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ANAHEIM, Calif. — The coming World Junior Hockey Championship in Montreal and Toronto will offer Canadiens fans a glimpse at the team’s defence of the future with the spotlight on Mikhail Sergachev and Noah Juulsen.

Sergachev, 18, who was selected ninth overall in the 2016 draft, had a taste of the NHL this season and is expected to join Team Russia for the world juniors. He played three games before being returned to the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and he’s expected to challenge for a roster spot next season.

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Juulsen, a first-round pick in 2015, was named to the 31-man training camp for Team Canada on Tuesday and TSN said he’ll probably be part of the No. 1 pairing with Ottawa prospect Thomas Chabot.

When Sergachev was returned to junior, there was an assumption that he was only one year away from an NHL job, but Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin noted that he would face competition from other young players, including Juulsen.