Canada presented its initial training for the IIHF world championship. The event will be held from May 9 to 25 and will be organized jointly by Sweden and Denmark. The team leaders Canada made the decision to rule out the young people Porter Martone and Zayne Parekh from their workforce.
The two hopes were in uniform in Canada’s victories against Germany and Hungary in preparatory matches. Martone is expected to be one of the first players drafted at the next NHL auction. Parekh, for its part, was selected in the 9th row in total in 2024 by the Flames de Calgary. The defender has just experienced seasons of 96 and 107 points in the OHL.
Canada’s head coach Dean Evason, and team leaders believed that it was good to experience these two future stars. However, with the large contingent of NHL players who decided to participate, their presence was unfortunately no longer required.
Several players who took part in the first eliminatory round have chosen to extend their season. This is the case of Nathan Mackinnon, Brayden Schenn, Phillip Danault, Jared Spurgeon, Jordan Binnington, Marc-André Fleury and, obviously, Mike Matheson. The presence of veterans such as Ryan O’Reilly, Sidney Crosby, Bo Horvat, Travis Konecny, Mackenzie Weegar, among others, also made that of young players without experience in the best league in the world.
-A seasoned team
Canada can bet on a complete defensive brigade, displaying very few weaknesses. In addition to the names already mentioned, we find Noah Dobson, Travis Sanheim, Brandon Montour and Ryker Evans. They will form a very mobile unit, capable of effectively supporting the attack while being physical and reliable in defense. At the attack, there is an interesting mixture between the veterans mentioned earlier and young players wishing to prove themselves to the best. Among them: Macklin Celebrini, Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Tyson Foerster and Will Cuylle.
Three guards are on the preliminary list: Fleury, Binnington and Dylan Garand, the latter having no experience in the NHL. Jordan Binnington, who led Canada to conquer the four nations tournament, should be the number one goalkeeper. Marc-André Fleury, who completes his international career in this tournament, should still get playing time. Same observation here as with Martone and Parekh. Carter George, who has played this season in the OHL this season and who was in uniform in the two preparatory matches, was not selected. Martone and George were also invited to stay around the team in order to participate in daily activities.
Two places available
The Canadian alignment currently includes 23 players out of a possibility of 25. So there are two available places. The team leaders seem to wait for the answers of certain NHL players, including Nick Suzuki, who would have received an invitation. According to Marco d’Amico, the Captain of the Canadian, however, has not yet received the green light from the doctors of the Montreal organization.
Also according to his information, Suzuki should meet the medical staff shortly. We bet that if he obtains authorization to join the team, he will not let this opportunity pass. With a training also established and made up of leading players, Canada targets nothing less than the gold medal. Helping his nation to achieve this goal would certainly reinforce Suzuki’s candidacy for a place in the Olympic team for the Olympic Games next February.
