Team Canada makes roster changes three days before World Juniors
Team Canada has announced some roster changes for the upcoming IIHF U20 World Junior Championship taking place in Sweden.
Jorian Donovan and Ty Nelson have been added to the team’s roster while Tanner Molendyk and Tristan Luneau have been ruled out due to injury.
ROSTER UPDATE | Jorian Donovan and Ty Nelson have been added to 🇨🇦’s National Junior Team for the #WorldJuniors. Tanner Molendyk and Tristan Luneau will not participate due to injury. pic.twitter.com/IkPy78KN6g
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 23, 2023
Donovan is a 19-year-old defenceman that is currently playing for the Brantford Bulldogs in the OHL. He has 26 points in 31 games so far this season. The Ottawa Senators signed him to a contract after picking him in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Nelson is another defenceman who was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Seattle Kraken. He has 31 points in 28 games so far this year with the North Bay Battalion, also an OHL team.
These two defencemen are joining Team Canada due to the fact that Molendyk and Luneau can’t play because of injury.
Luneau is a an especially big loss for Team Canada. The 6-foot-2 defenceman has played seven NHL games with the Anaheim Ducks this year. That type of experience is super useful heading into a tournament like this.
He has three points and has been averaging almost 18 minutes a night across his NHL games so far this year.
The injuries to the defence corps are far from ideal for Team Canada. They are in a tough Group A that also features a loaded Team Sweden and an always pesky Team Finland.
Team Canada’s tournament starts on December 26 with a game against Team Finland. After that, they’ll play against Team Latvia, Team Sweden, and Team Germany to finish out the preliminary group stage.
Team Canada lost this morning to Team USA in a pre-tournament exhibition match as Montreal Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson scored in overtime to end the game.
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