While many people will be looking backwards, that's not what we'll be doing here. We'll be looking forwards. Not to the upcoming draft, no, that's far too reasonable. We're going to be looking ahead almost a year to Canada's next World Junior roster.
Now, I'm no junior hockey expert, although yesterday I went to a 67's game and knew almost all the players, so maybe I actually am (?), but thanks to eliteprospects.com and Colin Cudmore's consolidated draft rankings I was able to put together a rough guess at the team Canada will send to Alberta in December.
One thing I noticed about my team was how it was a little more reliant on freshly drafted players than most years. Given that the 2019 draft was relatively weak when it came to Canadians and the 2020 draft looks to be both stronger and more Canadian-heavy than its predecessor. Another reason for this is that out of the 10 2020 draft-eligible players on this roster, 5 of them are late 2001 birthdays, meaning that they will actually be 19-years old when the tournament rolls around.
There are also no 2021 projected picks on this list. Part of that reason is that the top two Canadian prospects for that draft Brandt Clarke and Carson Lambos, are both defencemen, a position where even 18-year olds seldom make an appearance for Canada, much less 17-year olds. The other reason is that upcoming draft prospects that make team Canada often do so on the backs of a strong breakout in their draft year, something that is difficult to predict for any individual player with much certainty.
With all that in mind, let's take a way too early look at the 2021 World Juniors.
Forwards
Connor McMichael (London-OHL) - Quinton Byfield (Sudbury-OHL) - Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge-WHL)
Jakob Pelletier (Moncton-QMJHL) - Peyton Krebs (Winnipeg-WHL) - Dawson Mercer (Chicoutimi-QMJHL)
Samuel Poulin (Sherbrooke-QMJHL) - Alex Newhook (Boston College-NCAA) - Philip Tomasino (Oshawa- OHL)
Connor Zary (Kamloops-WHL) - Cole Perfetti (Saginaw-OHL) - Jack Quinn (Ottawa-OHL)
Alex Beaucage (Rouyn-Noranda-QMJHL)
Others: Andrew Campbell, Graeme Clarke, Dylan Holloway, Hendrix Lapierre, Jamieson Rees, Ryan Suzuki, Brayden Tracey
The top line features a trio of returnees who all had different levels of success in 2020 for Canada. McMichael made his way into the top six when Lafrenière was hurt and held onto it when the tournament MVP returned in the knockout stage. Expect him to play a massive role in Canada's title defence. When McMichael made his way into the top six, he knocked Quinton Byfield down to the fourth line. The presumptive number two pick in the upcoming draft struggled in limited minutes but still has plenty of upside. As Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro often speculated, he could potentially follow Lafrenière's path and dominate the tournament in his second go at it, provided he's not already an NHL regular deemed too valuable to be loaned for the tournament. Dylan Cozens rounds out the top-line. Cozens, like McMichael, had a very strong tournament for Canada and seems poised to jump into an even bigger role next year. While I would expect him to be in the NHL next year, he could follow the Barrett Hayton path and be loaned by Buffalo in order to shine on a big stage, perhaps even as captain.
Dawson Mercer is the only other returnee up front. Like Byfield, Mercer did not get much playing time in the tournament but as a late 2001 birthday he'll be among the 19-year olds for Canada expected to contribute big in 2021. Peyton Krebs was one of the last cuts from the 2020 roster and looks like he could be a solid all-around pivot on the 2nd line next year. Pelletier, Poulin, Newhook, and Tomasino all are 2019 first round picks who should all be able to consistently contribute throughout the tournament next season. On the fourth line I went with a trio of projected 2020 first round picks, led by Cole Perfetti. All three have been putting the puck in the net at high rates in their draft season and could provide Canada with unparalleled scoring depth. For the 13th forward, I went a little off the board with Alex Beaucage, who has been a force for Rouyn-Noranda the past two seasons and was a key piece to their Memorial Cup victory in his draft year.
Defenders
Bowen Byram (Vancouver-WHL) - Jamie Drysdale (Erie-OHL)
Thomas Harley (Mississauga-OHL) - Justin Barron (Halifax-QMJHL)
Braden Schneider (Brandon-WHL) - Kaedan Korczak (Kelowna-WHL)
Kaiden Guhle (Prince Albert-WHL)
Others: Lukas Cormier, Jérémie Poirier, Matthew Robertson, Jordan Spence, Michael Vukojevic
The top pair is made up of two returnees who played major roles in 2020 in Bowen Byram and Jamie Drysdale. Both are dynamic with the puck with Byram having the added bonus of being a solid defender. If one or both of them are in the NHL next season though, the team could suffer a serious blow as the rest of the corps is very inexperienced. Out of the other five defencemen, only Thomas Harley and Kaedan Korczak has been drafted. Harley fits the Byram mold as an offensively gifted player who can also defend and should be an anchor on the second pair who could move up to the top pairing if Byram is indeed in Colorado next season. The other three are all players who are are all ranked highly for the 2020 draft. Barron and Schneider are both late 2001 birthdays who should be able to fit into a tournament often dominated by 19-year olds. While Guhle may be a bit of an unexpected pick here, his offensive abilities and size are tough things to pass up so he gets the 7th slot.
One thing of note is that Drysdale and Barron are the only two right handed shots on the blueline. That said, Canada went into the 2020 tournament with a top pairing of Ty Smith and Jared McIsaac, both lefties, so it does not seem like having defenders play on their natural side is an absolute must for this team. That said, if they do want to balance out the sides, Jordan Spence could easily slot into a top six role on this team.
The top pair is made up of two returnees who played major roles in 2020 in Bowen Byram and Jamie Drysdale. Both are dynamic with the puck with Byram having the added bonus of being a solid defender. If one or both of them are in the NHL next season though, the team could suffer a serious blow as the rest of the corps is very inexperienced. Out of the other five defencemen, only Thomas Harley and Kaedan Korczak has been drafted. Harley fits the Byram mold as an offensively gifted player who can also defend and should be an anchor on the second pair who could move up to the top pairing if Byram is indeed in Colorado next season. The other three are all players who are are all ranked highly for the 2020 draft. Barron and Schneider are both late 2001 birthdays who should be able to fit into a tournament often dominated by 19-year olds. While Guhle may be a bit of an unexpected pick here, his offensive abilities and size are tough things to pass up so he gets the 7th slot.
One thing of note is that Drysdale and Barron are the only two right handed shots on the blueline. That said, Canada went into the 2020 tournament with a top pairing of Ty Smith and Jared McIsaac, both lefties, so it does not seem like having defenders play on their natural side is an absolute must for this team. That said, if they do want to balance out the sides, Jordan Spence could easily slot into a top six role on this team.
Goalies
Cole Brady (Fargo-USHL)
Dylan Garand (Kamloops-WHL)
Trent Miner (Vancouver-WHL)
Others: Brett Brochu, Antoine Coulombe, Carter Gylander
Much like in 2020, Canada will likely head into the next World Juniors without a clear number one goalie. Cole Brady has been solid in the USHL the past two seasons and was the top Canadian goalie eligible for the 2021 World Juniors taken in the 2019 draft, albeit in the fifth round. Dylan Garand and Trent Miner have been among the top goalies in the WHL this season, the former in his draft year, so they both currently get the nod to back up Brady. While these goalies may be unheralded, the same can be said of the 2020 goalies. Nico Daws came out of nowhere this season to claim the starting job and when he faltered, 2018 4th round pick Joel Hofer came in and went on to be the top goaltender in the tournament. Canada's best bet will likely be to go with the three netminders having the best seasons and see who comes out on top in camp, the pre-tournament, and the group stage. Given Canada's relatively easy group of Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Germany, the team should have ample opportunity to evaluate who should get the number on job.
So there you have it, my early attempt to construct Canada's 2021 World Junior's roster. At the moment, it looks a bit weaker than the 2020 one, which was a very strong team that was able to get the result that Hockey Canada sorely needed after the embarrassment of 2019. That said, this teams looks to be loaded with skill and that skill will likely only blossom more over the next year. There are some holes on the back-end, but that could be said for the 2020 team as well. All things considered, Canada looks poised to have a strong team that will contend back on home ice next holiday season.
Much like in 2020, Canada will likely head into the next World Juniors without a clear number one goalie. Cole Brady has been solid in the USHL the past two seasons and was the top Canadian goalie eligible for the 2021 World Juniors taken in the 2019 draft, albeit in the fifth round. Dylan Garand and Trent Miner have been among the top goalies in the WHL this season, the former in his draft year, so they both currently get the nod to back up Brady. While these goalies may be unheralded, the same can be said of the 2020 goalies. Nico Daws came out of nowhere this season to claim the starting job and when he faltered, 2018 4th round pick Joel Hofer came in and went on to be the top goaltender in the tournament. Canada's best bet will likely be to go with the three netminders having the best seasons and see who comes out on top in camp, the pre-tournament, and the group stage. Given Canada's relatively easy group of Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Germany, the team should have ample opportunity to evaluate who should get the number on job.
So there you have it, my early attempt to construct Canada's 2021 World Junior's roster. At the moment, it looks a bit weaker than the 2020 one, which was a very strong team that was able to get the result that Hockey Canada sorely needed after the embarrassment of 2019. That said, this teams looks to be loaded with skill and that skill will likely only blossom more over the next year. There are some holes on the back-end, but that could be said for the 2020 team as well. All things considered, Canada looks poised to have a strong team that will contend back on home ice next holiday season.
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