Two Newfoundlanders are among the 31 players who have earned an invitations to Canada’s National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp, set for Dec. 9-12 in Oakville, Ont.
Alex Newhook of St. John’s and Dawson Mercer, both 18, are among the 17 forwards who will attend the camp looking for a berth on a team representing Canada at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic, beginning Boxing Day.
It could be said that Newhook’s invitation has been expected for some time.
A first-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, he attended the national junior team’s summer development camp, before heading to Boston College, where he has 11 points (6G, 5A) in 13 games as a freshmen.
On the other hand, Mercer was not invited to the summer camp, but has seen his stock rise in the last couple of months with his play with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Drummondville Voltigeurs and during two games with a QMJHL all-star team in the CIBC Canada-Russia series.
Mercer, who has 36 points (17G, 19A) in 23 games with Drummondville, is draft-eligible in 2020, and many of the most recent projections have him pegged as a first-round pick.
The 31 invitees include only three returnees from the 2019 Canadian team that finished out of the medals at the 2019 world juniors — Alexis Lafrenière (Rimouski, QMJHL), Jared McIsaac (Halifax, QMJHL) and Ty Smith (Spokane, WHL).
The selection camp will feature a pair of games against a team of U Sports all-stars on Dec. 11-12.
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