Canadians primed for World Juniors
There were a bunch of relieved teenagers when Andy Murray came knocking on Monday morning.
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Hockey Canada’s chief scout had the pleasure of delivering the good news to the 22 players that will make up Canada’s National Junior Team this Christmas in Ottawa and it’s likely that Angelo Esposito was the most relieved player there.
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Esposito, who plays in the QMJHL for the Montreal Juniors, was one of 21 CHL stars named to the roster and after being cut from the team in each of the past three years, the Atlanta Thrashers’ prospect was thrilled to make the cut this time.
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“Obviously I was happy,” said Esposito, who travelled with the team to Petawawa for some team building exercises at the Canadian Forces Base located there before they travelled to Toronto for an exhibition game against Sweden on Friday. “My first step was to get invited to camp and my second step was to make the team. Now I’m going for my third step.”
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Canadian coach Pat Quinn said that Esposito made the team the old fashioned way – with hard work.
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“He came and said ‘if you want me to check, I’ll check. If you want me on the powerplay, I’ll do that. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this team’,” Quinn said. “And then he showed it. He earned a spot here. He earned it with all the coaches.”
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All four returning players from last year’s gold medal winning team were given letters, including Thomas Hickey of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who was named team captain. Returning forwards John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals, Zach Boychuk of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and defenceman P.K. Subban of the Belleville Bulls were give “A”s along with Brampton Battalion forward Cody Hodgson.
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“There is a lot of responsibility but at the same time there are so many different guys in the dressing room that are leaders,” Hickey said. “Just because you have a letter on doesn’t mean you are expected to carry the load of the team. It’s done by committee and I’m really thankful to have so many guys.”
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Canada opens its bid for a fifth straight gold medal on Boxing Day against the Czech Republic.
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Eighteen of the players have previous international experience, including 12 players who played with Canada’s National Under-18 Team and 18 who played with Canadian regional Under-17 teams at either the World Under-17 Challenge or the Canada Winter Games.
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Twenty of the players named to the final roster were drafted in either the 2007 or 2008 NHL Entry Draft, including 10 first-round selections and four second-round selections. Two players are eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
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Canada has medaled in 10-straight World Junior Championships including: gold medal performances in 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005, silver medals in 2004, 2003, 2002, 1999 and bronze medals in 2001 and 2000.
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Canadian National Junior Team Roster
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Goaltenders
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Chet Pickard, Tri-City (WHL)
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Dustin Tokarski, Spokane (WHL)
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Defence
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Keith Aulie, Brandon (WHL)
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Ryan Ellis, Windsor (OHL)
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Cody Goloubef, Wisconsin (WCHA)
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Thomas Hickey, Seattle (WHL)
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Tyler Myers, Kelowna (WHL)
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Alex Pietrangelo, Niagara (OHL)
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PK Subban, Belleville (OHL)
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Colten Teubert, Regina (WHL)
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Forwards
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Jamie Benn, Kelowna (WHL)
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Zach Boychuk, Lethbridge (WHL)
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Patrice Cormier, Rimouski (QMJHL)
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Stefan Della Rovere, Barrie (OHL)
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Chris DiDomenico, Saint John (QMJHL)
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Jordan Eberle, Regina (WHL)
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Tyler Ennis, Medicine Hat (WHL)
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Angelo Esposito, Montreal (QMJHL)
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Cody Hodgson, Brampton (OHL)
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Brett Sonne, Calgary (WHL)
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John Tavares, Oshawa (OHL)
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Dana Tyrell, Prince George (WHL)