Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Andrew Cristall among those cut

Caden Price makes Team Canada

Dec 13, 2024 | 3:05 PM

Hockey Canada has unveiled the 25 players who will wear the Maple Leaf with at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa which includes Kelowna Rockets defenceman Caden Price.

Among those cut today was Andrew Cristall.

“We are excited to unveil the 25 players who have earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the World Juniors, as we believe we have assembled a competitive and talented roster that will give us the best opportunity to win a gold medal on home ice,” Peter Anholt said. “While there were many difficult decisions to make at selection camp, we want to congratulate our players, and we look forward to them wearing the Maple Leaf with pride in Ottawa.”

Among the 25 players are five who were named to the roster for the 2024 World Juniors, as well as seven who won gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship and three who captured a gold medal at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Regan’s Take: Good on Caden Price for earning a spot on the roster. Arguably the one of the best defenseman in the WHL this season, his attention to defending won him a roster spot, not his ability to generate offense, which he has done this season with the third most points of any blueliner. Price becomes the first Saskatoon-born Kelowna Rockets player since Rourke Chartier, who made the 2016 team, to wear Canadian colours. The most talked about deletion is Andrew Cristall. No player in the CHL has scored more points per-game than AC has this season, yet he won’t be on the roster. Clearly it was a tough decision for the Hockey Canada brass. If they struggle to score goals in this tournament, then the snub of Cristall looks even worse. It won’t help take away the disappointment, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (chosen 1st overall in the 2011 NHL draft) and Tyler Seguin (chosen 2nd overall in the 2010 NHL draft) also were cuts of Team Canada.   

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“This group of 25 players is excited for the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf in front of Canadian fans in Ottawa, and to represent their country in our quest to win a gold medal,” head coach David Cameron said. “This is a great accomplishment for these players and their families, and we know they will enjoy the World Juniors experience while bringing the competitiveness needed for us to be successful and accomplish our goal.”

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day with four games, which includes Canada taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.