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Canada East and Canada West Rosters Set for 2022 World Junior a Challenge

By SJHL

Team Canada East and Team Canada West have announced their final rosters ahead of the 2022 World Junior A Challenge, and 44 of the top Junior A players in Canada will wear the Maple Leaf in Cornwall, Ont., Dec. 11-18.

The players selected to represent their country participated in a three-day selection camp at the Cornwall Civic Complex, with Canada East selecting players from the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s five eastern leagues – the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL), Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec (LHJAAAQ) and Maritime Hockey League (MHL). Canada West selected its players from the CJHL’s four western leagues – the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

Canada East’s 22-player roster was selected by head coach Billy McGuigan (Summerside, P.E.I./Summerside, MHL), alongside director of operations Chris Vanstone (Mississauga, Ont./Ontario Junior Hockey League).

“We had a highly-competitive selection camp, and it was great opportunity to gather in Cornwall and allow our players to compete for a spot on Team Canada East,” said McGuigan. “We are confident in the team we have selected, and our staff and players are eager for the opportunity to represent Canada and compete for a gold medal.”

Canada West’s 22-player roster was selected by head coach Justin Falk (Snowflake, Man./Winkler, MJHL) and director of operations Rob Sklaruk (Canora, Sask./Spruce Grove, AJHL).

“Having two competitive intrasquad games during camp allowed our staff to select a group of players that we believe will give us the best chance to be successful at the World Junior A Challenge,” said Falk. “Now that our roster is set, we are excited to hit the ice and begin building confidence in our group ahead of our first game against the United States.”

Canada East will open the 2022 World Junior A Challenge against Latvia on Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. ET, followed by Canada West taking on the United States at 5 p.m. ET. Fans looking to secure their seats can purchase a full-event ticket package for $189 at HockeyCanada.ca/WJAC.

Prior to the start of play, the five competing teams will take to the ice for three pre-tournament games, Dec. 8-9 at the Cornwall Civic Complex. Sweden will take on the CCHL’s Cornwall Colts on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. ET, while Canada West will play Latvia at 2 p.m. ET and Canada East will face off against the United States at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9.

Of the 14 gold medal games at the World Junior A Challenge, 11 have featured at least one Canadian team. Canada East will look to earn its first gold medal, having won silver six times (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019) and bronze once (2008), while Canada West has won gold five times (2006, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017), silver three times (2008, 2009, 2012) and bronze twice (2013, 2018).

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday, Dec. 18; please check local listings for details. All other games will be streamed live at HockeyCanada.ca.

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