As Hayden noted earlier this week with his piece on the defending gold medal winning Team USA (you can find it here), this week is the 2017 World Juniors Summer Showcase. Teams will a good look at the player pool that they will choose from come December.

The 2017 Showcase is being held in Plymouth, Michigan, and today we will talk further about the defending silver medal winning Team Canada? Certainly they will have their eyes set on not only making it back to the WJC Final this winter in Buffalo, but this time taking home the win. 

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FULL ROSTER

Goaltenders:

Carter Hart (PHI), Michael DiPietro (VAN), Dylan Wells (EDM), Stuart Skinner (EDM)

Defencemen:

Logan Stanley (WPG), Kale Clague (LA), Cale Makar (COL), Josh Mahura (ANA), Jake Bean (CAR), Victor Mete (MTL), Nic Hague (VGK), Cal Foote (TBL), Samuel Girard (NSH), Dante Fabbro (NSH), Dennis Cholowski (DET), Conor Timmins (COL), David Quenneville (NYI)

Forwards:

Boris Katchouk (TBL), Sam Steel (ANA), Jordan Kyrou (STL), Mason Shaw (MIN), Pierre-Luc Dubois (CBJ), Givani Smith (DET), Cody Glass (VGK), Robert Thomas (STL), Will Bitten (MTL), Michael McLeod (NJD), Nick Suzuki (VGK), Dillon Dube (CGY), Brett Howden (TBL), Taylor Raddysh (TBL), Jonah Gadjovich (VAN), Tanner Kaspick (STL), Jonathan Ang (FLA), Michael Rasmussen (DET), Cliff Pu (BUF), Owen Tippett (FLA), Matthew Phillips (CGY)

Missing due to injury:

Tyson Jost (COL), Adam Mascherin (FLA), Nolan Patrick (PHI), Gabriel Vilardi (LA) and Tyler Benson (EDM)

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Roster Breakdown:

– Canada's roster consists of 15 first round picks (18 if you add in Jost, Patrick and Vilardi) with Nolan Patrick the highest drafted at 2nd overall and Matthew Phillips the lowest at 166th. Every player invited into camp has been drafted by an NHL organization.

– From last years team, nine players are returning. That group consists of Tyson Jost, Dillon Dube, Michael McLeod, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Taylor Raddysh, Carter Hart, Kale Clague, Dante Fabbro and Jake Bean. 

– 21 different NHL organizations are represented, with Tampa again sending the most players with four. 

Game Recaps:

Team USA White (8) vs Team Canada Red (2)

– Not the best start for Team Canada, who allowed the first goal of the game just a minute and change in, and when the dust settled had allowed five goals in the first stanza. The line of Casey Mittelstadt-Kailer Yamamoto-Logan Brown caused all kinds of havoc combining for nine points. 

– Neither Stuart Skinner or Dylan Wells faired well in the net for Canada, as Skinner stopped just 17 of 22 shots in his 36 minutes in between the pipes and Wells stopped six of nine. 

– Cliff Pu scored late in the second period, and Brett Howden got Canada within three goals early in the third, but Team USA packed on three insurance goals in the last 10 minutes. 

Team Canada White (2) vs Team USA Blue (1)

– Michael DiPietro and Carter Hart split time in the net, and outperformed their Team Canada Red teammates by a large margin. The Team Canada White dup stopped 30 of 31 shots, with their only blemish a third period tally by Tim Gettinger. 

– Two organizational teammates in St. Louis were integral in Canada's victory as Jordan Kyrou opened the scoring in the first, and Robert Thomas potted the game-winner midway through the second. 

Team Canada (6) vs Team Finland (5) (OT):

– Skinner was once again shaky, giving up a goal to Finland's Jerry Turkulainen just three minutes into the game (he eventually gave up 4 in 30 mins), but Dylan Wells was better than a day ago making 22 of 23 saves in the victory. 

– After Janne Kuokkanen sent the game to overtime, scoring with just 30 seconds left in regulation, Michael McLeod ended the game three minutes into OT on a great net front pass by Samuel Girard. 

– Found it interetsting the Taylor Raddysh and Dillon Dube played alongside Jonathan Ang for the majority of their time on ice. Raddysh and Dube played together a good amount last WJC as well. Could this be a potential line already taking shape? 

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Stay tuned as games continue through the weekend!