Why Michael Misa can be a ‘go-to guy’ for Canada at the world juniors
After being a controversial snub last year on what turned out to be a wildly disappointing Canadian junior hockey team, Michael Misa is going to have every opportunity to be an agent of change this time around.
The No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft was one of three NHLers named to Canada’s training-camp roster for the world junior championship on Monday.
Misa, a forward with the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames defenceman and former Saginaw Spirit teammate Zayne Parekh and Pittsburgh Penguins blue-liner Harrison Brunicke will be three of 27 players reporting to camp Friday in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Twenty-four players (14 forwards, eight defencemen, two goalies) are expected to be in Minnesota for the tournament opener against Czechia on Dec. 26, meaning Canada will have to cut at least one player from each position group.
Misa was sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan last week after being sidelined for most of November with a lower-body injury. That injury probably was the first step in sending him on a pathway to the world juniors.
“(Sharks GM) Mike Grier was great to deal with along the way,” Alan Millar, the general manager of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, said.
“Obviously, with Misa we dealt with an injury that he had with the Sharks. It was a matter of him going through that process, getting cleared and then getting assigned to the American Hockey League. Right around the time he was assigned to the (AHL), the thought process was get him in some games, play a lot and then he would join our team for the start of camp.”
Misa was left at home last year while Team Canada scored just 13 goals in five games en route to its second straight quarterfinal exit.
The native of Oakville, Ont. went on to lead the CHL in scoring while climbing to No. 2 in the draft behind Calder Trophy front-runner Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders.
“I think it just drove me for the last half of the season to keep going,” Misa told NHL.com at the World Junior Summer Showcase in August. “And realize that I was still able to help Saginaw, which was great for me and helped my case.”
Misa has one goal and two assists in seven NHL games this season.
“He’s a special player,” said Mark Hunter, the world-junior lead for the Program of Excellence management group. “He had a great year last year. This is a great moment for him, to represent Canada. He’s so skilled and it’s going to be exciting to watch him. Hopefully he takes a hold and can be a go-to guy.”
Mark Hunter and brother Dale, who will coach the team as they try to replicate their golden success with Canada from the 2020 world juniors, both are very familiar with Misa. The Spirit and the Hunters’ London Knights both compete in the OHL’s Western Conference. Host Saginaw also beat London in the 2024 Memorial Cup final.
Mark Hunter said he was impressed with how Misa performed after being left off last year’s team.
“I think it’s all learning experiences,” he said. “That’s a learning experience for him, how to handle it, and how to deal with it. It didn’t rattle him. He took off in the second half. He was playing pretty well until he got hurt. This is a good opportunity for him to get his game back and play.”
NHL watch
While Parekh also has been sidelined with an injury, Canada brass expects him to be good to go for the start of camp. Like Misa, Parekh was left off of last year’s Canada roster.
Brunicke was in and out of the Penguins lineup to start the year before getting sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan. He was recalled Sunday.
Nine current NHLers are eligible to play for Canada at the world juniors, though guys like Macklin Celebrini of the Sharks and Schaefer clearly are not coming. Ben Kindel of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks also seem established with their NHL clubs. Another eligible player, Berkly Catton of the Seattle Kraken, now seems like a long-shot after his NHL team said Monday that the forward is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
The one NHLer most likely to potentially be a late addition is Sharks defenceman Sam Dickinson, who played for the Hunters in London. The Sharks are in Toronto to face the Maple Leafs on Thursday, so it would be a quick drive out to Niagara after that game if San Jose lends him.
Millar said Canada brass will continue communicating with NHL teams up to Dec. 20 when the team plays the second of two exhibition games against Sweden in London, Ont. (the first is Dec. 17 in Kitchener, Ont.). Canada hopes to have its final team picked by Dec. 22.
“It’s the best place we could be,” Millar said of having 27 players in camp. “Our goal was to name our (final) roster (before camp). But we’ve never had this many players still eligible for the national junior team playing in the NHL and we had some injuries we needed to figure out — Parekh and Misa, in particular. Were they going to be ready to be full participants in camp, which they are. We were working through those processes.”
Who isn’t going
Three notable omissions are Brantford Bulldogs forward and Chicago Blackhawks first-round pick Marek Vanacker, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada forward and St. Louis Blues first-round pick Justin Carbonneau and Prince George Cougars forward and Washington Capitals first-rounder Terik Parascak. All three are in their top 10 of their respective leagues in scoring.
Canada is deep up front, though, with some of the top talent coming from the NCAA ranks (Gavin McKenna, Michael Hage, Porter Martone, Cole Reschny). McKenna and Martone are two of six eligible returnees on the roster.
“It’s not an all-star team,” Millar said of the roster philosophy in general. “We have to build what is a true team.”
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