December has arrived and that means the start of the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship is just weeks away.
On Wednesday, Hockey Canada released its list of invitees for next week’s World Juniors selection camp as Canada attempts to construct a roster that will strike gold after settling for silver last year, losing 2-0 to the United States in the gold-medal final.
The selection camp takes place in Calgary from Dec. 9-13.
The list is highlighted by returning players in forward Cole Perfetti and defenceman Kaiden Guhle as well as the most recent first overall pick and two other potential stars that could go No. 1 in upcoming NHL drafts.
Perfetti, selected 10th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2020, scored two goals and added four assists over seven games at last year’s tournament inside the bubble in Edmonton. The 19-year-old native of Whitby, Ont., is pointless over two games with the Jets this season, but has six goals and eight assists over 15 games in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose.
Guhle, 19, netted two goals and added an assist over seven games for Canada last season. The Edmonton native, selected 16th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2020, has two goals and 12 assists over 17 games with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL this season.
The Buffalo Sabres selected Mississauga’s Owen Power first overall this summer and the 19-year-old highly touted defenceman will be in Calgary for the selection camp. Power has three goals and 20 assists over 16 games with the University of Michigan in 2021-22.
Kingston Frontenacs superstar centre Shane Wright is expected to go first overall in the 2022 Draft and will look to showcase his talents at this year’s World Junior Hockey Championship. The 17-year-old native of Burlington, Ont., is in his second season of OHL play and has netted nine goals with 13 assists over 19 games in 2021-22. Wright tallied 39 goals and 27 assists during the 2019-20 season before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Too much competition for Bedard to crack Canada’s roster?
While Connor Bedard is having a great season with Regina, Bob McKenzie explains why even though he’ll be at camp, there might be too much competition this year for some of the youngsters to crack Canada’s roster.
A lot can change ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft, but many believe forward Connor Bedard has a very good chance of going first overall. The 16-year-old made history last year when he became the first player in WHL history to be given exceptional status. Bedard, out of North Vancouver, scored 12 goals and 16 assists over just 15 games in his first season with the Regina Pats in 2020-21 and has 11 goals with six assists over 21 games in the current campaign.
Wright and Bedard could join Power as No. 1 picks over the next two years and all three could be on Team Canada this holiday season.
Other notable players invited to selection camp include 2021 top-10 picks in Mason McTavish (third overall to the Anaheim Ducks), Kent Johnson (fifth overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets) and Dylan Guenther (ninth overall to the Arizona Coyotes).
The 18-year-old McTavish scored two goals and added an assist earlier this season with the Ducks before he was sent back down to the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Johnson and Guenther have yet to play in the NHL.
Canada will play two selection camp games on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12.
The World Juniors run from Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
