Bruins fans might just have a couple reasons to pull for Team Canada when the World Junior Hockey Championship opens up next month in Alberta.
Two of Boston's top prospects are among the 41 players invited to the final evaluation camp for the host squad. Dougie Hamilton is one of 14 defensemen to receive an invite to the selection camp on Monday, while Ryan Spooner is one of 23 forwards invited. The selection camp will be held in Calgary on Dec. 10-14, with the tournament scheduled for Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Calgary and Edmonton.
Hamilton, the Bruins' first-round pick (9th overall) in June, is off to a blistering start in the Ontario Hockey League. He leads all defensemen and is sixth overall in scoring in the OHL with 11-27-38 totals in 25 games. That puts him 12 points ahead of the next blueliner, Cody Ceci of Ottawa, who will also be attending the camp.
Hamilton will be joined a couple of more familiar faces as well. His older brother and Niagara IceDog teammate Freddie Hamilton, who is 10th in the OHL with 13-23-36 totals, and Spooner are among the forwards receiving invitations.
Spooner is off to a strong start of his own with Kingston (OHL), posting 11-16-27 totals in 24 games. Spooner was a second-round pick (45th overall) in 2010.
Also invited to the camp was defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, a first-round pick of Dallas this year who played for Northeastern University last season. This year the Toronto native moved to the OHL, where he has 6-4-10 totals for Saginaw.
