Photo: From left to right are Cole Perfetti (Whitby Fury, OJHL), Hunter Jones (Stouffville Spirit), Akil Thomas (St. Michael's Buzzers, OJHL) and Ty Dellandrea (Whitby Fury, OJHL). 

Photo Credit: Andy Corneau/OJHL Images (Perfetti), Amy Deroche/OJHL Images (Jones), Tim Bates/OJHL Images (Thomas), Shawn Muir/OJHL Images (Dellandrea)

William Proulx, OHA Media

Calgary, Alta - The 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship gets under way Dec. 26 and on Monday, Hockey Canada announced the 31 players who have earned an invitation to Canada’s National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp.

Canada’s National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp will be hosted in Oakville, Ont. from Dec. 9-12 where the 31 players will compete for a roster spot on Team Canada. The players, including four goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 17 forwards, will compete for a chance to represent Canada at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic, Dec. 26-Jan. 5. 

See a full list of all the invitees HERE

It's not just the City of Oakville that has ties to the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), but several players and Team Canada management do as well. 

GOALTENDERS

Nicholas Daws (Burlington, Ont.) was an AP with the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s (OJHL) Burlington Cougars in 2015-16 when playing Minor Midget AAA with the Burlington Eagles. Daws, 18, was one of four goaltenders invited to camp next week. He is eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft which takes place in Montreal, Que. in June 2020. 

Hunter Jones (Brantford, Ont.) is in his third season with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes where he’s putting up career-best numbers. Jones, 19, boasts at 17-3-1 record, .914 save percentage and 2.63 G.A.A. Those stats puts him on pace to shatter his previous career-highs that he set with the Petes last season. Prior to stopping pucks in the OHL, Jones played the full season with the OJHL’s Stouffville Spirit in 2016-17. That season he went 7-7-0 and held a 2.74 G.A.A and .917 save percentage. In addition to his impressive stats in the OJHL, Jones was named the OHA’s Top Prospect Goaltender that season. He also played for Team Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge that season. Jones was drafted 59th overall by the Minnesota Wild at the 2019 NHL Draft. 

DEFENCEMEN

Jamie Drysdale (Toronto, Ont.) is a projected first-round pick in the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft and he is the lone defender invited to selection camp with ties to the OHA. Drysdale, 17, is enjoying second-year success in the OHL with the Erie Otters but prior to playing in the OHL, Drysdale appeared in one game with the OJHL’s St. Michael’s Buzzers in 2017-18 as a 15-year-old. 

FORWARDS

Cole Perfetti (Whitby, Ont.) is a projected Top-10 pick for the NHL Draft in June. He’s in his third season with Saginaw of the OHL and previously played five games with the Whitby Fury in 2017-18. In those five OJHL games, Perfetti tallied two goals and six points. 

Quinton Byfield (Newmarket, Ont.) played one game with the OJHL’s Newmarket Hurricanes in 2016-17, and fast forward two seasons and Byfield will not only compete for a roster spot on Team Canada, but he could also be a Top-3 pick at the 2020 NHL Draft. In Newmarket, Byfield had two points in his lone OJHL game and he’s been scoring at an impressive rate in the OHL ever since as he has 111 points in 92 games. 

Akil Thomas (Toronto, Ont.), Connor McMichael (Scarborough, Ont.), Alex Newhook (St. John’s, Nfld.) and Ty Dellandrea (Port Perry, Ont.) also spent brief time in the OJHL. Thomas appeared in three games with the St. Michael’s Buzzers in 2015-16, McMichael played one game with the Buzzers the following season, Newhook appeared in one game with the Aurora Tigers and Dellandrea had a one-game stint with the Whitby Fury in 2015-16. 

– with files from Jim Mason, OJHL Communications