The Ottawa Senators made it clear Tuesday that they were surprised to see defenseman Carter Yakemchuk excluded from the list of 32 players invited to Team Canada’s camp for World Junior selection.
Hockey Canada released the camp roster on Monday and Yakemchuk, who was selected seventh overall in this year’s draft, is not among the ten defensemen invited.
“We understand that these are difficult decisions to make and that deserving players are often not retained,” Senators general manager Steve Staios said, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. “However, it is strange that four players selected in the top nine in the draft were omitted from the list. »
“In our opinion, Carter is having a tremendous season and his ability to thrive under pressure is something that Team Canada could have benefited from in a high-stakes tournament. »
Garrioch adds that Senators head coach Travis Green said he was “surprised” that there were “ten better defensemen” in Canada than Yakemchuk, based on what he saw of the 19-year-old’s player. at training camp.
Yakemchuk has nine goals and 23 points in 20 games with the Calgary Hitmen this season. He scored 30 goals and 71 points in 66 games last season.
Canada will begin its World Junior schedule the day after Christmas against Finland in Ottawa.
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