MacKinnon, Nugent-Hopkins headline Canada’s 2013 World Junior roster

Hockey Canada solidified its 2013 World Junior Championship roster by making eight final cuts on Thursday, according to TSN.

Budding stars Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Strome are among the 23 players headed to Russia for the tournament.

Here is the full roster, sorted by position:

Forwards: MacKinnon, Nugent-Hopkins, Huberdeau, Strome, Anthony Camara, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Charles Hudon, Boone Jenner, J.C. Lipon, Ty Rattie, Brett Ritchie and Mark Scheifele.

Defensemen: Dougie Hamilton, Scott Harrington, Ryan Murphy, Xavier Ouellet, Griffin Reinhart, Morgan Rielly and Tyler Wotherspoon.

Goalies: Jordan Binnington, Jake Paterson and Malcolm Subban.

Huberdeau, Jenner, Scheifele, Strome, Hamilton and Harrington played for last year’s bronze medal-winning squad.

The eight players who represented the final cuts were: forwards Hunter Shinkaruk, Tom Wilson, Mark McNeil and Daneil Catennacci, defensemen Matthew Dumba, Frank Corrado and Ryan Sproul along with goalie Laurent Brossoit.

Two more notes:

• TSN’s Bob McKenzie rates the toughest choices as blueliner Wotherspoon over Corrado and Binnington instead of Brossit in net.
• CBC’s Tim Wharnsby notes that Dumba has been cut for the second straight year.

So which player do you expect to make the biggest impact during a tournament that often serves as a glimpse into hockey’s future?