Calgary Flames keeping Sean Monahan; door for joining Team Canada left slightly ajar

The ripple from Sean Monahan being done in the Ontario Hockey League is exceptionally wide.

The 19-year-old Calgary Flames rookie and now newest graduate of the OHL's Ottawa 67's is a gem, as one of the best centres in a 1994 birth-year cohort that is thin on top-shelf talent. (Remember TSN's Bob McKenzie saying the 2012 NHL draft was one of the worst years for Canadian forwards, bearing in mind that draft didn't include either Monahan or NHL first-rounders Kerby Rychel and Hunter Shinkaruk?)

Monahan has made his case, although his hot hand in Calgary will cool off eventually. His departure from the junior ranks affects the outlook for Team Canada at the world junior championship, along with the rebuilding effort of the 67's, who will miss out on a chance to move him to a Memorial Cup contender in January

— Canada was likely already looking at moving even farther away from the tried-and-true belief the WJC is a 19-year-old tournament, especially since Connor McDavid will likely play some sort of offensive role as a 16-year-old and 18-year-old Jonathan Drouin could be a No. 1 left wing.

Monahan, who was rusty at the 2012 selection camp following a 10-game suspension, was cut after he was adjudged not to be top-6 timbre. It's not hard to imagine Monahan being a good complement to the likes of McDavid.

The Flames have not ruled out loaning Monahan to Team Canada. It's important to recall his success has come while two veteran pivots, Mike Cammelleri and Matt Stajan, have been laid up by injuries.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins came back from the AHL to join Team Canada during the 2012-13 lockout. Those were exceptional circumstances. A season prior, the Anaheim Ducks and Tampa Bay Lightning respectively lent Devante Smith-Pelly and Brett Connolly to the national junior squad. Smith-Pelly suffered a broken foot when it was struck by a slapshot in the first game of the tournament, but it's a little knee-jerk to think that would influence a team not to loan out a player who needs ice time and a shot of confidence.

— 67's coach-GM Chris Byrne said all the right things about seeing his captain off to The Show. But Monahan has to hurt not only the rebuilding Barberpoles, but the entire top half of the OHL's Eastern Conference.

The upshot is that Ottawa is in Year 2 of a reboot during a Memorial Cup year for the league. It's about the best time to be building. Getting Monahan back would allowed Byrne to set the trade market for the league by moving him to a team with aspirations of joining the London Knights at the year-end tournament in May, be it the early Eastern leaders, Kingston and Oshawa, or a Western Conference challenger such as Guelph or Sault Ste. Marie. (The former two could make it just by winning the conference.) All four are relatively deep in first- and second-year players who conceivably would have had to be offered to Ottawa to get Monahan. A package of priority-selection picks would have been thin gruel.

The 67's .385 point pct. through 13 games is second-last in the Eastern. Only one of its five wins has been by more than a goal, despite a home-heavy first month. It is too early to say whether its young nucleus will not have some a-ha! breakthrough later on in the season, especially since centre Travis Konecny is a catalytic force even at age 16. It is important not to be too harsh in judgments in the here and now at a time when Ottawa is a little beleaguered on the blueline; regulars Mike Vlajkov and Taylor Davis have each gone down with injuries. That hastened looking high and low for reinforcements; Ottawa's picked up Owen Stewart and Ryan Duhaime, late of London and Mississauga, respectively.

Ultimately, Ottawa was going to be rebuilding regardless. Not having Monahan or any assets in return for him slightly slows down that process.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.