CALGARY, Alta. – With less than one month until the puck drops on the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, Hockey Canada has announced the 29 players who have earned an invitation to Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp, set for Dec. 9-12 at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, N.B. Included in the 29 players are three Greater Toronto Hockey League alumni: Ethan Del Mastro (Toronto Marlboros), Zach Dean (Toronto Young Nationals), Adam Fantilli (Toronto Jr. Canadiens), and Brennan Othmann (Don Mills Flyers). Both Del Mastro and Othmann bring gold medal winning experience to the Selection Camp roster.
Four goaltenders, nine defencemen and 16 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) and coaches and general managers across the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), also provided input.
Among the 29 players competing for a chance to represent Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in Halifax and Moncton are 10 players who won a gold medal at the 2022 World Juniors in Edmonton (Bedard, Del Mastro, Gaucher, Kidney, Lambos, Ostapchuk, Othmann, Roy, Stankoven, Zellweger).
“We are excited to unveil the 29 players who will begin our journey at selection camp in Moncton as we look ahead to the 2023 World Juniors,” said Millar. “This is an experienced and skilled group, and we expect a competitive selection camp that will lead to difficult decisions when naming a final roster. We are excited about the players who have earned invites to camp, and we look forward to assembling a roster that will wear the Maple Leaf with pride this holiday season.”
Selection camp will include practices and a pair of games against a team of U SPORTS all-stars, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. AT and Dec. 12 at 12 p.m. AT. Moncton ticket packages include one ticket for both games, while fans who have not purchased a ticket package can buy single-game tickets to each U SPORTS game for as low as $15 plus fees at HockeyCanada.ca/WorldJuniors.
Following selection camp, Canada’s National Junior Team will name its final roster for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship on Dec. 12.
“We are excited to host our selection camp in Moncton and give fans in New Brunswick the opportunity to see the best under-20 Canadian players before the start of the World Juniors,” said Salmond. “While we continue to have discussions with NHL teams regarding additional players that may be available to attend camp, we are thrilled for the 29 players that have been named to our camp roster and we look forward to taking on a strong U SPORTS team as part of our evaluation process.”
Canada’s National Junior Team will also hold a five-day training camp at the Garcelon Civic Centre in St. Stephen, N.B., from Dec. 14-18 in preparation for the 2023 World Juniors before taking on Switzerland, Slovakia and Finland in pre-tournament action.
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. 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 Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Junior Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca.
GTHL ALUMNI
- Ethan Del Mastro (Toronto Marlboros)
- Zach Dean (Toronto Young Nationals)
- Adam Fantilli (Toronto Jr. Canadiens)
- Brennan Othmann (Don Mills Flyers)
