Blackhawks prospect, top CHL scorer snubbed from Team Canada's World Junior training camp roster

Vanacker's scoring this season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), with 24 goals in 25 games played, has made him hard to ignore.

Vanacker was taken 27th overall by Chicago in the 2024 NHL Draft and was one of the most standout forwards at the Blackhawks' development camp this past summer.

He broke out in 2023-24 with 82 points (36 goals, 46 assists) in 68 games despite playing through a shoulder injury. That same scoring touch helped him stand out early this season with the Brantford Bulldogs, seeing him among the OHL's top point producers.

But when Canada released its preliminary roster for the World Juniors training camp, Vanacker's name was nowhere to be found. Bleacher Nation+1 Many analysts had expected him to at least be among those invited, given his production and potential. Bleacher Nation+1

That decision has drawn some flak from folks watching the prospects pipeline-not just for the snub itself but for what it signals about Canada's selection priorities this year.

As one Blackhawks-focused outlet noted just days ago, leaving Vanacker out «would be disappointing if he somehow isn't» invited.

Fans of the Blackhawks prospects watched his OHL surge eagerly. They hoped his size, drive, and scoring could add something to Canada's bottom six depth. Instead the selection group leaned toward players drawn from bigger CHL markets or those perceived to provide more positional balance.

Vanacker is now deemed the 'biggest snub' of Team Canada's tournament:

It's a cold reminder that stats alone don't guarantee a WJC ticket-timing, role fit, and roster balance matter too.

It stings for Vanacker, who kept building on his junior momentum and hoped to show what he could do on the international stage. But he's still young, still trending upward, and likely carded for more chances in the coming seasons.