Mercer looks ‘to be in serious contention’ for world junior berth
Roster decisions for Team Canada coming after exhibition games against university selects
There have been varying opinions on Dawson Mercer’s chances to survive the cutdown at Hockey Canada’s selection camp for its 2020 world junior championship team.
Dobber Hockey, a long-established online site, looked at the seven draft-eligible players prior to the camp and pegged their odds of making this year’s team. They suggested Mercer, an 18-year-old from Bay Roberts, as having a one-in-four chance.
Last week, also on the eve of the camp, another online site, The Hockey Writers, predicted Mercer wouldn’t make the final cut, although it felt the other Newfoundlander taking part in the selection process, St. John’s native, Boston College freshmen and Colorado Avalanche first-rounder Alex Newhook, would be one of the 13 forwards on the roster.
But on Tuesday, two days into the camp in Oakville, Ont.,
Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino posted an online notebook where he said, “Mercer looks to be in serious consideration for a final roster spot.”
Cosentino pointed out Canadian head coach Dale Hunter has had Mercer skating on a line with one of the more high-profile in players in camp, London Knights left-winger and Washington Capitals first-round pick Connor
Mcmichael, the leading scorer in the Ontario Hockey League.
Cosentino also highlighted the fact that Mercer, in his third season with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, is also only one of three right-shot forwards in camp who are not slotted as centres (Newhook is a left shot).