Standouts from Canada’s first 2025 World Junior selection camp game against U SPORTS

OTTAWA – Canada’s World Juniors hopefuls had a big third-period comeback effort in the first game of a two-day series against the U SPORTS all-stars selects squad to win 5-2 on Thursday evening.

Carson Rehkopf led the way with three goals, while Porter Martone and Ethan Gauthier each had one of their own.

The game was part of Hockey Canada’s four-day selection camp at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario. The two teams will meet again on Friday at 12:00 PM ET, with the final roster expected to be announced later that day. U SPORTS’ roster is comprised of Canadian university players who will represent Canada at the upcoming 2025 FISU Universiade Games in Torino, Italy.

It’s typically a close game between the two teams, with Canada bringing the skill while U SPORTS has the experience as the older group. Canada had the better puck possession today, but struggled to beat goaltenders Jack Ivankovic and Scott Ratzlaff – both of whom are part of Canada’s selection camp team.

Here’s a look at Canada’s standouts from Game 1:

#21 Beckett Sennecke, RW (Anaheim Ducks): Sennecke was the last addition to Canada’s roster, and he’s making the opportunity count. He had a great steal for the 1-1 goal, and then made an excellent move to create a high-danger opportunity late in the second period. He kept the fun going with a solid pass on the 5-2 goal, as well. Beyond that, he hit everyone in sight and played some strong defensive hockey, too. Sennecke was my favorite forward today – and while there’s plenty of competition to steal one of the final forward spots, he’s got a legitimate shot.

#43 Andrew Gibson, D (Nashville Predators): Gibson isn’t a lock to make this team (even with some weaker depth on the right side), but he made his presence known on Thursday. He had a couple of good looks with the puck on the attack and he showed how hard his shot was multiple times. But his bread and butter is preventing players from bringing the puck into a scoring position in the middle of the zone and I thought he looked great in that aspect. I’d argue Gibson was the best Canadian player from start to finish.

#29 Cole Beaudoin, LW (Utah HC): Beaudoin was brought to camp for one reason: to be a hard-hitting, versatile forward who isn’t afraid of anything. He missed Wednesday’s scrimmage after taking a puck off the hand, but he seemed fearless today in his pursuit to knock over everyone who came near him. Beaudoin was also strong in his own zone, using an active stick to keep opponents away from his own net.

#19 Carson Rehkopf, C (Seattle Kraken): Rehkopf had three goals, but the second was a bit of a freebie. He definitely wasn’t a lock heading into camp, despite playing in the tournament a year ago. But Rehkopf kept putting himself in a scoring position and the results proved that. There was a lot of “right place at the right time” with him today, which makes sense given how many goals he has scored in the OHL. A good showing today should help his odds to be a two-timer.

#22 Ethan Gauthier, RW (Tampa Bay Lightning): Gauthier scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period to give Canada their first advantage of the game. But it was one of many good plays we saw today – he was physical, defensively responsible and did well in 1-on-1 situations. I thought he was one of Canada’s more dangerous wingers, especially in the second half.

#14 Luca Pinelli, LW (Columbus Blue Jackets): It’s still an uphill battle for Pinelli to make this team, but I liked how engaged he was around the net. He had a few good looks in close that ultimately didn’t pan out but I really like his speed and non-stop motor. It just felt like whenever Pinelli was around, something happened. A goal or two would have helped his case to make it as the 13th forward, though.

#21 Sawyer Mynio, D (Vancouver Canucks): Mynio isn’t flashy by any means, but he does an excellent job of getting in the way and playing stable, sound defense. His partner, Zayne Parekh, was more of the puck rusher, while Mynio was out there landing hits and separating players from the puck any way possible.

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