ENFIELD: Riley Kidney will get the opportunity to earn the right to don the Canadian jersey and play before home fans at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Kidney was among the 29 players invited to the Canadian World Junior teams training camp set to be held Dec. 9-12 in Moncton.
If the Enfield product, 19, makes the squad he will get to play with the Maple Leaf on his jersey before home fans, family, and friends at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax at the 2023 World Junior Hockey championship.
Kidney, who won a gold medal with Canada at the 2022 tournament in August, has had a strong start for his Acadie-Bathurst Titan this season with 41 points in 27 games. He has 13 goals and currently leads the Titan in assists with 28.
The Montreal Canadiens prospect will be joined by eight other players from the QMJHL with Jordan Dumais, Joshua Roy, Zach Dean, Nathan Gaucher, Zachary Bolduc, Evan Nause, and William Rousseau all receiving invites.
The 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship begins on Boxing Day with Canada kicking off its schedule against Czechia.
In addition to its tournament-opening match-up, Canada will also play Germany on December 28; Austria on December 29; and Sweden on New Year’s Eve to wrap up preliminary-round action.
All Team Canada games are 7:30 p.m. puck drops.
