Notables not invited on D: Cody Ceci, Stuart Percy, Slater Koekkoek, Ryan Pulock, Duncan Siemens. In net, Zach Fucale.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) December 3, 2012
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There will be disappointment in LDN (Seth Griffith), KIT (Matt Puempel), Kamloops (Colin Smith), U of Mich (Phil DiGiueseppe), to name a few
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) December 3, 2012
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The last Ottawa 67 to make Canada's World Junior roster was Brendan Bell…back in 2002. And while draft eligible (and currently suspended) Sean Monahan stands a good chance of ending that run, the possibility of two 67's in Ufa was put to bed today. (edit: Graovac was invited, my mistake. h/t @ChrisMooreYYZ)
Surprisingly, Cody Ceci wasn't able to earn an invite to next week's selection camp (full list here), this after being one of the last cuts for the 2012 team. Now it was far from a guarantee he'd make the final roster, Canada has great depth on defence (with this being a lockout year). Being scratched in two of the four Canada/Russia games in August was maybe a hint as to where he stood among the brass. With two right-shot d-men essentially locks in Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Murphy (who plays for head coach Steve Spott in Kitchener), the opportunity for another offensive d-man on that side was always going to be limited.
That being said you'd think being the 3rd leading point getter among CHL d-men would count for something? It's a tough break for Ceci to be sure, especially when the 67's are going exactly nowhere this season, best he can hope for at this point is a trade to a contender.
Less surprise in Puempel's case, although many thought his moving to the Kitchener Rangers would give him a leg up. The 24th pick from the 2011 draft currently is tied for 4th in OHL goal-scoring, but a shoulder separation last week may have deep-sixed his chances.
Zibanejad Comments On His Continuing Binghamton Residence
I think it's now quite clear that while the organization has been portraying Mika continuing to play in the AHL as a joint decision of sorts, after reading the player's comments last week it certainly looks like the decision was made for him:
"You're putting me in a really tough spot right now, I guess I'm happy I don't have to make that decision. I don't know wht I would do. I'm fully trusting (in the Senators) right now and i"m just respecting their decision. … I had a really good experience at the world juniors last year. You want to make both (sides) happy, but that's not possible. Right now, I'm just going after what Ottawa wants me to do. I knew this was one option, that Ottwa wouldn't let me go, I always had that in the back of my mind. It doesn't come as a shock. Now I get a good opportunity to focus on the team over here, making sure we're winning games. I'm trying to help as much as I can."
Guessing management couched this as 'what path is going to get you to the NHL faster' — taken that way it would be pretty hard for a young player who hasn't established himself in North America to say no to their advice. He seems to be taking it in stride though, the sizable Swedish contigent in Bingo probably doesn't hurt.
Zibanejad did miss two games over the weekend, the cause of which seems to be the aftermath of having his wisdom teeth removed.
Wikstrand On Swedish Roster
Swe WJC roster: G: Lundström, Lassinantti, (Dansk) D: Lindholm, Djoos, Bengtsson, Arnesson, Wikstrand, Nilsson, Djuse, Pettersson.
— Stefan G:son (@steffeG) December 3, 2012
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No surprise here (especially with injuries sidelining Klefbom and Brodin), but it's still great to see a 7th round round draft pick make a WJC roster. Never hurts to be playing with Kopitar.
Noesen Expected To Make US Roster
Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) who runs the excellent blog United States Of Hockey; last night posted his best guess at the American WJC roster. The reason one puts more faith in this than others is Chris was employed for two years by the US National Development Program, basically the guy is plugged in. In spite of playing in the dreaded Ontario Hockey League, he has Stefan Noesen as a very safe bet to make the team.
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