Jason La Rose
WJAC Experience: Canada West – 2006 | Gold Medal WJAC Statistics: 4 GP 5G 6A 11P
NHL Entry Draft: Phoenix Coyotes – 2007 (1st round, 3rd overall) NHL Statistics (as of Dec. 11): 427 GP 105G 145A 250P
Other International Experience: 2006 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (fourth place) 2006 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament (gold medal) 2007 IIHF World U18 Championship (fourth place) 2007 Canada-Russia Super Series (won series) 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship (gold medal) 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship (fifth place)
At the WJAC: Easily the most highly-touted player on the ice at the inaugural World Junior A Challenge, Turris lived up to the hype in Yorkton, Sask., scoring four goals in an opening-game 6-2 win over Russia; the performance remains the lone four-goal game in World Junior A Challenge history.
Turris added at least two points in all four Canada West games, racking up 11 points in all, a single-tournament record that stood until 2013. He also earned MVP honours and a spot on the all-star team, in addition to the big prize, a gold medal thanks to a 4-3 victory over Canada East in the final.
After the WJAC: After racking up 121 points in his final BCHL campaign, Turris enrolled at the University of Wisconsin for one year before debuting late in the 2007-08 season with the Phoenix Coyotes, who had selected him third overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the highest drafted Canadian WJAC alumnus ever.
After three up-and-down seasons in the Coyotes’ organization, Turris was on the move, traded to the Ottawa Senators in December 2011. Now the No. 1 centre in the nation’s capital, the New Westminster, B.C., native has twice reached the 20-goal plateau, led all Senators forwards in scoring in 2014-15, and is on pace to set career highs in goals, assists and points this season.