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Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League is pleased to announce that 10 OHL players will be heading to Europe as part of Canada’s National Junior Team following cuts announced on Thursday as Selection Camp came to a close in Oakville, Ont.<\/p>\n
OHL players on the 24-man roster include forwards Quinton Byfield (Sudbury Wolves), Ty Dellandrea (Flint Firebirds), Aidan Dudas (Owen Sound Attack), Liam Foudy (London Knights), Barrett Hayton (Arizona Coyotes\/Soo Greyhounds), Connor McMichael (London Knights) and Akil Thomas (Niagara IceDogs), defencemen Kevin Bahl (Ottawa 67’s) and Jamie Drysdale (Erie Otters) as well as goaltender Nico Daws (Guelph Storm).<\/p>\n
Of the 10 OHL players, Hayton, who has appeared in 14 games with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes this season, is the lone returning name from last year’s World Junior Championship in Vancouver, BC. Top 2020 NHL Draft prospects Byfield and Drysdale won silver together at this past summer’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup Tournament.<\/p>\n
London Knights general manger Mark Hunter continues to oversee the selection process as GM of Canada’s National Junior Team\u00a0while Knights head coach Dale Hunter will lead Team Canada behind the bench. He’s joined by Ottawa 67’s bench boss Andre Tourigny who will serve as an assistant. Owen Sound Attack head coach Alan Letang will serve as a pre-scout coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs with every year, there are difficult decisions to trim down our roster, but ultimately we believe this group will give us our best shot at a gold medal,\u201d said Shawn Bullock, director of men\u2019s national teams with Hockey Canada. \u201cWe will continue the process of building our team, and we look forward to an exciting World Juniors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Canada’s final 22-player roster does not need to be officially submitted to the International Ice Hockey Federation until Dec. 25.<\/p>\n OHL PLAYERS MOVING FORWARD WITH\u00a0CANADA’S NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Goaltenders: Defencemen: Forwards: The puck will officially drop on Boxing Day when Canada takes on the United States at 1 p.m. ET\/10 a.m. PT, followed by games against Russia, Germany and the Czech Republic to round out preliminary action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n TSN and RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada, will once again provide wall-to-wall game coverage and analysis throughout the tournament, including Canada\u2019s two pre-tournament games on Dec. 19 against Switzerland and Dec. 23 against Finland; check local listings for details.<\/span><\/p>\n For more information on Canada\u2019s National Junior Team, please visit\u00a0<\/span>HockeyCanada.ca<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or follow through social media on\u00a0<\/span>Facebook\u00a0<\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and #WorldJuniors<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n SPORTSNET’S SAM COSENTINO PROVIDES HIS SELECTION CAMP INSIGHTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n<\/strong>Nico Daws (Guelph Storm)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Kevin Bahl (Ottawa 67’s)
\nJamie Drysdale (Erie Otters)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Quinton Byfield (Sudbury Wolves)
\nTy Dellandrea (Flint Firebirds)
\nAidan Dudas (Owen Sound Attack)
\nLiam Foudy (London Knights)
\nBarrett Hayton (Arizona Coyotes\/Soo Greyhounds)
\nConnor McMichael (London Knights)
\nAkil Thomas (Niagara IceDogs)<\/p>\n