Team Canada will have a distinct Western Hockey League feel, especially from a pair of Saskatchewan teams as Hockey Canada unveiled its roster for the 2024 World Junior Championship on Wednesday.
Saskatoon Blades defenceman Tanner Molendyk and centre Fraser Minten have both cracked the team for the first time, along with Moose Jaw Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk and forward Brayden Yager as part of eight WHL players set to wear the maple leaf.
Molendyk’s chances at making the team were dealt a hit last week after suffering a lower-body injury which kept him out of the first few days of selection camp. However, the Nashville Predators first-rounder was able to dress in Canada’s final exhibition game Wednesday against a team of U Sports all-stars.
Selected to Team Canada at just 18 years old, Molendyk left Saskatoon for camp with four goals and 28 points scored in 24 games with the Blades.
As for Minten, he did not suit up in either game against the U Sports all-stars as he was considered a lock for the Canadian roster following his four-game stint in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs to begin the season.
Acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Kamloops Blazers in November, Minten has tallied five points in six games with Saskatoon and is up to five goals and 15 points in 13 WHL games since being returned to junior.
Mateychuk will join Molendyk on Canada’s blueline after firing out of the gates with six goals and 35 points for the Warriors, the second-most points scored by a defenceman in the WHL so far this season.
The Dominion City, Man., product was selected 12th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Rounding out the Saskatchewan-based contingent is Mateychuk’s Moose Jaw teammate in Yager, who is the lone Saskatchewan-born player on this year’s Canadian roster hailing from Saskatoon.
Drafted 14th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in this past summer’s NHL Draft, Yager sits tied for 14th in WHL scoring this season with 17 goals and 41 points scored in just 28 games.
Moose Jaw forward Jagger Firkus, meanwhile, was among Hockey Canada’s final eight cuts on Tuesday, however the team has left one roster spot open at forward in the hopes of a player being loaned to the team from the NHL such as Zach Benson or Matthew Poitras.
Joining the Blades and Warriors on Team Canada’s roster from the WHL include Seattle Thunderbirds netminder Scott Ratzlaff, Brandon Wheat Kings captain Nate Danielson and Wenatchee Wild teammates Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie.
Team Canada will travel to Sweden for a series of pre-tournament games, before opening the 2024 World Junior Championship on Boxing Day versus Team Finland.
Comments