Rockets captain Nolan Foote cracks Canada’s National Junior Team final roster

Following six days of pre-tournament training in Vienna, Austria and Brno, Czech Republic, Hockey Canada has finalized Canada’s National Junior Team roster for the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic.

The roster – which includes three goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards – will look to build on Hockey Canada’s historical success at the tournament.

Among the athletes on the final roster are five returnees from the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. (Hayton, Lafrenière, McIsaac, Smith, Veleno), two players who won a silver medal with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (Byfield, Drysdale) and five players yet to be selected in the NHL draft (Byfield, Daws, Drysdale, Lafrenière, Mercer).

“The management group and coaches have done a terrific job working with the players and finalizing the roster,” said Shawn Bullock, director of men’s national teams with Hockey Canada. “This team has a lot of skill, international experience and, most importantly, is a group of quality young men.”

The puck will officially drop on Boxing Day when Foote and Canada takes on the United States at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, followed by games against Russia, Germany and the Czech Republic to round out preliminary action.

TSN and RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada, will once again provide wall-to-wall game coverage and analysis throughout the tournament, including Canada’s two pre-tournament games on TSN; check local listings for details.

For more information on Canada’s National Junior Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook , Twitter and #WorldJuniors.