Team Canada has announced its final 25-player roster on Friday to represent the country at the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton.

Making the team for consecutive years is Yukoner Dylan Cozens, who was selected seventh overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2019 NHL Draft.

Fourteen forwards, eight defencemen, and three goalies were chosen from a selection-camp roster of 46.

Cozens is one of six veterans returning from the 2020 Canadian team that won gold in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Forwards Quinton Byfield, Connor McMichael, Dawson Mercer, and defencemen Bowen Bram and Jamie Drysdale will all don the maple leaf again at the tournament.

Notably absent from the list is Alexis Lafreniere. The first overall pick in this year’s NHL entry draft was not released by the New York Rangers to play for Canada.

When Cozens last spoke to the Star in the summer, he had just been selected for Hockey Canada’s virtual National Junior Team Sport Chek Summer Development Camp set for July 27-31.

During that interview, he said he expected a lot of the championship-winning team to be returning.

“There are lots of guys who have experience and lots of guys who know what it takes to win a gold medal at the World Juniors,” said Cozens. “It’s going to be another really good team this year.

“We don’t know how everything is going to play out but it’s going to be exciting.”

The 10 countries playing in the world junior tournament entered the Edmonton bubble on Sunday. Awaiting them now is five days of quarantine and daily tests before they can lace up the skates and hit the ice.

Canada is slated to play two exhibition games Dec. 21 and Dec. 23 versus Sweden and Russia.

Team Canada first opens their tournament on Boxing Day against Germany and follow that up the next day with a game against Slovakia.

During the 2020 tournament, Cozens posted two goals, seven assists over seven games played. He had four penalty minutes, 24 shots on goal, and was a plus/minus +6.

He scored the first goal for Canada in the gold-medal game against Russia.

The Western Hockey League will be represented by nine players, including Cozens, and one WHL alumni. Goaltenders Taylor Gauthier and Dylan Garand, defencemen Braden Schneider, Kaedan Korczak, Bowen Byram, Kaiden Guhle, forwards Connor Zary, Peyton Krebs. Kirby Dach, who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks is the alum.