Tyler Toffoli, Adam Fantilli highlight initial Canadian men’s World Hockey Championship roster
In the team’s quest for a second championship in four years, Canada has named its initial 20-man roster for the upcoming men’s World Hockey Championship.
2⃣0⃣ players have been selected to wear the 🍁 at #IIHFWorlds.
2⃣0⃣ joueurs ont été choisis pour porter la 🍁 au #MondialIIHF.
ROSTER ➡️ https://t.co/SSdXQtwf1N
FORMATION ➡️ https://t.co/vp9VBvfXXd pic.twitter.com/Uh5ytKfatd
The roster features 12 forwards, six defensemen and three goaltenders. The team is allowed to have up to 25 players, with the team able to add players following the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The only two players with men’s World Championship experience are forward Tyler Toffoli and Tyler Myers. A total of 12 others have played for Canada at the World Junior Championship, including Cody Glass, Peyton Krebs, Scott Laughton, Samuel Montembeault and Jack Quinn. Devon Levi and Jack McBain were part of Canada’s Olympic team in 2022.
One notable name on the roster is Adam Fantilli, who is expected to go second overall in the 2023 NHL Draft behind Connor Bedard. Fantilli was part of Canada’s World Junior Championship team earlier this year, winning gold.
The new will be shared by Levi and Montembeault, both of whom have experience with Canada. Levi had one of the greatest World Junior Championship performances in the tournament’s history in 2021 and has since become one of the top goalie prospects in the game. Montembeault has had two strong seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, weathering the storm as the team continues its rebuild.
The team’s most experienced NHLer, Milan Lucic, has never represented Canada in an official IIHF capacity. He represented Canada in a Summit Series competition in 2007. Tyler Myers (918 games), Tyler Toffoli (733) and Scott Laughton (519) are the others with over 500 games of NHL experience, while 11 have under 200 games played.
Arizona Coyotes bench boss Andre Tourigny will be the head coach, while Troy Ryan, D.J. Smith and Alex Tanguay will act as assistants. Doug Armstrong will be the team’s GM, with Shane Doan and Steve Yzerman helping out.
Canada will begin the 2023 tournament May 12 at 1:20 PM ET, taking on the hosts from Latvia. Canada will then play Slovenia, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Norway and Czechia in the preliminary round, with four teams per group advancing to the playoff stage. The tournament will conclude with the gold medal game on May 28.