In the past few hours, Hockey Canada revealed the list of players invited to the selection camp for the upcoming World Junior Championship.

Many were surprised to see that Canadiens prospect Michael Hage was not included in the selection, despite playing outstanding hockey with the University of Michigan in the NCAA.

Michael Hage Completely Overlooked by Team Canada Junior

A disappointing decision for the young forward.

This omission, however, can be explained by a few possible reasons as follows:

Not an 18-Year-Olds’ Tournament

Traditionally, the World Junior Championship is a competition for 19-year-olds. It is rare for players aged 18 or younger to participate.

To confirm this, 22 of the 32 players invited to this camp were born in 2005, making them 19 years old. There are seven 18-year-olds and three 17-year-olds: Jack Ivankovic, Matthew Schaefer, and Gavin McKenna.

The NCAA Factor

They won’t say it publicly, but the fact that Hage plays in the NCAA and not the CHL may have been a factor.

In recent years, the national federation seems to have held a grudge against players who leave the country to play in the NCAA.

It will be interesting to see if this changes following the recent agreement between the NCAA and the CHL.

Valid Reasons?

In my opinion, none of these reasons hold water for Hage. Hockey Canada could have easily invited him and decided his fate later.

What exactly did they have to lose?

So far, Hage has tallied 17 points, including 9 goals, in 13 games with the Michigan Wolverines. That’s quite an achievement for a player in his first year in this league.

As a small consolation, the Canadiens’ first-round pick in the last draft isn’t the only one overlooked by the national federation. Beckett Senecke, Tij Iginla, Carter Yakemchuk, Terik Parascak, and Sacha Boisvert are also missing from this list.