Team Canada cuts experienced Chris Bigras, down to 25 players on WJC roster

Releasing a player with world junior experience is nearly unprecedented, but Team Canada did just that by including defenceman Chris Bigras in its initial round of cuts.

The Colorado Avalanche prospect and Philadelphia Flyers first-rounder Travis Sanheim were the two trimmed from  the back end. Wings Nick Baptiste, Rémi Elie and Morgan Klimchuk were also released. Canada is down to 15 forwards and eight defencemen with five days left before its first world junior championship exhibition game vs. Russia on Friday at Air Canada Centre. Canada will have 13 and seven, along with two goalies, on the final roster that doesn't have to set until Dec. 25.

"The message I got was, 'keep my head up, use it as motivation," a downcast Bigras told reporters at the Westin Harbour Castle hotel in downtown Toronto on Saturday night. "Obviously, it's not the outcome I was looking for, but you can't dwell on it right now. I just have to get ready for the next week [with his OHL team, the Owen Sound Attack]."

The player pool along the blueline is much deeper than it was in 2014, when Canada finished fourth at the WJC for the second year in a row. Also, last year Canada went with a small 25-player preliminary roster that included Bigras over Darnell Nurse, who is now a first-pairing possibility.

"When you play for this team and the next year you're cut, it's devastating for him," coach Benoît Groulx said of Bigras. "We understand that. It's tough for us, also. I was with him in Sweden last year. He's got a great career in front of him. I know he's going through some tough moments right now.

"We just like the eight defencemen we have more," Groulx added.

Sanheim is the only one who is eligible for 2016 WJC. The Elkhorn, Man., native was also caught in the numbers game on the back end, but an 18-year-old who's only in his second major junior season being at Canada's camp is a coup in itself.

"I got a lot to look forward to," Sanheim said. "Hopefully next year come in and make a difference and make this hockey team. The last year's kind of been crazy for me. I'm just thankful just to be named to the roster to be here at this selection camp."

Baptiste, a teammate of Connor McDavid with the Erie Otters, and the Regina Pats' Klimchuk were among a half-dozen players whose junior seasons have been injury-interrupted. Neither used it as an excuse.

"You never really know but I don't think so," Klimchuk said when asked if his wrist injury was a factor. "I got in a healthy amount of games before the camp started and thought I played pretty well here.

"They told me I had a good camp and they were actually pretty happy about how I played," the Calgary Flames prospect added. "Not much more than that ... To come to this camp was a honour it itself."

Baptiste had a late start to his OHL season, which he began with the basement-dwelling Sudbury Wolves before a trade to Erie. The 19-year-old forward wasn't able to get a foothold during this weekend's exhibition games against a team of university players.

"It's tough, but it's such good competition here and I'm proud to be [considered] one of the top 30 [junior players] in Canada," said the Buffalo Sabres prospect, who hails from Barrhaven, Ont. "I'm going to go back to Erie and hopefully go on a [Memorial] Cup run. It's not the end of the world. It sucks, but it's life and that happens. It stings but you got to keep your head up."

Elie earned an invite with a strong showing during the Subway Super Series in November.

"To see how high the level of play was here, that's something I'm going to bring back to my [Belleville Bulls OHL] team," the Dallas Stars prospect said.

The cuts leave Team Canada will have five trios of forwards and four defence pairings, along with goalies Eric Comrie and Zach Fucale, for this week's practices in St. Catharines. Groulx, who is emphasizing a high-tempo game, said there was a "a separation between those guys [still on the roster] and the ones we let go."

It's simply time to try fomenting some chemistry. After the Russia game on Friday, Canada also has pre-competition games vs. Sweden (Dec. 21 at Ottawa) and Switzerland (Dec. 23 at Montreal) as final auditions.

"At a certain point, when you look at our forwards, we realize that we have to make some decisions if we want to have a good mix," Groulx said.

"We want to see how this team is doing together, how they fit together," he said when asked about a timeline for the final three cuts. "There's no rush for us, in our mind."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.