Canada's Spengler Roster

It's that magical time of year when hockey players from across Europe and North America come together in Switzerland under the Hockey Canada logo. With sponsor logos strewn across the jerseys, the Spengler Cup will begin on December 26 as Canada looks to win its 17th championship since 1984, and this year's roster has some interesting names on the roster. It's always fun to see who is playing where in Europe when it comes to the other teams' rosters, but today's article will focus solely on the Canadian roster that will compete in Davos next week. Who did Canadian management contact for a trip to the Swiss Alps? Let's find out.

I've broken down the positions into three tables for each of the groups of players. This will allow for better discussion on each of the strengths and weaknesses of those groups with a focus on certain players. In saying that, here is Team Canada's Spengle Cup roster!

Forwards

No.	Name	Team	G	A	GP	Highest Lvl
4	Jonathan Hazen	HC Ajoie	6	4	27	AHL
12	Graeme Clark	Hershey	6	4	25	AHL
16	Tanner Fritz	Rapperswil	5	15	35	NHL
18	Mason Shaw	Manitoba	6	12	28	NHL
19	Andy Andreoff	ZSC Lions	2	1	19	NHL
22	Jean-Luc Foudy	Iowa	2	7	29	AHL
27	Derek Grant	ZSC Lions	6	5	13	NHL
62	Brett Seney	Rockford	9	21	29	NHL
76	Nate Schnarr	Kölner Haie	11	18	29	AHL
90	Anthony Richard	Lehigh Valley	8	10	25	AHL
91	Tyler Morley	EHC Kloten	5	10	24	AHL
92	Michael Sgarbossa	Lugano	9	9	26	AHL
93	Matthew Peca	Springfield	4	14	26	NHL
96	Drake Caggiula	Lausanne	14	10	30	NHL

No one is going to look at Canada's roster and be able to circle one or two players who can be stopped when it comes to stopping Canada. This is a team that will score by committee and who should not struggle to find the back of the net if they do what this team appears to be built to do: work hard. Head coach Michel Therrien has always stressed a blue-collar approach to the game where hard work makes talent even better, and this squad appears to have their lunchboxes ready. I'll be very curious in seeing who plays with whom.

Defenders

No.	Name	Team	G	A	GP	Highest Lvl
2	Nolan Allan	Rockford	2	4	27	NHL
??	Joe Hicketts	Ontario	3	9	27	AHL
15	Nikolas Brouillard	San Diego	1	8	28	AHL
20	Calen Addison	Utica	2	7	21	NHL
21	Jake Livingstone	Charlotte	1	4	16	AHL
26	Gabriel Chicoine	Vlci Zilina	4	13	22	ECHL
63	Trent Bourque	JYP	2	9	30	AHL
64	Jesse Graham	HK Nitra	1	5	5	AHL

Again, this isn't going to be a flashy defence with all sorts of offensive punch against whom opposing coaches have to strategize. This group will move the puck, play solid defence, work hard to clear their zone, and add some punch from the blue line when possible. There's a lot of leadership on this unit, so I expect the defensive group to set the tone for work ethic on this Canadian team.

Goaltenders

No.	Name	Team	Record	GAA	sv%	Highest Lvl
31	Connor Hughes	Lausanne	12-5-0	2.31	.915	AHL
33	Taylor Gauthier	Wheeling	2-1-0	1.34	.941	ECHL
47	James Reimer	unsigned	n/a	n/a	n/a	NHL

Before anyone gets excited about a former NHL goalie being on this team, I want to be clear that Connor Hughes is likely the starter for good reason. Hughes is having a solid season in the Swiss League already, and he likely knows the Davos team well. James Reimer is an interesting selection to play for Canada because he's not playing anywhere right now since being released from his PTO with the Maple Leafs, but he should provide capable netminding when his number is called. Taylor Gauthier may not see much action, but this could be a chance for him to show Hockey Canada that he should be on their radar for the future. The crease, though, seems like Hughes' to lose.

There are some very good teams coming to Davos on December 26, so we'll see how Canada does. They play on Boxing Day against the US Collegiate Selects team made up of NCAA players, and you can catch that game at 2pm ET on TSN5. The winner will advance to Sunday's game against Davos while the losing team plays on Saturday against Davos. The Saturday game is at 2pm ET on TSN2 while the Sunday game is on TSN5 at 2pm ET. The other pool sees games played at 9am with Friday's game between Fribourg-Gottéron and Sparta Praha found on TSN5, Saturday's game for the losing team against Helsinki on TSN2, and the winning team and Helsinki play on TSN5 on Sunday.

The remainder of the tournament is played on TSN5 as the championship round gets started at 9am ET on Monday with the quarterfinals. Tuesday sees the semifinals played at the same 9am and 2pm times before the Spengler Cup Final goes on Wednesday, December 31 at 6am ET on both TSN4 and TSN5. I'm hoping we'll see Canada there as they chase their 17th trophy, but Davos is also looking for the 17th championship as well. HC Fribourg-Gottéron is looking to defend the title they won last season as they try to make it two championships in their history. The other three teams are looking for their first Spengler Cup championships this holiday season.

It should be another great tournament in Davos, Switzerland beginning on Friday. You're missing out on a great tournament if you're not watching, so catch the action if you can as Team Canada looks to capture their first Spengler Cup championship since 2019!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!