Late on the night of Dec. 14, while the Philadelphia Flyers were winning their 10th game in a row, two of their prospects were doing some winning of their own.
Not a game; that’s not the important part. What they won were roster spots on Team Canada for the 2017 World Junior Championships.
Carter Hart and Philippe Myers survived Canada’s final round of roster cuts, effectively giving us a reason to watch Canada in this year’s World Juniors, which officially kick off on Dec. 26 in Toronto and Montreal (i.e., no weird time zones this year).
Probably of particular interest will be the annual holiday tradition in which Team Canada faces off against Team USA on Dec. 31. Hopefully Hart gets the start for that game! Or maybe not, depending on who you’re cheering for…?
Which leads us to this question: how much will they be playing?
Canada was, in a word, humiliated last year, finishing in sixth place. You know they’re definitely looking for redemption, especially with this year’s tournament being played on home ice.
Myers is one of seven defensemen to make the final roster. Not only is he one of the older ones to make it, but he’s also one of the biggest. Among the seven, he has the third highest points per game. Combining his size and offensive ability, it’s easy to see Canada wanting to use him a fair amount.
Hart, meanwhile, only faces direct competition in the form of fellow goalie Connor Ingram. Ingram is over a year older, so if Canada is looking to their future netminder in 2018, Hart may have an inside track there. Ingram does, however, have the better save percentage – .935 over 24 games compared to Hart’s .928 – so there will probably be a bit of a battle between the two during round robin play, though both are obviously great options for Canada.
It’s the enemy, but hey, two Flyers who should have sizable roles for one of the top hockey nations in the world is always a good sign.
