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Team Canada finalizes roster; cut Habs and Coyotes’ first rounders Juulsen and Merkley

Switzerland v Canada - 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship - Exhibition

Switzerland v Canada - 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship - Exhibition

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Team Canada finalized their roster for the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship.

The defending champions made their last four cuts on Sunday. They sent a few promising prospects home (as they do every year).

Gone are defenseman Noah Juulsen (Montreal), forward Jayce Hawkryluk (Florida), forward Nick Merkley (Arizona) and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (Boston).

Here’s the breakdown of the final roster:

With Juulsen off the roster, Roland McKeown is the only right-handed shot on defense.

“We had a really good evaluation period in Toronto and Imatra, and were able to see how the players responded to different situations — from practices to games,” said Scott Salmond, vice-president of hockey operations and national teams for Hockey Canada, per TSN.ca. “These are never easy decisions, but we feel confident in the team we have and their ability to make the nation proud and give us all something to get behind this holiday season.”

Hicketts, Virtanen, Point and Crouse are the returnees from last year’s tournament.

Canada will play their final pre-tournament game against Sweden on Wednesday.