The first two days of Canada’s National Junior team selection camp are already in the books, with just two more days remaining for players to make an impression. This includes Capitals’ prospects Hendrix Lapierre and Vincent Iorio, who are currently on the outside looking in.

Selection camp invitees aren’t given much time to make their case. They’ll play back-to-back games against university players on Saturday and Sunday, with Canada’s 25-player roster set to be unveiled on Monday.

It appears that 10 players have already been designated as early “locks” to make the team and will sit out Saturday’s game. They include Mason McTavish, Ridley Greig, Justin Sourdif, Jake Neighbours, Cole Perfetti, Shane Wright, Maveik Bourque, Dylan Guenther, Kaiden Guhle and Owen Power.

The scratches are skating in a separate group today. They are: McTavish, Greig, Sourdif, Neighbours, Perfetti, Wright, Bourque, Guenther, Guhle and Power.

I suspect this group is your early indication of who the locks are to make the team. And if that’s the case, I like them.

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) December 10, 2021

That leaves 25 players competing for the 15 remaining spots on the roster. Hendrix Lapierre and Vincent Iorio are two of the 25 players that will need to play well in this weekend’s games in order to make the team.

Here are the lines for tomorrow’s first Team Canada game against USports here in Calgary:
Roy – Desnoyers – Tverberg
Cuylle – Stankoven – Bedard
Dean – Lapierre – Bourgault
Evangelista – Finley – Dufour

Sebrango – Zellweger
Lambos – Iorio
O’Rourke – Cormier
Hunt – Seeley

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) December 10, 2021

This is Lapierre’s second attempt at making the National Junior team. He was cut from the squad just 12 months ago, but feels he’s in a better place, mentally, for this year’s camp.

“I arrived in a good state of mind, Lapierre told Ledroit. “This is another good opportunity for me to show what I can do. I wasn’t very satisfied with my camp last year. I arrive with the knife between my teeth this year. I certainly learned from my mistakes last year. I’m just going to try to play stress-free, in my element. If I do that, it will be fine. I’m very excited to be here. I will do everything to help the team win.”

By his own admission, Lapierre says he was stressed during his first attempt to make the team last December.

“Last year, I knew there were very big names here. I was obsessed with the idea of not making a mistake instead of simply adjusting to the pace of the game. It’s really up to me to implement my own pace by playing with speed as I did in the NHL. That’s really where I have to focus. I feel very good. I come here with an open mind. I’m ready to play all the roles.”

Defenseman Vincent Iorio will also need to have a good weekend to make this year’s team. This is his first selection camp.

“I’m very excited,” Iorio said of the invitation. “Obviously it’s going to be a challenge but the end goal for [teammate] Ridly (Grieg) and I is to make the team and help the team out as much as we can. We’re really looking forward to it and working hard to be a part of that team.”

Iorio has one advantage over other defensemen in the camp. Jack Thompson, a right-shot Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, will not attend Canada’s selection camp due to COVID protocols and has been ruled out for the World Junior team. That leaves just one right-shot candidate, Iorio, on the blueline.

“It’s a little bit of a fantasy,” Iorio said. “You watch the world juniors growing up as a kid and it’s putting on the Maple Leaf sweater you get as a kid. To be able to be part of a camp like this … I’m at a loss for words.”

Once the roster is finalized on Monday, the team will head to Banff before facing Switzerland in a pre-tournament game Dec. 19. Canada will also play exhibition games Dec. 20 against Sweden and Dec. 22 against Russia before the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship gets underway on Dec. 26.

By Jon Sorensen