Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke have been added to the team’s World Junior Championship selection camp roster, their respective teams have confirmed.
Wright’s rookie campaign with the Kraken has been a hot topic all season long. Projected by many to go first overall before Montreal selected Juraj Slafkovsky, Wright struggled with just an assist in his first seven NHL games before becoming a common fixture in the press box.
In late November, Wright was sent to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds for a five-game conditioning stint, where he had four goals in his first three games. Wright was called back up for Seattle’s game against Montreal, where he managed to score his first NHL goal in an eventual 4-2 loss. He was part of Canada’s roster at the canceled WJC last year, so this will be a good chance for him to be a leader.
Clarke also recently spent time in the AHL after getting sent down by the Kings. Clarke has two assists in nine NHL games, but hasn’t played since Nov. 1, serving as a healthy scratch since getting recalled by the Kings on Nov. 27. Clarke’s situation is notable after not getting selected for the 2022 roster despite the fact he was the top scoring OHL defenseman at the time, and he was a big part of the U-18 team just a few months earlier.
The pair were key members of the Don Mills Flyers U-16 team in 2018-19 that nearly won every game that season. Wright and linemate Brennan Othmann were beneficiaries of Clarke’s playmaking abilities on the back end. The trio will reunite on the national stage for the first time since that 2021 U-18 tournament when Canada boasted a perfect record en route to a gold medal.
Canada is expected to also get Dylan Guenther at some point before the tournament begins, but the Arizona Coyotes have not released him as of yet.
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