Team Canada has announced that Scott Laughton will be the captain for Team Canada at the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships in Malmo, Sweden.
A native of Oakville, Ontario, Laughton made the Flyers out of the team's abbreviated training camp after getting drafted in 2002 and made his NHL debut on January 19, 2013 at home against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. This year, Laughton was loaned back to the Oshawa Generals of the OHL after failing to stick with the NHL club to start the season, but has been impressive with the Generals, recording 50 points in just 29 contests so far. This will be Laughton's third time representing Canada at a junior tournament, as he won gold with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2011 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, as well as at the Under-18 Team at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.
"He reminds me a lot of in ’05 when Mike Richards was our captain," Canadian Head Coach Brent Sutter told reporters today. "He’s not necessarily the most skilled player on the team but he’s a player that comes to play every night and does things the right way."
“It’s a huge honour. To be able to wear the ‘C’ for Canada, it’s a huge honour for me," Laughton had to say.
Laughton, who was once the captain for the Toronto Marlboros Midget AAA team in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, attended Holy Family Elementary School and Holy Family High School in Oakville.
Jonathan Drouin, a highly skilled Colorado prospect currently coming off of injury with the Halifax Mooseheads, as well as Minnesota Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba, were both named alternate captains for the tournament. Set to start on December 26th, Canada will play their first game against the newly promoted German squad at 7:30 a.m. ET, with all games being shown on TSN in Canada.