19-year-old defenseman Morgan Rielly, a first-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012, will not be released to represent Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Sweden, according to Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.
"I'd say he's a big part of this group right here, right now and we don't see that changing at this point," Maple Leafs' vice-president of hockey operations Dave Poulin said on Friday. "That's the way we're looking at it."
No official decision has been made at this point, but Rielly's career-high 21 minutes of ice time on Wednesday in Pittsburgh would indicate that he's earned some trust from head coach Randy Carlyle.
Rielly was a healthy scratch Friday in Buffalo in lieu of Jake Gardiner, but the young defenseman appears focused on doing whatever he can to help his NHL team.
I play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and my priorities are here. We'll have to wait and see what happens with Team Canada. Obviously playing here in Toronto is at the top of my list right now. My goal was to play pro this year and I was able to accomplish that.
If he were to travel to Sweden with Team Canada, Rielly would would miss up to ten NHL games, including the Winter Classic on Jan. 1. At last year's tournament in Russia, Rielly scored one goal and two assists in six games but would likely assume a large role with the team.
