CMJ: Matthew Schaefer will miss the rest of the tournament.

Horrible news for Canada at the World Junior Championship.

And I’m not talking about yesterday’s loss to Latvia…

Aside from this national disappointment, the young 17-year-old defender Matthew Schaefer left the game yesterday after colliding with the post.

And today, we learn that one of the top prospects for the upcoming draft will miss the entire tournament due to this incident.

Schaefer fractured his collarbone and will miss at least two months, if not three months…

Broken collarbone. Best guesstimate is a two to three month injury.

Sawyer Mynio (VAN/Seattle WHL) is now expected to be officially added to the Team Canada roster.

It’s also possible (but not yet confirmed) that Carson Rehkopf (SEA/Brampton OHL) could also be officially added… https://t.co/VgrbiJf3yX

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) December 28, 2024

As Bob McKenzie mentions in his tweet above, 19-year-old defender Sawyer Mynio is expected to join Team Canada.

Additionally, McKenzie also notes that even though it’s not confirmed yet, it’s possible to see Carson Rehkopf complete the 25-player roster.

Recently, Stéphane Leroux confirmed the addition of Mynio and Rehkopf to officially complete Canada’s final lineup of 25 players.

Rehkopf made the team last year and it is quite surprising not to have seen him make the team from the start.

It’s very rare to cut a 19-year-old for this tournament, especially when he was there last year at 18.

His experience will definitely be useful in this tournament.

Mynio and he will undoubtedly be good additions to the Canadian squad.

Two of the major omissions from this tournament, Carter Yakemchuk and Zayne Parekh, reacted following Canada’s loss yesterday.

On the Sportsnet post showing the final result, we can see that these two defenders liked that post.

Zayne Parekh and Carter Yakemchuk, two of the snubs from Canada’s #WorldJuniors roster, dropped likes on posts after Canada’s massive upset loss against Latvia pic.twitter.com/HIrfBU7bAM

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 28, 2024

All to create controversy in Canada.

The frustration of most Canadian fans regarding the exclusion of these two young players is understandable.

Offensively, they have absolutely nothing to blame and are very electrifying.

However, their physical and defensive play is very limited and that can only harm a team like the Canadiens currently.

It must be kept in mind that there cannot just be the best prospects, or the best offensive players in a team. It needs to be balanced, and the decision not to take Parekh and Yakemchuk makes complete sense.

With Mynio to fill Schaefer’s spot and Rehkopf adding depth, Canada should manage, but will really need to step up their game.

In brief

– Dobes will have quite a test tonight.

It’s good timing for #Habs GM Kent Hugues to evaluate
Jakub Dobes against a good team.
The Stanley Cup champs.

The job of a good back up in the show. Play for .500#NHL #Canadiens

— Stormin Norman (@Stormin1Norman) December 28, 2024

– The sun is having an effect.

de bonne heure dans la bonne humeur

(sun)rise and shine#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/bTPQcMktdc

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 28, 2024

– To be continued.

Alex Ovechkin said “I think so; we’ll see” when asked if he’ll return against #Leafs tonight

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) December 28, 2024