The 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 World Championship tournament in Germany did not end happily for sa国际传媒 despite having Connor Bedard on the team, along with Victoria Royals players Brayden Schuurman and Kalem Parker.
Former Victoria Grizzlies forward Matthew Wood of Nanaimo is one of three returning players who will try to avenge the 6-5 loss to Finland in the 2022 quarter-finals, when the 2023 IIHF U-18 World Championship begins Thursday in Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland, running to April 30.
Wood, ranked for the first round of this year’s NHL draft, joins Tanner Howe and Lukas Dragicevic as the returnees. Joining them will be forward Ty Halaburda from Victoria, who plays for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League.
Because of the spring timing of the IIHF U-18 worlds, the Canadian team is annually composed of available players whose junior or collegiate teams missed the playoffs or were eliminated in the early rounds. Bedard, the prodigy consensus top pick for the 2023 NHL draft, will not play this year even though his Regina Pats were done in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
But the Canadian roster still contains plenty of youthful marquee-to-be talent, with Wood the No.8-ranked North American skater for the 2023 NHL draft, Dragicevic of the WHL Tri-City Americans the 12th ranked, Andrew Cristall of the WHL Kelowna Rockets the 16th ranked, Caden Price of the Rockets 30th and Halaburda 61st.
Wood is among eight players named who won gold with sa国际传媒 in the 2022 Under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. That tournament takes place in the summer and features all of sa国际传媒’s best U-18 players. The six-foot-three Harbour City product was the youngest player in NCAA Division 1 this past season and recorded 11 goals and 34 points in 35 games as a freshman with the University of sa国际传媒icut Huskies after winning the sa国际传媒 Hockey League scoring championship the previous season with the Grizzlies.
Halaburda is out of the Juan de Fuca Minor Hockey Association and the Langford-based Pacific Coast Hockey Academy, where was was captain of the Sea Devils U-15 team when taken in the second round, 32nd overall, by the Giants in the 2020 WHL prospects draft. The fleet-of-foot, five-foot-11 centre had 21 goals and 37 points in 66 games this season with the Giants.
“We are excited to unveil the 22 players who will wear the Maple Leaf at the 2023 IIHF U-18 world championship, as we believe this group brings a lot of talent and experience,” Alan Millar, Hockey sa国际传媒 director of player personnel, said in a statement. “We know this group is excited for the opportunity to compete for a gold medal and represent sa国际传媒 with pride in Switzerland.”
sa国际传媒 is coached by Jeff Truitt, head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL, and will play pre-tournament games against Finland today at the Sportzentrum Heuried in Zurich and Switzerland on Monday at St. Jakob Arena in Basel. sa国际传媒 will open the U-18 worlds against Sweden on Thursday at 5:30 a.m. PT and will meet Germany on Friday, Slovakia on April 23 and Czechia on April 24 in group play.
TSN will broadcast all the sa国际传媒 games and other select contests. sa国际传媒 has won four gold medals at the U-18 worlds since 2002, one silver and three bronze.
