After missing games against Finland and Latvia, Team Canada has officially registered Vancouver Canucks defense prospect Sawyer Mynio for participation in the 2025 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ont., on Saturday afternoon.
Mynio, 19, was originally announced to be on the roster but was not officially registered to participate for the dawn of World Juniors. He, alongside the Seattle Kraken's Carson Rehkopf and the Philadelphia Flyers' Carson Bjarnason, watched from the sidelines as Team Canada initially elected to go with only 22 of the maximum 25 registered players.
Team Canada has officially registered their full roster.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) December 28, 2024
Carson Rehkopf (SEA), Sawyer Mynio (VAN), and Carson Bjarnason (PHI) are now eligible to see action.
According to multiple reports, Mynio, Rehkopf, and Bjarnason have all been registered by Team Canada, which clears them for action for the rest of the 2025 World Juniors.
Sawyer Mynio to represent Canucks, finally
And now that Mynio has been registered by Team Canada, he will have a clear path to playing time for a team that has struggled defensively and on the power play.
Matthew Schaefer, a 2025 draft-eligible defenseman likely to be the first player selected at his position, reportedly suffered a broken collarbone, eliminating him from the 2025 World Juniors and potentially sidelining him for 2-3 months.
Broken collarbone. Best guesstimate is a two to three month injury.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) December 28, 2024
Sawyer Mynio (VAN/Seattle WHL) is now expected to be officially added to the Team Canada roster.
It’s also possible (but not yet confirmed) that Carson Rehkopf (SEA/Brampton OHL) could also be officially added… https://t.co/VgrbiJf3yX
Canada's sweeping changes come on the heels of an embarrassing, historic 3-2 shootout loss to Latvia on Friday, where Canada failed to score on five power play opportunities against lesser competition.
Mynio, drafted 89th overall by the Canucks in the third round of the 2023 draft, is currently third amongst WHL draft year+2 defensemen in points per game, with 1.06, trailing fellow Team Canada defender Caden Price (1.23) and Lukas Dragicevic (1.25). Overall, the Seattle Thunderbirds rearguard has five goals, 14 assists, and 19 points in 18 WHL games so far this season.
As for Rehkopf, he has 20 goals in 27 games for the OHL Brampton Steelheads, which ranks third among all D+2 forwards, and his 1.74 points per game trails only Calum Ritchie and Quentin Musty. The Kraken prospect's all-around scoring prowess should greatly benefit the toothless Canadians.
Bjarnason is a different story, as the Flyers goalie prospect appears to be firmly behind 2024 draftee Carter George and 2025 draft-eligible Jack Ivankovic, though it would be unwise to discount Bjarnason's age and experience at a time like this.
It is currently unclear how Canada and head coach Dave Cameron plan to utilize Rehkopf and Bjarnason, but Mynio at least has a clear path to playing some minutes as the seventh defenseman after the Schaefer injury.