
The Canadian roster for the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship has been set.
Among the 22 players selected are four with ties to the province of Manitoba.
Two players hail from the middle province, while two others have spent time as leaders on WHL clubs representing Manitoba.
Set to begin their title defence in a pre-tournament game on December 19, the Canadian world junior team will feature 12 forwards, seven defencemen and three goaltenders.
Jets' draft pick Domenic DiVincentiis did not crack the squad as one of the three netminders, as he was one of the final cuts.
Those cracking the roster included Conor Geekie of Strathclair, Denton Mateychuk of Dominion City, Matt Savoie - who played on the former Winnipeg ICE - and Nate Danielson of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Geekie, 19, has 20 goals and 49 points in 29 games for the Wenatchee Wild this year, while Mateychuk, also 19, has six goals and 35 points in 24 games as captain of the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Danielson - the second-year captain of the Wheat Kings - has 11 goals and 25 points in 24 games for Brandon. Savoie has 11 goals and 24 points in just 11 games for Wenatchee this year, while also getting in some NHL contests with his Buffalo Sabres earlier in the season.
The Canadian team is set to compete at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden from December 26 to January 5.
Canada begins its title defence with two pre-tournament games on December 19 against a U-25 team from Denmark and then tests against fellow WJHC participants Switzerland and United States on December 22 and 23. Canada's tournament schedule begins on Boxing Day in a game against Finland at 7:30 AM central. All games can be viewed live on TSN.
