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ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA — The goofy grin has not gone away — not yet, anyway.

A day after Ben Hutton spent 60 minutes of a blowout win against Slovakia nailed to the bench, the Team Canada defenceman was still his usual charming self. He stayed late after practice, joking around on the ice with teammates, and when he spoke to reporters afterwards he smiled the entire time.

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If he was upset, Hutton definitely was keeping it to himself.

“I didn’t get any ice time last game, but that’s all right,” said the native of Prescott, Ont., native who spent this season playing for the Vancouver Canucks. “Still bring a positive attitude to the rink. If my name gets call, I’ll be ready to go.

“We’ve got a great squad with a lot of good D. Obviously I’m just glad to be here. We’re winning games so whatever I an do to help, whether it’s on the ice, off the ice or here at practice, I’m all in.”

This is sort of what Hutton had expected when he was asked to come to Russia and play at the world championship. He had been one of the last invites. And as an unheralded fifth-round pick in 2012, he even joked that “I’m not an outcast anymore” after playing with a group of defencemen who knew each other from past world junior and under-18 championships.