Eleven OHLers were invited to Canada's World Junior Selection Camp, but only five made the final roster. A deeper look into each cut, potential reasons why, and positives these players can take away from the experience.
Eleven current OHL players were initially invited to Canada's World Junior Selection Camp, but unfortunately only five made the final cut. With less than half of the OHL-invitees making the final roster, it is worth looking into potential reasons why these decisions were made, but also positive takeaways for each individual player.
Denver Barkey, C, London Knights
Denver Barkey was undoubtedly one of the hardest-working players at camp, and his cut definitely came as a surprise. Barkey was one of three London Knights invited to Canada's camp, but the only one to get cut from the final roster.
Barkey's compete, determination, and work ethic was on full display throughout the duration of this camp. Whenever he had a chance, he was putting in maximum effort. Barkey never took a shift off in the scrimmage and in the two exhibition games versus USports.
The Philadelphia Flyers prospect should be proud about how he competed at camp, and this cut will likely only motivate him more. The Knights will receive Barkey, while three other Knights will play in Sweden. Barkey will be "the" guy during this time, and I expect him to go on a tear over the next month or so.
He is already having a fantastic season with the Knights, and this news will add more fuel to his fire.
Paul Ludwinski, C, Kingston Frontenacs
The two-way centre was likely fighting for the 4th line centre spot on this team, and his electric start to the season earned him an invite. At the end of the day, Paul Ludwinski was out-worked and out-skilled for this 4th line centre role.
Looking at the final roster, it is a deep team down the middle. Returnee Owen Beck had locked a bottom-six centre role, and the other role seemed to be up to Allard, Ludwinski, and QMJHL forward Markus Vidicek to fight out.
Ludwinski — the Chicago Blackhawks prospect — has been fantastic for Kingston through the first half of the season, including a fourteen-game point streak. The two-way centre has elevated his offensive game tremendously, and this has added some complexity to his game. He was selected in the 2nd round of the 2022 NHL Draft, and still has another year of junior before he will surely make the jump to the pro level.
Ty Nelson, D, North Bay Battalion
North Bay defenceman Ty Nelson and his teammate Dom DiVincentiis have both been cut from this final roster. To me, Nelson was the next defenceman up to make this roster, should Tanner Molendyk have been ruled "unhealthy."
Nonetheless, Nelson had a great camp and was influencing heavily offensively. He was active in both of the exhibition games, and generated a lot of offence. Nelson definitely proved all that he could have to make this roster, just as Barkey did.
Being 19-years-old, this was Nelson's last chance to represent Canada at the World Juniors. That being said, the Seattle Kraken prospect has a bright future as a professional player. He will likely have the opportunity to play in Coachella for Seattle's AHL-affiliate next year, and he has the rest of this year to light up the OHL.
North Bay is having another good season, and will more than likely get themselves into a playoff spot. Their defensively structured game is tough to play against in the playoffs, and Nelson and the Battalion will have the opportunity to try and bring a championship home to North Bay.
Jorian Donovan, D, Brantford Bulldogs
The Ottawa Senators prospect was one of three OHL defenders to get cut from this final roster. Donovan looked unconfident specifically in the two exhibition games, and made some plays that are unusual for him. He took a couple of penalties and had a few turnovers that resulted in high danger chances.
Among Canada's defence core, there didn't seem to be a place for players like Donovan and Buchinger, who are more offensively-minded.
Donovan has had a productive season with the Bulldogs this season, alongside fellow Sens prospect Tomas Hamara. The two seem to have a future spot in Ottawa's system, and have been able to develop together as D partners.
Michael Buchinger, D, Guelph Storm
The St. Louis Blues prospect had a camp that we came to expect from Buchinger, but similar to Donovan, there didn't seem to be a role for him. He was strong offensively, getting many looks on the powerplay unit and shooting from the point. He did tend to lose track of the play and positioning defensively in the two games, which may have attributed to him getting cut.
Buchinger has been "the guy" defensively on a young defence core in Guelph, holding a lot of responsibility. He's wearing an 'A' for the Storm, serving as a great role model for their rookie defenders.
The 3rd round pick has potential as a complete defenceman who possesses some offensive tools to create from the back end. Buchinger was also born in 2004, which means he will likely transition to the pro level after possibly one more year of junior.
Dom DiVincentiis, G, North Bay Battalion
Unfortunately, it seemed like one singular game defined DiVincentiis' chances in this camp. He let in several weak goals in the second exhibition game versus USports, which resulted in the 6-1 loss. He wasn't completely responsible for the loss, however he should have saved a lot of the goals.
At the beginning of this camp, DiVincentiis seemed like he was going to be "the guy" for Canada in the crease. He has a wealth of experience in North Bay, and even won goaltender of the year last season in the OHL.
The Jets prospect is the core piece in a deep goaltending prospect pool in Winnipeg. He will also have the opportunity to help lead his team to the Memorial Cup — alongside teammate Ty Nelson — with North Bay's structured style of play.