This is the Jeff Merrick Show on the Sports Net Radio Network.

Okay, so here's the very latest, both the Boston Bruins and Hockey Canada announcing that Matthew

Quatra will report to Sweden and will compete for Team Canada at the upcoming U-20s.

That is the World Junior Hockey Championships.

That is the very latest news,

but that's not the only news that we're talking about today.

We will get into that discussion,

what that means for Team Canada and what that means for the Boston Bruins.

You know, one of the things that has kind of always been an issue with this tournament

when it's overseas, even when it's in Canada or the United States for that matter.

Players that are playing in the NHL, generally, well one, they see themselves as pro players and they look at the U20 and they say well look at this

thing for what it really is and that is a development tournament I know we turn

this thing into the be all end all of national identity and so much of what we think about hockey is based on

what happens in this two-week slice of these players careers but make no mistake about it

the world junior hockey

championships is a development tournament that's what these all are the

you 18 etc go right down the list and a lot of players that are in the

N hurl or playing in the American Hockey League that are available, some made available some knots.

You know, one of the things that they always talk about is the pro-rithm and what happens when you get out of the pro-rithm and there are there's at least one player

That I've been told of who has some misgivings about going to represent his country, namely because the

tournament is overseas.

And A, it takes you out of your pro-line-up, whether it's NHL or AHL for a couple of weeks.

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