Team Canada - Ready and Hopeful

[Jubo 1,839]

With the World Junior Championship set for the coming week, Team Canada's roster and management are well prepared to hit the ice and take full advantage of the experience. Represented by eight teams, two VHL and all six VHLM clubs, the Canadian roster was pieced together with one goal in mind; Gold. On paper their roster is strong offensively and can compete with the worlds best. However, on the back-end, Canada has more questions than answers. Their d-core is led by Las Vegas' Cayden Saint. Saint has an impressive 40 points through 34 contests and is 2nd in the VHLM with a +27 behind Aces and Team Canada teammate Julian Borwinn's +29. Aside from Saint, Canada's defense is among the tournaments worst (on paper) when it comes to depth. While Burnt Toast has put up strong numbers (14 G, 29 A) with Saskatoon, his abilities remain raw but has proven to be a strong stay at home defense-man that can get involved offensively. Toby Fitzgerald has delivered a strong defensive game with unproven offensive skills. A lack of defensive talent in the Canadian pool forced Canada's hand in selecting Jesse Sublime; a player that has shown little effort in improving their overall abilities but will hopefully relish in his opportunity to represent his country.

 

 

Canada's top line is projected to be Shawinganen centering Twinger and Davis. Both Davis and Twinger have spent their entire season in the VHL. Davis with Toronto has amassed 33 points (16 G, 17 A) in 38 games while this seasons #1 overall selection (Twinger) has had an incredible season with Riga tallying 53 points (25 G, 28 A) in 37 games. Shawinganen has centered Las Vegas' 2nd line in his rookie season posting strong numbers (17 G, 20 A) through his 34 games. Julian Borwinn is arguably the highest rated VHLM forward heading into the tournament and will see his minutes on the second line with Dabarno and King. Rounding out the forwards are MacKinnon, Wilinsky and Mendes who are all having strong VHLM seasons of their own.

 

The tournament is shaping up to bring a lot of excitement to the season. With all the nations rosters set to go, hype has built around the league as fans anxiously await puck drop.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Jubo07