Hockey Canada solidified its 2013 World Junior Championship roster by making eight final cuts on Thursday, according to TSN.
Budding stars Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Strome are among the 23 players headed to Russia for the tournament.
Here is the full roster, sorted by position:
Forwards: MacKinnon, Nugent-Hopkins, Huberdeau, Strome, Anthony Camara, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Charles Hudon, Boone Jenner, J.C. Lipon, Ty Rattie, Brett Ritchie and Mark Scheifele.
Defensemen: Dougie Hamilton, Scott Harrington, Ryan Murphy, Xavier Ouellet, Griffin Reinhart, Morgan Rielly and Tyler Wotherspoon.
Goalies: Jordan Binnington, Jake Paterson and Malcolm Subban.
Huberdeau, Jenner, Scheifele, Strome, Hamilton and Harrington played for last year’s bronze medal-winning squad.
The eight players who represented the final cuts were: forwards Hunter Shinkaruk, Tom Wilson, Mark McNeil and Daneil Catennacci, defensemen Matthew Dumba, Frank Corrado and Ryan Sproul along with goalie Laurent Brossoit.
Two more notes:
- TSN’s Bob McKenzie rates the toughest choices as blueliner Wotherspoon over Corrado and Binnington instead of Brossit in net.
- CBC’s Tim Wharnsby notes that Dumba has been cut for the second straight year.
So which player do you expect to make the biggest impact during a tournament that often serves as a glimpse into hockey’s future?