Even though we haven’t even reached Thanksgiving yet, it’s not too early to look ahead to December, and which Winterhawks players may get the call to represent their country in international play during the holidays.

The Hawks boast a truly international team- over half the roster is American, and is rounded out by Canadians, a Swede, a Dane and a Canadian with an Austrian passport.

The latter, Layne Viveiros, will likely be the first player to exit the lineup next month to represent his country. The defenseman is expected to play in the World Junior Championship Division I for Austria before Christmas from December 14-20. It’ll be the third time Viveiros takes part in the tournament; last season he had two assists in five games, and the prior year he had one assist.

Oliver Bjorkstrand played in the same tournament last season, and led Denmark to a 5-0 record in the tournament, defeating Latvia in the final to earn a promotion to the main tournament. Bjorkstrand had four goals and six points in the tournament to help lead the Danes to the championship and the promotion.

With Bjorkstrand likely to be selected to Team Denmark again, there’s a chance he could cross paths with Nic Petan and Canada. Petan represented Canada at the tournament last year, and had four goals and an assist. Petan is a good bet to don the maple leaf again this season, and if so, will be looking to lead Canada to their first gold medal since 2009. The pressure on the Canadians is always high, especially in years like this when the tournament is held on home soil, in this case Toronto and Montreal.

Team USA could also potentially call up any of Chase De Leo, Paul Bittner, Dominic Turgeon, Keegan Iverson, or Brendan Burke for the tournament.

The World Junior Championship has an impact on many WHL clubs who play a busy holiday schedule without some of their key stars, but playing internationally has a positive long-term impact on a team and its players.

The Hawks who perform on the international stage have a history of coming back richer for the experience, which will help Portland during a stretch drive in what will be a very competitive U.S. Division this season.

Recent Winterhawks in the World Junior Championship:

2014: Matt Dumba (Hawks had his rights but he hadn’t yet joined the team), Taylor Leier, Nic Petan, Derrick Pouliot (Canada)

2013: Ty Rattie, Tyler Wotherspoon (Canada), Seth Jones (USA)

2012: Sven Baertschi (Switzerland)

2011: Ryan Johansen (Canada), Sven Baertschi, Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland)

2010: Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland), Luke Walker (USA)

Winterhawks Weekly brings fans an inside look at the team. Your weekly contributors will be Hawks play-by-play voice Todd Vrooman, PR Director Graham Kendrick and Community & Events Coordinator Lesley Dawson. This week’s edition was written by Todd Vrooman.