MacKinnon, Drouin highlight Canada's WJC camp

Two days after Brent Sutter was introduced as coach of Canada's team for the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship, Hockey Canada unveiled the preliminary list of players who will participate in the team's summer development camp.

The list -- made up of three goaltenders, 12 defensemen and 20 forwards -- eventually will be whittled down to a final roster that will look to improve on Canada's fourth-place finish at the 2013 tournament in Ufa, Russia. It was the first time since 1998 that Canada failed to win a medal at the elite international under-20 tournament.

The camp will be held Aug. 4-10, with the first two days in Brossard, Quebec. The rest of the time Canada will join Finland and Sweden in exhibition games against the United States as part of USA Hockey's National Junior Evaluation Camp.

The goaltending is headlined by Jake Paterson, a third-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2012, and Zachary Fucale, NHL Central Scouting's top-ranked North American goaltender for the 2013 NHL Draft.

The defense has an impressive group that includes five first-round NHL draft picks: Griffin Reinhart (New York Islanders), Morgan Rielly (Toronto Maple Leafs), Mathew Dumba (Minnesota Wild), Derrick Pouliot (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Michael Matheson (Florida Panthers). The group also includes Darnell Nurse, the second-ranked North American defensive prospect for this year's Draft.

Like last year's Canadian squad, this year's team likely will have great depth at forward. The summer camp will be filled with expectant first-round picks in the 2013 draft. Among them is Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads, who the Colorado Avalanche claim they intend to select with the first pick in the draft. Other top-ranked forward prospects on the preliminary roster include MacKinnon's Halifax teammate, Jonathan Drouin, Max Domi of the London Knights, Sean Monahan of the Ottawa 67s, Kerby Rychel of the Windsor Spitfires and Hunter Shinkaruk of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Griffin Reinhart's brother, Sam, a forward with the Kootenay Ice, is the only player on the list eligible for the 2014 NHL Draft. Also invited to the camp is 16-year-old Connor McDavid, the early leader to be the first pick of the 2015 NHL Draft. If he makes the squad, McDavid would join a select group of 16-year-olds to compete on Team Canada at the World Juniors. That list includes Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros, Jason Spezza, Jay Bouwmeester and Sidney Crosby.

The 2014 World Junior Championship kicks off Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden.