There will be no shortage of green and gold involved with the red and white this year for the World Juniors.
Aside from Dale and Mark Hunter building this year’s edition of Canada’s World Junior team, two Knights have also been invited to camp. It should be of no surprise that two thirds of their top forward line are going to have a chance to crack the Canadian roster.
Connor McMichael
Connor McMichael of the London Knights representing Team OHL at the Canada-Russia Series at Budweiser Gardens.
Courtesy: Matt Hiscox
The 25th overall pick in the 2019 draft was given one objective when he was sent back to the OHL from Washington Capitals training camp: lead the OHL in scoring. So far, so good for Connor McMichael.
Through 24 games this season, McMichael has been at or near the top of the OHL scoring race. He has been jockeying for position with Hamilton’s dynamic duo of Arthur Kaliyev and Jan Jenik along with fellow Team Canada-invitee, Quinton Byfield. As of the date of writing this, McMichael holds the OHL scoring lead with 56 points.
The Ajax, Ontario native does have prior experience representing his country. He was a member of the Team Canada White in the 2017 U-17 Championship. McMichael scored a goal and three assists in six games at the tournament, with his team finishing in fourth place.
McMichael is no stranger to playing amongst the best. He represented Team OHL in this year’s Canada Russia Series. He performed in both games against the Russians, scoring a goal in each contest.
Liam Foudy
The Foudy family very well could have had two members invited to Team Canada camp. Alas, the older brother is the one who got the call. Liam Foudy has made a name for himself around junior hockey circuit in recent years. He represented Team OHL for the second straight year in the Canada Russia Series.
Courtesy: Matt Hiscox
It won’t be the first time wearing the red and white for Foudy. He was a member of Team Canada for the U-18 World Championship in 2018. He recorded two goals and two assists in five games on a Canadian squad that was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Foudy missed the first month of the season after getting injured in training camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Since his return on October 18th, Foudy has recorded a point in all but one game he has played. The injury set him back as far as being near the top of the scoring race; however, Foudy is still among the top 20 in the OHL in points per game, averaging 1.47.
Not included – Ryan Merkley
This may come as a surprise given that Merkley is the fourth-highest scoring defenceman in the OHL. Ryan Merkley was on the radar of many to have his name included on the blue line of the World Junior roster. The San Jose Sharks first-rounder has 28 points in 22 games this season after an early trade from Peterborough.
Merkley has a similar resume to his teammates who were selected to the team. He has Team Canada experience, playing with Foudy on the U-18 team. He has also been on the Team OHL roster for the past two Canada Russia Series.
There are a couple of factors pointing to Merkley’s omission to the roster.
The first comes in the form of having too many familiar faces on the Canadian roster. With the Head Coach and General Manager already coming from London, along with two players likely to crack the roster, it would look like some favoritism on the part of the Hunters to bring three Knights to camp.
Courtesy: Matt Hiscox
Second, Merkley may have lost his spot because of two additions from the NCAA. Jacob Bernard-Barker will join camp from the University of North Dakota while Pete Diliberatore comes from Quinnipiac University. The blue line invitees also include three other members from the OHL in Thomas Harley, Kevin Bahl, and Jamie Drysdale. Harley and Drysdale both match Merkley’s offensive output, while Bahl stands at 6’7 and would be tough not to take for any team.
It will be interesting to see how the decision will affect Merkley. Many will look at Merkley’s mental game as needing room for improvement. Coming to London was supposed to remedy this. It’s worth watching to see if the omission from the camp will affect his play. It’s also worth noting that Merkley would likely be at the top of the list should Canada need a replacement defenceman.
Canada has a history of leaving notable players off their roster. Tyler Seguin did not play in the World Juniors when he was 17, and he still went on to be the second overall pick in 2010. Max Domi and Darnell Nurse are also recent names to be snubbed from the roster. Eric Staal and Martin Brodeur were left off when they were eligible to play.
Team Canada’s selection camp will run from December 9th to 12th in Oakville, Ontario. The current list of 31 will be cut to 25 before the tournament begins in the Czech Republic on December 26th.
