Brendan Perlini has been selected by Canada for the upcoming 2016 IIHF World Championship U20 tournament in Helsinki, Finland.

Hockey Canada announced their final roster after returning to Helsinki from Imatra, Finland, where the team had spent six days playing pre-tournament games against Belarus and the Czech Republic.

Scott Salmond, Vice-President of Hockey Operations and National Teams for Hockey Canada, said: “Our goal is always to assemble the best possible team to represent Canada.

“We had a really good evaluation period in Toronto and Imatra and were able to see how the players responded to different situations — from practices to games.

“These are never easy decisions, but we feel confident in the team we have and their ability to make the nation proud and give us all something to get behind this holiday season.”

Perlini was one of 10 forwards named to the roster. Niagara IceDogs’ General Manager/Head Coach Marty Williamson thought Perlini had a good shot at making the team.

“I know they liked his size and speed, and they wanted that because it’s not a really big team,” he said. “But you never know for sure.”

The Guildford-born forward, who has 13 goals and 22 points in 25 games with Niagara this season, was helped by Canada’s new emphasis on skill for all its national teams.

“They will have four scary lines that will put pressure on other teams,” Williamson said.

Canada opens the tournament against the United States on Boxing Day.