Team Canada World Jr’s: Catton, Heidt, Molendyk, Price and Yager invited to selection camp

Darren Zary

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Saskatoon will be well represented at the upcoming Team Canada world junior hockey championship selection camp.

Forwards Berkly Catton, Riley Heidt and Brayden Yager are joined by defencemen Caden Price and Tanner Molendyk as invites to camp Dec. 10-13 at Ottawa, Ont., where 32 players will be vying for spots on the Team Canada roster.

Catton, Heidt, Price and Yager (Martensville) are all Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association products, while Molendyk is currently a member of the Saskatoon Blades.

Catton, a Seattle Kraken first-round pick, plays for the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs. Minnesota Wild prospect Heidt skates for the Prince George Cougars. Price, another Kraken draft pick, patrols the blueline for the Kelowna Rockets and Yager, a Pittsburgh Penguins first-rounder from 2023 who was acquired by the Winnipeg Jets, plays for the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Molendyk was selected in the first round, 24th overall, by the Nashville Predators in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Molendyk cracked Canada’s roster for last year’s annual tournament in Sweden, but sustained an upper-body injury in preliminary play that kept him out of competition. The 19-year-old blueliner finished the 2023-24 season in Saskatoon with 10 goals, 46 assists, and 56 points in 50 games. He also finished the regular season at plus-40.

Prince Albert product Tanner Howe, who currently plays for the Calgary Hitmen, was also invited to camp. Howe is a Penguins prospect.

In total, 32 players — four goalies, 10 defencemen and 18 forwards — have earned an invitation from U20 head scout Al Murray (Regina) and the management group, which includes Peter Anholt (Naicam/Lethbridge, WHL) and Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen, BC), with support from Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, Benoit Roy (Sudbury, Ont), director of hockey operations, and player development coach Scott Walker (Cambridge, Ont./Guelph, OHL).

Head coach Dave Cameron (Kinkora, PEI/Ottawa, OHL), U17 head scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, Alta.) and goaltending consultant Dan De Palma (Kamloops, B.C./Kamloops, WHL), as well as coaches and general managers from across the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), also provided input.

dzary@postmedia.com

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