The tournament annually features the top players in the world under age 20 in a high stakes international competition that runs from late December-January and it routinely highlights most of the players who will one day become NHL All-Stars. Especially for Team Canada.
Sidney Crosby. John Tavares. Steven Stamkos.
Those are the sorts of names that Canadian World Junior teams are used to icing. At the recent World Junior showcase in Calgary – the beginning of the process of determining Canada’s 2016 roster – the level of talent was exactly as it always is: elite.
NHL Draft Pick Breakdown of Canada’s Roster Hopefuls
First-round picks: 18
Second-round picks: 7
Third-round picks: 2
Fourth-round picks: 1
Fifth-round picks: 0
Sixth-round picks: 1
Seventh-round picks: 1
Undrafted players signed by NHL teams: 1
Players eligible for 2016 NHL Draft: 1
Although Canada won’t finalize its roster until December, there is something pertinent to the Sharks that lies buried within the draft status data of Canada’s camp invitees: Of the 32 remaining candidates for 23 roster spots, only seven weren’t taken in the first two rounds of the NHL Draft.