Canada's world junior's return to camp
c/p from tsn by the canadienpress
TORONTO -- Seeing talented forward Brayden Schenn back with Canada's world junior championship team was like a godsend to coach Dave Cameron.
The high-scoring forward from the Brandon Wheat Kings was among 40 players to arrive Saturday for the three-day selection camp to pick Canada's squad for the championship that begins Dec. 26 in Buffalo, N.Y.
Schenn was returned to his junior squad last week after splitting the start of the season between the Los Angeles Kings and their AHL club in Manchester, N.H.
"It's an early Christmas gift," said Cameron. "He's got a chance to be our best player.
"To win this tournament you need some luck and we consider it luck that he came back."
The camp begins with practices during the day and an intra-squad game at night both Sunday and Monday at the Mastercard Centre and a game Tuesday night against a team of university players.
The final 22-man team is to be named Wednesday.
Schenn is among only four players returning from the squad that lost the gold medal game in overtime to the United States at last year's tournament in his home town of Saskatoon. The others are all defencemen -- Ryan Ellis, Calvin de Haan and Jared Cowen.
Cameron hopes those four will be part of the leadership group on team that may be lacking offensive stars from the squads of recent years like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle or John Tavares.
They will be looking for scorers to make a splash in camp, like high draft picks Ryan Johansen of the Portland Winter Hawks and Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars, speedy Cody Eakin of the Swift Current Broncos and gifted Louis Leblanc of the Montreal Juniors.
There are also two "underage" forwards expected to go high in the next NHL draft -- Sean Couturier of the Drummondville Volitigeurs and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels.
"It's as wide open as it can be with only four returning players, but obviously we have some guys rated ahead of others," said Cameron, who has taken leave of the Ontario Hockey League-leading Mississauga St. Michael's to guide the Canadian squad.
"Now it's time to take the ratings off the paper and bring it down to the ice."
