CALGARY, Alberta – With less than a month to go before the puck drops on the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, Hockey Canada has announced the 30 players invited to Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp, Dec. 10-13 in Oakville, Ontario.
The roster selection was led by Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, and Peter Anholt (Naicam, SK/Lethbridge, WHL), the under-20 lead for the Program of Excellence management group, in consultation with Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen, BC). Head coach Alan Letang (Renfrew, ON/Sarnia, OHL), assistant coaches Gilles Bouchard (Normandin, QC/Sherbrooke, QMJHL), Shaun Clouston (Viking, AB/Kamloops, WHL) and Scott Walker (Cambridge, ON/Guelph, OHL), as well as goaltending consultant Justin Pogge (Penticton, BC), also provided input, along with coaches and general managers across the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).
The 30 players, including four goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 16 forwards, will compete for a chance to wear the Maple Leaf at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
“We are excited to name the 30 players who will embark on the journey through camp and eventually on to the World Juniors,” said Anholt. “Canada has an incredible talent pool of players, and there are always difficult decisions to narrow it down. We are expecting a highly competitive camp, and we look forward to naming our final roster that will wear the Maple Leaf with pride starting on Boxing Day.”
Selection camp will take place at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex and will include practices and a pair of games against a team of U SPORTS all-stars, Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT and Dec. 13 at noon ET/9 a.m. PT. Tickets for the games will be available for purchase starting Dec. 6 at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets. Individual game tickets are $25, or a two-game package is available for $40, plus applicable fees. Fans can also livestream both games at HockeyCanada.ca.
“We are grateful to the Town of Oakville for hosting us and assisting us in our preparations for the World Juniors and we are excited to give fans the opportunity to see the best under-20 players in Canada,” said Salmond. “This camp, including the two games against U SPORTS, will give us the best chance to assemble the top players to represent our country on the world stage. As part of our preparations, we remain in communication with NHL teams with the potential of teams releasing players who are eligible to represent Canada, which we anticipate updating during camp.”
Canada’s National Junior Team will travel to Malmo, Sweden on Dec. 14 for a pre-tournament camp ahead of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. As part of its preparations, Canada will open its pre-tournament schedule against a U25 team from Denmark on Dec. 19 before facing Switzerland on Dec. 22 and the United States on Dec. 23.
The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day when Canada takes on Finland at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT. In addition to broadcasting Canada’s pre-tournament games against Switzerland and the U.S., TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will provide extensive coverage of the event, broadcasting all 31 tournament games. TSN Radio will also provide comprehensive tournament coverage.
The IIHF World Junior Championship returns to Canada next year when Ottawa plays host from Dec. 26, 2024 to Jan. 5, 2025. Demand for tickets will exceed availability and ticket packages are expected to sell out. To have an opportunity to purchase tickets, fans can enter the 2025 World Juniors Priority Ticket Draw starting Dec. 14.
For more information on Hockey Canada and the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X and Instagram.