Matt Poitras to join Canada for 2024 World Junior Championship

Matt Poitras is off to Sweden.

The Boston Bruins have confirmed that their 19-year-old center will be loaned to Canada for the 2024 World Junior Championship, completing Canada’s 13-man forward crop.

Canada now has a 23-man roster, with no other NHLers expected to join the team.

Poitras was originally projected to make Canada’s world junior team, but a strong training camp kept the Guelph Storm forward around in the NHL. While he has been a healthy scratch on occasion, he was humming along at a 40-point pace with 13 points in 27 games.

Poitras has never represented Canada in international play, but quickly became one of the highest-rising prospects in junior hockey. Drafted 54th overall in 2022 after a 50-point campaign, Poitras exploded for 79 assists and 95 points as a sophomore with Guelph last year. Little did anyone know that he wasn’t getting sent back, with the plan to keep him in Boston for the first half of the year.

Poitras could return to Guelph – or elsewhere via trade – after the tournament. But Boston could also elect to bring him back, which wouldn’t be a bad idea given how well he has played.

The 2024 World Junior Championship will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden from December 26, 2023 to January 5, 2024. Canada has won gold in consecutive years, and already look strong for 2024 with a forward group that includes Matthew Savoie, Conor Geekie and top draft prospect Macklin Celebrini.