Subway Super Series takes off this week

There will be a handful of familiar faces in the lineup for the Canadian Hockey League teams when the Subway Super Series kicks off Monday in Drummondville Quebec.

Five players that helped Canada win its fifth straight gold medal at the World Junior Championships last Christmas in Ottawa will suit up in the six-game series.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League hosts the first leg of the series beginning in Drummondville on Monday and then in Shawinigan on Wednesday. Patrice Cormier of the Rimouski Oceanic is looking for a return to the Team Canada lineup in December and will participate in both QMJHL games in the Subway Super Series.

“I was there last year,” Cormier said. “We should have a pretty solid team and a good group of guys. When you get the top players in the league together it’s fun to battle it out. It’s fun to go out and play the Russians.”

The series then moves to Ontario for games in Barrie on November 18 and Windsor on November 23.

The Team OHL roster will include World Junior gold medallists Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires on the blueline and Barrie Colts' captain Stefan Della Rovere up front.

Hockey Canada's head scout Al Murray will take in all six games of the series in preparation for Canada's final selection camp next month. He said he is looking forward to watching Ellis and four of his Spitfires' teammates compete in the event on home ice.

"At the (world) under-17 tournament, he was the best player in the world," Murray told The Windsor Star. "At the under-18, he was best player in the world at his position. Last year, he came in and ran the power play and helped us win a gold medal."

The series concludes in the Western Hockey League with games in Victoria, BC on November 25 and Kelowna, BC on November 26.

Regina Pats' teammates Jordan Eberle and Colten Teubert will also play in the series after helping Canada win the gold medal last year. Both players are making their third straight appearance in the annual Canada-Russia showcase tournament.

“I think it was a big part of why they invited me to the December camp last year – I had a great Canada-Russia Series,” Eberle said. “This will be my third time going at it. It’s a great opportunity to try and get yourself into that December camp.”

Murray said that the Subway Super Series is a terrific opportunity for fans across the country to see the players that will ultimately help Canada in its quest for a sixth straight World Junior gold medal.

"It's one of the reasons we're so lucky to be in Canada," Murray said. "There's always so many great players in Canada."

All six games will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet with the two QMJHL-based games also being broadcast in Quebec on RDS.

Photo by Aaron Bell/CHL