This is thanks in large part to the depth of junior hockey in this country. Russia, USA, Finland, Sweden: Every country has the high end talent, but none come close to the large pool of young talent at Hockey Canada’s disposal when they need to set the roster for the World Juniors (although the US has closed the gap significantly). As a result of this depth, every year some very good players are left off of Canada’s World Junior team. This year Maple Leafs prospect Travis Dermott may well be one of them.
When the evaluation camp roster was announced a couple weeks ago, I sat down and projected who I believed would be in the lineup when Canada starts the tournament against the United States on Boxing Day.