#i saw a rumor today that mac t might get added to this roster and let me assure you i will lose my goddamned mind if that happens

[workingforitallthetime]

could you do a little team canada primer? i want to know the narratives!

let's start with the ships!

bo and dylan: once upon a time kirby dach broke his wrist and dylan cozens and bowen byram were consequently elevated from As to co-captains of the 2021 world juniors team. team canada lost to trevor zegras's insufferable americans in the gold medal game, and bo spent the medal ceremony weeping uncontrollably, and dylan tenderly cradled his head and comforted him. then bo went to visit dylan in the yukon, which is exactly where you'd expect a reclusive vampire and a sensitive werewolf to fall in love.

bedsy and zelly: they were roommates at world juniors and here is a video where bedsy says, “he’s got one of the best bodies i’ve ever seen." catfish mouth olen zellweger my beloved.

other fun items of note!

adam fantilli revenge tour: adam's one and only wjc appearance was marred by the canadian media and even his own teammates unfairly blaming him for the entire team's failings. he and bedsy both tried lacrosse goals but the media only got mad at adam. he was demoted to the fourth line and his teammates chirped him about being a fake canadian. (recall the canadian shitstorm ignited by 14yo adam's decision to go play prep school/ushl/ncaa hockey instead of being a good little OHL soldier.) it was rough enough that he came back to umich with a chip on his shoulder about it for the second half of the season (per naur.) i did not include all the links in this paragraph but feel free to peruse my blog starting on boxing day 2022, where i lost my mind about this topic. the point is that team canada and adam have had kind of a fraught relationship and it's always interesting to see how he's treated and how he performs when he's got a maple leaf on his chest.

unhaunted nolan patrick: celebrini, another canadian who went the ncaa route, does not seem to inflame canadian emotions the way that adam does, probably because he (a) never played in canada in the first place, and (b) is not from the greater toronto area. i look forward to getting some glimpses of personality from this tournament.

spicy dyl: once upon a time when the thunderbirds played the oil kings, reid schaefer memorably chirped dylan guenther by calling him spicy dyl (which some girl had apparently tweeted at him). a year later dylan got traded to the t-birds and i became the world's only reid schaefer/dylan guenther shipper. spicy dyl was once asked for his thoughts on lacrosse goals and said, "if you tried that in the western, you'd get your teeth knocked in." he's my favorite antagonist.

owen power: the biggest pup in the litter is back! it seems like guys who sign on for men's worlds are either players who've had a disappointing season and are looking for some redemption (note all the kraken on this roster) or younger guys who want an opportunity to get on the radar. owen probably falls in the former bucket, and that's going to make him interesting to watch. it will also be interesting to see which defenseman on this roster is the scratch.