RED DEER, Alta. – Following a 26-day selection camp that was interrupted by a mandatory two-week quarantine, 25 players have been named to Canada’s National Junior Team for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, Dec. 25-Jan. 5 in Edmonton, Alta.

The final roster, which includes three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 14 forwards, was selected by Alan Millar (Tottenham, Ont./Moose Jaw, WHL), the U20 lead for the Program of Excellence management group, with assistance from Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of national teams for Hockey Canada and Ben Shutron (Orleans, Ont.), manager of national teams for Hockey Canada. Head coach André Tourigny (Nicolet, Que./Ottawa, OHL) and assistant coaches Tyler Dietrich (West Vancouver, B.C./Saskatoon, WHL), Michael Dyck (Lethbridge, Alta./Vancouver, WHL) and Mitch Love (Quesnel, B.C./Saskatoon, WHL) also provided input into the final roster selections.

“This camp has been unconventional from the outset with the number of players invited and the length of camp, along with the schedule adjustment due to our two-week shutdown, but we feel we have selected a group that will give us the best chance to defend our gold medal on home ice,” said Millar. “It is never easy making decisions to trim down a roster, especially when every player handled adversity, faced challenges head on and remained committed to the process through our off-ice workouts and Zoom sessions. We have a lot of people to thank, including the people of Red Deer, the Red Deer Rebels (WHL) and Alberta Health Services, who worked with us to always ensure the health of safety of our athletes, staff and the community at large, and we look forward to representing Canada in Edmonton.”

Six returning players won gold at the 2020 World Juniors - Quinton Byfield (Newmarket, Ont./Sudbury, OHL), Bowen Byram (Cranbrook, B.C./Vancouver, WHL), Dylan Cozens (Whitehorse, Y.T./Lethbridge, WHL), Jamie Drysdale (Toronto, Ont./Erie, OHL), Connor McMichael (Ajax, Ont./London, OHL) and Dawson Mercer (Bay Roberts, N.L./Chicoutimi, QMJHL).

The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Christmas Day with three games before Canada kicks off its tournament schedule on Dec. 26 against Germany at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast all 28 tournament games and the 10 pre-tournament games that begin Dec. 20. TSN Radio will also provide comprehensive tournament coverage, including all Team Canada pre-tournament and tournament games through to the gold medal game.

Canada has captured 18 gold medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship (1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2018, 2020), in addition to 11 silver (1975, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2017) and six bronze (1974, 1978, 1983, 2000, 2001, 2012).

For more information from the International Ice Hockey Federation, please visit the official tournament website at 2021.worldjuniors.hockey.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Junior Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Twitter.com/HC_WJC.