After the CHL-Russia series and following along the junior leagues somewhat, this is what I like for now :
Lafreniere Veleno Lavoie
Newhook McMichael Cozens
Rees Dellandrea Foudy
Poulin Byfield Thomas
Tomasino
Byram Barron
Smith Bernard-Docker
Harley Woo
Bahl
Rodrigue
Jones
Some third goalie
I assumed that Hayton, Dach, and Dobson will stay in the NHL. I've also excluded McIsaac and Krebs as I am concerned about their health and rust.
Lafreniere and Veleno are locks, and I like Lavoie as a finisher on that line. His effort is uneven, but Canada needs his scoring. It helps that he can play either wing. McMichael has played his way into a prominent role on the team, and Cozens is clearly going to be there and has enough experience at right wing. Newhook is a solid player and he's played left wing internationally for Canada, though I don't love having too many converted centres. Dellandrea is an easy pick for Canada's more defensive line centre for me, and Foudy with his speed on either wing makes a great complement. Rees is tenacious and a good skater who fits the line well. I think that Byfield is too talented to leave home, and I like his faceoff ability as well. I like the net game that Thomas can bring, and he does have experience at RW. The final LW spot was tricky because Canada has several solid LW options, but I opted for Poulin. I like the physical element he brings and I do think that physicality can be a big factor at the junior level. I went with Tomasino as the final forward because I like his speed, that he can play wing if needed, and he has experience with Thomas.
I like Canada's defence. Byram, Smith, and Harley are good puck movers. I don't like that Harley is a product of American hockey, but realistically he's going to be on the team regardless. I think that Bernard-Docker is the only player who is a near-lock on the right ride of the defence. He's solid both ways and can probably fit on any line. Barron is someone that I don't expect to make the team, but he's a good defensive player and a great skater. Canada is weak on the right side and I want defencemen who can complement Canada's stronger left side defencemen. Woo is brought in as a right handed defensive defenceman who can skate and complement Harley when he goes for a skate. I almost went with Chisholm as the final defenceman, as I like his all around game, but I went with Bahl. He looked better than I expected in the CIBC series and while big players often struggle on the larger ice surface, I do think that he could be an asset on the penalty kill with his size. He could be quite useful if utilized properly.
For goaltenders I think it's clearly going to be Rodrique and Jones. I would like Hockey Canada to bring a third goaltender, even though it won't happen, but I couldn't find a 2001 born goaltender who seems worth bringing for the experience.
He’s just one of a dozen players I added as options for the extra forward.
