December 14, 2022 by Ryan Lotsberg

Hockey Canada has announced Canada’s roster for the 2023 World Junior Championships on Monday. Canada will look to repeat the golden performance of the group that won the tournament in Edmonton this past August.

That group that won gold in Edmonton was missing many top tier players that were eligible to play due to their desire to prepare for NHL camps. That won’t be the case this time around.

2022 4th overall pick Shane Wright and 2021 9th overall pick Dylan Guenther both played in the shortened event in December 2020 and were eligible to play in August, but both declined to play. They have both been loaned to Team Canada from their respective NHL clubs for this tournament. That rarely happens with talented young players on NHL teams anymore, so Canada is lucky to have both of these players. They also have a defenceman that has played NHL games this season. Brandt Clarke played nine games for the LA Kings before being sent down to the Ontario Reign.

Oh yeah, they’ve also got that Connor Bedard kid.

Bedard is one of eight returning players on this team. Logan Stankoven, Brennan Othmann, Joshua Roy, Nathan Gaucher, and Zach Ostapchuk return to the forward group; and Olen Zellweger and Ethan Del Mastro return on the blue line.

Adam Fantilli has taken the hockey world by storm this season. His 26 points in 16 games with Michigan of the NCAA has vaulted him into the second spot in the 2023 NHL Draft rankings behind Bedard. The 6’2”, 195 lb forward will look to make some more noise in Halifax. Bedard and Fantilli will almost certainly be the top two picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, and having them on the same team in this tournament will make for all sorts of interesting headlines.

Edmonton Oilers fans will be pleased to hear that 2022 32nd overall pick Reid Schaefer made the team. His fast start to the season put him on Hockey Canada’s radar, and he made the team in camp. Also, Fort Saskatchewan product Colton Dach (the younger brother of former Canadian captain Kirby Dach) made the team. Guenther is an Edmonton product, and returnee Ostapchuk is from St. Albert.

All eyes will be on Bedard. His highlights are eye popping, and his stats jump off the page. He’s got 64 points in just 28 games for Regina this season. That includes a ridiculous 27-game point streak!

Related: “A Gold Medal That Was Worth The Wait”

Bedard will be counted on to provide the offence along with Fantilli and Wright. Canada will have plenty of firepower though. Guenther has 11 points in 21 NHL games this season. Roy is 4th in QMJHL scoring right now. Stankoven is 5th in WHL scoring. Othmann is 15th in the OHL, and Zachary Dean is 18th in the QMJHL.

Zelweger (8th) and Kevin Korchinski (10th) are both in the top ten in scoring by defencemen in the WHL. They will be leaned on to bring the offence from the blue line. Clarke will figure into the equation as one of the top defencemen on this team as well. It’s a big defence unit. Zelweger is the only guy under 6’2” in the whole group. Del Mastro leads the group at 6’4” tall. It’s a rangy yet mobile group that will cause fits for other teams in the tournament.

Thomas Milic of the Seattle Thunderbirds appears to have the leg up for the starting goalie spot. He was stellar in the WHL Final against the Edmonton Oil Kings last year, and he has continued that level of play with a .919 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average this season. Benjamin Gaudreau has a .868 save percentage and a 3.62 goals against average with the Sarnia Sting.

Hockey Canada has to make difficult cuts every year, and they are notorious for cutting tremendously skilled players every year. This year was no exception. 2022 7th overall pick Matthew Savoie didn’t even receive an invite to the selection camp. QMJHL scoring leader Jordan Dumais was cut, likely due to his smaller stature. Riley Kidney and Carson Lambos were both cut after being on the team in August.

Make no mistake about it, this Canadian team is stacked! This is a roster that should absolutely be expected to win the tournament. That isn’t to slight other teams. Canada just has a ton of elite talent on their team, plain and simple.

Canada will open their tournament against Czechia on Boxing Day. It can’t come quick enough!

Happy holidays everyone, and enjoy the tournament.