OTTAWA | Junior Team Canada training camp hadn’t even started yet when a first player’s spot had been confirmed.
Hockey Canada’s vice-president of hockey operations and national teams, Scott Salmond, has confirmed that Carolina Hurricanes prospect Bradly Nadeau will be part of the national team for the World Junior Hockey Championship, which begins on December 26 in Ottawa.
The reason Nadeau’s position has already been confirmed is because he will be unable to participate in selection camp, which ends Friday, due to commitments with his American Hockey League team, the Chicago Wolves. He will join the team on December 15.
Unsurprisingly, Salmond also clarified that we should not expect to see one of the three National Hockey League players with the team, namely Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Zach Benson.
A native of Saint-François-de-Madawaska in New Brunswick, Nadeau has played 20 games with the Wolves since the start of the season, recording 12 points. He was a first-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2023.
Furthermore, only 14 of the 33 players invited by Hockey Canada were able to take the ice on Tuesday evening for the first day of selection camp. Weather conditions caused several flight delays and several players were unable to set foot in Ottawa in time for the first day.
