Canada’s world juniors begin training camp in Calgary to win a gold medal

Key Takeaways:

• On Thursday night in Calgary, Canada’s world juniors launched their bid for world junior hockey supremacy in 2022.
• Canada has until December 15 to decide for the two centermen.

A camp full of phenoms 33 in total took to the ice of WinSport’s Markin MacPhail Centre, hoping to kick-start what is a dream trip that will end in gold in Edmonton 27 days from now.

“It sucked,” said Cole Perfetti, recalling the 2-0 loss to the United States in the 2021 gold-medal game at the same rink Rogers Place where they hope to return for this year’s finale. “We’re focused on the gold-medal game on January 5.” That’s something we’re looking forward to.

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“And I’m just overjoyed.”

There’s a sense of redemption or vengeance that comes with such excitement for Perfetti and two others, goaltender Dylan Garand and Kaiden Guhle.

They are the three returnees from last year’s silver squad, each hoping to change the outcome at the IIHF World Junior Championship, held in Edmonton and Red Deer next year.

And they’ll be joined in the battle by 22 new faces once the final roster is finalized following the four days of training camp here. Three goaltenders, 11 defensemen, and 19 forwards are among the candidates.

“It’s a new year. It’s a new group,” said Perfetti, the only player on the Canadian roster who is now playing proficient hockey at the age of 19. “There are a lot of new faces, and everyone is famished.”

Meanwhile, a handful of NHL players eligible for Canada’s team did not make it to Calgary.

Quinton Byfield (Los Angeles Kings), Jamie Drysdale (Anaheim Ducks), Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes), and Cole Sillinger (Columbus Blue Jackets) remain in the NHL for the time being. Still, Salmond says he is in ongoing discussions with the Hurricanes and Blue Jackets about Jarvis’ and Sillinger’s possible availability.

“The doors were not shut on them,” Salmond added. “As we move into the next phase of our preparation, we will continue to monitor that situation.”

Source: Calgarysun News