Knights’ Mete named alternate captain for Canada at World Juniors

Toronto, Ont. – Hockey Canada announced Saturday that Calgary Flames prospect Dillon Dube of the Kelowna Rockets will captain Canada at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship starting December 26th in Buffalo, New York.

A returning member of last year’s silver-medal-winning Canadian National Junior Team, Dube will be joined by three alternates including a pair of other CHL competitors in defencemen Kale Clague (Brandon Wheat Kings) and Victor Mete (London Knights).

A 19-year-old from Cochrane, Alta., Dube has 39 points (18-21–39) in 27 games with Kelowna this season. The former first round pick of the Rockets in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft won a league championship with the club in 2015 while producing 187 points (81-106–187) over his 177-game WHL regular season career.

In addition to his silver medal last year, Dube also brought home gold from the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament where he recorded three points (1-2–3) in five games.

Los Angeles Kings prospect Kale Clague of the Brandon Wheat Kings joins Dube in Canada’s leadership group, entering the World Juniors as the CHL’s leading scorer among defencemen this season with 47 points (10-37–47) in 28 games. The 19-year-old product of Lloydminster, Alta. was Brandon’s first round (6th overall) pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft and helped lead the Wheat Kings to a WHL championship in 2016. He has 143 points (25-118–143) over his 169-game WHL regular season career.

Clague also has a gold medal to accompany his silver from last year, winning alongside Dube at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament where he had one goal in five games.

After playing 27 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens this season, Victor Mete was assigned to Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp and will wear an ‘A’ in his first tour of duty at the World Juniors. A 19-year-old native of Woodbridge, Ont., Mete recorded four assists in his 27 NHL games this season to go with a plus/minus rating of plus-5. He helped lead the London Knights to both an OHL championship and a Mastercard Memorial Cup title in 2016 and has 106 points (30-76–106) over his 176-game OHL regular season career.

In other international competition, Mete won gold with Canada at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.

Canada enters its tournament opener against Finland on Boxing Day coming off a pair of lopsided pre-tournament wins over the Czech Republic (in London, Ont.) and Switzerland (in Hamilton, Ont.).

A total of nine OHL players are included in a list of 20 CHL players that will suit up for Canada in Buffalo including Regina Pats rearguard Josh Mahura who rejoined the team for pre-tournament play.

For more information on Hockey Canada, Canada’s National Junior Team, and the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow along via social media on Facebookand Twitter, as well as #WorldJuniors.