The Kamloops native and Seattle Thunderbirds rearguard is the first Canucks defence prospect to make Team Canada since the late Luc Bourdon
Mynio was one of 13 defencemen invited to Team Canada’s summer camp.
He flew under the radar in his draft year, playing on a stacked Seattle team. There was little attention from pundits. Several scouting services didn’t list him in their pre-draft rankings. McKeen’s Hockey had him, but at No. 176.
Seattle coach Matt O’Dette contended last season that several NHL teams had told him they thought the Canucks had made a “crafty pick,” and how they felt they had their “pocket picked” by Vancouver.
“You need to be a well-rounded D-man, a reliable 200-foot guy that can play in all situations,” O’Dette said then. “Not everyone can play on the power play in that tournament. You’re going to have lots of offensive D. You’re going to need to be a guy who can provide all different things — penalty kill, 5-on-5, playing well at both ends. You just want to be a steady player.”
Mynio is one of two B.C. products on this Team Canada, along with fellow blue liner Tanner Molendyk, 19, a McBride native who plays with the Saskatoon Blades and was a 2023 first-round pick of the Nashville Predators.
The world juniors are in Ottawa and get going on Boxing Day. Team Canada opens with Finland that day.
The last Canucks prospect to play for Team Canada was goaltender Michael DiPietro, who was part of the 2019 squad coached by former Canuck winger Tim Hunter that lost in 2-1 in overtime to Finland in the quarterfinals at Rogers Arena.
DiPietro, who’s now 25, was 2017 third-round selection and was traded to the Boston Bruins in October 2022 in the Jack Studnicka deal.
Winger Jake Virtanen (2015 and 2016) and centre Bo Horvat (2014) were both Canucks prospects when they played in world juniors.
Bourdon (2006 and 2007) won two gold medals with Team Canada. He had three goals and 10 points in 12 world junior games combined.
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