Hockey Canada announced on Thursday that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Christian Thomas, Stockton Heat defenseman Cody Goloubef and Belleville Senators forward Chris Kelly have been named to the 2018 Canadian Olympic men’s ice hockey team.
All 25 players on Canada’s roster have spent time playing in the American Hockey League during their careers.
Thomas, 25, has notched nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in 23 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, his sixth pro campaign. The Toronto native has skated in 307 regular-season games over his AHL career with Wilkes-Barre, Hershey, Springfield, St. John’s, Hamilton and Connecticut, recording 85 goals and 88 assists for 173 points.
A second-round draft pick by the New York Rangers in 2010, Thomas made his first appearance on the AHL stage as a 14-year-old youth participant during the 2007 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.
Goloubef, 28, has six goals and eight assists in 27 games with Stockton this season. In 246 regular-season contests in the AHL with Stockton, Cleveland, San Antonio and Springfield, Goloubef has totaled 26 goals and 66 assists for 92 points.
Goloubef, a native of Oakville, Ont., participated in the AHL All-Star Classic in 2014, during a season in which he set career highs in goals (7), assists (21) and points (28).
A 37-year-old native of Toronto, Kelly has appeared in 10 games with Belleville this season, his first stint in the AHL since he played four years with the Grand Rapids Griffins and Binghamton Senators from 2001-05.
The veteran of 833 National Hockey League games has skated in 249 AHL contests over his career, compiling 59 goals and 72 assists for 131 points.
The Team Canada roster features six former AHL All-Stars as well as 2011 top defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani, 2007 Calder Cup champion Maxim Lapierre and 2005 outstanding rookie Rene Bourque.
