The December Camp roster should be released in 2-3 weeks. My current prediction is based partly on what I want to see combined with what I think will happen. The last two years they brought 15 forwards, 9 d-men, and 3 goalies to the final camp so I'll use that breakdown to choose my camp roster. I'll revisit my prediction right before the official announcement to see what changes, if any, I'd make.
Forwards (x15):
Riley Barber
Taylor Cammarata
J.T. Compher
Andrew Copp
Cameron Darcy
Thomas Di Pauli
Jack Eichel
Adam Erne
Hudson Fasching
Ryan Hartman
Nic Kerdiles
Stefan Matteau
Danny O'Regan
Henrik Samuelsson
Quentin Shore
Defense (x9):
Will Butcher
Connor Carrick
Anthony DeAngelo
Anthony Florentino
Matt Grzelcyk
Ian McCoshen
Steven Santini
Patrick Sieloff
Brady Skjei
Goalies (x3):
Thatcher Demko
Jon Gillies
Anthony Stolarz
Notes:
- The only forward picks I'm not terribly confident about are Compher, Darcy, and Di Pauli. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them left off. I think USAH was hoping for more offensive production out of Compher to start the year but he's a versatile and tenacious forward who could play a variety of roles on the team. Darcy is the "surprise" pick that often happens but I'm not sure he's progressed nearly as much as his QMJHL stats may imply. I'd probably lean more towards a guy like Cole Cassels but I think USAH would lean toward the older player that came through their system instead. Di Pauli is targeted for the "grind" line but he's missed a lot of time so far this season (just returned tonight) so he'll have to reacquaint himself quickly, especially since there are others that would fit on the grind line so if USAH sees that line differently now they could opt for a different type of player here.
- I left Michael McCarron off because I don't think USAH can overlook his slow start with London. There's no excuse for a guy of his size to not be doing better in the OHL offensively. He had a good summer camp and looked to be on his way to solidifying his spot given the upward progression of his game over the past year but I don't know if he's even done enough to come back to camp at this point.
- It's a shame Vincent Hinostroza just got injured because I think he was playing his way into camp despite being a summer camp cut. He's leading the Irish in points and reminds me a lot of Cole Bardreau from last year's team but with more offensive talent. With a 2-4 week timeline on his injury, he'd likely need to come back early and play for Notre Dame in their weekend pair to close out November to prove he's healthy.
- The only d-men I wouldn't be surprised to be left off would be DeAngelo and Florentino. DeAngelo was cut at the summer camp but I don't think they can ignore his offensive ability with the scoring-by-committee approach they're likely to take. This is a group that will have some solid defensive options where they can afford to gamble on a gambler for the #6/7 d-man spot. Florentino has had a great start to his freshman year and is a bigger player that can skate. I think he's the "surprise" pick here. If Sieloff isn't healthy in time I'd sub in Brett Pesce in his spot.
- It won't happen but I would approve of Stolarz staying home and Nedeljkovic being the other goalie pick. It's not an indictment of Stolarz but barring a major letdown, it's Gillies' net and no one else should see any time there outside of possible mop-up duty. With that, I'd rather bring two goalies with future eligibility along to prep them for the future. But I doubt USAH would do that and they'll default to Demko as he's older and has a history with the NTDP.
