Ryan Murray headed to Men’s World Championships

Published 11:44 am Thursday, April 26, 2012

It’s official. Silverttips captain Ryan Murray will be joining Team Canada leading up to the upcoming Men’s World Championships in Sweden and Finland.

It was previously reported that the 18-year-old from White City, Saskatchewan, was approached by Hockey Canada about possibly being on the team. Today Murray was invited to join the team. He wasn’t technically added to Canada’s roster, he was just invited to take part in the pre-competition in Switzerland. But he is eligible to play in exhibition games, and Canada has the option of adding him to the roster for the tournament.

This is an incredible honor for Murray. Canada’s team is almost always comprised of NHL players whose teams are no longer competing in the playoffs — this year’s roster includes NHL stars Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Duncan Keith and Cam Ward. Junior-aged players making the team is rare. Junior-aged players who haven’t even reached their NHL draft making the team is unheard of.

And I can’t think of a better way to audition for the NHL draft. Murray is already expected to be taken high in June, being rated as high as second overall. If he shows the ability to hold his own against the men, whether in games or just practices, it enhances his position.

Canada’s pre-compeition camp opens Friday in Zurich. The tournament takes place May 4-20.