Todd Harkins has his hockey bag packed and on Friday he's heading for Toronto.
The Prince George Cougars centre is one of a select few 16-year-olds invited to Hockey Canada's three-day camp to prepare for the IIHF world under-18 championship, April 17-27 in Lappeenranta and Imatra, Finland.
Harkins's father Todd, the Cougars' head scout and director of player personnel, told Jansen in late February he was being considered for the team and that was confirmed in mid-March. The list of invited players won't be released until Friday.
"I didn't find out until a couple weeks ago and ever since then I've been trying to get ready for it, it's pretty short notice," said Jansen Harkins, from his home in North Vancouver.
"I just have to go to the camp and do my best. I still have to go and make the team, so hopefully I can play my game. Canada always has a strong team and they won it last year. Hopefully if I can be on that team we can repeat."
Canada will share the A Pool with Russia, Sweden, Slovakia and Germany. Host Finland is in the B Pool with the United States, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Denmark.
Canada's first game is on April 17 against Sweden. Canada won the 2013 U-18 championship, shutting out the U.S. 4-0 in the final.
Harkins, who turns 17 on May 23, visited Europe with his mother two years ago and lived in Germany for a couple years as a toddler when his dad was playing in the Deutsche Elite League but this will be his first opportunity to play hockey overseas. The team will play a few exhibition games leading up to the tournament. Kevin Dineen, who coached the Canadian women's team to Olympic gold in Sochi, is the U-18 head coach.
"I'm just looking forward to getting there and seeing all the other players from Ontario and Quebec and out east," said Harkins. "When you go to these things it's important to take back everything you've learned and use it as a strength of yours."
Picked second overall in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, Harkins lived up to his advance billing in his first full season in the WHL. In the preseason, he ended up tied for second in the scoring race with nine points in five games but admits once the regular season began he had a hard time dealing with an influx of players coming back from NHL camps and struggled in the first few months. The turning point for Harkins came at the Christmas break at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Cape Breton, N.S., where he teamed up with fellow Cougar rookie Brad Morrison on the same line for Team Pacific, and they went on to win the tournament. He returned to the Cats and played his best hockey in January and February on a line with Todd Fiddler and Klarc Wilson. Harkins finished with 10 goals and 34 points in 67 games.
"Going into it there was some uncertainty on my part, not being in the league before, and everyone can tell you what it's going to be like but you have to experience it to get into the routine, it's a lot different from midget or bantam," said Harkins. "The amount of games played and getting used to being away from home and your parents and friends and family takes some time. That tournament brought all my confidence back, letting me know I could play at a high level."
The players leave for Finland on Monday and final cuts will be made April 15. Depending on how their teams fare in the second round of the WHL playoffs, Harkins said 16-year-olds Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds and Nick Merkley of the Kelowna Rockets would be likely candidates for the U-18 team.
Before Harkins, Troy Bourke was the most recent Cougar to be named to the U-18 national team in 2012. He helped Canada beat Finland 5-4 in overtime to win bronze in the Czech Republic. Bourke is now playing in the American Hockey League for the Lake Erie Monsters. Bourke and Harkins were roommates this season, billeted at the home of Mike and Faye Kelly, and while Harkins would love to have the Cougar captain back for his final season of junior eligibility, he'd rather see him stick with the pros.
"It's pretty evident how good a hockey player he is and I'm definitely not shocked he's playing in the AHL," said Harkins. "He's such a good guy and it was a pretty big honour living with him and playing on the same team for one year. Personally, I want him to stay in the [AHL], he deserves it more than anyone. I think everyone knows he's good enough."
Bourke was held off the scoresheet Wednesday in Texas, where the Monsters defeated the San Antonio Rampage 5-3.
