Canada adds an addition to its roster for the next World Junior Hockey Championship.
Boston Bruins forward Matthew Poitras joins the Canadian team as it seeks its gold medal in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Canada did not select a 13th spot when the roster was announced last week, hoping an NHL team would release a player for the tournament, which runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.
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Poitras has goals and 8 assists in 27 games for the Bruins this season. The 11-foot-180 forward is tied for 10th in scoring among rookies.
The 19-year-old from Ajax, Ontario, had 16 goals and 79 assists in 63 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm last season. The Bruins selected him 54th overall in the 2022 draft.
Poitras will do their thing in Canada on Tuesday in Sweden ahead of the first pre-tournament match against Denmark’s U-25 team.
The Canadians will then face Switzerland on Dec. 22 and the United States the following day before opening their World Junior Championships on Dec. 26 in Finland at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg.
Poitras joins forwards Owen Beck and Fraser Minten, as well as defenseman Tristan Luneau, as the only Canadian NHL skaters enjoying heading into the U20 tournament.
Beck, the only one to return from the gold medal-winning team last January in Halifax, played one game for the Montreal Canadiens in 2022-2023.
Minten dressed for four games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fall, while Luneau has skated seven times for the Anaheim Ducks.
The list also includes presumed 2024 first-round pick Macklin Celebrini, a 17-year-old forward with 10 goals and 15 assists in 15 games for Boston University this season.
Owen Allard, Easton Cowan, Nate Danielson, Jordan Dumais, Conor Geekie, Carson Rehkopf, Matthew Savoie, Matthew Wood and Brayden Yager are in the forward lineup.
Canada is looking to three-peat at the tournament for the first time since 2009.
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