Yager named captain, Molendyk and Ritchie alternates for Canada's world junior team

Brayden Yager takes a shot during the first day of the Canadian World Junior Hockey Championships selection camp in Ottawa on December 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Centre Brayden Yager has been named captain of Canada's team for the upcoming world junior hockey championship.

Hockey Canada announced the team's leadership group Thursday, with Tanner Molendyk and Calum Ritchie named alternate captains for the tournament that starts Boxing Day in Ottawa.

Yager, a Winnipeg Jets prospect, has a goal and three assists in two games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes since joining the Western Hockey League team via trade on Dec. 2. He had 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 21 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors before the trade.

The forward from Saskatoon was a member of Canada's 2024 world junior team that finished fifth in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Molendyk, a defenceman from McBride, B.C., has 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) in 21 games for the WHL's Saskatoon Blades this season. Ritchie, from Oakville, Ont., has 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) in 18 games with the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals, after the centre was returned to major junior following a seven-game stint with the NHL's Colorado Avalanche.

Molendyk and Ritchie are making their world junior debuts. Molendyk was named to Canada's 2024 team but had to withdraw after sustaining a wrist injury in a pre-tournament game.