Called Up: The Hockey Prospects Podcast · FloSports

World Juniors Most Exciting Players To Watch; Canada's Cuts; Who Has Something To Prove; NHL Draft Talk And More

·1 hr 22 min·5 clips

Canada cut Jake O'Brien, Merrick Van Acker, and Jackson Smith before the roster was final.

1. Called Up: The Hockey Prospects Podcast centers on World Juniors roster decisions, player watchlists, and Minnesota's tournament buildup. 2. Chris Peters of FloHockey and Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects host the episode, and both are tracking Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, and the Czech Republic. 3. The episode asks which prospects will matter most in Minnesota and which roster moves could still reshape Canada before opening night. 4. Canada beat Sweden 2-1 in a pre-tournament game, and Brady Martin scored both goals for Canada. 5. Canada also made three cuts the same day: Jake O'Brien, Merrick Van Acker, and Jackson Smith. 6. Cam Robinson says Merrick Van Acker arrived late as insurance for Michael Misa, while Jackson Smith looked like the odd man out on the blue line. 7. Chris Peters and Cam Robinson say Jake O'Brien, despite being a top-10 draft pick and OHL scoring leader, may not fit as a fourth-line center or 13th forward. 8. They point to line usage in the pre-tournament game, including Michael Hage getting a look at center and Braden Coots being used on the power play and penalty kill. 9. They also note that Cole Reschny skated with Coots and Carter Bear, which they used as a clue about Canada’s internal lineup sorting. 10. Cam Robinson says Carter George looked excellent, Carson Carls was very good, and Keaton Verhoeff showed both mistakes and high-end passing against Sweden. 11. Robinson argues Gavin McKenna is best viewed as a facilitator, not just a scorer, and says McKenna’s passing should drive offense for Canada. 12. He singles out McKenna’s feed to Brady Martin as an example of how Canada can create offense with multiple puck-carriers on every line. 13. Chris Peters says the lineup structure gives Canada a driver on almost every line, which makes McKenna harder to isolate. 14. The episode then shifts to possible additions, with Sam Dickinson and Berkly Catton still unresolved as Hockey Canada waits on NHL and club decisions. 15. Robinson suggests Dickinson is more likely to stay with San Jose than join Canada, while Catton looks like the more plausible late addition if he is healthy. 16. They also discuss how another addition would affect players such as Keaton Verhoeff, Ethan McKenzie, Aitchison, Cameron Reid, and Cole Reschny. 17. Cam Robinson says Gavin McKenna, Michael Misa, Porter Martone, Cole Hudson, Kashawn Aitchison, and Anton Frondell are the most exciting names to watch. 18. The discussion stays conversational and analytical, with roster reading, line-by-line speculation, and player-specific examples from the Sweden game. 19. Fans who follow World Juniors roster battles and NHL Draft prospects will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a general hockey recap without roster-spot speculation may want to skip it.

As heard by us

A clean World Juniors check-in that treats roster cuts and prospect pressure like real stakes.

Called Up uses the stretch before World Juniors to sort real tournament pressure from hype and ask which players can handle it. It starts with Canada's 2-1 pre-tournament win over Sweden, Brady Martin's two-goal night, and the roster cuts that followed, then turns to the players…

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Why you'd press play

You want a fast read on World Juniors before the tournament goes live.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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