By Hockey Canada

MONCTON, N.B. – Hockey Canada has unveiled the 22 players who will wear the Maple Leaf with Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.

Two goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards were selected by Alan Millar (Tottenham, Ont.), director of player personnel, and James Boyd (Midland, Ont./Ottawa, OHL), the U20 lead for the Program of Excellence management group, with support from Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of hockey operations. Head coach Dennis Williams (Stratford, Ont./Everett, WHL) and assistant coaches Stéphane Julien (Shawinigan, Que./Sherbrooke, QMJHL), Brent Kisio (Calgary, Alta./Lethbridge, WHL) and Alan Letang (Renfrew, Ont./Sarnia, OHL), as well as goaltending consultant Kelly Guard (Prince Albert, Sask./Prince Albert, WHL), also provided input.

Among the 22 players are eight players who won a gold medal at the 2022 World Juniors in Edmonton (Bedard, Del Mastro, Gaucher, Ostapchuk, Othmann, Roy, Stankoven, Zellweger).

“We are excited to unveil the 22 players who have earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the World Juniors, as we believe we have assembled a deep and talented roster that will give us the best opportunity to defend gold on home ice,” said Millar. “While there were many difficult decisions to make at selection camp, we want to congratulate our players and their families, and we look forward to them wearing the Maple Leaf with pride in Halifax and Moncton.”

Canada’s National Junior Team will practice at the Garcelon Civic Centre in St. Stephen, N.B., Dec. 14-18, prior to the start of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. It will also face off against Switzerland on Dec. 19, Slovakia on Dec. 21 and Finland on Dec. 23 as part of its pre-tournament schedule.

The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day with four games, including Canada taking on Czechia at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax at 7:30 p.m. AT. Canada will also take on Germany, Austria and Sweden to round out the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with the bronze and gold medal games on Jan. 5.

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will once again provide extensive coverage of the event, broadcasting all 31 tournament games, as well as all three Team Canada pre-tournament games. TSN Radio will also provide comprehensive tournament coverage.

For more information on the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit the official tournament website at 2023.worldjuniors.hockey.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Junior Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.