As Ottawa prepares to host the World Junior hockey championships for the second time, the hopes for anyone looking to watch an Ottawa 67 suit up for Team Canada live and die with Luca Pinelli.
Pinelli, from Stoney Creek, Ont., was listed among the 32 players invited to participate in the national team’s selection camp next week in the nation’s capital.
It will be the final opportunity for Pinelli, a fourth-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets last year, to crack the U20 squad, as he will have aged out of eligibility by next year’s tournament.
Through 24 games, Pinelli leads the Barber Poles with 17 goals and 32 points in the OHL this year, though he’s cooled down recently, notching only one assist over the past four games.
Pinelli has only represented Canada once before, playing for Team Canada Red during the Capital City Challenge in 2021, where the country’s top junior players faced off against the women’s national team.
However, even if Pinelli does not make the final roster, Ottawa will still be well-represented at this year’s tournament, as Dave Cameron, the 67s’ head coach, was tapped to lead this year’s squad.
Cameron, originally from P.E.I. has spent the last three years coaching the 67s, and also had a five-year stint behind the bench for the Ottawa Senators, both as an assistant and head coach.
It will be the third time Cameron has headed the Canadian national team at the World Juniors. In 2011, he coached Canada to a silver medal, after his team lost 5-3 to Russia in the finals. More recently, he led Team Canada to a gold medal during the 2022 tournament in Edmonton.
67’s equipment manager Chris Cook, as well as Sean Young, the strength and conditioning coach for the Barber Poles, will also be among the staff for the Canadian team this year.
Meanwhile, Ottawa-native Oliver Bonk was also invited to participate in this year’s selection camp. Bonk, a 2023 first-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, is looking to make his second-consecutive World Juniors roster, as he was part of the Canadian team that missed the podium at last year’s tournament.
Bonk was born in Ottawa while his Czechian father, Radek, was playing for the Senators.
Ottawa hasn’t hosted the World Juniors since 2009, when Canada beat Sweden in the gold medal game to win its record-tying fifth straight gold medal.
The tournament’s games will be split between TD Place at Lansdowne and the Canadian Tire Centre.
Canada will play in Group A, alongside the U.S., Finland, Latvia, and Germany. The team’s first game will be against the Finns on Boxing Day.
