Thirty-two junior-aged hockey players are one selection camp away from making Team Canada for this year’s World Junior Hockey championship.
Three of those names have solid connections to London.
Robert Thomas and Alex Formenton play for the London Knights and Nick Suzuki came up through the London Jr. Knights organization and is now in his third season with the Owen Sound Attack.
All of them are attempting to make it to the World Juniors for the very first time.
After Thomas returned from training camp with the St. Louis Blues, he was named captain of the Knights and he has been on an offensive tear ever since.
Thomas leads London in goals with 17 and points with 40 in 27 games so far this season. He also owns the third-best shooting percentage in the league. Most recently, he scored the overtime winner against North Bay to give Knights head coach, Dale Hunter his 700th career regular-season victory.
Thomas is known as a player who does what it takes to help teams win. He has a high hockey IQ and has won 62.3 per cent of his faceoffs.
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Formenton has only played in 17 games for the Knights this year. He earned the title of youngest player to make an opening night roster in the NHL after sticking with the Ottawa Senators out of training camp. Since re-joining the Knights, The King City, Ont. native has nine goals and 21 points and has used his elite speed to stretch defenses and create chances for himself and his teammates. Like Thomas, Formenton could find himself in an offensive role or a defensive role if he makes Team Canada’s final roster.
Suzuki was selected 13th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Draft. He is tied for third in league scoring with 42 points and is one of the most dangerous players on the Owen Sound Attack. The London native has the ability to make plays in the offensive zone that very few players even see.
Jordan Kyrou leads the OHL in scoring right now as a member of the Sarnia Sting. He also received an invitation. Kyrou grew up in Toronto, but his family recently moved to Komoka.
All three of Thomas, Formenton and Suzuki are 18 years old and the World Junior tournament is typically an event reserved for 19-year-olds. The number of younger players Canada keeps will depend on how things go at the Dec. 12-15 selection camp in St. Catharines, but could have another factor as well.
There are a handful of players who are eligible to play in the tournament but happen to be with NHL teams. It is rare, but sometimes those teams choose to send a player to the World Junior Hockey championship. Victor Mete, who spent last year with the Knights is in that category. Other players include Nolan Patrick, Pierre-Luc Bourdon and Samuel Girard.
Knights’ forward Max Jones also received word this week that he is on Team USA’s 28-player preliminary roster. The United States comes in as the host and the defending champion and Jones admits it would be quite something to play in a tournament he has watched all his life.
“Just like a lot of kids, I grew up watching the World Juniors. I still have to make the team, but it would be very special given that it is on home soil.”
The World Junior Hockey championship begins on Boxing Day.
Team Canada will play a pre-tournament game at Budweiser Gardens on Dec. 20.
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