[panoo]

Canadian Press
Dec 4, 2006, 11:34 AM EST

CALGARY (CP) - It looks like Canada might be sending a young team to the world junior championship.

Four goaltenders, 12 defencemen and 22 forwards were invited to try out for the team today by Hockey Canada. The world junior championship is considered a showcase of a country's best 19-year-old hockey players, but three of the four goaltenders invited to Canada's camp are 18 and eight of the forwards are between 16 and 18.

Carey Price of the Tri-City Americans is the lone 19-year-old among the goalies invited and will have to fight off challenges by Jonathan Bernier of the Lewiston Maineiacs, Leland Irving of the Everett Silvertips and Steve Mason of the London Knights.

FULL STORY

 

[Canuck]

Why didnt they list the players all invited?

 

[Rids]

That was just the Canadian Press release regarding the selection camp. Here's the full roster:

Canada: Canada - Selection Camp

# Player S/C Ht Wt Birthdate Hometown/Country 2006 - 2007 Team
Goaltenders
0 Carey Price /L 6' 2 217 08/16/1987 Anahim Lake, BC Tri-City Americans / WHL
0 Jonathan Bernier /L 6' 0 185 08/07/1988 Laval, QC Lewiston Maineiacs / QMJHL
0 Leland Irving /L 6' 0 177 04/11/1988 Swan Hills, AB Everett Silvertips / WHL
0 Steve Mason /R 6' 3 186 05/29/1988 Oakville, ON London Knights / OHL
Defence
0 Brendan Mikkelson L/ 6' 3 190 06/22/1987 St. Albert, AB Vancouver Giants / WHL
0 Cody Franson R/ 6' 3 204 08/08/1987 Sicamous, BC Vancouver Giants / WHL
0 Drew Doughty R/ 6' 0 190 12/08/1989 London, ON Guelph Storm / OHL
0 Dustin Kohn L/ 6' 1 199 02/02/1987 Edmonton, AB Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL
0 Karl Alzner L/ 6' 2 209 09/24/1988 Burnaby, BC Calgary Hitmen / WHL
0 Keaton Ellerby L/ 6' 3 185 11/05/1988 Calgary, AB Kamloops Blazers / WHL
0 Kris Russell L/ 5' 10 162 05/02/1987 Caroline, AB Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL
0 Kristopher Letang L/ 6' 0 207 04/24/1987 Ste-Julie, QC Foreurs de Val d'Or / QMJHL
0 Luc Bourdon L/ 6' 3 211 02/16/1987 Shippagan, NB Moncton Wildcats / QMJHL
0 Marc Staal L/ 6' 4 207 01/13/1987 Thunder Bay, ON Sudbury Wolves / OHL
0 Patrick McNeill L/ 6' 0 200 03/17/1987 Strathroy, ON Saginaw Spirit / OHL
0 Ryan Parent L/ 6' 2 194 03/17/1987 Sioux Lookout, ON Guelph Storm / OHL
Forwards
0 Andrew Cogliano L/ 5' 9 186 06/14/1987 Woodbridge, ON U. of Michigan Wolverines / CCHA
0 Angelo Esposito L/ 6' 1 180 02/20/1989 Montreal, QC Quebec Remparts / QMJHL
0 Ben Maxwell L/ 6' 1 177 03/30/1988 North Vancouver, BC Kootenay Ice / WHL
0 Brad Marchand L/ 5' 9 183 05/11/1988 Hammonds Plains, NS Foreurs de Val d'Or / QMJHL
0 Bryan Little R/ 5' 11 201 11/12/1987 Cambridge, ON Barrie Colts / OHL
0 Chris Stewart R/ 6' 2 232 10/30/1987 Scarborough, ON Kingston Frontenacs / OHL
0 Claude Giroux R/ 5' 11 173 01/12/1988 Ottawa, ON Gatineau Olympiques / QMJHL
0 Codey Burki R/ 6' 1 193 11/17/1987 Winnipeg, MB Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL
0 Cody Bass R/ 6' 0 208 01/07/1987 Guelph, ON Mississauga Ice Dogs / OHL
0 Dan Bertram R/ 5' 10 183 01/14/1987 Calgary, AB Boston College Eagles / HE
0 Darren Helm L/ 6' 0 183 01/21/1987 St. Andrews, MB Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL
0 Devin Setoguchi R/ 6' 0 190 01/01/1987 Taber, AB Prince George Cougars / WHL
0 James Neal L/ 6' 3 203 09/03/1987 Whitby, ON Plymouth Whalers / OHL
0 John Tavares R/ 6' 0 196 09/20/1990 Oakville, ON Oshawa Generals / OHL
0 Jonathan Toews L/ 6' 2 203 04/29/1988 Winnipeg, MB North Dakota Fighting Sioux / WCHA
0 Kenndal McArdle L/ 6' 0 205 01/04/1987 Burnaby, BC Vancouver Giants / WHL
0 Marc-André Cliche R/ 6' 1 187 03/23/1987 Rouyn-Noranda, QC Lewiston Maineiacs / QMJHL
0 Mathieu Perreault L/ 5' 10 160 01/05/1988 Drummondville, QC Acadie Bathurst Titan / QMJHL
0 Ryan O'Marra R/ 6' 2 207 06/09/1987 Mississauga, ON Saginaw Spirit / OHL
0 Sam Gagner R/ 5' 11 190 08/10/1989 Oakville, ON London Knights / OHL
0 Steve Downie R/ 5' 11 203 04/03/1987 Queensville, ON Peterborough Petes / OHL
0 Tom Pyatt L/ 5' 11 186 02/14/1987 Thunder Bay, ON Saginaw Spirit / OHL
Coaches
Craig Hartsburg, Head Coach Stratford, ON Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Clément Jodoin, Assistant Coach St-Césaire, QC Lewiston Maineiacs
Curtis Hunt, Assistant Coach North Battleford, SK Regina Pats
Jamie Pringle, Video Coach Kingston, ON Hockey Canada

 

[Rids]

Bertram-Toews-McArdle will make a great line along with a line of Tavares-Setoguchi-O'Marra. Can't wait for game one!

 

[panoo]

Canadian junior hockey team selection camp breakdown

Here's a breakdown of the Canadian junior hockey team's selection camp roster by position:

Goaltenders

Carey Price of the Tri-City Americans may be the lone 19-year-old of the group - and the world junior tournament is a showcase of a country's 19-year-olds - but he'll be in tough against talented 18-year-olds Jonathan Bernier of the Lewiston Maineiacs and Leland Irving of the Everett Silvertips.

Bernier, a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings, and Irving, a first-round for the Calgary Flames, have both been successful at the under-18 level internationally and have excellent numbers with their clubs teams to start the season.

Price, a first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, was the youngster at last year's camp and narrowly beaten out of the backup job by Devan Dubnyk.

Steve Mason is the dark horse of the group. The 18-year-old appeared in just 12 regular-season and four playoff games for the Knights last year, but his 2.90 goals-against average and .924 save percentage behind a run-and-gun Knights squad this season, shows he can stop the puck.

Defencemen

What a group. Led by Sudbury's Marc Staal, named the top defenceman at the 2006 world championships in Vancouver, and all-star Luc Bourdon, the strength of this Canadian team will be its blue-line.

Kris Russell of the Medicine Hat Tigers, Ryan Parent of the Guelph Storm and Kristopher Letang of the Val-d'Or Foreurs are the other veterans.

Russell is a talented power-play quarterback as he was schooled at the point by former Tigers and Canadian teammate Cam Barker.

These five guys will not get beaten out by their jobs by newcomers, which leaves seven defencemen duking it out for two jobs: Karl Alzner (Calgary Hitmen); Cody Franson and Brendan Mikkelson (Vancouver Giants); Patrick McNeill (Saginaw Spirit); Dustin Kohn (Brandon Wheat Kings); Keaton Ellerby (Kamloops Blazers); Drew Doughty (Guelph Storm).

Franson has been arguably the best defenceman in the WHL this season and teammate Mikkelson would have been invited to last year's selection camp if not for a season-ending knee injury.

McNeill is another offensively skilled rearguard, although his defensive responsibility has been called into question.

Alzner, 18, is an intimidating presence in his team's defensive zone, while Kohn, 18, excels at initiating breakouts and rushes.

Doughty, who doesn't turn 17 until Friday, was stellar for Canada's under-18 in August and his play for the Storm this year couldn't be ignored.

But it's a rarity for Canada to go with a defencemen under the age of 18 because mistakes on the back end on the big ice can be fatal.

Forwards

A whopping 22 forwards were invited to camp. That means head coach Craig Hartsburg wants more out of his six returning veterans, particularly Michigan's Andrew Cogliano, who had one goal in Vancouver.

Saginaw's Ryan O'Marra and Tom Pyatt and Daniel Bertram out of Boston College made up Canada's energy line at the 2006 world championships but could end up taking on different roles because of their experience.

As a second-year forwards, Bertram and 18-year-old Jonathan Toews of North Dakota will also be expected to produce more.

Steve Downie of the Peterborough Petes plays on the edge and is the best player on the ice if he doesn't step over it.

Bryan Little of the Barrie Colts was a controversial cut from last year's team, but the 19-year-old has a scoring touch that this team could use.

Power forward Devin Setoguchi of the Prince George Cougars was another player who fell short at last year's selection camp, but can use that experience to try again.

After that, it's a free-for-all and while the odds are long for younger players, the age 16-to-18 group is interesting.

Oshawa Generals forward John Tavares plays beyond his years and could be the next 16-year-old to play for the Canadian team after Sidney Crosby.

Quebec's Angelo Esposito was cut from last year's team at 16. A year of physical maturation to go along with his offensive skills could get him on the team at 17.

Sam Gagner of the London Knights was cut from Canada's under-18 team in August, which lit a fire under him. The 17-year-old is tied for the lead in Ontario Hockey League scoring.

Mathieu Perreault lacks international experience, yet the 18-year-old Acadie-Bathurst Titan forward earned an invite based on his torrid scoring to top the QMJHL.

Gatineau's Claude Giroux, also 18, was a last-minute addition to the summer camp, but he wasn't an afterthought for selection camp after a strong start to his season.