Tyler Seguin was baffled when his cellphone blinked with a text message the weekend before the NHL trade deadline. It was Marc Bergevin, GM of the Montreal Canadiens, asking him to call.

Seguin was at his house in Dallas hanging out with some friends. The Stars were in the midst of a remarkable regular season that would see them finish first overall in the Western Conference. Seguin was a central part of an offence that led the league in goals scored. So the message caught him off-guard.

“Did I just get traded to Montreal?” he wondered.

Then he recalled a comment his linemate Jamie Benn had made in the dressing room the day before. It was something about expecting a call. Something about the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Comments he’d dismissed.

But along with being the Canadiens GM, Bergevin was also part of the executive team running the Canadian national squad for the return of the international tournament. It clicked.

Now Seguin was nervously excited. He slipped out of the room and quickly called Bergevin. When he hung up the phone, in his own words, Seguin was flat-out giddy.

He’d just been given a spot on the toughest roster to crack in all of hockey.