2021 World Junior Championship News: Canada Shuts Down Camp; Spencer Knight Ready

Team Canada had to shut down their camp and quarantine their players, coach, and staff, after a few positive tests from players. Camp has to be shut down from November 23rd for two weeks in accordance with Alberta Health Services.

The team had played some scrimmages already and the combination of Kirby Dach (Blackhawks) and Philip Tomasino (Predators) was deadly. Dach, already played in the NHL last season and I expect Tomasino to make the Predators roster at some point this season so the both of them will have a big impact. Colorado prospect defenseman. Bowen Byram may be the best defenseman in the tournament as well. He looks better than ever.

Team USA Announces Preliminary Roster

Spencer Knight may be the most important name in the bunch. He’s the rock and he will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders to win. He’s looked good with Boston College this season but back in camp he felt great about his game and being the #1 goalie.

“I thought from day 1 to today, I thought I had a pretty solid route,” Knight revealed. “The big thing in the tournament is consistency. What I also noticed is that when things get tough, you can’t get too down because you have to play a game the next day. The thing is you can play your best hockey through the round-robin, and as the #1 seed, we played in the quarterfinals and lost last year.”

Knight understands how hard the path is.

“A lot of people work so hard to get to the quarters and get to the cross overs, but the thing is once they start. It’s a whole new tournament with a lot more challenges, and it’s a lot harder hockey. It’s not going to be a cakewalk just because you are a higher seed.”

Los Angeles Kings blueline prospect, Brock Faber, could end up being a key contributor on the blueline. World Junior Evaluation Camp started his hockey season.

“It was a pretty long offseason. Everyone is battling the same thing. Nobody has really played a game in what seven months? So, it started a little sloppy, and everyone would say the same, but as camp has gone on, once everyone has adjusted to the pace, it’s all started to click a little more.”

Based on this roster, Flyers prospect defenseman, Cam York, may have to play a role.

“I’m a 200-foot player. If they want me to be a shutdown guy when the tournament comes, I’ll be a shutdown guy,” York stated. “If they want me to be offensive, I can be offensive. I feel like I showed them that I can pretty much do it all. There’s not really anything that I can’t do.”

I never thought that Matthew Bernier’s play would keep him from making the team. I was wondering about the college aspect, like time missed in school, if that would be a factor for this freshman. As it stands now, Michigan is sending five players, that’s the most that I can remember for one NCAA program in the last decade.

You can read about him here.

Rangers fan may have noticed that I ranked Brett Berard in the Rangers Top 10 Prospects.

He’s been getting better and better each year. He has a Brad Marchand quality in his game. Plus the head coach of the team, Nate Leaman, is his head coach at Providence University, but make no mistake, this kid can play.

Here is the roster as it stands now:

More to come on the other teams.