Breaking down Canada’s 2024 World Junior Championship selection camp roster

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
Matthew Wood (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

Canada has officially announced its roster for the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship, naming 30 players to the four-day camp in Oakville, Ontario next week.

The roster is made up of four goaltenders, 10 defensemen and 16 forwards. Teams are eligible to bring up to 25 players to the tournament, with 23 registered at a time. The only current NHLer on the roster is Tristan Luneau, with Zach Benson, Kevin Korchinski, Matthew Poitras and Adam Fantilli, among others, not being loaned out for camp. It doesn’t mean we won’t see at least one of them come tournament time on Dec. 26, but it seems unlikely at this point.

Canada has won gold the past two years, so expectations are high. They won the tournament the last time it was in Europe in 2020, so they’re hoping to hit it big again in Sweden.

Camp will occur from Dec. 10-13 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, with Canada utilizing the international-sized ice on the main rink. Cuts will be made after the second exhibition game against the USPORTS all-stars on Dec. 13, with the squad traveling to Sweden shortly after for pretournament action. Canada will play Denmark’s U-25 team (Dec. 19), USA (Dec. 21) and Switzerland (Dec. 23) before opening tournament action on Dec. 26 against Finland at 8:30 AM ET.

Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know heading into camp this Sunday:

Initial reaction

This definitely doesn’t match the quality of the 2023 team, a group led by Connor Bedard, Logan Stankoven, Dylan Guenther and Brandt Clarke. But it’s still a serious medal contender, with plenty of opportunity for some unheralded players to step in and play a bigger role than one thought.

The most important players will be Macklin Celebrini, Matthew Savoie, Jordan Dumais, Tristan Luneau and Denton Mateychuk – more about them later. Savoie, Luneau and Fraser Minten already have NHL experience, so that helps. Jagger Firkus is one of the most dynamic offensive threats in the CHL and deserves to be on this team, while Conor Geekie, Nate Danielson, Brayden Yager, Carson Rehkopf and Easton Cowan are all having remarkable seasons.

On the blueline, outside of Mateychuk and Luneau, Maveric Lamoureux is having himself quite the season. The QMJHL star is a lock, with Tanner Molendyk also a likely candidate to make the squad. Other defensemen to watch include Ty Nelson, Noah Warren, Oliver Bonk and Michael Buchinger.

In net, they just need one goalie to take center stage. Domenic DiVincentiis was the OHL’s top goalie last year, but it’s been a bit more difficult this time around. Scott Ratzlaff is a highly touted goalie in the Buffalo Sabres system, and he was especially good at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2022. But I could see Mathis Rousseau – the Halifax Mooseheads keeper – stealing the No. 1 spot given how good he’s been this year.

USA might be the pretournament favorite, but Canada is a team with plenty of options to go around. We’ll see what happens at camp.

Notable Omissions

The biggest surprise was Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt – the WHL’s top scorer – being left off the 30-man roster. the skilled playmaker has been lights out all year long with Prince George, but I wonder if his dead-quiet showing at the U-18 World Championship in April had something to do with it. Either way, seems crazy to leave him off the camp roster.

I really thought Owen Pickering, a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, was going to be a big part of this team. He brings a 6-foot-5 frame, a solid offensive toolkit, pro experience and a connection to Hockey Canada from the 2022 U-18 worlds.

To keep on the WHL train, I know Andrew Cristall had a tough road ahead if he was going to make this team. He’s a great offensive talent, no doubt, but they don’t lack scoring. His skating – while improved – was going to be an issue on the big ice, just like we saw at the U-18s. Still, not inviting him over Owen Allard or Paul Ludwinski is definitely a choice.

And after Quentin Musty was snubbed by USA yesterday, David Goyette got the same treatment for Canada. He’s in the top 10 in OHL scoring and is on pace for 80 assists and over 110 points. He’s the type of center Canada could have used. So, that’s good news for Sudbury Wolves fans, I guess.

Other notables left off the camp include college standouts Bradly Nadeau and Aiden Fink, defensemen Luca Cagnoni and Lukas Dragicevic and forwards Koehn Ziemmer and Nick Lardis.

Three Players to Watch

Matthew Savoie, F (BUF): Benson or not, Savoie is going to be the star of the show. The skilled forward is an incredible offensive talent who has already impressed against AHL teams this year. Savoie should have been on this team last year, but I fully expect him to lead the charge on the first line, no matter who he plays with.

Denton Mateychuk, D (CBJ): Mateychuk is one of the most impressive defensemen outside of the NHL this year. He has points in all 21 of his games, which is simply unheard of from a blueliner. With Kevin Korchinski expected to remain with Chicago, Mateychuk should be Canada’s most important defenseman.

Jordan Dumais, F (CBJ): Yeah, he’s small. But he’s on pace for a 130-point campaign, which, somehow, would be fewer than his 140 last year after missing the start of the season. The numbers he has put up with the Halifax Mooseheads bring back memories of Mario Lemieux putting an absolute beating on the rest of junior hockey, and Dumais is ready to do a lot of that in Sweden.

Focus on the 2024 NHL Draft

Macklin Celebrini is the real draw here as the projected top pick in 2024. He’ll slot into the top six, likely as the team’s No. 1 center. The numbers he’s putting up in college are incredible, and he has the potential to be one of the best players in the tournament. Not to the level that Connor Bedard was last year – we might not see something that special again – but I wouldn’t bet against Celebrini putting up double-digit numbers.

The only other 2024 prospect with a good chance of making this team is goaltender Mathis Rousseau. Passed over twice, the 5-foot-11 goaltender has bounced back with one of the best seasons of any QMJHL goaltender. We’ll see if he ends up getting the starting gig (more on that later), but I can’t imagine he won’t make the final roster. If he doesn’t, that means Samuel St-Hilaire did instead. St-Hilaire joined Boston for the Buffalo Sabres Prospect Challenge in September and looked decent, but he doesn’t have the pedigree that some of the others have.

Beyond that, Owen Allard was a surprising addition. The Sault Ste. Marie forward is one of the fastest skaters heading to camp, although he isn’t a big offensive producer. Markus Vidicek is putting up tremendous numbers alongside Dumais in Halifax and could make it as the 13th forward, but he has no history with Hockey Canada at the moment.

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