Some years, the world junior hockey championship pits the prohibitive first overall pick against the No. 2 pick. Think Auston Matthews and Patrick Laine. Or Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel.
This year, there’s a chance the top two picks will be on the same team: Canada.
Forwards Alexis Lafrenière and Quinton Byfield are at the Canadian camp in Oakville, preparing for the tournament that begins Boxing Day in the Czech Republic.
“I’m sure all the pro scouts are all happy about it,” said Mark Hunter, the London Knights general manager who is on Hockey Canada’s management team. “At the end of the day, (Lafrenière and Byfield) deserve to be here, and they’ve had good seasons.
“Now it’s another challenge for them here for the next couple days.”
It has happened occasionally that the top two taken in the draft have been Canadian teammates in their draft year: Aaron Ekblad and Sam Reinhart were on the junior team together in 2014, though at the time Ekblad was clearly the top choice.
Byfield is very much in the running to supplant Lafrenière as the top pick.
“We haven’t really talked about it,” Byfield said. “We said ‘Hi’ a couple of times. He’s a busy guy, too, so it’s kind of hard to talk to him, but he seems really nice.”
Byfield is second in OHL scoring with 22 goals and 35 assists in 30 games for Sudbury (London’s Connor McMichael, the OHL leader, is also in this camp). Byfield is not letting the fact this is his draft year get to him.
“I try not focus on it too much,” he said. “It would be incredible to hear my name heard in that (No. 1 draft) spot. I just want to play my best. Hopefully my name gets called there.”
Lafrenière, who was Canada’s 13th forward as a 17-year-old last year, has been held out of team workouts. He has 24 goals and 36 assists in 32 games with Rimouski and leads not only the Quebec league in scoring but all of the CHL.
Lafrenière hasn’t missed any time in Rimouski, and the Canadian camp is being cagey about why he’s not on the ice.
“He just needs a few days off here, some maintenance time to rejuvenate, a couple bumps and bruises to clear up,” Hunter said. “He played on the team last year so …we all know he’s gonna be on the team this year.”
Scouts see the six-foot-four, 215-pound Byfield as a protypical NHL power forward, which is exactly why Canada issued him an invitation.
“He’s got to play a power forward style, be up and down the ice, finish checks and play a hard game,” Hunter said. “He’s got great stick skills and puck skills and he’s a big body that can get to the net which, you know, some of the smaller players have a harder time still figuring out.
“He’s gaining momentum. He’s gotten better from the start of the year, and he’s put up some impressive points. So we (expect) big things here from him the next couple of days.”
Byfield’s spot with Canada is not a lock. The tournament is designed for players who are 19. Byfield is 17.
“It’s a great opportunity just to get invited to camp,” he said. “Hopefully I can work my way on the team. I’ll take any spot. Hopefully I can work my way up through the tournament.”
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The Canadians have two games scheduled against Canadian university all-stars, on Wednesday and Thursday.
There are nine draft-eligible players in this camp. One, Guelph goalie Nico Dawes, was passed over last year. The rest are heading into their first NHL draft.
There are 31 players in camp — with a 32nd, Detroit Red Wings forward Joe Veleno, still to join the team — and 23 roster spots available: 13 forwards, seven defencemen and three goalies.
