World Junior Notes: Donovan, Nelson, Molendyk, Luneau, Lindstein

Senators prospect Jorian Donovan was cut by Team Canada at their World Juniors selection camp earlier this month but Hockey Canada announced (Twitter link) that the defenseman has been added to their roster along with Kraken defense prospect Ty Nelson, another player originally cut from their selection camp.

Donovan was a fifth-round pick of the Sens in 2022 and has eight goals and 26 points in 31 games with OHL Brantford so far this season.  He was notified of his addition on Friday and arrived in time for today’s 6-5 overtime loss to the United States in pre-tournament action and was named their Player of the Game.

As for Nelson, he was a third-round pick by the Kraken in 2022 and has been a prolific point producer with OHL North Bay.  Last season, he finished third in the league for points by a defenseman with 76 in 67 regular season games while adding 25 more in 20 playoff contests.  He’s producing at a similar rate this season with 31 points in his first 28 appearances.

Other news from the World Juniors:

• Those two being added to the roster means that two players have to come off. Those are Predators blueliner Tanner Molendyk and Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau who are both out due to injury.  Molendyk was dealing with a wrist issue while Luneau had missed pre-tournament games due to illness which has turned out to be a viral infection.  Molendyk was off to a nice start with WHL Saskatoon before making the team as he already has 28 points on his season in just 24 games.  Luneau, meanwhile, cracked Anaheim’s roster in training camp although playing time has been limited; he has played in seven games for the Ducks and six more while on a conditioning loan with AHL San Diego.
• Team Sweden has also made a roster move for the upcoming World Juniors. They announced (Twitter link) that Blues defenseman Theo Lindstein has been added to their roster for the event, replacing Jakob Noren who was injured in pre-tournament action.  The 18-year-old was the 29th pick back in June and has spent the majority of this season in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan level, recording 11 points in 27 games so far.  Louis now has seven prospects at the tournament, tied for the most among NHL teams with Arizona and Buffalo.