Afternoon sports fans, Champ Kind writing in this baulmy -29 weather… who says Arizona isn’t looking attractive this time of year?

Team Canada released their final roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships which starts on Boxing Day as Canada goes for an unprecendented 6th consecutive gold medal. It’s safe to say that Canada will be the early favourites to repeat but will surely have some stiff competition this time around.

It’s somewhat surprising that Tyler Seguin – the potential number 1 overall pick of next summer’s draft – did not make the squad. One would think that a top prospect like Seguin would be a lock in making the team but it goes to show that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done for your team during the season, you have to demonstrate the hunger and desire required to make Team Canada. It also speaks to the depth Canada has in it’s junior players – a problem very similar to Canada’s Olympic team.

Numerous others have rested on their laurels when going to tryouts and have found themselves watching the tournament from the comfort of their homes wondering what it would be like to have made the team. Canada is blessed with tremendous hockey talent and the fortunate few who have the honour of wearing the maple leaf work diligently to do so.

Ottawa 67 defenceman Tyler Cuma was one of the final cuts after having first been left off the original invite list, then invited when there was an injury, and subsequently cut on Wednesday. Tough ride for the young defenceman, but he will surely continue to work hard with the 67′s and go on to have a great pro career with the Minnesota Wild. As everyone always says, plenty of NHL stars have been cut from Team Canada’s World Junior team, only to have enjoyed terrific NHL careers (Dan Cleary and Matt Duchene to name a few).

The final roster can be found here. The excitement all starts boxing day on TSN – 3:30pm EST.

Stay classy, Team Canada.

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