World Junior notebook: Lavoie cut from Canada selection camp

VICTORIA, British Columbia -- Raphael Lavoie, a projected first-round pick for the 2019 NHL Draft, was one of four players cut by Canada from its selection camp for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship on Thursday.

Also released from camp were forward
Ty Dellandrea
, selected by the Dallas Stars with the No. 13 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, and defensemen
Calen Addison
(Pittsburgh Penguins) and
Cameron Crotty
(Arizona Coyotes).
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The cuts were made after Canada's 5-3 loss in an exhibition game against U Sports at The Q Centre.
Lavoie, a 6-foot-3, 191-pound center, has 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 29 games for Halifax in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and received an A rating from NHL Central Scouting in its November players to watch list. He was one of two 2019 draft-eligible players at the camp, along with forward Brett Leason from Prince Albert in the Western Hockey League.
"It's a tough one to swallow, but at the end of the day it's part of the game and it's happened to a lot of good players over the years," said Addison, a second-round pick (No. 53) in the 2018 draft.
Addison, Dellandrea and Lavoie are 18 years old, so they'll have the chance to represent Canada at the 2020 World Juniors.
Crotty, a third-round pick (No. 82) in the 2017 NHL Draft, is 19 so he won't get that opportunity.
"Every hockey player goes through something like this in their career, every athlete really," Crotty said. "It's just adversity and you have to use it as motivation. It [stinks] right now, but just going to go back home and work on the information I was given on how to improve and go from there. A lot of this was just confidence. I wasn't very comfortable out there, I played a little nervous."
Canada has 30 players remaining at selection camp and is expected to make more cuts after playing a third game against U Sports on Friday.

Preaching patience with injured forwards

Canada doesn't have to finalize its 23-man roster for the 2019 WJC, which runs Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, until Dec. 25, so they can be patient with three injured forwards.
"We've got time on our hands with some of these players, which is a good thing right now," said Shawn Bullock, Hockey Canada director of men's national teams.
Canada did not update the status of
Alex Formenton
(Ottawa Senators) after he sustained an injury to his right leg during overtime of a game against U Sports on Wednesday. He was using crutches and wearing a knee brace Thursday.
Gabriel Vilardi
(Los Angeles Kings), who is recovering from a back injury, took part in drills at practice Thursday after skating in a non-contact jersey.
Jaret Anderson-Dolan
(Los Angeles Kings), who broke his wrist while playing with Spokane of the WHL on Oct. 27, skated in a non-contact jersey but continued to follow a pre-scheduled progression by starting to shoot pucks.
"He's got a timeline with his wrist," Bullock said. "We just want to make sure we are a little more cautious with that one. It's a little tender there."

Frost heats up

Forward
Morgan Frost
(Philadelphia Flyers) scored twice Thursday after he had two assists in a 3-2 shootout win Wednesday.
Frost, selected with the No. 27 pick of the 2017 draft, scored both goals Thursday on the power play after being added to a top unit that struggled early.
"That was echoed from the bench," said Frost, who is second in the Ontario Hockey League with 58 points (20 goals, 38 assists) in 32 games for Sault Ste. Marie. "They wanted us to get more pucks to the net, so once I got that opportunity it was in the back of my mind, and I got the puck and just went downhill and tried to find a lane and shoot it on the net pretty much."

Goalie splits

Canada continued to rotate its goaltenders, with
Ian Scott
(Toronto Maple Leafs) making 27 saves while playing for U Sports and
Matt Villalta
(Los Angeles Kings) and
Michael DiPietro
(Vancouver Canucks) splitting the game for Canada.
Villalta, who played for U Sports on Wednesday, allowed two goals on 15 shots in the first half, and DiPietro, who is expected to play the entire game for U Sports on Friday, made 14 saves on 17 shots in the second half for Canada.
"We'll have a tough decision to make," Hunter said.