Jonathan Drouin impresses in final Ivan Hlinka scrimmage

With Team Canada's U-18 roster for the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament to be announced later Monday afternoon, the 39 players in attendance—Matt Murphy again sat out due to an injury sustained in the first game—had one final opportunity to crack the roster.

Thoughts, below:

-Team Red won again, this time 4-2, but what really matters for games like this are the individual contributions. Red swept the series, but that's not a terrible surprise. They had the stronger roster going in, with Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin on their top unit, and those two were probably the strongest offensive performers in the third game. Drouin had a goal and an assist, while MacKinnon had a pair of helpers and the prettiest goal in one of the several shootouts we've seen on the weekend.

-The best defenceman in the field is probably Belleville's Jordan Subban, a tremendous skater and a gifted two-way player. He didn't have a goal on the weekend, but his defensive partner Shea Theodore had an unlikely three, one in each game. The puck doesn't spend too much time in his own zone when Subban's on the ice, which is my favourite way to gauge a defensive performance.

-If there was a player who boosted his own stock more than Bo Horvat did this week, it would be a white-collar criminal offence. Horvat didn't pick up a point in this one, but he's very quick and good at using his speed and passing abilities to get the puck to the dangerous parts of the ice. Max Domi is the most well-known London Knight in camp, but Horvat, who doesn't get a lot of the prime minutes in the Mark Hunter system, relished his chance this week.

He may have already made the final roster, but blocking a shot in the final minute of a 4-2 game with the goalie pulled can't hurt his stock. I usually stop writing notes when the goalie is pulled because the ensuing play doesn't really resemble anything hockey-related, but I did take note of the blocked shot. I think it was Aaron Ekblad who had taken it, but my view was strained at the other end of the ice.

-This weekend was my own first opportunity to watch Ekblad play live. Ekblad was last season's exceptional player in the OHL Priority Draft, so he's a year behind the rest of his prospective Team Canada teammates. I'd have bet all along that he'd make the roster, though maybe not out of merit if the criteria was how a player performed in these camps.

It's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Ekblad at times. He's a pretty big guy, but there's a smaller body inside him that has yet to grow into that frame. He can look awkward when stationary and his first step can be described as lumbering. He was both the youngest and the heaviest player in the field, and when skating isn't your strong suit, that can make a guy look out of place.

He plays with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. I'm not sure if an international ice surface benefits him, however. He took a penalty in the second period and after it expired the puck bounced out to him in space, but he didn't corral it cleanly when he moved it into the zone. He had the presence of mind to put the puck into an open space where his trailer picked up the puck (missed who that was, ugh) who put it right back in front. If Ekblad were a left-handed shot, he would have scored.

It was a pretty odd play.

-Most of the fans in attendance were bloggers and online scouts. There was a lot of nods of appreciation for Nick Ritchie, who I believe had four goals in the three games and Darnell Nurse, who isn't as visibly talented as Subban but is bigger and I think closes gaps better. Nurse played a lot with Ekblad, while Ritchie played a lot with MacKinnon and Drouin.

-As for goaltending, Tristan Jarry allowed his only goals of the camp, one to Theodore on a great passing play off a turnover and another brutal behind the net giveaway to Matt Needham. The money here is that he takes the backup job behind Zachary Fucale.