smart and he just makes solid plays shift after shift after shift."
What Hunter says is what Carels tries to accomplish each game. Offence is nice, but the all-around game is the focus.
"I'd say I'm a two-way defenceman that brings a lot to the table," Carels said. "I defend before I want to create offence, so that's a huge thing. My base of play revolves around defending. My offence comes when I'm the third wave of offence. I bring a little bit of my edge to my game as well, being hard to play against. That's what kind of defines me a lot, that I just bring that extra chip."
Playfair, a former NHL coach who works under head coach Mark Lamb in remote Prince George, B.C., has played a huge role in Carels' development. They've had plenty of time to discuss hockey and life on the buses. The closest WHL team to Prince George is 522 km away in Kamloops, B.C.
"He's definitely the biggest mentor," Carels said. "I don't think I'd be the player I am today without him by my side. He's kind of taken me under his wing as almost a father figure. He's been amazing for us. As a group, too on the back end, he just knows how to coach us well. He's a pro and treats us like pros."
It's safe to assume Playfair doesn't have to spend too much time talking about the importance of work ethic to Carels, who learned a thing or two about that trait growing up on a family farm.
The world juniors, Carels said, was the first thing on TV when the family gathered at the farm for Christmas. It was a nice way to unwind from the gruelling, but rewarding, family business.
"You always have to be working. If you don't work, you could lose your farm pretty quick or go in a hole for sure," Carels said. "It's kind of been taught by my family that you always have to work hard and nothing comes easy. I owe a lot to the farm. Just the edge I bring to the game kind of revolves around the farm. If you don't have that extra instinct, you might get run over or something like that."
Pressure is nothing new
Mark and Dale Hunter have teamed up to win three Memorial Cups and six OHL titles as GM and coach of the London Knights, and also joined forces to win world junior gold with Canada in 2020 in Czechia.
With all that high-stakes hockey under their belt, they surely aren't going to crumble under pressure running this year's Canadian junior team after two successive quarterfinal exits under other GMs and coaches.
Mark Hunter told an amusing anecdote Monday when asked about the potential stress.
"I remember the year in Czechia, where we got beat by Russia, 6-0, just got spanked by them," Mark said. "I said to Dale the next morning I was reading some stuff and it was 'the two most overrated hockey people in Canada are the Hunter boys.'
"We've been involved in hockey so long, so we accept there's going to be pressure and if you don't enjoy it, you shouldn't do it. It's something we're OK with."
Games to watch
Friday, Dec. 12: Kitchener Rangers (18-9-3-0) at Flint Firebirds (21-7-1-2), 7 p.m. ET
The Firebirds are making a bid for first in the OHL's Western Conference and won't have any players on Team Canada or USA at the world juniors. That could give Flint a big advantage over the next month.
Friday, Dec. 12: Kamloops Blazers (14-11-0-2) at Prince George Cougars (20-8-0-0), 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
Blazers forward JP Hurlbert and Cougars counterpart Terik Parascak didn't get the call for the U.S. or Canadian world junior squads, respectively, despite being two of the top scorers in the WHL.
Saturday, Dec. 13: Boston Terriers (8-8-1) at Northeastern Huskies (10-5-0), 7 p.m. ET
Northeastern's Jacob Mathieu is a top-10 freshman scorer in the NCAA after a 41-goal last season in the QMJHL with Rimouski.
Sunday, Dec. 14: Chicoutimi Sagueneens (18-5-2-2) at Drummondville Voltigeurs (16-8-1-2), 4 p.m. ET
Two contenders from opposite conferences in the QMJHL square off in a matinee.
Wednesday, Dec. 17: Sweden vs. Canada world junior exhibition, at Kitchener, Ont., 7 p.m. ET
First of two games between the teams in southwestern Ontario before they fly to Minnesota.
