Hockey Canada released its camp roster on Monday in preparation for the 2025 World Junior Championship, but the big news had to do with who wasn&#8217;t on it.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
Zayne Parekh, who led all OHL defencemen in scoring last season before being selected by the Calgary Flames with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, didn&#8217;t make the cut. Neither did Calgary Hitmen star Carter Yakemchuk and Utah HC prospect Tij Iginla.
Seven Canadian players were selected in the top 10 of this year&#8217;s draft. Only one — Seattle&#8217;s Berkly Catton — was named to Team Canada&#8217;s camp roster.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Canada&#39;s World Junior camp roster. <a href="https://t.co/0iZcq4Rs4Y">pic.twitter.com/0iZcq4Rs4Y</a>
&mdash; Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) <a href="https://twitter.com/coreypronman/status/1863611645617910031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Parekh being snubbed harkens back to when Hockey Canada did the same with Brandt Clarke, the No. 8 pick in 2021 who failed to crack the World Junior roster in his first post-draft season despite leading the Barrie Colts in scoring. Being overlooked didn&#8217;t seem to hurt Clarke, who played for Team Canada the following year and currently looks like a star in the making with the L.A. Kings.
Yakemchuk&#8217;s omission is even more puzzling, as the Senators prospect is in his final year of World Junior eligibility. While both Parekh and Iginla were born in 2006, Yakemchuk has a late 2005 birthdate and will likely turn professional in the Ottawa organization after this season. He&#8217;s another offence-first defender, but he also has enough size and snarl to be of interest to Hockey Canada — at least, you&#8217;d think.
Hockey Canada also elected not to invite Michael Misa, the brother of Flames prospect Luke Misa and a candidate to go No. 1 in the 2025 NHL Draft. The younger Misa is currently the CHL&#8217;s leading goal-scorer and a teammate of Parekh&#8217;s with the Saginaw Spirit. (Curiously, Saginaw head coach Chris Lazary will serve as an assistant coach with Canada at the World Juniors, but neither of his top players will be there).
With Étienne Morin and Jacob Battaglia also overlooked for Canada&#8217;s camp roster, it&#8217;s starting to look like the Flames&#8217; only representative at the World Juniors could be Axel Hurtig, their 2023 seventh-round pick. The Hitmen defender has an outside chance of playing for Team Sweden at the tournament.
So, who did Hockey Canada select for its World Junior camp roster? Well, the vast majority of players listed were born in 2005, even if they weren&#8217;t necessarily the highest draft picks. Only eight skaters born 2006 or later were selected: Harrison Brunicke (PIT), Sam Dickinson (SJ), Matthew Schaefer (2025), Cole Beaudoin (UTA), Berkly Catton (SEA), Jett Luchanko (PHI), Porter Martone (2025), and Gavin McKenna (2026).
Make no mistake: There will be good players on Team Canada&#8217;s roster this winter. But in many ways, this is starting to feel like a repeat of the last tournament, when Canada opted for a gritty, veteran-laden roster above all else &#8230; and ended up losing to the Czechs in the quarterfinals.
The 2025 World Juniors are slated to take place in Ottawa from December 26, 2024 to January 5, 2025.

Hockey Canada released its camp roster on Monday in preparation for the 2025 World Junior Championship, but the big news had to do with who wasn't on it.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
Zayne Parekh, who led all OHL defencemen in scoring last season before being selected by the Calgary Flames with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, didn't make the cut. Neither did Calgary Hitmen star Carter Yakemchuk and Utah HC prospect Tij Iginla.

Seven Canadian players were selected in the top 10 of this year's draft. Only one — Seattle's Berkly Catton — was named to Team Canada's camp roster.

https://twitter.com/coreypronman/status/1863611645617910031

Parekh being snubbed harkens back to when Hockey Canada did the same with Brandt Clarke, the No. 8 pick in 2021 who failed to crack the World Junior roster in his first post-draft season despite leading the Barrie Colts in scoring. Being overlooked didn't seem to hurt Clarke, who played for Team Canada the following year and currently looks like a star in the making with the L.A. Kings.

Yakemchuk's omission is even more puzzling, as the Senators prospect is in his final year of World Junior eligibility. While both Parekh and Iginla were born in 2006, Yakemchuk has a late 2005 birthdate and will likely turn professional in the Ottawa organization after this season. He's another offence-first defender, but he also has enough size and snarl to be of interest to Hockey Canada — at least, you'd think.

Hockey Canada also elected not to invite Michael Misa, the brother of Flames prospect Luke Misa and a candidate to go No. 1 in the 2025 NHL Draft. The younger Misa is currently the CHL's leading goal-scorer and a teammate of Parekh's with the Saginaw Spirit. (Curiously, Saginaw head coach Chris Lazary will serve as an assistant coach with Canada at the World Juniors, but neither of his top players will be there).

With Étienne Morin and Jacob Battaglia also overlooked for Canada's camp roster, it's starting to look like the Flames' only representative at the World Juniors could be Axel Hurtig, their 2023 seventh-round pick. The Hitmen defender has an outside chance of playing for Team Sweden at the tournament.

So, who did Hockey Canada select for its World Junior camp roster? Well, the vast majority of players listed were born in 2005, even if they weren't necessarily the highest draft picks. Only eight skaters born 2006 or later were selected: Harrison Brunicke (PIT), Sam Dickinson (SJ), Matthew Schaefer (2025), Cole Beaudoin (UTA), Berkly Catton (SEA), Jett Luchanko (PHI), Porter Martone (2025), and Gavin McKenna (2026).

Make no mistake: There will be good players on Team Canada's roster this winter. But in many ways, this is starting to feel like a repeat of the last tournament, when Canada opted for a gritty, veteran-laden roster above all else ... and ended up losing to the Czechs in the quarterfinals.

The 2025 World Juniors are slated to take place in Ottawa from December 26, 2024 to January 5, 2025.

Recent articles from Mike Gould

Breaking News