OTTAWA — Canada's junior hockey team was decided Monday morning when 16 players were released from selection camp.

In a departure from junior teams of previous years, head coach Pat Quinn kept eight defencemen and 12 forwards on the team instead of the traditional seven and 13.

Cut Monday were goaltenders Tyson Sexsmith and Jake Allen, defencemen Travis Hamonic, Kevin Marshall, Patrick Wiercioch, Jared Spurgeon, Brendan Smith and Tyler Cuma, plus forwards Evander Kane, Riley Nash, Jamie Arniel, Nazem Kadri, Matt Duchene, Brayden Schenn, Taylor Hall and Matt Calvert.

Canada opens defence of the gold medal it has won four straight years Dec. 26 versus the Czech Republic.

Chet Pickard of the Tri-City Americans and Dustin Tokarski of the Spokane Chiefs will be Canada's goaltenders at the 2009 world junior hockey championship in Ottawa.

The forwards are Medicine Hat's Tyler Ennis, Kelowna's Jamie Benn, Zach Boychuk of the, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Patrice Cormier of the Rimouski Oceanic, Stefan Della Rovere of the Barrie Colts, Chris DiDomenico of the Saint John Sea Dogs, Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats, Angelo Esposito of the Montreal Junior, Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion, Brett Sonne of the Calgary Hitmen, John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals and Dana Tyrell of the Prince George Cougars.