Talk about a stacked group.

Over the past two days, the Canadian national U-20 team has added Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright, Arizona Coyotes winger Dylan Guenther and Los Angeles Kings defender Brandt Clarke to their roster ahead of selection camp this weekend in Moncton. For a group that already had Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Logan Stankoven and Olen Zellweger, the rich are getting even richer now.

It’s a huge boost for the Canadians, who look to go back-to-back on home ice after winning gold in Edmonton over the summer. We’ve returned to the traditional world junior timeframe, meaning legitimate NHLers are back in the frame.  Dallas’ Wyatt Johnston won’t be heading over, and it seems unlikely that Anaheim’s Mason McTavish or Columbus’ Cole Sillinger will go, either. But for the three getting sent to Eastern Canada for the next few weeks, the opportunity makes sense.

For Wright, the decision to go back was obvious. The Seattle Kraken have been rolling along quite nicely with the group they have, and there was no room for Wright consistently. His conditioning stint with the Coachella Valley Firebirds was a success, and he scored in his return against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, but that didn’t do anything to change the game plan. It was clear about five games into the season that sending Wright to the WJC was the way to go, and he’ll almost certainly center Canada’s top line.

He’ll be joined by his 2021 U-18 World Championship linemate in Guenther, who has spent the entire season with the Coyotes up until now. He was a healthy scratch early on during his Coyotes tenure, and other than a handful of games in which he eclipsed the 15-minute mark, he’s mainly been a depth scoring option for Arizona in his first pro season. He’s been excellent with Canada previously and was one of the most dominant players in all of junior hockey last year. Add in his 21 games of NHL experience and this will be a huge opportunity for Guenther, who should return to the Coyotes once the tournament ends.