Team Canada’s defence — and its potential leadership core — took a bit of a body blow Wednesday with word that the Maple Leafs intend to keep 19-year-old defenceman Morgan Rielly in the NHL.

Hockey Canada had hoped the Leafs would loan the rookie to the world junior entry that is currently in camp in Copenhagen preparing for the tournament, which begins on Boxing Day in Malmo, Sweden.

“Disappointment, for sure,” Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada’s director of player personnel, told TSN. “Yeah, it was a long shot, but we were hopeful.”

The Leafs’ decision at least adds certainty for both Rielly and the Leafs but it puts the focus more squarely on the eight mostly inexperienced defencemen in camp for Team Canada.

Rielly played last year and would have been a candidate for team captain.

As things stand, only three players are returning from last year’s squad: forward Jonathan Drouin, defenceman Griffin Reinhart and goalie Jake Paterson. Paterson didn’t play at all last year as Canada’s third goalie. Drouin is skating again after suffering a concussion a few days before Team Canada opened camp.

Reinhart comes with baggage: he must still serve three games of a suspension he incurred last year, meaning he won’t be available until the last game of the preliminary round.

That means Canada will start with a defensive core that has no U20 experience.

Without Rielly, Team Canada coach Brent Sutter sounds as if he’s going to lean heavily on Matt Dumba, on loan from the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Dumba used to play for Sutter in Red Deer. Sutter recently traded his WHL rights to Portland.

“He’s a good leader,” Sutter said of Dumba before the team left for Europe. “He’s like all the kids. They’re great guys. You want to be that way off the ice. On the ice, you have to have a different switch to hit and you’ve got to be completely different.

“Superb personalities off the ice doesn’t necessarily make you win on the ice. You have to have a switch that turns that and Matt can do it pretty quickly.”

Dumba has twice been one of the last cuts from Team Canada’s world junior entry. Many believed it was a mistake to leave him off last year’s team.

“Anytime any player goes through that for two straight years, it leaves maybe some scars. Matt’s pretty grown up, a pretty mature kid,” said Sutter. “I like to think Matt was excited about that and now in his third year he gets that chance. Rightly so.

“He’s been one of the best defencemen in our country for the last year. We’re leaning on him.”

Dumba said he believes his time in the NHL this year will help him overseas.

“I hope it translates,” said Dumba. “I hope to lead by example. I think that’s the best way to lead. You have to go and get that respect from your teammates. Just work as hard as you can and do whatever it takes to win. Take the role the coach asks of you.”

So far in camp, Dumba has been paired with Owen Sound’s Chris Bigras; Derrick Pouliot of the Winterhawks with Barrie’s Aaron Ekblad; Prince Albert’s Josh Morrissey with Kelowna’s Damon Severson; and Reinhart of the Edmonton Oil Kings with Erie’s Adam Pelech.

Canada will likely go with seven defencemen when final cuts are announced, meaning one from that group will be cut. Had Rielly been airlifted in, it would have meant two defencemen would have been cut.

With Reinhart suspended for three games, Sutter has to be sure his other six defencemen are healthy. From that perspective, Morrissey is on the bubble. He’s been battling an undisclosed injury.

If age is an issue, then Ekblad is on the bubble. At 17, he’s the youngest defenceman, although at nearly six-foot-four and 216 pounds he’s also the biggest.

Dumba said getting cut from Team Canada was one of the worst moments of his life, but one that helped him grow.

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“Third time is a charm,” said Dumba. “Obviously, it sucks getting cut. That’s pretty hard to take. Now that I’m here, I’m glad for the opportunity. I want to live in the moment and seize every day.

“It is a tough team to make. Obviously, I’ve experienced it. For younger guys to make it to this level, to make it to camp and who are going to be cut from camp, it’s not the end of the world. There are so many years in front of you to establish yourself as a hockey player. It doesn’t change who you are as a person. Just stay to yourself, keep building, do whatever it takes to get to that next level.”

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