Here it is folks, the moment you’ve all been waiting for.  After hours, upon hours of studying junior hockey talent, my predictions on this year’s version of the Canadian Under-19 hockey team.

Goalies:

Mark Visentin
Calvin Pickard

Defense:

Jared Cowen -  Ryan Ellis
Calvin de Haan -  Simon Depres
Erik Gudbranson - Ryan Murphy

Forward:

Garret Wilson - Brayden Schenn - Brandon Pirri
Michael Bournival - Sean Coutuier -  Zack Kassian
Jaden Schwartz - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Brett Connolly
Casey Cizikas - Ryan Johansen - Louis Leblanc

Marcus Foligno

Now by the time most of you are reading this there will already have been some cuts made, so let’s hope none of these players were involved.

One of the most noticeable things on my roster is the three young undrafted players (Couturier, Murphy, Nugent-Hopkins).  These guys impressed me so much over the past few days that I just couldn’t keep them off the list.

Day one of selection camp is in the books and while no one lost their spot on Canada’s tournament roster there were definitely a few players who stood out.

Brayden Schenn was sent back to junior by the L.A. Kings and will be a key piece to the puzzle if Canada is to have a chance at gold.

He was flying in the first scrimmage, showing his size, speed and hands.  He also took a retaliatory penalty giving young Ryan Murphy a cross check in the back.

The other returnees from last years team are Calvin de Haan, Ryan Ellis, and Jared Cowen.  They were also noticeably strong on day one.  Their spots on the team should be secure.

After that things open up significantly. There are four young players at camp who are still undrafted, and all four were noticeably impressive on day one.

Ryan Murray and Ryan Murphy are similar mobile defensemen who break out well and create scoring chances in the offensive zone.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Sean Couturier are two very different forwards but both showed why they are so highly touted by NHL central scouting.  Nugent-Hopkins used his speed and determination to cause trouble for his opponents on most shifts while Couturier used his size and hands to garner many scoring chances.

It’s doubtful that all four will make the team but Dave Cameron said they are at camp because of their strong play and not because of their reputations.

Stay tuned for my team canada predictions after tomorrow night’s Red and White scrimmage.