Another year, another IIHF World Junior Championship where Canada is the odds-on favorite to take the title. The season's edition does not include the all-world Connor McDavid -- as last year's squad did -- but several of his draft classmates will wear the maple leaf, and once again the roster is loaded with players that will one day be skating in key roles for their NHL clubs.
This year's roster includes four players who skated on last year's championship team (Lawson Crouse, Joe Hicketts, Brayden Point and Jake Virtanen), but it's worth noting that a Canadian team has not won the WJC title on European ice since 2008. Before the tourney gets underway -- the preliminary round begins on Dec. 26 -- here are scouting notes on all 23 Team Canada players: