A look at the players who will try to win gold for Canada at the 2017 world junior hockey championship in Toronto and Montreal:
GOALTENDERS
Name: Carter Hart
Age: 18
Team: Everett Silvertips
Height/Weight: 6-1, 170 pounds
Hometown: Sherwood Park, Alta.
Drafted: Philadelphia, 2nd round, 2016
Last season’s Western Hockey League goalie of the year leads the league again with a 1.85 goals-against average in 24 games.
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Name: Connor Ingram
Age: 19
Team: Kamloops Blazers
Height/Weight: 6-1, 195 pounds
Hometown: Imperial, Sask.
Drafted: Tampa Bay, 3rd round, 2016
Ingram is second to Hart in WHL goals-against and first the league with a .935 save percentage
DEFENCE
Name: Jake Bean
Age: 18
Team: Calgary Hitmen
Height/Weight: 6-1, 170 pounds
Hometown: Calgary
Drafted: Carolina, 1st round, 2016
A strong skater and puck mover, Bean is also solid in his own end.
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Name: Thomas Chabot
Age: 19
Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Height/Weight: 6-2, 188 pounds
Hometown: Ste. Marie de Beauce, Que.
Drafted: Ottawa, 1st round, 2015
Chabot returns from last year’s team and is an alternate captain this year. He’s expected to be Canada’s top attacking rearguard. He played one NHL game for Ottawa this season.
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Name: Kale Clague
Age: 18
Team: Brandon Wheat Kings
Height/Weight: 6-0, 177 pounds
Hometown: Lloydminster, Alta.
Drafted: Los Angeles, 2nd round, 2016
Clague is a smooth skater and passer, fit for an offensive role.
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Name: Dante Fabbro
Age: 18
Team: Boston College
Height/Weight: 6-1, 190 pounds
Hometown: Coquitlam, B.C.
Drafted: Nashville, 1st round, 2016
The right-hand shooter is a two-way player with hard shot.
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Name: Noah Juulsen
Age: 19
Team: Everett Silvertips
Height/Weight: 6-2, 185 pounds
Hometown: Abbotsford, B.C.
Drafted: Montreal, 1st round, 2015
A right-hand shot who is strong in own end, Juulsen is expected to be top-pair shutdown defenceman.
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Name: Jeremy Lauzon
Age: 19
Team: Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Height/Weight: 6-2, 207 pounds
Hometown: Val d’Or, Que.
Drafted: Boston, 2nd round, 2015
One of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s top scoring defencemen, Lauzon may be an extra rearguard for Canada.
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Name: Philippe Myers
Age: 19
Team: Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Height/Weight: 6-4, 206 pounds
Home town: Moncton, N.B.
Drafter: Undrafted, signed with Philadelphia as free agent in 2015
Myers is a rangy, mobile puck-mover who puts up points.
FORWARDS
Name: Mathew Barzal
Age: 19
Team: Seattle Thunderbirds
Height/Weight: 6-0, 187 pounds
Hometown: Coquitlam, B.C.
Drafted: New York Islanders, 1st round, 2015
Returning from last year, Barzal played two NHL games before returning to junior. The right-shot centre is more a playmaker than a scorer. he will provide leadership as an alternate captain.
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Name: Anthony Cirelli
Age: 19
Team: Oshawa Generals
Height/Weight: 6-0, 165 pounds
Hometown: Woodbridge, Ont.
Drafted: Tampa Bay, 3rd round, 2015
Another returnee, and a digger and playmaker who won a Memorial Cup in 2015.
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Name: Dillon Dube
Age: 18
Team: Kelowna Rockets
Height/Weight: 5-10, 180 pounds
Hometown: Cochrane, Alta.
Drafted: Calgary, 2nd round, 2016
A quick and tenacious small forward, Dube is a consistent points producer.
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Name: Pierre-Luc Dubois
Age: 18
Team: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Height/Weight: 6-3, 202 pounds
Hometown: Ste. Agathe des Monts, Que.
Drafted: Columbus, 1st round, 2016
The third-overall pick in 2016 is a big, physical left-wing or centre with top offensive skills.
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Name: Julien Gauthier
Age: 19
Team: Val d’Or Foreurs
Height/Weight: 6-4, 224 pounds
Home town: Montreal
Drafted: Carolina, 1st round, 2016
Returning from last year, the big, goal-scoring right-winger is the nephew of ex-NHL defenceman Denis Gauthier.
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Name: Mathieu Joseph
Age: 19
Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
Height/Weight: 6-1, 171 pounds
Hometown: Chambly, Que.
Drafted: Tampa Bay, 4th round, 2015
The sniper on the left-wing has 25 goals in 29 games for Saint John this season.
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Name: Tyson Jost
Age: 18
Team: University of North Dakota
Height/Weight: 6-0, 190 pounds
Hometown: Kelowna, B.C.
Drafted: Colorado, 1st round, 2016
Drafted 10th overall in 2016, Jost is a skilled puck retriever and playmaker who tore up B.C. junior A before going the college route.
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Name: Michael McLeod
Age: 18
Team: Mississauga Steelheads
Height/Weight: 6-2, 187 pounds
Hometown: Mississauga, Ont.
Drafted: New Jersey, 1st round, 2016
McLeaod is a gritty and speedy right-shot centre with scoring ability.
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Name: Taylor Raddysh
Age: 18
Team: Erie Otters
Height/Weight: 6-2, 209 pounds
Hometown: Caledon, Ont.
Drafted: Tampa Bay, 2nd round, 2016
The Ontario Hockey League’s scoring leader makes up for average skating with a nose for the net.
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Name: Nicolas Roy
Age: 19
Team: Chicoutimi Sagueneens
Height/Weight: 6-4, 202 pounds
Hometown: Amos, Que.
Drafted: Carolina, 4th round, 2015
A strong defensive right-shot centre who led the QMJHL with 48 goals in 2015-16.
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Name: Blake Speers
Age: 19
Team: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Height/Weight: 6-0, 184 pounds
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Drafted: New Jersey, 3rd round, 2015
The right-winger’s broken wrist, suffered in his first game back after three-game stint with Devils, is almost fully healed.
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Name: Mitchell Stephens
Age: 19
Team: Saginaw Spirit
Height/Weight: 6-0, 195 pounds
Hometown: Peterborough, Ont.
Drafted: Tampa Bay, 2nd round, 2015
Another returnee. Stephens is a quick right wing/centre known for stepping up in international tournaments.
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Name: Dylan Strome
Age: 19
Team: Erie Otters
Height/Weight: 6-3, 194 pounds
Hometown: Mississauga, Ont.
Drafted: Arizona, 1st round, 2015
The third-overall pick from 2015 returns to this tournament as Canada’s captain. The high-scoring centre started this season in the NHL with Arizona.
Bill Beacon, The Canadian Press
