Canada's 2018 Olympic hockey team will begin to take shape on Wednesday, when Team Canada takes on Switzerland in their Karjala Cup opener.

You can watch Canada's opener LIVE on TSN1 and TSN3 at 2pm et/11am pt.

Canada's 25-man roster for the tournament includes 22 players who hold at least one game of NHL experience. Nick Spaling, Ted Purcell, Wojtek Wolski, Mason Raymond, Rene Bourque, Simon Despres and Ben Scrivens are among the more recognizable names. The roster also includes two NCAA players, in Northeastern forward Dylan Sikura and Bemidji State defenceman Zach Whitecloud.

The tournament will serve as an Olympic tryout for the players on the roster, with the PyeongChang Games 92 days away.

"I'm just looking forward to getting on the ice," forward Gilbert Brule said Tuesday. "Everyone's going to play well together and I know we're going to stick together out there and have a lot of fun and obviously we want to get the win too."

Team Canada general manager Sean Burke said last month that players not on the team's roster for this tournament, such as Jarome Iginla, are still under consideration for Olympic spots.

“These 26 players are part of the larger group that is still under consideration for the Olympic team,” Burke said in a statement. “Ten of these players were not with us in August in Russia, while others who are under consideration won’t join us next month due either to their being unavailable, or because we feel we already have a good sense of where they could fit with our team.”

Canada will play three games at the round-robin tournament, facing Sweden on Friday (11:30am et/8:30am pt. on TSN) and Finland on Sunday (10:30am et/7:30am pt. on TSN). The winner of the tournament, which also includes the Czech Republic and Russia, will be determined by points. 

“As a management group and coaching staff, our priority is putting the best possible team together,” Burke said. “We will continue to evaluate every Canadian player that’s eligible to represent their country at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games to ensure we give ourselves the best possible chance for success in Korea.”

Canada has never won a medal at the round-robin tournament, which dates back to 1992.

 

Team Canada Pre-Olympic Roster

No.  Player SH HT WT Hometown 2017-18 Team
8 Wojtek Wolski L 6'3 220 Zabrze, POL Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
9 Mason Raymond L 6'1 179 Cochrane, Alta. SC Bern (NLA)
14 Brandon Kozun R 5'8 170 Calgary, Alta. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)
15 Eric O’Dell R 6'1 201 Ottawa, Ont. HC Sochi (KHL)
17 Gilbert Brulé R 5'11 187 Edmonton, Alta. Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
19 René Bourque L 6'2 216 Lac La Biche, Alta. Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
20 Matt Ellison R 5'11 200 Duncan, B.C. Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)
21 Quinton Howden L 6'2 190 Oakbank, Man. Dinamo Minsk (KHL)
22 Nick Spaling L 6'1 198 Palmerston, Ont. Geneve-Servette HC (NLA)
23 Andrew Ebbett L 5'9 176 Vernon, B.C. SC Bern (NLA)
25 Ted Purcell R 6'2 194 St John's, N.L. Avangard, Omsk (KHL)
26 Christian Thomas R 5'9 174 Toronto, Ont. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL)
29 Rob Klinkhammer R 6'3 214 Lethbridge, Alta. Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)
             
No.  Player SH HT WT Hometown 2017-18 Team
2 Karl Stollery L 5'11 181 Camrose, Alta. Dinamo Riga (KHL)
3 Zach Whitecloud R 6'2 209 Brandon, Man. Bemidji State University (WCHA)
4 Chay Genoway L 5'9 170 Morden, Man. Lada Togliatti (KHL)
5 Chris Lee L 6'0 187 MacTier, Ont. Hockey Canada
6 Maxim Noreau R 6'0 198 Montreal, Que. SC Bern (NLA)
7 Simon Després L 6'4 218 Laval, Que. HC Slovan Bratislava (KHL)
11 Jesse Blacker R 6'2 195 Toronto, Ont. Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
12 Geoff Kinrade L 6'0 185 Nelson, B.C. Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
28 Mat Robinson R 5'10 185 Calgary, Alta. CSKA Moscow (KHL)
             
No.  Player SH HT WT Hometown 2017-18 Team
1 Justin Peters L 6'1 210 Blythe, Ont. Kölner Haie (DEL)
30 Ben Scrivens L 6'2 181 Spruce Grove, Alta. Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)