WJC: 2025 Team Canada Roster Talk

[Juxtaposer]

This caught my interest. I had never considered it but there are more number one overalls who have played in the WJC (after being drafted) than I expected off the top of my head.

Modano
Sundin
Lindros
Daigle
Jovanovski
Phillps
Fleury
Ovechkin
Malkin
Johnson
Nugent-Hopkins
Yakupov

Some were only available due to a holdout or lockout, but it does happen. Regardless, Fleury is the only one who was an active NHLer and sent to the WJC. In terms of playing well, to be lazy and use flawed goaltending stats Fleury was 74th in save percentage that year and 86th in GAA. Pittsburgh was an awful team at the time but Fleury wasn't exactly setting the world on fire.

So anyway, first overalls are never sent when they are playing decently. Sometimes they can be pretty poor (Thornton, Hughes, several others over the years) and still stick with the main team.

Appreciate you doing the legwork on this one!

Definitely supports my point, which is that it's been a really long time since a 1st overall player who was playing in the NHL at the time of the WJC was loaned out. And Celebrini is not the guy I see breaking that trend, not least because he's going to sell a lot of Sharks tickets this season and they'll want him to be around during the holidays when kids are on vacation and people are going to go to games. I'd say there's maybe a 1% chance of him being released.

Smith on the other hand I could easily see having a solid first half of his season but who might be in a position where it would benefit him to gain confidence against juniors for a while instead of the NHL. I'd call him 60/40 in favor of staying in the NHL right now.

As much as they would have similar impacts on their respective WJC rosters as the 1C, let's not act like Celebrini and Smith are equal as prospects. I don't think it would be a declaration of war on Hockey Canada to release Smith but not Celebrini like some in this thread seem to think it would be.

 

[De Montreal]

For the Quebecois, would you rather feel your people are represented or have the best team selected?

I seriously don’t get why this should matter. Shouldn’t any fan of the team won’t the best players selected because that’ll give the team the best chance to succeed?

Seems like it’s catering to people that don’t even care most about the team’s results.

I think stricly from a development point of view, it would be good for Québec to have his own team on international level like other non sovreign naton have in other sports. Maybe to have a development program like the US team does is what the province need to get things back on track, but I dont hold my breath.

 

[jj cale]

Oh oh.........now we are sliding into political issues here on what is just a thread about the Canadian wjc team.

We are straying off course big time, let's get back on track.

 

[DavidLamb]

Based on your assessment, would agree that HC needs to combine the roster as follows in order to face a very quick USA team :

Rehkopf - Ritchie - Wood
Nadeau - Catton - Cowan
Barlow - Yager - Gauthier - (checking line)
Heidt- Barkey - Martone
*Romani or Sennecke - as a possible replacement for Gauthier or Martone depending on the night

Molendyk - Yakemchuk
Chadwick - Bonk
Mynio - Parekn
Price- Gibson

After watching the summer showcase, there are a few players who just do not have the speed and pace to play EFFECTIVELY AGAINST competitive opponents like USA and Finland, note that Sweden was not available from the USA hockey site or other sites:

Barlow - looks a lot slower when matched against other elite junior players
Gauthier - did not get to see him
Yakemchuk- looks like he is slower than other defensemen and was not very effective defensively or offensively


I will rate players based on their summer showcase performance only and poorer performers will move down the depth chart:

Rehkopf - Catton - Wood
Nadeau - Ritchie - Cowan
Barkey - Yager - Sennecke - (checking line)
McKenna -Heidt - Martone
Crystall

Forwards to be observed during Dec Camp:

Iginla Lindstrom Gauthier
Barlow -Beaudoin- Romani

Molendyk - Bonk
Mynio - Parekn
Dickinson - Gibson
Price -Yakemchuk