Including not being overwhelmed by the moment, not to mention the huge stage he’ll be on in Italy.
“Mac is pretty mature for his age,” Warsofsky said.
Asked perhaps what might have put Celebrini ahead of other candidates for Team Canada, Warsofsky replied, “I think the way he plays a 200-foot game, you know, the way he defends, the way he competes for pucks, how physically he is, I think that’s what probably set him apart.”
Heading into Wednesday, there was plenty of speculation if Celebrini and Bedard would each be on the team. Bedard was third in the NHL with 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) in 31 games before sustaining an upper-body injury Dec. 12 that has him listed as week to week.
Armstrong said the injury really didn’t affect the 20-year-old’s chances.
“Quite honestly his name was there to the last second,” Armstrong said of Bedard, adding that Scheifele fell into that category as well. “But I think the reality is, there’s so many good players, and we just had difficult decisions to make.”
Including one involving Schaefer, a consideration Armstrong never envisioned at the start of the season.
“I was shocked at how quickly he worked his way into our conversations and that’s a credit to him,” Armstrong said of the 18-year-old defenseman who was selected No. 1 by the Islanders in the 2025 NHL Draft. “The Islanders and hockey are very lucky to have a player like him coming on the horizon.”
While on the subject of the Islanders, the fact that Horvat was selected over Jarvis could be an offshoot of the upper-body injury the Hurricanes forward suffered against the Panthers Dec. 19. Jarvis, who had an assist in three games for Canada at 4 Nations, was second in goals for Carolina with 19 at the time of the injury and is considered week to week.
The naming of Horvat immediately raised some eyebrows but Armstrong cited his face-off skills, and his chemistry playing on MacKinnon’s wing at the 2025 Worlds, as two keys to his selection.
In the end, the biggest surprise might be Bennett’s exclusion. The 29-year-old scored Canada’s second goal that forced overtime in the 4 Nations championship game, then had 22 points (15 goals, seven assists) in 23 postseason games to help the Panthers win their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
At first blush it appears Bennett’s physical role has been taken by the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Wilson, whose blue-collar work in the corners and in front of the opposing net made him a coveted target for Team Canada officials dating back to the summer.
“It was a tough process,” Armstrong said. “But in the end we put together the best team we feel has the potential for success.”
