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Three Colorado Avalanche prospects on Team Canada in quarantine ahead of 2021 World Juniors

The team had to shut down camp after an outbreak of COVID-19.

By HardevLad
NHL: JUL 13 Avalanche Training Camp
DENVER, CO - JULY 13: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram (45) skates during a training session at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on July 13, 2020.
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Colorado Avalanche prospects Bowen Byram, Alex Newhook, and Justin Barron are in quarantine with the Canadian World Juniors national team, cutting their preparation for the 2021 World Junior Championships short just over a week into their selection camp. The team is in Red Deer, Alberta, about two hours south of Edmonton, the location for the tournament.

The team has had to quarantine for 14 days after both players and staff tested positive for COVID-19. We don’t know who or how many are currently infected, but it has been reported that two players tested positive on Tuesday after a “non-core member” of the staff tested positive over the weekend.

The team began their quarantine on November 25th and will last until December 6th, five days before the final roster is expected to be in the Edmonton bubble on December 11th. There will be pre-tournament exhibition games between the WJC teams from December 20th to 23rd, with the 10 teams playing two games each.

“The original announcement of the positive player tests came on Tuesday — three days after Hockey Canada said a “non-core member” of the team’s staff also tested positive. Hockey Canada said it was suspending all camp activities for the day, including a scheduled intrasquad game, at the time.” [TSN]

The Canadians are doing a full quarantine in order to keep all their players healthy and available for the tournament because once the team arrives in Edmonton, anyone who tests positive there will be forced to leave the bubble and are unable to return for the rest of the tournament. The IIHF will be using the same facilities as the NHL did in the Western playoff bubble.

You can find the selection camp roster here.

Drew Helleson is in contention to make Team USA, but his spot isn’t guaranteed at the moment. I spent some time trying to find the USA selection camp roster but unless I’m missing something, I can’t find it. There aren’t any Avs prospects on the radar for the rest of the teams in the tournament. All eyes should be on Canada.

Team Canada Games Schedule (so far)

  • Mon, Dec 21st, 4pm MT — Sweden @ Canada
  • Wed, Dec 23rd, 4pm MT — Canada @ Russia
  • Sat, Dec 26th, 4pm MT — Germany @ Canada
  • Sun, Dec 27th, 4pm MT — Slovakia @ Canada
  • Tues, Dec 29th, 4pm MT — Canada @ Switzerland
  • Thurs, Dec 31st, 4pm MT — Canada @ Finland

You can watch the two camp games the team played over the weekend before the shutdown.