Team Canada Black

Forwards

Sam Volta – Colorado Raptors

Sam Volta will be looked at to provide scoring in a top 6 role. The 4 year SMJHL veteran has bounced around playing on 3 teams with his most recent stint in Colorado. He has been over a ppg player in his past 2 seasons and will look to continue that success in this tournament.

TheGreatOne – NewFoundland Berserkers

TheGreatOne after completing his 4 years in Newfoundland looks to cap off his juniors career with a gold. His final season with the Berserkers saw his game step up to a whole other level. Capping the season with 93 points and 33 goals. He will be extremely important in the top 6 along with being a key contributor on special teams for this Canada squad.

Nicolas Corrigan – Anchorage Armada

The 3rd year Anchorage forward likely has a top 6 role solidified on this team after his 73 point campaign. While his goals numbers aren’t as high as some other on this team with just 24, it’s the intangibles he brings to the ice which cant be ignored. He plays in all situations, is not afraid to throw the body despite his 5’11 frame and seeing that just seems to fuel the rest of his team to give it their all.

Jacob Marsh – NewFoundland Berserkers

Jacob Marsh should prove to be decent depth scoring on this team along with an ability to chip in on both special teams as needed. While only 2 years under his belt in the J, Marsh has quietly become a solid contributor on a Newfoundland team while playing 3rd line minutes. He finished the past year with 30 goals and 63 points.

TBFAW – San Diego Tidal

San Diego had a rough season but one of the bright spots was TBFAW. The second year player took a big leap almost doubling his points from his rookie campaign with 61 points. The 5’11 playmaker will fit in nicely on this Canada team as he looks to be a QB of sorts in both 5 on 5 situations and special teams.

Aaron Noxus - Vancouver Whalers

The rookie Whalers surprised many this season potting 34 goals on the year and 53 total points. He played big powerplay minutes and made the most of them with 9 of his goals coming from the man advantage and a crazy 9 of his 19 assists coming with the man advantage. Noxus a pure shooter and pairing him with a playmaker could make for a dangerous line.

Mel Guolla – Kelowna Knights

6’3 rookie center Guolla will look to contribute to this Canada team any way he can. His rookie year saw him with admirable numbers netting 18 goals and 17 assists while struggling in the +/-. He isn’t afraid to throw the body and has experience playing in all minutes. Limiting turnovers will be key as he looks to take his game to another level this tournament.

Hamilton Steelhawk – Yukon Malamutes

Giant, Towering, Massive, that’s Steelhawk. The 6’11 RW will continue to get adjusted to these growth spurts as he goes but should be a good contributor on this team. 18 goals and 29 assist is extremely impressive for a rookie but he did lead Yukon in worst +/- but again much of that can be attributed to “growing” pains for such an anomaly of a winger.

Mick Geno – Nevada Battleborn

It isn’t often that rookies lead their teams in scoring, but that is exactly what Mick accomplished last season. 64 points, 23 goals, all while on an underwhelming Nevada team. While technically tied the lead in points we won’t hold that against him as he will likely again be looked toward to provide offense on whatever line the GM places him on. The 6’6 RW knows how to make the most of what’s given to him and that is a skill that will come in handy during this tournament.

Ethan Cross – San Diego Tidal

The rookie center struggled a bit this season with an underperforming Tidal team with the -40 being the number that jumps out from the stat sheet. That is likely more indicative of a rookie on a poor team but possibly pairing him with fellow rookies Lambert-Gill and Paraygeko may mask some of his defensive liabilities while creating a very fun line to watch.

Trey Lambert-Gill – Colorado Raptors

The rookie defenseman will switch to a checking forward role for team Canada  in this tournament, and it may end up being a great decision to play this player out of position. He ended the season plus 6 for the raptors and while not the most physical with only 34 hits, he does play a very responsible game protecting the puck and turning it over very infrequently.

Colton Paraygeko – Newfoundland Berserkers

Canada continues to look at defensemen for depth forward positions and this one is very intriguing. A towering 6’6 defensemen he had an incredibly impressive rookie year with the Berserkers going +30 while chipping in 26 from the blue line. It will be interesting to see the net front presence this monster may have on this team.

Defenseman

Elliot Alderson – Detroit Falcons

Elliot Alderson is a 6’1 defensively responsible top 4 on this team. While he doesn’t play as physical as some with only 65 hits, and may not chip in as many points as others, he is what every team needs and he has it in spades. He will do anything in his power to keep the puck out of the net as referenced by his 190 blocked shots along with making sure he wont turn it over. Pair him with an offensively minded defenseman and watch them go.

Barcus Juneau – Anchorage Armada

Prototypical two way defenseman. 6’2 and chipped in 46 points the past season. Isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas and never hesitates to block a shot. He will be an important part of special teams if this team is to have success.

Chuck Stewart – Carolina Kraken

If past stats predicted tournament success, Chuck Stewart may be Canada’s best D. A 6’5 two way defensemen the numbers are just sparkling. 52 points, 60 takeaways/9 giveaways, 180 blocked shots, 75 hits all while playing both special teams. Finding the same chemistry with his D partner that he has in Carolina may be the biggest hurdle for Chuck’s success in this tournament but I personally have little worry about that.

Ty Justice – Maine Timber

Ty Justice took a big step last year in this 3rd in the J. 20 goals and 58 points while also delivering a punishing 134 hits. The 6’2 rearguard can slot into any line/special teams unit and not be out of place. He can also chew up big minutes playing over 21 a night for the Timber.

Miccolis Gonnawinthecup – Anchorage Armada

Much like his teammate Barcus, Miccolis is a 2nd year D who never looked out of place. He finished +19 isn’t afraid to block shots or play physically but may need to watch his giveaway/turnover ratio as that is the only downside when comparing him to Barcus.

Jean Bon – St. Louis Scarecrows

A 6’3 D who just completed his rookie year in St. Louis and was able to produce in both ends of the ice. While his offensive numbers might not look as good as his Canada teammate Justice, or his D stats aren’t on the same level as Chuck, he just does everything well. Which is exactly what you need and expect from your 2nd/3rd D pairing.

Goalies

PeanutButter Zamboni – Anchorage Armada

Team Canada is sporting the entire goaltending tandem from an Anchorage team who came up just one round short, losing to the eventual champions Quebec City. PeanutButter, a 6’7 giant, struggled a bit in the regular season sporting a .882 sv per and 3.84 GAA, but turned it on for the playoffs sporting a .915 sv per. In a short format tournament, a goalie with an ability to get hot like PeanutButter are worth their weight in gold.

Adam Joy – Anchorage Armada

Much like his partner, Adam is a large one, equaling PeanutButter’s 6’7 height. Adam while the “starter” in Anchorage split nearly evenly with Zamboni. While finishing out his J career with a .893 sv percentage he similarly turned it on in the playoffs with a .907 sv percentage. It will be interesting to see how the team Canada GMs work the net share as both are legitimate starters. It is a good problem to have.


Overall this is a very exciting Team Canada squad and there will be many interesting story lines. How will Paraygeko and Lambert-Gill play in a checking role? Will they be linemates? Can TheGreatOne continue the success he has been finding with Newfoundland as the team looks to him to lead the team in scoring? It will be a great tournament and while Canada may not be the odds on favorite I do believe this team has what it takes to make some noise and bring a medal back to Canada. Only time will tell but the GMs should have this team ready to rock from the opening puck drop.


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This is great stuff! Good job!

Credit: xjoverax