Canada adds Ottawa Senators prospect Jorian Donovan to World Junior Championship pre-tournament camp

Hockey Canada has announced that defenseman Jorian Donovan has been added to the team’s pre-tournament camp roster ahead of Saturday’s game against the United States.

The move comes just hours after Nashville Predators prospect Tanner Molendyk was forced to leave the game with an upper-body injury.

Donovan, 19, took part in Canada’s selection camp in Oakville, Ontario earlier this month but was one of the team’s cuts on the blueline. Donovan went back to the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs and scored four points in his first two games back with the club. He was drafted 136th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2022.

At this time, Canada has not confirmed the status of Molendyk’s injury, and whether this is just insurance for the club in the meantime. Coach Alan Letang told TSN’s Mark Masters that Molendyk was pulled out of the game and “seemed to be pretty good,” with the team waiting to see how he looked Saturday morning.

Anaheim Ducks prospect Tristan Luneau has missed both pre-tournament contests due to illness, and is not expected to play on Saturday.

Canada originally named a 22-man roster before adding Matthew Poitras earlier this week. Some teams, such as the United States, announced 25-man rosters, with two players being brought over as extras.

Canada will kick off the tournament with a game against Finland on Dec. 26 at 8:30 AM ET. Canada is hoping to win gold for the third time in a row after sweeping the past two Canadian-hosted events in Edmonton and Halifax. They won the last time the tournament was hosted in Europe back in 2020 when Czechia had control.