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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes from Team Canada’s selection camp in St. Catharine’s, Ont., Dec. 12-15. Team Canada held two practices at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharine’s on Tuesday.

The news didn’t faze Victor Mete.  

“Wasn’t really surprised,” the 19-year-old defenceman said after his first junior practice of the season Tuesday. “I thought I probably would end up here. I’m excited to get going. It’s always been a dream of mine to play at the World Juniors.”

The Montreal Canadiens loaned Mete to Team Canada even though the Woodbridge, Ont., native has held his own during 27 games (four assists) in the NHL this season. 

“All our guys kind of got healthy now and I didn’t play the last two games so I thought maybe with World Juniors coming up they might want me to play,” Mete said. “So just got to trust them and hopefully I can win a gold here.”

Last year, Mete was among the final cuts at Canada’s selection camp. 

"I was a little upset last year," he admitted. "Now I get the opportunity to make the team and kind of put that behind me."

Mete’s come a long way since then. 

“He’s a bit quicker, got more experience, he’s stronger, he’s got the same vision,” said Canadian head coach Dominique Ducharme, who returns for a second stint as the bench boss. “One year can make a big difference. Just remember Thomas Chabot in Finland and Chabot last year. At this time and that age, 365 days is a lot.”

Chabot was on the Canadian team that finished sixth in Helsinki in 2016. One year later, the defenceman starred for Canada being named tournament MVP en route to a silver medal. 

Mete is feeling confident after proving he could play at the highest level. 

“The speed, obviously, is way faster up there and the guys are way bigger and stronger, so I can use it to my advantage and kind of try to be the best out there.”

It has been an eventful season in Montreal so far with plenty of ups and downs for the Canadiens. Mete’s experience living through that should help in a short, pressure-packed event like the World Juniors. 

“That’s a huge addition,” said Dillon Dube, one of seven returning Canadian players. “Obviously, he played in Montreal and he can handle the pressure. He’ll bring a calm presence to the team.”

“When we were losing, it was obviously a lot of chaos, but we did a good job of overcoming that and now we’re almost back to .500,” Mete said when asked about the roller-coaster ride in Montreal. "I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty good job there, so hopefully I get the opportunity to go back up after this. Everyone there has welcomed me really well and I feel like I fit in and belong there.”

Mete, who could be returned to London in the OHL after the World Juniors, hasn’t spoken to Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin about what will happen after the tournament ends, but noted Montreal management likely wants him to focus his energy on the challenge before him. And Mete doesn’t believe that’ll be a problem. 

“My goal was always to play in the World Juniors growing up,” he said. “I watched it every single year at Christmas. It’s cool to be here now and hopefully I can win a gold medal, because that’s probably the biggest thing I’ve wanted since I’ve been a kid.”

Ailing Dube survives scary fall 

Dube wore a yellow non-contact jersey during the early practice on Monday. He's been dealing with a nagging upper-body injury (suspected shoulder). 

“It’s been lingering, but it’s nothing that’s a big deal,” the Calgary Flames prospect said. “I’ve been playing with it. I’ve played probably close to eight games with it now and at this point of time you might as well rest it so it’s 100 per cent. With everything going on with the tryouts, it’s going to be rough out there so it was just precautionary.”

And despite the non-contact jersey, the feisty Dube still managed to bump into a teammate, specifically Jake Bean, during practice. As a result, the Kelowna Rocket forward fell into the boards and appeared to be in some discomfort. He briefly left the ice and went to the dressing room with a member of the training staff. 

“I’m good,” said Dube, who returned after only a few minutes. “It was precautionary. I think it looked worse than it actually was.”

Dube sat out the second practice on Tuesday. 

Fabbro sits out with minor injury 

Dante Fabbro missed both of Tuesday’s practices with a lower-body injury courtesy of a blocked shot over the weekend. He watched the workouts from the bench. 

“It’s minor,” Ducharme said. “We don't want to take any chances. We want guys who are 100 per cent. It's a little bruise. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was on the ice tomorrow.”

Fabbro, a Nashville Predators prospect, is one of three returning defencemen on the Canadian roster. 

First cuts expected Thursday night 

The selection camp heats up on Wednesday and Thursday, with games against a team of USports all-stars. All four goalies – Carter Hart, Michael DiPietro, Colton Point and Samuel Harvey – will play in each game, with two suiting up for the USports team each day.

After the second game, some cuts are expected.  

“We don’t have a clear plan,” Ducharme said, “but I would think after the second game there will be some cuts. The players will dictate how many.”

Lines at Tuesday’s practice

Forwards
Katchouk-Glass-Raddysh 
Gadjovich-McLeod-Lind
Comtois-Howden-Steenbergen
Kaspick-Ang-Batherson 
Dube-Thomas-Suzuki
Formenton-Steel-Kyrou

Defencemen
Ferraro-Makar 
Bean-Foote 
Stanley 
Mahura-Cholowski 
Mete-Timmins 
Clague