Official word came down late Wednesday night that both Everett Silvertips goaltender Carter Hart and defenseman Noah Juulsen have made the Team Canada roster for the World Junior Championship that begins Dec. 26 in Montreal and Toronto.
The congratulations came quickly via social media from teammates, coaches and fans alike:
Huge congrats to my two good buddies @C_Hart70 and @noahjuulsen on making the ?? World Jr. team. Best of luck boys! ?
— Brandon Ralph (@ralphyboy17) December 15, 2016
Congrats to @C_Hart70 and @noahjuulsen for both making Team Canada. Proud of my kids. (Now go ?? ?)
— Chris Mast (@MastImages) December 15, 2016
Congrats to @noahjuulsen & @C_Hart70 of the @WHLsilvertips for making the final 22 man roster for the 2016-17 @HC_WJC #proudaccomplishment
— Mitch Love (@mlovehockey) December 15, 2016
While it’s certainly big news and a remarkable achievement, it does mean both players will miss 11 regular-season games since they will have a week off following the tournament before returning to Everett.
Hart, from Sherwood Park, Alberta, went into camp seemingly with the starting job being his to lose, and all he did was stop every shot he faced a pair of 30-minute appearances in two of Team Canada’s exhibition games. He will be backed up by Connor Ingram of the Kamloops Blazers while Michael McNiven was sent back to the OHL’s Owen Sound.
Hart and Ingram are without a doubt the top two goalies in the WHL (some will argue about which one is the better netminder). It appears Hockey Canada agrees.
Gary Joyce at Sportsnet has this breakdown of Team Canada’s goaltending situation.
Carter Hart is a strong choice, but goaltending will likely remain a big story for Canada at #WJC2017: https://t.co/VPQFfYB4Uv @GareJoyceNHL pic.twitter.com/52QrxbTWjx
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 15, 2016
You can also check out this article from the Courier-Post in South New Jersey that looks at Hart’s mission for the season, which is to be the “top goalie in junior hockey again.”
On Carter Hart, Canada’s likely No. 1 goalie for WJC, who is answering Ron Hextall’s bell: https://t.co/dx7PKEMebf #Flyers
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) December 15, 2016
Juulsen was also named to the squad after being among the final cuts from last year’s roster. Another Sportsnet article notes that Juulsen called the experience of getting cut last year in Finland was one of the most brutal experiences he’s ever had.
This year the 19-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., was seemingly a lock going in as he only played in one exhibition game and tallied an assist.
You can check out this article that appeared Wednesday prior to final cuts that recounts a bit of the path Juulsen has taken to wear the maple leaf.
Noah Juulsen’s long, arduous road to 2017 world juniors will (almost certainly) end in Team Canada debut https://t.co/Us7Tn5le6x pic.twitter.com/gbY5fpa0fL
— Province Sports (@provincesports) December 14, 2016
All told there were seven WHL players named to the Team Canada roster.
IN COMPLETELY unrelated news, Tips prospect Dylan Holloway has committed to the University of Wisconsin. Everett’s sixth-round pick in this year’s bantam draft, Holloway has five goals and three assists in 18 games with the Calgary Flames Midget AAA team.
Dylan Holloway (Calgary Northwest Flames Midget AAA) has committed to University of Wisconsin for 2019-2020 @AAAMidgetFlames @BadgerMHockey
— Hockey Commitments (@HockeyCommits) December 13, 2016
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.
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