Each year Hockey Canada is victimized by its own success when it comes to player development. Some of its highest-end players still eligible for the world juniors are in the NHL, and this year is no different. This season, one must look no further than to two Calder Trophy candidates and one Hart Trophy hopeful for this irony. Anaheim’s Beckett Sennecke is tied with Montreal’s Ivan Demidov for the league lead in rookie scoring with 20 points, and the New York Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer in third place with 17 points. Along with Sennecke, Macklin Celebrini is another young Canadian star lighting up the west coast, as the San Jose center is second in the league in points with 40, and the league leader in assists with 26. Obviously, we will only see them in Minnesota when their respective teams are in town to play the Wild.
Aside from those players, there are several NHL players who may don the Maple Leaf in December/January. Provided he is recovered from an upper-body injury, Calgary’s Zayne Parekh is a virtual lock to occupy a roster spot, as he has had a very slow start (one assist in eleven games), along with the entire Flames team. San Jose d-man Sam Dickinson is a candidate to join Parekh on the blue line, but he is on the maybe list as the Sharks have been very hesitant to send him back to the junior hockey level. Dickinson’s San Jose teammate, Michael Misa, appears much more likely to join Team Canada. The ability to log many minutes may be a great prescription for Misa, after missing significant time due to a lower-body injury.
Two additional NHL players also have world junior eligibility, being forwards Benjamin Kindel (PIT) and Berkly Catton (SEA). While both Kindel and Catton have struggled offensively (Kindel with 5 points in November, Catton with no goals as of yet), each has gelled nicely with their respective teammates and add to the chemistry of their clubs. Therefore, whether their clubs loan them to Team Canada is a question mark.
Team Canada begins its 10-day training camp on December 12 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on the road to choosing its final roster prior to the tournament.