No big city in Canada – not Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary or Vancouver – have more players named to Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp than Saskatoon does following Monday’s reveal.

Even with Lethbridge defenceman Noah Chadwick being left off the list of 32 hopefuls, there are four Under-20 players that call Saskatoon home on the list – plus another who plays for the Blades of the W-H-L! Those five are Kelowna blueliner Caden Price, Bridge City Bunch rearguard Tanner Molendyk (pictured) plus forwards Brayden Yager of Moose Jaw, Riley Heidt of Prince George and Berkly Catton of Spokane. Yager and Molendyk were named to last year’s Canadian squad, although Molendyk didn’t play due to an injury sustained in pre-tournament action. The selection camp runs December 10-13 in Ottawa where the Double-I-H-F World Under-20 Championship will be held from December 26-January 5. The final roster will be named two Saturdays from now. Following are news releases from the Blades, the W-H-L and Hockey Canada…..

December 2, 2024

NR.086.24

ROSTER UNVEILED FOR CANADA’S NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM SELECTION CAMP

32 players to compete for World Juniors roster spots in Ottawa

CALGARY, Alberta – With less than one month until the puck drops on the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, Hockey Canada has announced the 32 players who have earned an invitation to Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp, set for Dec. 10-13 at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario.

Four goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 18 forwards were selected by U20 head scout Al Murray (Regina, SK) and the management group, which includes Peter Anholt (Naicam, SK/Lethbridge, WHL) and Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen, BC), with support from Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON), director of hockey operations, and player development coach Scott Walker (Cambridge, ON/Guelph, OHL). Head coach Dave Cameron (Kinkora, PE/Ottawa, OHL), U17 head scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, AB) and goaltending consultant Dan De Palma (Kamloops, BC/Kamloops, WHL), as well as coaches and general managers from across the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), also provided input.

“We are excited to announce the 32 players who have earned invitations to selection camp in Ottawa, and begin the road to our ultimate goal of winning a World Junior Championship gold medal on home ice,” Murray said. “This is a talented group of young players that is determined to represent Canada with pride over the holidays, and we expect a highly competitive camp with several difficult decisions when determining our final roster.”

Among the 32 players competing for a chance to represent Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa are seven players who were named to the roster for the 2024 World Juniors (Bonk, Cowan, Molendyk, Ratzlaff, Rehkopf, Wood, Yager), as well as eight who won gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship (Beaudoin, Brunicke, George, Ivankovic, Luchanko, Martone, McKenna, Schaefer) and three who captured a gold medal at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (Ivankovic, McKenna, Schaefer).

Selection camp will include a pair of games against a team of U SPORTS all-stars, Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. ET and Dec. 13 at 12 p.m. ET. Fans looking to secure their seat for the selection camp games can purchase tickets at HockeyCanada.ca/WorldJuniors, with two-game packages starting at $52 and individual-game tickets starting as low as $35. Both games will also be livestreamed at HNLive.ca.

Following selection camp, Canada’s National Junior Team will travel to Petawawa, Ontario, for a four-day training camp at the Silver Dart Arena, Dec. 15-18, in preparation for the 2025 World Juniors. Team Canada will also take on Switzerland, Sweden and Czechia in pre-tournament action on the Road to the World Juniors.

“We are thrilled for the 32 players who have earned the opportunity to compete for a spot on Canada’s National Junior Team at the World Juniors, and we look forward to a starting the final piece of our evaluation process at selection camp,” Anholt said. “We are also excited to bring our team to Ottawa and Petawawa, and to give fans an opportunity to see the best under-20 Canadian players take on a U SPORTS all-star team before the start of the tournament.”

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day with four games, which includes Canada taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre at 7:30 p.m. ET. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will once again provide extensive coverage of the event, broadcasting all 29 tournament games and all three Team Canada pre-tournament games.

Hockey Canada has also announced the return of Canada’s Ultimate 50/50, presented by Tim Hortons, which is bigger than ever for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. For the very first time, fans in 11 Provinces and Territories can participate in the World Juniors and support grassroots hockey initiatives in their community by purchasing 50/50 tickets for three main draws (Dec. 4-26, Dec. 26-31, Dec. 31-Jan. 5). Net proceeds will support the growth and retention of hockey, women’s and girls’ hockey and initiatives that make the game safer. For more information, please visit HockeyCanada5050.ca.

ROSTER
FORMATION
CANADA’S NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM / ÉQUIPE NATIONALE JUNIOR DU CANADA
CANADA’S NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM SELECTION CAMP
CAMP DE SÉLECTION DE L’ÉQUIPE NATIONALE JUNIOR DU CANADA
December 10-13, 2024 / 10-13 décembre 2024
Ottawa, ON
Name P S/C Ht. Wt. Born Hometown Team NHL Draft
Nom P T/A T. Pds DDN Ville d’origine Équipe Repêchage LNH
Carson Bjarnason G L/G 6’3” 202 06/30/05 Carberry, MB Brandon (WHL) PHI 2023 (2/51)
Carter George G L/G 6’1” 182 05/20/06 Thunder Bay, ON Owen Sound (OHL) LAK 2024 (2/57)
Jack Ivankovic G L/G 5’11” 179 05/22/07 Mississauga, ON Brampton (OHL) Rep. 2025 Draft
Scott Ratzlaff G L/G 6’1” 175 03/09/05 Irma, AB Seattle (WHL) BUF 2023 (5/141)
Cameron Allen D R/D 6’0” 196 01/07/05 Toronto, ON Guelph (OHL) WSH 2023 (5/136)
Beau Akey D R/D 6’0” 183 02/11/05 Waterloo, ON Barrie (OHL) EDM 2023 (2/56)
Oliver Bonk D R/D 6’2” 179 01/09/05 Ottawa, ON London (OHL) PHI 2023 (1/22)
Harrison Brunicke D R/D 6’3” 191 05/08/06 Calgary, AB Kamloops (WHL) PIT 2024 (2/44)
Sam Dickinson D L/G 6’3” 195 06/07/06 Toronto, ON London (OHL) SJS 2024 (1/11)
Andrew Gibson D R/D 6’4” 206 02/13/05 LaSalle, ON Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) DET 2023 (2/42)
Tanner Molendyk D L/G 6’0” 181 02/03/05 McBride, BC Saskatoon (WHL) NSH 2023 (1/24)
Sawyer Mynio D L/G 6’1” 180 04/30/05 Kamloops, BC Seattle (WHL) VAN 2023 (3/89)
Caden Price D L/G 6’1” 180 08/24/05 Saskatoon, SK Kelowna (WHL) SEA 2023 (3/84)
Matthew Schaefer D L/G 6’2” 188 09/05/07 Hamilton, ON Erie (OHL) Rep. 2025 Draft
Denver Barkey F/A L/G 5’9” 154 04/27/05 Newmarket, ON London (OHL) PHI 2023 (3/95)
Cole Beaudoin F/A L/G 6’2” 206 04/24/06 Kanata, ON Barrie (OHL) UHC 2024 (1/24)
Mathieu Cataford F/A R/D 5’11” 189 03/01/05 Châteauguay, QC Rimouski (LHJMQ) VGK 2023 (3/77)
Berkly Catton F/A L/G 5’10” 170 01/14/06 Saskatoon, SK Spokane (WHL) SEA 2024 (1/8)
Easton Cowan F/A L/G 5’10” 171 05/20/05 Mount Brydges, ON London (OHL) TOR 2023 (1/28)
Andrew Cristall F/A L/G 5’10” 175 02/04/05 Burnaby, BC Kelowna (WHL) WSH 2023 (2/40)
Ethan Gauthier F/A R/D 5’11” 186 01/26/05 Drummondville, QC Drummondville (LHJMQ) TBL 2023 (2/37)
Riley Heidt F/A L/G 5’11” 182 03/25/05 Saskatoon, SK Prince George (WHL) MIN 2023 (2/64)
Tanner Howe F/A L/G 5’11” 182 11/28/05 Prince Albert, SK Calgary (WHL) PIT 2024 (2/46)
Jett Luchanko F/A R/D 5’11” 187 08/21/06 London, ON Guelph (OHL) PHI 2024 (1/13)
Porter Martone F/A R/D 6’3” 196 10/26/06 Peterborough, ON Brampton (OHL) Rep. 2025 Draft
Gavin McKenna F/A L/G 6’0” 183 12/20/07 Whitehorse, YT Medicine Hat (WHL) Rep. 2026 Draft
Bradly Nadeau F/A R/D 5’10” 161 05/05/05 Saint-François-de-Madawaska, NB Chicago (AHL) CAR 2023 (1/30)
Luca Pinelli F/A L/G 5’9” 169 04/05/05 Stoney Creek, ON Ottawa (OHL) CBJ 2023 (4/114)
Carson Rehkopf F/A L/G 6’1” 195 01/07/05 Vaughan, ON Brampton (OHL) SEA 2023 (2/50)
Calum Ritchie F/A R/D 6’2” 179 01/21/05 Oakville, ON Oshawa (OHL) COL 2023 (1/27)
Matthew Wood F/A R/D 6’3” 190 02/06/05 Nanaimo, BC University of Minnesota (Big Ten) NSH 2023 (1/15)
Brayden Yager F/A R/D 6’0” 170 01/03/05 Saskatoon, SK Moose Jaw (WHL) PIT 2023 (1/14)
President & Chief Executive Officer / Présidente et chef de la direction Katherine Henderson Thunder Bay, ON Hockey Canada
Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President, Strategy / Chef de l’exploitation et vice-président directeur, stratégie Pat McLaughlin Saint John, NB Hockey Canada
Senior Vice-President, High Performance & Hockey Operations / Premier vice-président, haute performance et activités hockey Scott Salmond Creston, BC Hockey Canada
Director, Hockey Operations / Directeur, activités hockey Benoit Roy Sudbury, ON Hockey Canada
Head Scout / Dépisteur en chef Al Murray Regina, SK Hockey Canada
Management Group / Groupe de gestion Peter Anholt Naicam, SK Lethbridge (WHL)
Management Group / Groupe de gestion Brent Seabrook Tsawwassen, BC Hockey Canada
Head Coach / Entraîneur-chef Dave Cameron Kinkora, PE Ottawa (OHL)
Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint Sylvain Favreau Orleans, ON Drummondville (LHJMQ)
Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint Mike Johnston Dartmouth, NS Portland (WHL)
Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint Chris Lazary Toronto, ON Saginaw (OHL)
Goaltending Consultant / Consultant des gardiens de but Dan De Palma Kamloops, BC Kamloops (WHL)
Video Coach / Entraîneur vidéo James Emery Calgary, AB Hockey Canada
Player Development Coach / Entraîneur en développement des joueurs Scott Walker Cambridge, ON Hockey Canada
Equipment Manager / Responsable de l’équipement Chris Cook Ottawa, ON Brantford (OHL)
Equipment Manager / Responsable de l’équipement Chris Hamilton Ottawa, ON Ottawa (OHL)
Athletic Therapist / Thérapeute en sport Andy Brown Owen Sound, ON Owen Sound (OHL)
Athletic Therapist / Thérapeute en sport Kyle Sutton New Glasgow, NS UQTR (OUA)
Strength & Conditioning Coach / Préparateur physique Sean Young Ennismore, ON Ottawa (OHL)
Team Physician / Médecin de l’équipe Dr. R.J. MacKenzie Albert Bridge, NS Cape Breton (LHJMQ)
Mental Performance Consultant / Conseiller en performance mentale Lucas Madill Kirkland, QC Hockey Canada
Senior Coordinator, Hockey Operations / Premier coordonnateur, activités hockey Jake Grison Lion’s Head, ON Hockey Canada
Coordinator, Hockey Operations / Coordonnateur, activités hockey Jared Power Calgary, AB Hockey Canada
Media Relations / Relations avec les médias Spencer Sharkey Hamilton, ON Hockey Canada
Media Relations / Relations avec les médias Branden Crowe Virden, MB Hockey Canada

Saskatoon, SK – Saskatoon Blades defenceman Tanner Molendyk is one of 32 players invited to Team Canada’s World Junior selection camp. It’s the second consecutive year the Nashville Predators prospect has received the invite.

Molendyk cracked Canada’s roster for last year’s annual tournament in Sweden, but sustained an upper-body injury in preliminary play that kept him out of competition. The 19-year-old blueliner finished the 2023-24 season in Saskatoon with ten goals, 46 assists, and 56 points in 50 games. Molendyk finished the regular season top ten in +/- amongst WHL defencemen at +40 and tacked on 18 penalty minutes. The McBride, BC product was a workhorse in the Blades’ run to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final with three goals, seven assists, and ten points in 16 playoff games, all while tasked shutting down opposing club’s top stars.

The fourth-year Blade missed the team’s first six games of this season away at Predators training camp and preseason. After being the final cut from the NHL roster at 19 years old, Molendyk’s recorded three goals and 14 assists in 19 games with the Blue and Gold. The Blades’ fifth overall pick in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft has helped position the club at first place in the Eastern Conference with a 17-6-1-1 record.

It’s not the first time Molendyk has represented Canada on an international stage. The 5-foot-11 defender dawned his country’s colours at the 2021 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with Team Canada Black.

Fans get to see Molendyk in action Wednesday, Dec. 4 at SaskTel Centre when the Blades host the Red Deer Rebels at 7:00pm

TWELVE WHL PLAYERS TO ATTEND CANADA’S NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM SELECTION CAMP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2024

Calgary, Alta. – Twelve WHL players will attend Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp, scheduled for December 10-13, 2024, in Ottawa, Ont. Hockey Canada announced the 32-player camp roster Monday morning.

The 12 players representing the WHL will vie for a place on Canada’s National Junior Team, which will compete at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled to be contested in Ottawa, Ont., from December 26, 2024, through January 5, 2025.

Ten WHL Clubs will feature at least one player at Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp, with the Kelowna Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds both represented by two players each. The Brandon Wheat Kings, Calgary Hitmen, Kamloops Blazers, Medicine Hat Tigers, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince George Cougars, Saskatoon Blades, and Spokane Chiefs will also be represented by one player each.

Three WHL players named to the selection camp roster return from Canada’s 2024 National Junior Team, intent on delivering Canada back to the podium in 2025 – goaltender Scott Ratzlaff (Irma, Alta. / Seattle Thunderbirds), defenceman Tanner Molendyk (McBride, B.C. / Saskatoon Blades), and forward Brayden Yager (Saskatoon, Sask. / Moose Jaw Warriors).

Two WHL players named to the selection camp helped Canada win gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship – Kamloops Blazers defenceman Harrison Brunicke and Medicine Hat Tigers star Gavin McKenna.

McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) headlines an intriguing list of WHL players aiming to represent Canada for the first time at the IIHF World Junior Championship. McKenna, who turns 17 on December 20, leads all Canadian Major Junior players in scoring, having registered 55 points (18G-37A) in 27 games this season.

Named WHL Rookie of the Year for 2023-24, McKenna helped lead Canada to a gold medal performance at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup this past summer in Edmonton. The highly touted playmaker was selected first overall by the Tigers in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft and is projected to be the first overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp

The selection camp roster announced by Hockey Canada includes four goaltenders, 10 defencemen, and 18 forwards.

The selection camp roster was identified by U20 head scout Al Murray (Regina, Sask.) and the management group, which includes Peter Anholt (Naicam, Sask. / Lethbridge Hurricanes) and WHL alumnus Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen, B.C.), with support from Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, Benoit Roy (Sudbury, Ont.), director of hockey operations, and player development coach Scott Walker (Cambridge, Ont. / Guelph Storm, OHL). Head coach Dave Cameron (Kinkora, P.E.I. / Ottawa 67s, OHL), U17 head scott Byron Bonora (Brooks, Alta.) and goaltending consultant Dan De Palma (Kamloops, B.C. / Kamloops Blazers), as well as coaches and general managers from across the Canadian Hockey League also provided input.

“We are excited to announce the 32 players who have earned invitations to selections camp in Ottawa and begin the road to our ultimate goal of winning a World Junior Championship gold medal on home ice,” Murray said. “This is a talented group of young players that is determined to represent Canada with pride over the holidays, and we expect a highly competitive camp with several difficult decisions when determining our final roster.”

Canada’s National Junior Team also includes assistant coach Mike Johnston (Dartmouth, N.S. / Portland Winterhawks).

As part of National Junior Team Selection Camp, Canada will face-off against the U SPORTS All-Stars in a pair of games scheduled for December 12 and 13.

Following selection camp, Canada’s National Junior Team will travel to Petawawa, Ont., for a four-day training camp at Silver Dart Arena from December 15-18. Canada will also play pre-tournament games against Switzerland (December 19), Sweden (December 21), and Czechia (December 23).

“We are thrilled for the 32 players who have earned the opportunity to compete for a spot on Canada’s National Junior Team at the World Juniors, and we look forward to starting the final piece of our evaluation process at selection camp,” Anholt said. “We are also excited to bring our team to Ottawa and Petawawa, and to give fans an opportunity to see the best under-20 Canadian players take on a U SPORTS all-star team before the start of the tournament.”

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship begins Thursday, December 26, when Canada takes on Finland to open the tournament.

Canada will compete in Group A, alongside Finland, Germany, the United States, and Latvia, while Group B features Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Kazakhstan.

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast every game of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. Check your local listings for channel listings.