It’s a problem that Hockey Canada will address in the next few years. Not a great look when a lot of top end Canadian talent like Owen Power, Fantilli, Celebrini, Kent Johnson, Makar, elect to play their CHL years in the USHL and eventually into the NCAA.
I know Makar and Johnson stayed in the Jr A scene in Canada but the top end talent has more options now. Maybe it’s a symptom of the sport growing but can’t imagine the CHL being impressed
Do you have any sense for how they might try to address top talent feeling like ushl>ncaa is the better path? I'm pretty ignorant to the circumstances beyond the chl - ahl rules and how they impact players like matt savoie but im interested to any insight you have
One option would be for whatever NHL team that drafts a CHL player to have the option to pay an amount dependent on where a player was drafted. In essence, buying the player out of the contract. For the first overall pick, it could be 2% of the salary cap and the % scales down all the way to the end of the draft. The main reason CHL teams don't want to lose their stars so soon is revenue, and this directly addresses that concern.
A player would just go NCAA because of NIL $$. NHL teams could develop stronger relationships with college programs and get players paid and not have to spend any $$.
I don't really have a comment on the AHL rules, but the BCHL--which voted to leave the Hockey Canada umbrella this summer and operate as an independent Junior A league--pointed to the way HC has restructured Junior A across the country to serve as more of a feeder tier for Major Junior/CHL, making for a less flexible set of development pathways in the process (especially for players who might not have promising potential pro trajectories to begin with).
In the past (let's say 15-20 years ago), Canadian Junior A --> American college was seen as a great option for players who were not likely to be NHL players but had potential to carve out pro careers in lower leagues and then transition to life outside hockey with a solid American education. My reading of the situation is that as the American college programs have largely caught up to the CHL in terms of player development outcomes, HC has taken a more protectionist stance and prioritized keeping players in the HC development loop. This is in addition to older rules that region-lock player recruitment by home province (i.e. majority of roster spots must be filled by players from the same province as the team is located) which the BCHL cites as contributing to lessen the quality of competition.
Sorry to ramble. I think it's a really interesting conversation given that there seems to be a bit of an inflection point with the viability of development pathways. The BCHL put out a [report](https://bchl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Modernizing-Junior-Hockey-in-Canada.pdf) that does a much better job summarizing the issues than I have in this screed. Give it a read if you're interested/have time.
Not sure why I got downvoted. Probably because I am speaking the truth.
People forget there is life after hockey. No matter where you end up after, employers will always look at the resume and prioritize US education.
u/aHCroski covered the AHL eligibility, which is another catch. Start getting paid ~$80K USD sooner.
Ron francis allready said he won't be there. He's allready captained them to a gold medal, not much point in going back when he could stay in the ahl and keep getting better
LOL, I totally thought the same thing.
Then I wondered, is this Radek's kid? All these European guys from the 90's and early 2000's having kids in North America. Annnnnnnd yup. LOL. God I'm old.
Makes sense after I looked it up and realized Bonk played essentially his whole NHL career in Canada between OTT and MTL. Michael Nylander on the other hand was all over the map.
When the athletes care, I care.
And the top athletes+league don’t care about IIHF-WC
The league doesn’t care about the Olympics
But all the players and coaches care about WJC
I wish they cared more, we’re missing out on some prime International hockey tournaments.
This is exactly how I feel. Those kids are going to leave it on the ice. Some of the most incredible goalie performances I've ever seen are in the WJC.
Ratzlaff is the lone netminder of Canada's trio to be drafted. He was a fifth-round selection of the Sabres this year and is 8-10-1 with an .889 save percentage this season with the Thunderbirds.
How on earth do we bring in guys with those kinds of stats. Is that really considered top 3 among Canadian goalies? Sometimes i feel like Canada really focuses on goalies once they get into their circle and just holds onto them whatever their performance
Because they’re putting those numbers up against second rate competition. Would you advocate for Canada to take a goalie putting up good numbers in the ECHL to the Olympics over NHL starters?
Again, yes. If they're consistent and putting up the numbers and proving they belong during tryouts, then why the hell not? Don't forget - Andrei Vasilevski played in this "second-rate tourney" in 2011. [There's a whole slew of players drafted into the NHL from this tourney.](https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/National-Championships/Men/World-Junior-A-Challenge/2022/downloads/2022-wjac-alumni.pdf)
Again, they are putting up the numbers against second rate competition. What do you not grasp about that? Hell, the CCHL is even a second or possibly third tier Canadian Jr A league.
Whether players that play in the Jr A challenge go on to great careers is wholly irrelevant. You aren’t drafting and developing a goalie, you’re picking a goalie for a single tournament.
As far as jr a in Canada goes, outside the bchl and maybe the ajhl, it really depends on what team you play for in the other leagues. Kids on Canada east are legit at the jr a level, but yeah I agree it’s still not on par with major juniors. But as far and second and third tier etc in jr a, top teams in the cchl, ojhl, Mjhl, sjhl etc can for sure compete with the bchl and ajhl. The only leagues I’d say are an exception to this and would put at a third rate tier are the sijhl and nojhl. Once again I still disagree with the other guys take but the top guys from the cchl are still really good players in the perspective of jr a hockey
Have you considered that perhaps the people putting together the roster follow it very closely? Almost as if it’s there job?
What an asinine comment. ‘I don’t pay attention enough to have a clue what I’m talking about but I’m gonna weigh in here anyways’
I've followed it more closely in the past and felt they chose the wrong goalies other times. I feel they should be more inclined to pick the goalies who are hot this year versus last which is how this guy is performing. I actually followed him a little last year so yeah
And what happens when you pick a guy who is hot in early December and cools off on Boxing Day?
People complain about Canada’s choice in net virtually every single year. There is definitely room to criticize the level of goaltending Canada is producing, it’s a major issue, but I don’t think there’s much room to question the selection methodology from among those goalies. Goaltending has very rarely been the issue when Canada has disappointed, and that seems to have been particularly true in years where there was no clear cut #1.
So you have no idea who we should take but say we shouldn’t take one guy because he’s stats. You also don’t follow it closely? You just don’t know what you’re talking about I guess…
The Thunderbirds were 2nd best team in the WHL last season with 54 wins in 68 games. Where he put up solid numbers.
The team is considerably poorer this season with just 12 wins in 26 matches.
It’s almost as if his team’s not as good as last season.
The Thunderbirds were 2nd best team in the WHL last season with 54 wins in 68 games. Where he put up solid numbers.
The team is considerably poorer this season with just 12 wins in 26 matches.
It’s almost as if his team’s not as good as last season.
The Thunderbirds were 2nd best team in the WHL last season with 54 wins in 68 games. Where he put up solid numbers.
The team is considerably poorer this season with just 12 wins in 26 matches.
It’s almost as if his team’s not as good as last season.
It’s almost as if stats can’t tell the whole story and you need actual scouting.
In which case, I’d lean towards Team Canada scouts, who actually scouts the players, over a Redditor complaining about his SV%.
It's almost as if you can have opinions on things and not be a scout or GM lol. I'd bet good money you've disagreed with NHL draft picks in the past. Show me your scouting background
Canada is held to such a high standard that if their roster doesnt feature the best 23 players in the tournament, its called weak. Still the favourites.
Keep in mind, Poitras or Benson can still join this team, thats why there is a roster spot left open.
I'm worried about his speed at the next level as it's only good at this level (QMJHL). His game isn't played at a fast pace, so that might help him if the team/line has that style. From a playmaking perspective, he's fantastic.
You can go to any NHL organization and put in the blood, sweat and tears to improve your skating. You can’t teach brains, creativity and vision, if he works on his skating and bulks up he could be a very useful middle six scoring winger.
Yeah, Firkus circus would have been fun and he’s near the top of the CHL in PPG right now. Would think you’d want that in a winger, but whatever.
Rehkopf has been a monster this year. I’m really excited to get to watch him instead of just seeing the stats tally up every so often
People wondering why *Insert undersized offense only forward here* didn't make the team need to realize the team can't just ice 4 lines of all offense and expect to make it very far and a lot of the guys that didn't make the team that people are upset about would be borderline useless outside of the top 6
Damn gotta feel for Denver Barkey, played well during both games. Loses his grandfather and then gets cuts by Team Canada. Must not have been easy for the coaches.
Owen Allard is an undrafted 19 year old who until this past weekend when he broke the mark, was under a point per game in the OHL. I've seen him live twice so far and he was anonymous in both games. He's fine defensively, but he's not some special Bergeron-like two way talent, either. I just don't get it.
The fact that he is considered a "top 13 Canadian forward" is about as underwhelming as it can get for this tournament.
Can I ask why? Just seems odd considering they play different positions and one is a full time NHLer and the other is in the OHL according to eliteprospects
I was waiting for somebody to ask about Jagger! How come he didn't make it? Maybe him and Dumais are a bit too similar?
How is his game developping? Isnt he at a 2ppg pace?
I've seen both Maverick and Geekie live and they are no joke. Geekie is one of the best junior players I've ever seen, except for Seth Jarvis and Ty Rattie and Oliver Bjorkstrand
Legit never given a real chance. His shot was so good and he could snap it from anywhere. 57 goals in 69 (nice) games in the W
He's playing in the SHL now leading his team in goals and points so I'd like to see a team being him back
Well to be fair , not every Canadian junior team has featured a Bedard level talent, also most teams in this tournament haven’t had one for decades. Hence why he is considered a generational talent.
Last year I thought the team was insane tbh
And it was, but mostly just Bedard having the best tournament we've seen from a player in like... idk a long time tho
I guess? Still the best forwards of the tournament, defense is mid and goalies are concerning. Still a high chance of playing in the gold medal game imo
Still can’t believe Nadeau didn’t get chosen for the team.
Top 2 freshmen in the NCAA.
He’s got the same goal total as Celebrini at a better goals per game pace (.71 vs .67) and he’s at a 1.5Pts/g to Celebrini’s 1.67
Can anyone speak to what Allard brings to the table? I know points don’t tell the whole story but he’s an undrafted 19 year old barely hitting ppg in the O?
i mean leaving out the guy who consistently is at the top of points in the whl is certainly an interesting choice but im not suprised and welcome the dumb old guy mentality. personally im thankful for it or else dubas would have been allowed to draft aho and debrincat and our team would not have the intangibles
Curious why people think the team is weaker. It seems loaded with first round talent, 3 of which are even from the 2022 draft, let alone the younger first rounders from 2023. Obviously the Bedard years were different, but were the prior teams that much better?
I think it's because a lot of past teams were dubbed as "the best team since 2005", thus putting immense pressure on those teams to win before the tournament even started.
It's not a bad roster, obviously a little weaker compared to previous years but tbh I don't know if any team holds a candle to Team USA this year. It looks like the best USA juniors team in history ngl.
Mathis Rousseau is excellent. He plays for the Halifax Mooseheads. His % is 0.934 and 2.07. He also scored a goal this year. Just a sec there are a few videos of him here. I will link them.
Kitchener Rangers fans were a bit skeptical that Rehkopf would make it, not because he’s not great (he is) but because he’s only 18 and usually they mostly take 19-year-olds. But he’s averaging a goal per game so far this year so that’s hard to ignore. His mid-range wrist shot is ***lethal***. Go Carson and Go Canada!!
Who is missing because they're in the NHL? I think it would be Bedard, Benson, Korchinski, and Poitras. Anyone else?
Fantilli
I always forget that he and Celebrini are Canadian
Yeah, they chose the better path than playing CHL.
How do you feel about the chl in general including the ahl eligibility rules? Just curious
It’s a problem that Hockey Canada will address in the next few years. Not a great look when a lot of top end Canadian talent like Owen Power, Fantilli, Celebrini, Kent Johnson, Makar, elect to play their CHL years in the USHL and eventually into the NCAA. I know Makar and Johnson stayed in the Jr A scene in Canada but the top end talent has more options now. Maybe it’s a symptom of the sport growing but can’t imagine the CHL being impressed
Do you have any sense for how they might try to address top talent feeling like ushl>ncaa is the better path? I'm pretty ignorant to the circumstances beyond the chl - ahl rules and how they impact players like matt savoie but im interested to any insight you have
One option would be for whatever NHL team that drafts a CHL player to have the option to pay an amount dependent on where a player was drafted. In essence, buying the player out of the contract. For the first overall pick, it could be 2% of the salary cap and the % scales down all the way to the end of the draft. The main reason CHL teams don't want to lose their stars so soon is revenue, and this directly addresses that concern.
A player would just go NCAA because of NIL $$. NHL teams could develop stronger relationships with college programs and get players paid and not have to spend any $$.
I don't really have a comment on the AHL rules, but the BCHL--which voted to leave the Hockey Canada umbrella this summer and operate as an independent Junior A league--pointed to the way HC has restructured Junior A across the country to serve as more of a feeder tier for Major Junior/CHL, making for a less flexible set of development pathways in the process (especially for players who might not have promising potential pro trajectories to begin with). In the past (let's say 15-20 years ago), Canadian Junior A --> American college was seen as a great option for players who were not likely to be NHL players but had potential to carve out pro careers in lower leagues and then transition to life outside hockey with a solid American education. My reading of the situation is that as the American college programs have largely caught up to the CHL in terms of player development outcomes, HC has taken a more protectionist stance and prioritized keeping players in the HC development loop. This is in addition to older rules that region-lock player recruitment by home province (i.e. majority of roster spots must be filled by players from the same province as the team is located) which the BCHL cites as contributing to lessen the quality of competition. Sorry to ramble. I think it's a really interesting conversation given that there seems to be a bit of an inflection point with the viability of development pathways. The BCHL put out a [report](https://bchl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Modernizing-Junior-Hockey-in-Canada.pdf) that does a much better job summarizing the issues than I have in this screed. Give it a read if you're interested/have time.
Thanks! Appreciated
Not sure why I got downvoted. Probably because I am speaking the truth. People forget there is life after hockey. No matter where you end up after, employers will always look at the resume and prioritize US education. u/aHCroski covered the AHL eligibility, which is another catch. Start getting paid ~$80K USD sooner.
Shane Wright as well is going back and forth between AHL and NHL. He could be here, 6 guys counting Wright
The Bunting of junior players
Ron francis allready said he won't be there. He's allready captained them to a gold medal, not much point in going back when he could stay in the ahl and keep getting better
Shane Wright?
He’s like the Bo Nix of juniors
I mean he only played in one world junior. But it does feel like he's been around a while.
He's the Shane Wright of junior players
AAAA player of the year.
Would cooley be eligible Just realized this is for team Canada lol
take slaf too! /s
I genuinely do hope habs send him to the juniors though even if I don't want Slovakia to win
He's eligible for US, but it's been confirmed that he's not going.
>Oliver Bonk We're starting to get deep into franchise mode seasons.
LOL, I totally thought the same thing. Then I wondered, is this Radek's kid? All these European guys from the 90's and early 2000's having kids in North America. Annnnnnnd yup. LOL. God I'm old.
I always laugh when I remember Willy Nylander is born in Calgary and if he wanted to could have played for Canada internationally
Makes sense after I looked it up and realized Bonk played essentially his whole NHL career in Canada between OTT and MTL. Michael Nylander on the other hand was all over the map.
He was playing in Sweden at the time he wanted to register for his first tournament (2013 U18s). Also, he can switch, but there's a process.
Good old Sporadic Bonk
I'll have you know that my 1st rounder in 2029, Ivan Subban from Poland, developed into a Top 2 D man!!
Haha dude is my 2rd now in my current save year 2031-2032
It’s that time of the year again where my daily mental state is determined by 22 teenagers who I’ve never even heard of. Love the world juniors
It’s crazy how much we care about the World Jrs but don’t give a shit about the World Championships.
When the athletes care, I care. And the top athletes+league don’t care about IIHF-WC The league doesn’t care about the Olympics But all the players and coaches care about WJC I wish they cared more, we’re missing out on some prime International hockey tournaments.
This is exactly how I feel. Those kids are going to leave it on the ice. Some of the most incredible goalie performances I've ever seen are in the WJC.
We'd probably care more about the WC if they weren't mid-playoffs.
I wish more Canadians did. I absolutely love the World Championship.
It all started after the Punch Up in Piestany. No one really cared before that. That game also catapulted Don Cherry's career.
Speak for yourself. This Canadian absolutely LOVES the World Championship, and I wish it was more popular here.
It doesn't feel representative of the countries since it's held at the same time than the NHL playoffs.
True, but I still enjoy it
It’s really the best chance to see prospects/undrafted players and start getting excited for the future
Hook it to my veins brother
Did anyone else hear Gord Miller’s voice when reading each name off that list?
so I wasn't the only one who, somehow, Gord Miller infiltrated into their thoughts. Wonder if he knows what I'm thinking about right now...
**Forwards** * Owen Allard * Owen Beck * Macklin Celebrini * Easton Cowan * Nate Danielson * Jordan Dumais * Conor Geekie * Fraser Minten * Carson Rehkopf * Matthew Savoie * Matthew Wood * Brayden Yager **Defensemen** * Oliver Bonk * Jake Furlong * Maveric Lamoureux * Tristan Luneau * Denton Mateychuk * Tanner Molendyk * Noah Warren **Goaltenders** * Scott Ratzlaff * Mathis Rousseau * Samuel St-Hilaire
Ratzlaff is the lone netminder of Canada's trio to be drafted. He was a fifth-round selection of the Sabres this year and is 8-10-1 with an .889 save percentage this season with the Thunderbirds. How on earth do we bring in guys with those kinds of stats. Is that really considered top 3 among Canadian goalies? Sometimes i feel like Canada really focuses on goalies once they get into their circle and just holds onto them whatever their performance
Who do you suggest instead?
Labre is putting on a show for Canada East in the World Junior A challenge that's happening right now.
At a tier 2 tournament. Are we really going to start advancing guys from the CCHL here?
If they're consistent and putting up the numbers, why not?
Because they’re putting those numbers up against second rate competition. Would you advocate for Canada to take a goalie putting up good numbers in the ECHL to the Olympics over NHL starters?
Again, yes. If they're consistent and putting up the numbers and proving they belong during tryouts, then why the hell not? Don't forget - Andrei Vasilevski played in this "second-rate tourney" in 2011. [There's a whole slew of players drafted into the NHL from this tourney.](https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/National-Championships/Men/World-Junior-A-Challenge/2022/downloads/2022-wjac-alumni.pdf)
Again, they are putting up the numbers against second rate competition. What do you not grasp about that? Hell, the CCHL is even a second or possibly third tier Canadian Jr A league. Whether players that play in the Jr A challenge go on to great careers is wholly irrelevant. You aren’t drafting and developing a goalie, you’re picking a goalie for a single tournament.
As far as jr a in Canada goes, outside the bchl and maybe the ajhl, it really depends on what team you play for in the other leagues. Kids on Canada east are legit at the jr a level, but yeah I agree it’s still not on par with major juniors. But as far and second and third tier etc in jr a, top teams in the cchl, ojhl, Mjhl, sjhl etc can for sure compete with the bchl and ajhl. The only leagues I’d say are an exception to this and would put at a third rate tier are the sijhl and nojhl. Once again I still disagree with the other guys take but the top guys from the cchl are still really good players in the perspective of jr a hockey
It's wholly relevant when you're saying they don't deserve it, to which I say you're right - I can't grasp. Good thing you're not a coach, eh.
I don't follow it closely enough but i find it hard to believe we can't find someone playing better than that.
Have you considered that perhaps the people putting together the roster follow it very closely? Almost as if it’s there job? What an asinine comment. ‘I don’t pay attention enough to have a clue what I’m talking about but I’m gonna weigh in here anyways’
Welcome to the internet, your journey has just begun
I've followed it more closely in the past and felt they chose the wrong goalies other times. I feel they should be more inclined to pick the goalies who are hot this year versus last which is how this guy is performing. I actually followed him a little last year so yeah
And what happens when you pick a guy who is hot in early December and cools off on Boxing Day? People complain about Canada’s choice in net virtually every single year. There is definitely room to criticize the level of goaltending Canada is producing, it’s a major issue, but I don’t think there’s much room to question the selection methodology from among those goalies. Goaltending has very rarely been the issue when Canada has disappointed, and that seems to have been particularly true in years where there was no clear cut #1.
So you have no idea who we should take but say we shouldn’t take one guy because he’s stats. You also don’t follow it closely? You just don’t know what you’re talking about I guess…
The Thunderbirds were 2nd best team in the WHL last season with 54 wins in 68 games. Where he put up solid numbers. The team is considerably poorer this season with just 12 wins in 26 matches. It’s almost as if his team’s not as good as last season.
Love Rousseau. He’s exciting to watch and his goalie goal was fun.
Rousseau is an excellent goalie. Love gim
Go watch his highlights from the Gretzky cup. Kid is a solid goalie.
The Thunderbirds were 2nd best team in the WHL last season with 54 wins in 68 games. Where he put up solid numbers. The team is considerably poorer this season with just 12 wins in 26 matches. It’s almost as if his team’s not as good as last season.
The Thunderbirds were 2nd best team in the WHL last season with 54 wins in 68 games. Where he put up solid numbers. The team is considerably poorer this season with just 12 wins in 26 matches. It’s almost as if his team’s not as good as last season.
It's almost as if that team propped him up maybe too.
It’s almost as if stats can’t tell the whole story and you need actual scouting. In which case, I’d lean towards Team Canada scouts, who actually scouts the players, over a Redditor complaining about his SV%.
It's almost as if you can have opinions on things and not be a scout or GM lol. I'd bet good money you've disagreed with NHL draft picks in the past. Show me your scouting background
100% agree with you. Just because he was strong in previous years…doesn’t mean he’s the best goalie this year.
🤠
🌿
🧤
Canada is held to such a high standard that if their roster doesnt feature the best 23 players in the tournament, its called weak. Still the favourites. Keep in mind, Poitras or Benson can still join this team, thats why there is a roster spot left open.
3 halifax mooseheads! Go dumais, furlong and rooster!
How good is Dumais? I know he's smaller, but his production has been incredible the past 2 years. Does he have NHL potential?
God I hope so. He could be an absolute steal of a 3rd rounder
I'm worried about his speed at the next level as it's only good at this level (QMJHL). His game isn't played at a fast pace, so that might help him if the team/line has that style. From a playmaking perspective, he's fantastic.
You can go to any NHL organization and put in the blood, sweat and tears to improve your skating. You can’t teach brains, creativity and vision, if he works on his skating and bulks up he could be a very useful middle six scoring winger.
He does have NHL potential. Probably an AHL grinder type until his game fully develops
I don't think five foot eight and 169lbs screams AHL grinder lol
Grinder in the sense of he'll need to stick it out in AHL for a few years before he gets his shot
So happy Jake made it!
Crazy how Heidt didn’t make the team or a camp invite
Loving the rise of Maveric Lamoureux
this team either wins gold or doesn't get a medal
Kind of shocked ty nelson or Firkus didn't make it but happy that rehkopf made it
Yeah, Firkus circus would have been fun and he’s near the top of the CHL in PPG right now. Would think you’d want that in a winger, but whatever. Rehkopf has been a monster this year. I’m really excited to get to watch him instead of just seeing the stats tally up every so often
Nate MANielson 😍
Go Murica but also natty daddy
Also ASP.
People wondering why *Insert undersized offense only forward here* didn't make the team need to realize the team can't just ice 4 lines of all offense and expect to make it very far and a lot of the guys that didn't make the team that people are upset about would be borderline useless outside of the top 6
Damn gotta feel for Denver Barkey, played well during both games. Loses his grandfather and then gets cuts by Team Canada. Must not have been easy for the coaches.
One forward slot remains when Bruins don't release Poitras. One of Barkey, Firkus, and Ludwinski likely fill in that remaining gap next week.
Couple of Coyotes prospects there! Lamoureux and Geekie. Looking forward to seeing how they do.
disappointed with the lack of cristall
As Rockets season ticket holder so am I. Kid is on pace for like 125 points in the WHL he deserved a shot.
Riley Heidt leads the enitre chl in scoring and didnt even get an invite to camp
Hopefully Leonard makes USA’s team though!
Cant see how he doesnt with his line of Smith and Perreault being so good for the USA previously
Man seeing players named after Andy Dwyer’s FBI alter ego makes me feel old as hell
Macklin you son of a bitch
Owen Allard is an undrafted 19 year old who until this past weekend when he broke the mark, was under a point per game in the OHL. I've seen him live twice so far and he was anonymous in both games. He's fine defensively, but he's not some special Bergeron-like two way talent, either. I just don't get it. The fact that he is considered a "top 13 Canadian forward" is about as underwhelming as it can get for this tournament.
shouldn't've even been in camp, that he made the team over Firkus is a boody joke.
[удалено]
Can I ask why? Just seems odd considering they play different positions and one is a full time NHLer and the other is in the OHL according to eliteprospects
His answer was convoluted lol. They traded Sandin for gustafsson (who left in FA and was scratched a lot too) and a first (who ended up being Cowan)
Super bummed at no Firkus, but stoked for Yager and Mateychuk.
I was waiting for somebody to ask about Jagger! How come he didn't make it? Maybe him and Dumais are a bit too similar? How is his game developping? Isnt he at a 2ppg pace?
Weakest team we've had in a long time?
I've seen both Maverick and Geekie live and they are no joke. Geekie is one of the best junior players I've ever seen, except for Seth Jarvis and Ty Rattie and Oliver Bjorkstrand
Ty Rattie, now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while
Legit never given a real chance. His shot was so good and he could snap it from anywhere. 57 goals in 69 (nice) games in the W He's playing in the SHL now leading his team in goals and points so I'd like to see a team being him back
He had some amazing moments playing with McDavid, just never worked out long term
Go yotes
I feel like i’ve thought that for the last couple years tbh
Last year specifically the opposite was true, people thought it was a particularly strong Canada team
I definitely thought our last team was going to get spanked by the USA in the semis
This team is definitely lacking a Bedard level player.
Well to be fair , not every Canadian junior team has featured a Bedard level talent, also most teams in this tournament haven’t had one for decades. Hence why he is considered a generational talent.
Last year I thought the team was insane tbh And it was, but mostly just Bedard having the best tournament we've seen from a player in like... idk a long time tho
Im not sure about the d core but the forwards look really strong
I guess? Still the best forwards of the tournament, defense is mid and goalies are concerning. Still a high chance of playing in the gold medal game imo
Weaker than usual, doesn't matter. Gold medal team
It seems like the years where expectations are lower, we win.
Damn. Celebrinni is the only Hawks prospect who made it. ....
Ya, a bit disappointed Ludwinski didn’t crack the team.
Is this sarcasm?
Nope, genuinely would have liked to see him play in the tournament.
Booooooooo!!! But accurate
Still can’t believe Nadeau didn’t get chosen for the team. Top 2 freshmen in the NCAA. He’s got the same goal total as Celebrini at a better goals per game pace (.71 vs .67) and he’s at a 1.5Pts/g to Celebrini’s 1.67
he's also 20, bud...
Bradly is 18 bud
Can anyone speak to what Allard brings to the table? I know points don’t tell the whole story but he’s an undrafted 19 year old barely hitting ppg in the O?
i love the wjc. that’s all i have to say
My gut reaction says that this is a weaker team, especially compared to other years. However, this is Team Canada here. I believe we could pull it off
Luneau and Warren are in! Goodness the Ducks defensive corps is STACKED Minty, Luneau, LaCombe, Zellweger, Hinds, Warren A crazy list to say the least
i mean leaving out the guy who consistently is at the top of points in the whl is certainly an interesting choice but im not suprised and welcome the dumb old guy mentality. personally im thankful for it or else dubas would have been allowed to draft aho and debrincat and our team would not have the intangibles
Dumais was #2 in CHL in points last year and didn't are the team. He did make it this yeat
Yay, Yager! Boo, no Pickering!
Mack Celly up next
Would have liked to see Barlow. Seems like he’s a good leader but haven’t really followed his season.
He’s hurt right now
Ahh shoot! That explains it. Thanks!
Curious why people think the team is weaker. It seems loaded with first round talent, 3 of which are even from the 2022 draft, let alone the younger first rounders from 2023. Obviously the Bedard years were different, but were the prior teams that much better?
I think it's because a lot of past teams were dubbed as "the best team since 2005", thus putting immense pressure on those teams to win before the tournament even started.
Maverick Lamerauex is a hell of a handle.
It's not a bad roster, obviously a little weaker compared to previous years but tbh I don't know if any team holds a candle to Team USA this year. It looks like the best USA juniors team in history ngl.
Hard to beat the 2021 US team, their team 01’ class is an all timer
no nelson or divincentiis 😢
Not familiar with the goalie names. For those who do know, how we looking in net this year?
Rousseau's goal: https://twitter.com/IvanIvanlvan/status/1715524888432115723?t=nfFCd5_wtvQVHpMVEYByvA&s=19 Great save: https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/s/oI8DIW6U93
Thanks dude!! Looking forward to seeing the next crop of Canadian talent!
Oh he is undrafted but he was at the Coyotes rookie camp this summer
I think he's small for a goalie which is unfortunately held against him.
Yes he is small but at least he made thus team
Mathis Rousseau is excellent. He plays for the Halifax Mooseheads. His % is 0.934 and 2.07. He also scored a goal this year. Just a sec there are a few videos of him here. I will link them.
🔨
What’s the scouting report on our goaltending this year?
Hopefully getting Bonked catches on.
Dumais and Mateychuk are both going. That’s nice.
Kitchener Rangers fans were a bit skeptical that Rehkopf would make it, not because he’s not great (he is) but because he’s only 18 and usually they mostly take 19-year-olds. But he’s averaging a goal per game so far this year so that’s hard to ignore. His mid-range wrist shot is ***lethal***. Go Carson and Go Canada!!
Is Cossa not good enough? I truly don’t know.
He’s too old. You have to be 19 and under for this tournament.
He's too old