Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cole Sillinger competing at the 2019 World U17 Hockey Challenge in Medicine Hat (Photo courtesy of Hockey Canada / Twitter)

By Scott Roblin

Taken Off Canada's Roster

Tigers’ Sillinger to miss World U18 Hockey Championships

Apr 19, 2021 | 5:02 PM

PLANO, TX – Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cole Sillinger will not play for Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World U18 Hockey Championships just weeks after being named to the team.

Hockey Canada confirmed on social media Monday that Sillinger “is unable to participate and will not play at the #U18Worlds” however not further information is known regarding his absence.

No further information has been released by Hockey Canada, however TSN’s Bob McKenzie is reporting that Sillinger’s absence is due to COVID protocol.

Sillinger was named to Canada’s 25-man roster earlier this month, marking Sillinger’s first selection by Hockey Canada since the 2019 World U17 Hockey Challenge which was held in Medicine Hat.

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It’s the second straight large-scale international tournament that the 17-year-old will miss, as his chance at dressing at the 2020 Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournament was taken away due to the pandemic.

Sillinger is currently on loan from the Tigers, playing the 2020-21 season south of the border with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede where he put up 24 goals and 46 points in 31 games before he left the team ahead of the U18 tournament.

Last season as a rookie, Sillinger netted 53 points in 48 games with Medicine Hat and is pegged as a first-round candidate for this summer’s NHL Entry Draft.

There is no word yet on whether Sillinger will re-join either the Stampede or the Tigers at this point.