Blackhawks Prospects
Blackhawks Prospects: Vanacker & Boisvert Left Off Canada’s WJC Roster
The 2026 World Junior Championship is less than three weeks away, and Team Canada finally announced its tournament training-camp roster on Monday morning.
Fifteen forwards, nine defensemen, and three goaltenders were named to the Canadians’ roster, including Michael Misa, Zayne Parekh, and Harrison Brunicke, who are all currently playing professional hockey. There’s a chance that Sam Dickinson gets loaned from the San Jose Sharks, too.
However, a notable omission from the roster was Chicago Blackhawks’ 2024 first-round pick (No. 27 overall) Marek Vanacker, who’s currently leading the Ontario Hockey League in goals with 24 through 25 games for the Brantford Bulldogs. This now marks two years in a row that the OHL’s top goal scorer has not been invited to Canada’s World Juniors training camp.
Team Canada completely snubbed Vanacker, who’s also fifth in the OHL with 37 points and has been one of the league’s most lethal players. According to Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis, Vanacker was left off the roster because of the redundancy of goal scorers already on the team. But with a 6-foot-1 power-forward frame and a smooth skating ability for his size, Vanacker could have helped Canada in more ways than just finding the back of the net. He deserved to be part of this squad.
Also left off the roster were fellow Blackhawks prospects Sacha Boisvert and John Mustard, although neither quite made the charge that Vanacker did.
Boisvert, selected 18th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Blackhawks — nine spots ahead of Vanacker — has missed a chunk of his sophomore season with Boston University in the NCAA so far due to injuries. He’s recorded only one goal and added nine assists for 10 points in 11 games with the Terriers, which is a little disappointing considering the expectations coming into the season.
After being one of the top freshmen in college hockey with North Dakota in 2024-25, Boisvert transferred to BU and figured to step into the top-line center spot on one of the deepest teams in the country. There were preseason talks about him potentially being in the Hober Baker race, but that hasn’t developed through the first two months of the year. It’s not surprising he wasn’t named to Canada’s WJC roster.
Mustard, a third-round pick (No. 67 overall) in 2024, has gotten off to an excellent start to his sophomore campaign with Providence in the NCAA. The 6-foot, 185-pound winger leads the Friars with seven goals and is second on the team with 12 points through 15 games. Mustard opened the season on a six-game point streak and has helped Providence remain in the top-20 rankings through two months.
But with only one point in his last six contests, Mustard’s hot streak ended at the wrong time, and he didn’t do enough to crack Team Canada. He’s also never represented Canada before, and having spent his entire junior career in the United States likely didn’t help his case, either. Similar to Boisvert, it wasn’t too surprising that Mustard didn’t make the team.
The World Junior Championship begins on Friday, Dec. 26, and runs through Monday, Jan. 5, in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The Canadians look to bounce back after losing in the quarterfinals in two consecutive years. Their last Gold Medal in the tournament came in 2023.
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