Jorian Donovan, Ty Nelson to replace Tristan Luneau, Tanner Molendyk on Canada’s 2024 World Junior team
Hockey Canada has announced that defensemen Tristan Luneau and Tanner Molendyk will not participate in the 2024 World Junior Championship due to injury.
Instead, Jorian Donovan and Ty Nelson will take their spots on the roster, with Donovan already playing in Canada’s final exhibition game against the United States on Saturday.
Big loss for Canada to not have Molendyk or Luneau, but Donovan played well and Ty Nelson can be a huge part of the power play. #WorldJuniors https://t.co/gHo8ZNTKzz
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) December 23, 2023Luneau had not participated in any of Canada’s exhibition games due to a reported viral infection, but was just listed as day-to-day originally. The Anaheim Ducks prospect was kept out of action during selection camp in Oakville earlier this month as one of Canada’s locks to make the team.
Molendyk, a Nashville Predators draft pick, suffered a lower-body injury before heading to selection camp and played just one exhibition game. He played in the first two exhibition games in Sweden, but was pulled midway through the outing against Switzerland with a reported wrist injury.
Donovan was named Canada’s top player in the game on Saturday, registering an assist just hours after arriving in Sweden from Ontario.
Donovan, 19, took part in Canada’s selection camp in Oakville but was one of the team’s cuts on the blueline. Donovan went back to the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs and scored four points in his first two games back with the club. He was drafted 136th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2022.
Nelson, 19, was also cut from Canada’s world junior camp, with many scouts tying it to how Molendyk performed in the final game against USPORTS. The Seattle Kraken prospect is known for his strong offensive play, scoring 12 goals and 31 points in 28 games this year. He had 76 points with North Bay last year, his second year in the league after going first overall in 2020 OHL Draft. This will be Nelson’s first time playing for Canada since the 2020 Youth Olympic Games.
Canada will kick off the tournament with a game against Finland on Dec. 26 at 8:30 AM ET. Canada is hoping to win gold for the third time in a row after sweeping the past two Canadian-hosted events in Edmonton and Halifax. They won the last time the tournament was hosted in Europe back in 2020 when Czechia had control.