World Juniors Bound: Caedan Bankier
As we count down to the start of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, we’re featuring each of the 11 WHL players set to represent Canada at the event.
We continue our series with Kamloops Blazers forward Caedan Bankier.
Minnesota Wild prospect Caedan Bankier scored 35 regular season and playoff goals for the Kamloops Blazers during the 2022 calendar year, a feat that helped him earn a spot among the 11 WHL players set to skate for Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship beginning next week.
Bankier is one of several B.C. boys set to wear the Maple Leaf over the holidays; the Surrey product joins the likes of Connor Bedard, Thomas Milic and Kamloops running mate Logan Stankoven in Canada’s camp in this, his first full IIHF tournament.
And while his goal-scoring has certainly drawn plenty of attention, not to mention ire from the Blazers’ WHL opponents, Bankier has grown into a dynamic player in Canada’s Tournament Capital.
“He’s becoming a very well-rounded player. He’s being used in all situations which is so valuable for his development,” Wild assistant director of player development Matt Hendricks recently told The Athletic.
“He’s coming along very nicely.”
Spent some time getting to know #MNWild prospect Caedan Bankier and his game/story.
My profile from Canada’s selection camp in Moncton, with insight from staff with the Wild, Hockey Canada, and the Blazers. https://t.co/aDAIaFw0io pic.twitter.com/j46GXmBDBa
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) December 11, 2022
Bankier has carved out a role as a high-octane player on the Blazers roster, and so far that energy has replicated itself on a Canadian line with fellow WHL Western Conference stars Zack Ostapchuk (Vancouver Giants) and Reid Schaefer (Seattle Thunderbirds), both of whom featured as WHL Playoffs opponents for Kamloops this past spring.
Congratulations to #mnwild prospect F Caedan Bankier on being named to Canada’s National Junior Team! He’s recorded 33 points (20-13=33) in 24 games with the Kamloops Blazers this season. https://t.co/iKotveeR4O
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) December 12, 2022
“It’s just exciting that it’s an all-Western line, we play against each other a lot so we know what we’re going to do out there,” Bankier recently told TSN.
“We’re all pretty big players, we all like to be physical,” the 6-foot-2, 190-pound winger added.
“They play a physical style, they’ll bring the team energy, they can chip in offensively and they’re strong defensively,” Canadian assistant coach and Lethbridge Hurricanes bench boss Brent Kisio told TSN.
“It’s going to be a line that, when they’re playing physical, is really going to get the energy going in the building.”
This is the second time @Caedan_Bankier has put someone through the spin cycle in the last week 🤯🔥🚨 pic.twitter.com/L0nNFgSqHI
— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) December 4, 2022
That familiarity among WHL rivals could well pay dividends over the course of the World Juniors, and it’s a common theme, too, throughout the Canadian roster.
Nine of the 22 players representing Canada come from Western Conference WHL Clubs.
Caedan Bankier and Team Canada open the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship December 26 versus Czechia.
