Wednesday October 21, 2015

By Josh Sweetland/CHL

A total of 79 CHL players will compete in the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series from November 9-19 as Team WHL, Team OHL and Team QMJHL have all unveiled their rosters for the annual event.

The Canadian Hockey League sets out to face the Russian National Junior Team after suffering an 11-7 loss in points over the six game series last November, marking the third time in the last five years that the Russians have taken the series.

Canada however, would settle the score two months later with a 5-4 victory over Russia to claim gold at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Toronto with a squad that featured 20 different players who suited up in the 2014 CHL Canada Russia Series.

Hockey Canada’s Director of Player Personnel Ryan Jankowski, who assisted in the roster selection process alongside selection committees formed by each of the three leagues, says the CHL Canada Russia Series provides a valuable look at the nation’s top young talent.

“This is a very important event for us,” Jankowski said on Wednesday. “It allows us to see our players in high level competition against a very strong Russian team that has made continual improvements over the past two to three years. It allows us to see where players across Canada are at and it’s a tool that assists us in getting down to our final selections for the start of December going into our National Team Selection Camp.”

Above all, Jankowski and the eyes at Hockey Canada have their sights set on skill, an element imperative to success in a game that only continues to get faster.

“We want a team that has the depth to create offence through all four lines,” he commented. “I think the day of the role player on the Canadian roster is over. The other countries are just too good and when you take players to only play a specific role, they often end up not being good enough on the international stage because of the depth of the other countries. We’ve found that we have an incredible amount of depth in our country and we don’t want to cut that in half.”

Team WHL opens the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series on November 9th and 10th in Kelowna and Kamloops, BC featuring a roster with a pair of 2015 World Junior gold medalists in Brayden Point (Moose Jaw Warriors) and Joe Hicketts (Victoria Royals). The roster features eight first round NHL draft picks including a pair of big 19 year-old defencemen in Haydn Fleury (Red Deer Rebels/Carolina Hurricanes) and Travis Sanheim (Calgary Hitmen/Philadelphia Flyers). Up front, 2015 WHL Champions Rourke Chartier and Nick Merkley of the Kelowna Rockets are two of the 12 forwards selected to the roster while a pair of draft eligible goaltending prospects in Zach Sawchenko (Moose Jaw Warriors) and Carter Hart (Everett Silvertips) will have an opportunity to make their mark. The WHL has an all-time record of 16-6-2 in the CHL Canada Russia Series. FULL WHL ROSTER

The series continues on Thursday November 12 in Owen Sound before heading to Windsor for Game 4 on Monday November 16 as Team OHL hits the ice featuring 10 returnees from the 2014 CHL Canada Russia Series. World Junior gold medalist Lawson Crouse (Kingston Frontenacs/Florida Panthers) leads a forward group that also features Dylan Strome (Erie Otters/Arizona Coyotes) and Mitch Marner (London Knights/Toronto Maple Leafs) who were the third and fourth overall picks respectively in the 2015 NHL Draft. Defencemen Roland McKeown (Kingston Frontenacs), Matthew Spencer (Peterborough Petes) and Mitchell Vande Sompel (Oshawa Generals) return for their second CHL Canada Russia Series while top draft eligible rearguard Jakob Chychrun (Sarnia Sting) will appear in Windsor on November 16th. New Jersey Devils prospect Mackenzie Blackwood (Barrie Colts) joins Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael McNiven (Owen Sound Attack) and draft eligible netminder Dylan Wells (Peterborough Petes) in the crease. The OHL has an all-time record of 20-3-1 in the CHL Canada Russia Series. FULL OHL ROSTER

Team QMJHL will have the task of wrapping up the series on home ice with games on November 17th and November 19th in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Eleven players return from the 2014 CHL Canada Russia Series, with forward Daniel Audette coming back to suit up for a third season. Team QMJHL includes two NHL first round draft selections in Ottawa Senators defence prospect Thomas Chabot (Saint John Sea Dogs) and New York Islanders selection Anthony Beauvillier (Shawinigan Cataractes). Nineteen year-old goaltenders Mason MacDonald (Charlottetown Islanders) and Samuel Montembeault (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada) will both look to make a case to receive an invitation to Hockey Canada’s National Team Selection Camp in December. Top draft eligible forward Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles will appear in his first CHL Canada Russia Series. The QMJHL has an all-time record of 13-8-3 in the event. FULL QMJHL ROSTER

After wearing red in last year’s event, the three CHL clubs will don black jerseys when the puck drops to kick-off the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series on November 9th in Kelowna.

The CHL has an all-time record of 49-17-6 in the CHL Canada Russia Series, and looks to bounce back from defeat last year as the road to the 2016 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Helsinki, Finland continues.

For more information and to purchase tickets please visit canadarussia.chl.ca.