WJC 2013: Canada’s Netminders

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The roster for the Canadian team to represent the nation at the upcoming 2013 IIHF World Juniors was announced December 13, with three representatives of the Ontario Hockey League set to play in net.

• JAKE PATERSON; 5/3/94, Mississauga, ON – Saginaw Spirit — NHL Draft: DET ’12

Paterson has been the top goaltender for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, suiting up in 28 games this season and winning 11 of those matchups. He’s allowed 92 goals against on 929 shots faced in 1,581 minutes played with the Spirit this season, giving him a 3.49 GAA and .901 save percentage (19th in league).

He’s also 17th in the OHL in wins and has one shutout on the year, a 5-0 win over the Sudbury Wolves on September 27. Paterson stopped all 30 shots faced in the victory.

The 18-year-old is in his second full season with the Spirit, having made his OHL debut in the 2010-11 season, in a 5-2 victory over the Belleville Bulls on October 23. He played mainly with the Soo Eagles of the NOJHL that season, but saw action in five OHL games with the Saginaw.

In addition to winning his OHL debut, Paterson went on to win a January 27 game over Sarnia and a February 19 also against the Sting. He gave up overtime losses to Peterborough and Windsor in the other two games he suited up for Saginaw that season.

He returned to Saginaw for 42 games during the 2011-12 regular season, winning 18 of those games and earning one shutout. His 3.42 GAA was 20th best in the league, while his .904 save percentage was 16th best among OHL goaltenders.

He also played 2,265 minutes last season, 14th most in the league, as Saginaw captured third place in the West Division with an overall record of 33-27-1-7 and 74 points in the regular season. The Spirit went on to the playoffs, where Paterson played in 12 games, winning six and allowing 35 goals on 359 shots faced.

Paterson played in every game of Saginaw’s during the playoffs, completing all of them except one. He was pulled after allowing three goals in the first 6:27 of a game against the London Knights on April 11, with Clint Windsor relieving him for the remainder of the game.

Just over two months after the Spirit were eliminated from OHL playoff contention, Paterson was drafted by the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, held at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA. The Mississauga native was selected in the third round with the 80th overall pick by Detroit.

This season with Saginaw, Paterson has played in 28 games, allowing 92 goals on 929 shots faced. He has 11 wins, including one shutout, this season so far.

• MALCOLM SUBBAN; 12/21/93, Toronto, ON – Belleville Bulls — NHL Draft: BOS ’12

Subban is the top goaltender for the Belleville Bulls, who currently hold first place in the East Division of the OHL with 42 points in 32 games. Subban is the brother of P.K., who plays for the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, and Jordan, a blueliner who also suits up for Belleville.

Subban is third in the OHL with a 2.17 GAA and .932 save percentage. He’s won 15 of 26 games played this season, stopping 770 of 826 shots faced.

In addition, he is the Ontario Hockey League’s top shootout goaltender, winning all five shootouts he’s played in this season so far and allowing five goals on 18 attempts.

The 18-year-old was named goaltender of the month for November 2012.

He is now in his third full season with the Bulls, playing one game in the 2009-10 season. His OHL debut was playing just under 13 minutes and facing two shots in a 5-2 loss to the Soo Greyhounds on December 11, 2009. Subban then joined the Bulls for the 2010-11 season, where he played 32 games, winning 10 of them and allowing 94 goals on 938 shots faced. He accrued a 3.16 GAA and .900 save percentage as a rookie playing backup to Tyson Teichmann.

Subban took over the goaltending lead position for the 2011-12 season, with Charlie Graham and John Chartrand splitting backup duties. Subban went 25-14 in 39 games played, allowing 94 goals and stopped 1,121 shots faced in 2,258 minutes played.

His 2.50 GAA was fourth best in the league, and .923 save percentage was fifth best. He also earned three shutouts last season, including a 1-0 victory over Mississauga (11/6), a 6-0 win over the Guelph Storm (11/25) and a 2-0 win over Sudbury in the final game of the regular season.

Subban went on to be drafted 24th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins.

• JORDAN BINNINGTON; 7/11/93, Gravenhurst, ON – Owen Sound Attack — NHL Draft: STL ’11

The lone 2011 NHL draft pick netminder for Team Canada will be the Owen Sound Attack’s Jordan Binnington, who has suited up in 26 games for the Attack this season. He’s fifth in the OHL in GAA (2.31) and save percentage (.930), also earning three shutouts this season.

Of 26 games played this season, Binnington has won 17 for the Attack, allowing 60 goals on 852 shots faced in 1,561 minutes played.

The 19-year-old is in his fourth season with Owen Sound, having made his OHL debut in the 2009-10 season with a 9-1 loss to the Barrie Colts. He faced 48 shots in the loss before going on to play 21 more games with Owen Sound that season, winning 10. Binnington allowed 78 goals and had 627 saves, playing just under 1,070 minutes and garnering a 4.38 GAA.

Binnington returned to Owen Sound as the team’s main goaltender in 2010-11, playing in 46 regular season games with the team and an additional seven playoff games. He had 1,175 saves and 27 wins on the season, along with a 3.05 GAA and .899 save percentage.

Binnington also earned his first OHL shutout in a 6-0 victory over Sudbury on November 27, 2010 in which he faced 25 shots.

He led the Attack through the playoffs, defeating the London Knights, Plymouth Whalers and Windsor Spitfires en route to an OHL Championship over the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.

They went on to the Memorial Cup, facing the Kootenay Ice in the eventual tie-breaking game and dropping a 7-3 decision. The Saint John Sea Dogs eventually won the Memorial Cup over the host Mississauga team.

Binnington was ranked as the top draft-eligible netminder in the OHL for 2011, and was drafted 88th overall by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. (Despite not being selected until the third round, he was the first OHL goaltender selected that year.)

The 2011-12 season saw him play in 39 regular season games with Owen Sound, winning 21 and racking up a 2.99 GAA and .906 save percentage. He had 1,110 saves and allowed 115 goals in 2,304 minutes played during the regular season. He ranked 13th league-wide in GAA and wins, and went 4-1 in the shootout, allowing three goals on 18 attempts.

Paterson, Subban and Binnington will rotate in net as the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championships kick off on December 26, playing through January 5 in Ufa, Russia. Canada opens its portion of the tournament with a game against Germany in the preliminary round at 4:30 a.m. EST on December 26.

Check back soon and follow Melissa Kania on Twitter for more articles on the 2013 IIHf World Junior Championship teams, including analysis of the remainder of Team Canada’s roster as well as player profiles, game previews and recaps for all the teams as we get closer to the beginning of the tournament.