Luneau, Molendyk out; Donovan, Nelson in for Canada at World Juniors
Published
Team Canada lost 6-5 in overtime against Team USA in a pre-tournament game on Saturday night in Kungsbacka, Sweden.
After the game, Hockey Canada announced that Anaheim Ducks defenceman Tristan Luneau and Saskatoon Blades defenceman Tanner Molendyk, a Nashville Predators prospect, will be unable to play at the World Juniors.
Jorian Donovan of the Brantford Bulldogs and Ty Nelson of the North Bay Battalion have been added to the roster after initially being cut during the selection camp.
"When you get that second opportunity, you want to make it count," said Donovan, an Ottawa Senators fifth-round pick in 2022. "Getting the call, it didn't feel real. Just super excited. I couldn't really put it into words."
Luneau has been dealing with a viral infection. He last skated with the team on Monday.
"He's had an illness here since he's joined us and it's just lingered on," said Hockey Canada management lead Peter Anholt. "It's come to the forefront that he wouldn't be available for us."
Molendyk sustained a wrist injury during Friday's pre-tournament game against Switzerland.
"We got the X-rays back and he does have a crack and a break in a bone in his wrist so he's unavailable," Anholt said.
Luneau had been practising on the second defence pair and quarterbacking the second power play unit. He was also in line to play a leadership role as Canada's only NHLer on the back end. Molendyk had been skating on the third defence pair.
"The one thing about this tournament, you're always going to run into some bumps in the road and we've already had some," Anholt said. "It's kind of galvanizing this group."
Donovan got the call to return to Canada's camp on Friday morning.
"I was at a spa with my girlfriend," the 19-year-old from Ottawa said. "It was her Christmas present. We just started and then I get a call from my agent and had to pack everything up. I couldn't even go home and pack. My parents met me at the airport and I just showed up. I didn't really know what was in my suitcase. I just hoped the stuff was in there."
Donovan drove from the spa, which was just across the border in Quebec, to the Ottawa airport and flew to Toronto and then on to Frankfurt and finally Gothenburg, Sweden. All in all, it was 16 and a half hours of travel. He figures he got about three hours of sleep.
But that didn't stop Donovan, who landed at 10 am local time, from playing and playing well on Saturday night. He picked up an assist on Canada's first goal and was selected by management as the team's player of the game.
"I guess it's not that hard getting off a plane and jumping on," said head coach Alan Letang with a smile. "He kept it real simple. He moved his feet. He's a kid that can skate and get himself out of trouble and he used his feet tonight early on. The more energy he gets, the more he's around here, it will just raise his game. He played real well."
"I think it was just the adrenaline of being here," Donovan said, "that kind of pulled me through the game."
It's unclear when Nelson, a third-round pick of the Seattle Kraken in 2022, will arrive.
"The way he competes and his energy is going to be really contagious for us," Anholt said. "He zips the puck up to the forwards really quickly and that's a real good attribute for us to have."
The team's next practice is on Christmas Day. Canada opens the World Juniors on Boxing Day against Finland.
Team Canada's lines to start Saturday's game:
Minten - Geekie - Dumais
Cowan - Poitras - Savoie
Wood - Celebrini - Yager
Allard - Beck - Danielson
Rehkopf
Mateychuk - Lamoureux
Furlong - Warren
Donovan - Bonk
Rousseau started and played the first half of the game
St-Hilaire played the second half of the game