The 2017 World Junior Championships kick off on Boxing Day, so the various teams are getting their rosters cut down to size in preparation. Team Canada made their final cuts on Wednesday night, going from 27 players down to 22.
Unfortunately for Canucks fans, Guillaume Brisebois was one of the final five players cut. Though he survived to the final round of cuts, he won’t be representing Canada at the World Juniors. This was his final opportunity to make the team, as he is already 19.
According to Bob McKenzie, the final decision came down to a choice between Brisebois and Jeremy Lauzon, a second round pick for the Boston Bruins in 2015. Both Brisebois and Lauzon represented the QMJHL in the Canada-Russia Super Series, where Brisebois was held pointless and Lauzon had 3 points in 2 games. They are both also captains of their respective teams, Brisebois of the Charlottetown Islanders and Lauzon of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Lauzon certainly has more offensive upside, with 11 points in 13 games this season and 50 points in 46 games last season. Brisebois has 16 points in 26 games this season and 26 points in 52 games last season, though they each scored 10 goals last year and, it should be noted, Brisebois has played for worse teams.
Despite the disappointment, Brisebois is still one of the Canucks’ most promising defensive prospects. He has the chance to become the greatest Guillaume in Canucks history, though that’s not saying much as his only competition is Guillaume “Can’t Make a Fist” Desbiens.
Regrettably, with Brock Boeser out with a wrist injury, the Canucks will be represented by just two players at the World Juniors: Olli Juolevi for Finland and Lukas Jasek for the Czech Republic.
With the way Jasek has bounced around the various Czech leagues each year, this will be a welcome chance to see how he compares to his peers. Jasek has dominated the Czech U20 league, but has had minimal ice time in Extraliga, the top Czech league. He currently has 13 points in 18 games for HC Frydek-Mistek in the 2nd Czech league, which is actually the third tier of Czech hockey. You can see how this gets complicated.
As for Juolevi, he’ll play a major role on a largely undrafted blueline for Finland. Juolevi had a stellar 2016 World Juniors, tallying 9 points, all assists, in 7 games enroute to a gold medal. He led all defencemen in assists and was named to the All-Star Team.
