Dumais, Mateychuk Make The World Junior Roster For Team Canada
It was announced yesterday that Blue Jackets draft picks Denton Mateychuk and Jordan Dumais would both play for Canada in the 2024 World Juniors, which will be held in Sweden.
This will be both player's first time playing for Team Canada, but for Dumais, this should be extra special. Last time around Dumais was snubbed by Team Canada. When asked if it would have an impact on his game he said, "Not too much. I mean, maybe a bit." After the perceived snub, he would go on to break the Halifax single-season points record with 140. He admitted he had a chip on his shoulder.
This season started a little late for Dumais, as he was stuck in Columbus with an injury he suffered in training camp. Jordan would miss the first 10 games or so of the season. But has that stopped him? No. Dumais has now played 21 games for the Mooseheads this season, scoring 16 goals and 47 points. He's currently tied for the team lead in points with Mathieu Cataford, who has 47 points in 31 games. Dumais also moved into first all-time in points for Halifax earlier this season.
Denton Mateychuk was the 12th overall pick by Columbus in the 2022 draft. Many people thought he should've made the CBJ out of camp this season, but with the log jam of defensemen the Jackets currently have, it just wasn't possible. So Mateychuk was returned to Moose Jaw where he has been extremely good.
Mateychuk is coming in off of back-to-back seasons of 64+ points. And so far this year, he has 35 points through 24 games. It doesn't hurt that Denton started this season off with a blistering 23-game points streak, which was recently ended on December 9th. He's currently 3rd on the team in points and leads the team in assists.
Both players should play a major role for the team in this tournament and will be fun to watch.
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