Three Moose Jaw Warriors among Team Canada hopefuls for upcoming World Juniors
With the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship just weeks away, the Moose Jaw Warriors will have three players heading to Oakville,Ont. hoping to make the final roster.
Warriors’ captain and defenseman Denton Mateychuk, along with forwards Jagger Firkus and Brayden Yager were all invited to the selection camp that takes place Dec. 10 – 13.
“I’m pretty tight with these two guys, been playing with them the last couple years. Kind of grew up with them so it’s pretty special to get the opportunity as kind of a trio. We are really looking forward to it and hopefully we get to represent our country together,” said Yager.
“I’ve played with these guys since I came into the league so to be able to share this opportunity with them it’s going to be really awesome. You just want to see those guys succeed,” said Mateychuk.
All three are NHL draft picks, with Mateychuk and Yager being selected in the first rounds of the 2022 and 2023 drafts going to Columbus and Pittsburgh respectively.
Firkus meanwhile, was a second round selection of the Seattle Kraken in 2022, he leads the Warriors in scoring this season with 49 points in 26 games.
Yager represented Canada and won gold at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and Mateychuk has also dawned the red and white and earned a gold medal at the 2021 World Under-18 Hockey Championship.
“I think just from that short tournament when I was 16, I learned a ton. It’s helped me become the player I am today for sure,” Mateychuk reminisced.
This would be Firkus’ first opportunity to represent Canada on the world stage.
“It’d mean the world to put that Maple Leaf on your chest and going to this camp is giving me that opportunity to make the team. That’s kind of your mentality going into the camp is [to make] the best impression possible,” said Firkus.
In total, 30 players have been invited to attend Team Canada’s selection camp, nine from the Western Hockey League (WHL).
However, Yager is the only Saskatchewan product to make the initial roster as he hails from Saskatoon.
“Obviously I’m proud to be from Saskatchewan and as you know, a lot of great players are from Saskatchewan. I think just being able to represent my province and hopefully my country will be a big honour,” he exclaimed.
Canada’s National Junior Team will travel to Malmo, Sweden on Dec. 14 for pre-tournament camp.
The 2024 World Juniors begin on Boxing Day from Sweden with Canada opening the tournament against Finland.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6972494.1721646739!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING Canadian killed near Gaza border after threatening forces with knife: Israeli police
Israeli police say a Canadian citizen was killed Monday after threatening Israeli security forces with a knife near the Gaza border.
Harris looks to lock up Democratic nomination after Biden steps aside, reordering 2024 race
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris moved swiftly to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House after President Joe Biden stepped aside amid concerns from within their own party that he would be unable to defeat Donald Trump.
What to know about the Canadian ties of Kamala Harris, Biden's choice for successor
U.S. President Joe Biden is stepping aside as the Democratic candidate in that country's November election and throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris -- a Montreal-area high school graduate who spent several years in the city.
The pilot who died in crash after releasing skydivers near Niagara Falls has been identified
Officials on Sunday released the name of a pilot who died in a skydiving flight after her passengers jumped from the aircraft near the Niagara Falls.
Markets bet on second Bank of Canada interest rate cut coming this week
Economists and market watchers are betting the Bank of Canada will deliver another interest rate cut this week amid mounting evidence that inflation is sustainably easing.
10,000 unionized employees return to work, stores to reopen Tuesday: LCBO
Workers are back on the job today at Ontario's main liquor retailer, but the Liquor Control Board of Ontario says stores won't be open for business until Tuesday.
Canadian musicians struggle to get visas to perform in the U.S., some cancel shows
Backlogs and processing delays of temporary U.S. visas required by entertainers, athletes and artists has forced some Canadian bands to cancel U.S. tour dates because paperwork wasn't processed in time.
Mom wants quicker reform on disaster preparations, one year after flood took son
The mother of a boy who died a year ago in a Nova Scotia flood says her grief returns daily, along with frustration over what she considers the province's slow pace in reforming its preparations for climate disasters.
Ottawa man waiting nearly a year for car to be fixed at Acura dealership
An Ottawa man says he’s been waiting nearly a year for his car to be repaired after it was damaged during a storm in August.