Kamloops native Sawyer Mynio playing with the Seattle Thunderbirds/via
Kamloops will have a direct link to Team Canada coming up over the holidays…
Sawyer Mynio has cracked the Team Canada squad for this year’s tournament in Ottawa.
The 19-year-old from Kamloops, a Vancouver Canucks draft pick, is one of eight defensemen who made the final roster Friday.
Mynio has five goals and 19 points in 18 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds so far this season, after dealing with some early-season injury issues.
Joining him on the blueline will be Kamloops Minor Hockey product Tanner Molendyk.
Molendyk has been tapped for this year’s squad, not only due to his defensive and offensive prowess, but most likely as a way of repaying him for last tournament’s heartache.
The hard skating D-man was preparing for the tournament when he suffered a fractured wrist in the final tune-up game ahead of the tournament, and was forced to watch the tournament from the press box.
The Thompson Blazers alumni, who hails from McBride, is back in form this season.
He has 21 points in 21 games for the WHL Eastern Conference-leading Saskatoon Blades.
In total, there are eight from the Western Hockey League who will represent Team Canada.
The squad will now travel to Petawawa, Ontario, for a four-day training camp, which will run from Sunday to Wednesday.
Team Canada will take on Switzerland, Sweden and the Czechs in pre-tournament action on the Road to the World Juniors.
Blazers with on and off-ice presence
This year’s tournament has included Blazers goalie coach Dan De Palma.
He’s back with Team Canada in a consulting role for the netminders after helping lead Canada to gold, along with Blazer defenseman Harrison Brunicke, at the U-18 World Championships this spring in Finland.
Brunicke was a last-minute cut to this week’s Selection Camp, as he was not able to clear his medical due to his wrist injury.
While Brunicke will not be playing for Team Canada, Matteo Koci has been able push the Kamloops Blazers’ streak of consecutive representation at the World Juniors up to 5 years.
Koci has been confirmed on the Czechia roster for this year’s tournament.
Photo of Matteo Koci playing card from Czech national team
He was on the Czech squad that upset Canada less than a year ago in Sweden in the quarter-finals to bump Canada out of medal contention.
While Koci would end up bringing a Bronze medal back to Kamloops, Canada would end up in 5th.
He represented at the last two tournaments for the Blazers, as Fraser Minten had already been shipped to Saskatoon last season.
Prior to Koci holding the Blazers flag at the Tournament, it was Logan Stankoven representing the Blazers in 2023 and in 2022, which also saw goaltender Dylan Garand on the squad.
2021’s Blazers rep on Team Canada was Connor Zary.
Matteo Koci and his Czech teammates will be on the ice on Boxing Day to start their tournament, playing Switzerland just ahead of Team Canada’s first game.
World Junior pre-game coverage of Canada-Finland will start on Radio NL at 4pm on the 26th, with puck drop at 4:30.
