Derek Lee and Patrick Present discuss Beckett Sennecke

To the surprise of many, the Anaheim Ducks selected Beckett Sennecke from the Oshawa Generals of the OHL with the third overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft on June 28.

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On Dec. 1, Sennecke scored four goals and added a pair of assists in the Gens' 8-5 win over the Kinston Frontenacs.

A day later, on Dec. 2, Team Canada announced the list of invites to its selection camp for the 2025 World Junior Championship tournament, which will be held between Dec. 26 and Jan. 5 in Ottawa, Ontario. Sennecke's name was nowhere to be found.

For the first time since Jean-Pierre Dumont in the 1996-97 season, a third-overall pick not playing in the NHL failed to make his country's subsequent World Junior roster.

Seven Canadian players were selected with the first ten picks of the 2024 draft: Macklin Celebrini, Sennecke, Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla, Carter Yakemchuk, Berkly Catton, and Zayne Parekh. As the lone available center, Catton was the only player of that group invited to Canada's selection camp, with Celebrini in the NHL and Lindstrom injured.

Canada typically elects to deploy an older roster for their World Junior team. This year, 12 of the 18 forwards were selected in the 2023 NHL draft, four in 2024, and two (Gavin McKenna and Porter Martone) who have yet to be drafted.

Canada typically selects nine scoring forwards to comprise their top three lines, with an "energy" fourth line to complement. With Mckenna (55 points in 27 games) and Martone (47 points in 23 games) getting off to white-hot starts, there wasn't any room to fit wingers like Sennecke and Iginla into the top nine.

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Senencke currently sits tenth in OHL scoring with 19 goals and 17 assists in 23 games this season for the Generals, and though he's consistently one of the more involved players during play, he admittedly has some refining to do on the defensive side of the puck.

He's endlessly creative with the puck on his stick and has some of the best hands in recent drafts. His anticipation skills are elite, and pucks have a knack for finding his stick regardless of location on the ice. His shot has improved dramatically this season, as noted by the fact that he's just eight goals shy of his 27-goal total from the 2023-24 campaign in roughly a third of the time.

Unfortunately for Sennecke, the crop of wingers likely to make up Canada's top nine forwards are simply older or have been more productive.

Sennecke does have an edge to his game and is fiercely competitive. Perhaps the World Junior snub will fuel motivation for the final two-thirds of the OHL season and plant a gargantuan chip on his shoulder.

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