When Travis Sanheim was cut from Canada's world junior hockey camp nine months ago, the coaching staff told the young defenceman they expected him to be a crucial piece to the 2016 team. He watched his would-be teammates win gold on home ice.
Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner were watching, too, eager to see respective Ontario Hockey League teammates Connor McDavid and Max Domi put on a show on the biggest junior stage.
Those three players and others, including forward Michael Dal Colle and defenceman Jeremy Roy, arrived at Canada's world junior summer camp with plenty of expectations on themselves to make the 2016 team, and Strome, Marner and Sanheim should be among the go-to players in Helsinki.