Joe Hicketts acknowledged that the fan in him gets excited when he thinks of the potential in Mitch Marner and Dylan Strome.
“There is so much hype and stuff that you hear out west about them and you saw glimpses in the summer showcase in Calgary and what they do in practice,” Hicketts said.
“It’s something special to watch them in practice and hopefully we will see those glimpses and flashes later on.”
Canada’s roster for the 2016 world junior came into sharper focus on Sunday with the addition of forward Jake Virtanen from the Vancouver Canucks and the release of four players — defenceman Jakob Chychrun and forwards Michael Dal Colle, Spencer Watson and Pierre-Luc Dubois.