By the numbers: Breaking down Canada’s World Junior roster
Hockey Canada has named its final roster for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, comprised of 20 Canadian Hockey League stars including nine players from the Ontario Hockey League, six from the Western Hockey League, and five from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Here is a breakdown of this year’s lineup:
1: Maxime Comtois (Drummondville Voltigeurs) is the one returnee from last year’s goal-medal squad. The captain from Longueuil, Que., who began the season with the Anaheim Ducks, was one of Canada’s top performers in pre-tournament action.
2: Michael DiPietro (Ottawa 67’s) and Noah Dobson (Acadie-Bathurst Titan) account for the two Memorial Cup champions on the roster, as they won it all in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
3: A trio of players are former top selections in their respective major junior drafts, counting Alexis Lafreniere (2017 Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL), Ty Smith (2015 Spokane Chiefs, WHL), and Joe Veleno (2015 Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL).
4: Four National Hockey League teams will have a pair of players competing with Team Canada, including the Chicago Blackhawks (MacKenzie Entwistle, Hamilton Bulldogs and Ian Mitchell), Detroit Red Wings (Jared McIsaac, Halifax Mooseheads and Veleno, Voltigeurs), Los Angeles Kings (Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Spokane Chiefs and Markus Phillips, Owen Sound Attack) and Montreal Canadiens (Josh Brook, Moose Jaw Warriors and Nick Suzuki, Attack).
5: Fans in five Canadian Hockey League markets will have a little more to watch, as the Voltigeurs (Comtois and Veleno), Attack (Phillips and Suzuki), Prince Albert Raiders (Brett Leason and Ian Scott), Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (Morgan Frost and Barrett Hayton), and Chiefs (Anderson-Dolan and Smith) each have two players suiting up for Canada.
10: There will be no shortage of leadership for the Canadian squad, as 10 players who captain their junior team will skate for the Great White North. The list includes Anderson-Dolan and Smith (co-captains), Evan Bouchard (London Knights), Brook, Dobson, Entwistle, Cody Glass (Portland Winterhawks), Hayton, Jack Studnicka (Oshawa Generals), and Suzuki.
20: Not yet 2019 and already four players on Team Canada have reached the 20-goal plateau with their junior club – namely Frost, Leason, Suzuki, and Veleno.
50: Five Canada players enter the World Juniors having recorded at least 50 points this season, counting Frost, Glass, Lafreniere (Rimouski Oceanic), Leason, and Veleno. Lafreniere, 17, and Leason, 19, are also the only two players on the roster who have yet to be drafted into the NHL.
2017: Five players who heard their name called on the first day of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft made Canada’s final roster. That group includes Shane Bowers (Ottawa Senators), Frost (Philadelphia Flyers), Glass (Vegas Golden Knights), Suzuki (Vegas Golden Knights), and Mississauga Steelhead Owen Tippett (Florida Panthers).
2018: Five first rounders from the 2018 NHL Entry Draft – Bouchard (Edmonton Oilers), Dobson (New York Islanders), Hayton (Arizona Coyotes), Smith (New Jersey Devils), and Veleno (Detroit Red Wings) – have also made this year’s World Junior squad.
For more information on Hockey Canada, Canada’s National Junior Team, and the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow along via social media on Facebook and Twitter, as well as #WorldJuniors.