Drysdale among 7 OHL Players to Represent Canada at World U18 Hockey Championship
Calgary, Alta. – Hockey Canada has named seven Ontario Hockey League players to Team Canada’s roster for the upcoming 2019 IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championship scheduled for April 18-28 in Örnsköldsvik and Umeå, Sweden.
The roster also includes a total of nine players from the Western Hockey League and five from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Several of the OHL’s top-ranked players included in Monday’s NHL Central Scouting Final Draft Rankings are included on the roster. Eleventh ranked skater Thomas Harley (Mississauga Steelheads) leads the pack and is joined by 14th-ranked Philip Tomasino (Niagara IceDogs), 18th-ranked Ryan Suzuki (Barrie Colts) and 30th-ranked Jamieson Rees (Sarnia Sting).
Of the seven OHL players on the roster, Rees, Suzuki and Michael Vukojevic (Kitchener Rangers) won gold with Canada at last summer’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.
Canada was perfect in pre-tournament play, defeating Belarus by a score of 6-5 in overtime on Saturday, following that up with a 5-4 win over Russia on Sunday.
Canada will look to claim gold for the first time since 2013 when it kicks off its tournament schedule against Finland on Thursday, April 18 at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT. Canada will also match up against Switzerland, Belarus and the Czech Republic in the preliminary round before the tournament wraps up with the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday, April 28.
TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast 15 games, including all of Team Canada’s match-ups at the IIHF U18 World Championship, all quarter-finals, both semifinals and the bronze and gold medal games.
Canada has won seven medals at the IIHF U18 World Championship, including three gold (2003, 2008, 2013), one silver (2005) and three bronze (2012, 2014, 2015).
21 CHL PLAYERS NAMED TO CANADA’S NATIONAL UNDER-18 TEAM:
OHL players in bold
Goaltenders:
Taylor Gauthier (Prince George Cougars)
Jonathan Lemieux (Val-d’Or Foreurs)
Nolan Maier (Saskatoon Blades)
Defencemen:
Jamie Drysdale (Erie Otters)
Thomas Harley (Mississauga Steelheads)
Daemon Hunt (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Kaedan Korczak (Kelowna Rockets)
Braden Schneider (Brandon Wheat Kings)
Jordan Spence (Moncton Wildcats)
Michael Vukojevic (Kitchener Rangers)
Forwards:
Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes)
Peyton Krebs (Winnipeg ICE)
Nathan Légaré (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Jakob Pelletier (Moncton Wildcats)
Samuel Poulin (Sherbrooke Phoenix)
Jamieson Rees (Sarnia Sting)
Ryan Suzuki (Barrie Colts)
Philip Tomasino (Niagara IceDogs)
Brayden Tracey (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Keean Washkurak (Mississauga Steelheads)
Connor Zary (Kamloops Blazers)
For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitterand Twitter.com/HC_Men.
