On the eve of the world under-18 hockey championship, Jansen Harkins has made it official.
His birth certificate says he was born in Cleveland, Ohio and he does have dual American-Canadian citizenship. But now that he's in Toronto attending Team Canada's camp, there's no going back for the 17-year-old Prince George Cougars centre.
He's Canadian all the way.
Harkins made up his mind after discussing it with his father, Cougars GM Todd Harkins, and his decision is final.
"It's a great honour any time you can play for your country and wear the Maple Leaf and this will be the first event he actually wears the Maple Leaf, which means he won't be eligible to play for Team U.S.A.
"This is the first IIHF event that, once he's on Canada's roster, he can no longer play for Team U.S.A., and that's a big thing in our house because I played for the U.S.A. three times. We've had many long talks about it and he feels that Canada has been so good to him and given him lots of opportunity. He feels very loyal to the Maple Leaf and I support him on that."
Harkins left for Toronto Wednesday, where he will attend the Team Canada camp.
The 10-team tournament starts Thursday, April 16 in Switzerland. Canada opens against Latvia that day. Coached by Tim Hunter, head coach of the Moose Jaw Warrors, Canada is part of Group B with Latvia, Czech Republic, Finland and Switzerland. Group A includes Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, Germany and the United States.
The gold-medal game is set for Sunday, April 26.
Harkins led the Cougars in scoring in his sophomore WHL season with 79 points, including 20 goals, in 70 games. He set a new team record for assists in a season with 58.
The six-foot, 180-pounder, who grew up in North Vancouver, is ranked 15th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting final rankings released Wednesday and is expected to be selected in the first round of the NHL draft in June.
While the final team has yet to be selected, Ryan Jankowski, director of player personnel with Hockey Canada, told Todd Harkins his son figures prominently on the team.
Harkins was cut from Canada's U-18 national team last spring as a 16-year-old but has played in three other high-profile events. He was captain of the silver-medalist Team Pacific at the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, helped Canada win gold last August at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and was an assistant captain for Team Orr at the BMO/NHL Top Prospects Game in January.
"It's a feather in his cap and it prolongs his hockey season, and being able to showcase himself for the NHL scouts even longer is always a good thing," said Todd Harkins. "He's a pretty humble kid and he just wants to play for the team whose jersey he puts on. He just loves the game.
"Any time our players get more experience playing in any other league or division it's a good thing because it will only benefit the Prince George Cougars."
