Canadian WJ Invitees

Here's the list of the Selection Camp Invitees

Goaltenders

0 Carey Price /L 6' 2 217 08/16/1987 Anahim Lake, BC Tri-City Americans / WHL
0 Jonathan Bernier /L 6' 0 185 08/07/1988 Laval, QC Lewiston Maineiacs / QMJHL
0 Leland Irving /L 6' 0 177 04/11/1988 Swan Hills, AB Everett Silvertips / WHL
0 Steve Mason /R 6' 3 186 05/29/1988 Oakville, ON London Knights / OHL

Defence

0 Brendan Mikkelson L/ 6' 3 190 06/22/1987 St. Albert, AB Vancouver Giants / WHL
0 Cody Franson R/ 6' 3 204 08/08/1987 Sicamous, BC Vancouver Giants / WHL
0 Drew Doughty R/ 6' 0 190 12/08/1989 London, ON Guelph Storm / OHL
0 Dustin Kohn L/ 6' 1 199 02/02/1987 Edmonton, AB Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL
0 Karl Alzner L/ 6' 2 209 09/24/1988 Burnaby, BC Calgary Hitmen / WHL
0 Keaton Ellerby L/ 6' 3 185 11/05/1988 Calgary, AB Kamloops Blazers / WHL
0 Kris Russell L/ 5' 10 162 05/02/1987 Caroline, AB Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL
0 Kristopher Letang L/ 6' 0 207 04/24/1987 Ste-Julie, QC Foreurs de Val d'Or / QMJHL
0 Luc Bourdon L/ 6' 3 211 02/16/1987 Shippagan, NB Moncton Wildcats / QMJHL
0 Marc Staal L/ 6' 4 207 01/13/1987 Thunder Bay, ON Sudbury Wolves / OHL
0 Patrick McNeill L/ 6' 0 200 03/17/1987 Strathroy, ON Saginaw Spirit / OHL
0 Ryan Parent L/ 6' 2 194 03/17/1987 Sioux Lookout, ON Guelph Storm / OHL

Forwards

0 Andrew Cogliano L/ 5' 9 186 06/14/1987 Woodbridge, ON U. of Michigan Wolverines / CCHA
0 Angelo Esposito L/ 6' 1 180 02/20/1989 Montreal, QC Quebec Remparts / QMJHL
0 Ben Maxwell L/ 6' 1 177 03/30/1988 North Vancouver, BC Kootenay Ice / WHL
0 Brad Marchand L/ 5' 9 183 05/11/1988 Hammonds Plains, NS Foreurs de Val d'Or / QMJHL
0 Bryan Little R/ 5' 11 201 11/12/1987 Cambridge, ON Barrie Colts / OHL
0 Chris Stewart R/ 6' 2 232 10/30/1987 Scarborough, ON Kingston Frontenacs / OHL
0 Claude Giroux R/ 5' 11 173 01/12/1988 Ottawa, ON Gatineau Olympiques / QMJHL
0 Codey Burki R/ 6' 1 193 11/17/1987 Winnipeg, MB Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL
0 Cody Bass R/ 6' 0 208 01/07/1987 Guelph, ON Mississauga Ice Dogs / OHL
0 Dan Bertram R/ 5' 10 183 01/14/1987 Calgary, AB Boston College Eagles / HE
0 Darren Helm L/ 6' 0 183 01/21/1987 St. Andrews, MB Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL
0 Devin Setoguchi R/ 6' 0 190 01/01/1987 Taber, AB Prince George Cougars / WHL
0 James Neal L/ 6' 3 203 09/03/1987 Whitby, ON Plymouth Whalers / OHL
0 John Tavares R/ 6' 0 196 09/20/1990 Oakville, ON Oshawa Generals / OHL
0 Jonathan Toews L/ 6' 2 203 04/29/1988 Winnipeg, MB North Dakota Fighting Sioux / WCHA
0 Kenndal McArdle / 6' 0 205 01/04/1987 Burnaby, BC Vancouver Giants / WHL
0 Marc-André Cliche R/ 6' 1 187 03/23/1987 Rouyn-Noranda, QC Lewiston Maineiacs / QMJHL
0 Mathieu Perreault L/ 5' 10 160 01/05/1988 Drummondville, QC Acadie Bathurst Titan / QMJHL
0 Ryan O'Marra R/ 6' 2 207 06/09/1987 Mississauga, ON Saginaw Spirit / OHL
0 Sam Gagner R/ 5' 11 190 08/10/1989 Oakville, ON London Knights / OHL
0 Steve Downie R/ 5' 11 203 04/03/1987 Queensville, ON Peterborough Petes / OHL
0 Tom Pyatt L/ 5' 11 186 02/14/1987 Thunder Bay, ON Saginaw Spirit / OHL

 

No Cory Emmerton, eh?

 

No Ryder either

 

Good Downie will pass to his other teammates now...

 

I'm pretty surprised Ryder isn't there. But I guess the whole team can't be OHL players.

 

And no Ryan White...

 

Ty Wishart wasn't even invited? After his strong play and knowing what he brings to the ice, I thought he would be their seventh defenseman.

 

cool, I'm surprised Bertram got invited but he deserves it

 

I'm not too surprised...he was on the team last year after all.

 

Wondering what White didn't do to at least get an invitation. Everybody knew he was a great energy guy but now surprisingly 6th amongst points in the WHL.....See some guys out there invited 'cause of their names and not their performance....

Emmerton, Ryder and Wishart should've at least be invited as well........

Good to see Mason's name though.

Anyway, there's always some controversies, nothing new and the team will be strong with whoever they have making the team.....but those names deserved at least an invitation.

 

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Lots of questions just looking at that list.

I am guessing the two goalies will be Price and Irving

Its interesting that John Tavares was invited. I wonder if he'll make the team. He's only 16

I wonder if Angelo Esposito will be the go to guy on this team

Luc Bourdon and Marc Staal will definately be the #1 pairing

I wonder how big a role Toews will get this year

This tourney is going to be damn exciting

Can't wait!!!

 

I think Irving and Price will get the nod in goal. Irvine has to be selected after the start to the season he has enjoyed in the Dub. It wouldn't surprise me to see Bernier selected. Not too familiar with Mason, other than he's had a great start with London.

I'll echo X-SHARKIE's surprise that Wishart wasn't selected for the defence. Defence figures to be the tough one to crack, with only two spots open. Highly unlikely that one of the big returning five gets cut. Bourdon, Staal and Parent will be three of the top five defencemen in the tournament. Russell and Letang will provide a good offensive presence. Highly unlikely that Doughty gets selected to this team as a 17-year-old. Next year for him. Wouldn't surprise me to see one of the late 1988's (Alzner or Ellerby) selected. Also wouldn't surprise me to see Mikkleson or Franson selected to the defence, depending on what Canada is looking for. Should we be surprised that no defencemen from the 2006 draft were chosen for the camp?

Up front, the surprise omissions are Emmerton and Ryder. Canada needs forwards who can score, and those two are certainly capable. White would have been a good addition for the checking line, but there are a lot of players at camp, both veterans and returnees, who can fill that role. Would have been nice to at least see him at camp.

Six players are eligible to return from last year's team: Toews, Cogliano, Downie, Bertram, O'Marra and Pyatt. One would assume they would all be back this year. Cogliano and Toews will be expected to contribute more offensively this year, while Downie will need to repeat his performance from last year.

That leaves seven spots. There are a lot of really talented late 87s and 1988 players to pick from. A guy like Bryan Little, as a late 1987, would be a great addition to the team and a candidate to lead the tournament in scoring. Sam Gagner has shocked the hockey world by coming out of nowhere. Claude Giroux, Cody Burki and Ben Maxwell are all very talented players who have enjoyed great starts to the season. A player to watch is Devon Setoguchi. He has not played nearly as well as he did last year. But he's a very talented goal scorer. If he has a great camp, he could definitely be on this team. Kendall McArdle would make an excellent addition to the checking line and to the locker room. Chris Stewart's size, speed and aggressiveness would make him a natural for the larger ice in Sweden. The betting here is that Angelo Esposito and Jon Tavares would no doubt help with Canada's offensive production, but barring a terrific camp by Esposito and a Gretzky-esque camp for Tavares, both will have to wait for 2008 to play for Canada.

 

Imagine if the best 19 year old in the world played in this tourney.


Sid the Kid would make all those defenders look like pylons



You don't realise how young this kid is.

He's definately the type of forward you want to build your franchise around

 

Why would Parent-Staal be broken up?

 

That's exactly what I would be thinking. There's no way you break up that pairing. They have chemistry on the back-end and are nearly unbeatable.

 

The defense on this team is going to be fun to watch.

Bourdon-Letang
Staal-Parent
Russell-XXXX

all have one year experience. Bourdon and Letang have NHL regular season experience. I am not 100% sure if Staal does, but he obviously played pre-season and such. These five were dominant last year along with Barker, and this year should be even better.

I also am looking forward to watching Toews play.

 

Ryder is one of the best 2 way centers in the entire OHL, he may even arguably be the best. He's 5th in OHL scoring, and great defencively. OHL Playoff MVP so he can do well in the big game.

I guess Neal made a name for himself with his physical play in the OHL Vs Russia game, and Chris Stewart had a big year last year, and is physical, and I'm surprised hockey Canada didn't take a big stance against what he did in the OHL-Russia game, but give me Daniel Ryder this year over both.

What the hell has Cody Bass ever done that gets him so much recognition from Hockey Canada.

 

I think the starter will be based on who has the better camp.. between Irving and Price. Theres no way they can leave price off the team. I also think Little has to make it because this team is lacking scoring.

 

I think he brings that 4th line type player attitude with some scoring ability that Canada always seems to have. It's worth noting that he played in Binghampton last year and didn't look out of place.

 

Glad to see Cody Bass get an invite.

Any chance Codey Burkie or Patrick McNeill make the team. I thought McNeill was the best offensive defenseman in the OHL last season and he has got off to a great start this year.

 

Goalies

I thought Trevor Cann might get an invite instead of Mason. Other than that no shock here. I think it will be between three goalies; Bernier, Irving and Price. I think Price has the advantage now but whoever has the best camp will probably get the starting job.

Defence

Like many peope I was really surprized that Wishart didn't get an invite. He played great in both games at the Canada/Russia challenge and IMO at least deserved an invite.

Bourdon-Letang
Staal- Parent
Russel

Those five are basically locks. Franson should also be considered a sure bet to be on the team so really there is one open spot on defence. Again whoever has the best camp should get the last spot. I woulnd't be surprized if they gave the last spot to one of the younger guys.

Forwards

For me no really surprizes here except for maybe Emmerton and White. I really think Tavares if he has a good camp will make the team. One weakness I think the forwards have is goal scoring. I really hope James Neal makes this team. Everytime I watch his he plays great and his a big body presence.

Canada's defence will be their strength this year. Unlike last year I think their goaltending will be the weakest position. I can't wait until camp starts and there should be a lot of interesting battles.

 

Hockey Canada should push hard fro Sidney Crosby...

Would be funny to watch.

 

that would be hilarious.

 

I think the explanation for Wishart not getting an invite is his horrific play at the U-18s last spring. What hockey Canada saw there likely outweighs anything he's done in junior since whether that's right or wrong.

 

Imo if Price doesn't have a good camp he doesn't make the team. All four goalies could make this team, I like that Manson is going. I expect Price to make the team but if he has a bad camp then send him back to Tri City.