Keeping track of Jujhar Khaira

The Canada-Russia Super Series comes to the WHL tonight and Thursday, pitting an all-star team of WHLers eligible to play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships against a traveling Russian team. Everett center Jujhar Khaira is a part of Team WHL and expected to play in both games.

These games supposedly play a role in Hockey Canada evaluating players for World Juniors. I’m not sure I completely believe that, because Hockey Canada has plenty of opportunities to evaluate players in settings superior to these one-off all-star games. Regardless, I can’t say whether Khaira has a realistic chance at making Team Canada. He hasn’t been involved in any of Canada’s preparation camps, and he didn’t play for Canada at the U-17 or U-18 levels. That said, he’s a big body capable of playing a two-way role, and that’s something Canada often seeks for a third- or fourth-line role. So who knows, maybe Khaira can catch an eye with some good defensive work and physical play in these games.

You can keep track of the games at the Super Series website.