It was reported last night by Cassie Campbell and Elliote Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada that Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev is expected to be named to Team Canada for the World Championships:

This will be Tanev’s first time representing Canada at any level.

Just like the rest of the Canucks, Tanev didn’t have a banner season but was still a bright spot on the back end. Paired with Edler for the majority of the season, they formed a formidable defensive pairing that as reliable as could be expected this year.

It was noticeable whenever Tanev was out of the lineup, as he seems to always be in the right spot, have his stick in the lane and able to make that good first pass.

Tanev finished the season with four goals and fourteen assists in 69 games. As always, Tanev stayed out of the penalty box, finishing the season with only 8 penalty minutes.

The rise of being an unknown defenceman from the Rochester Institute of Technology to being named to Team Canada is a fantastic and odd career trajectory for a player who was always regarded as ‘too small’. If you haven’t already, check out the Sportsnet feature on Chris Tanev from late March:

Next season, the Canucks will once again rely heavily on the pairing of Edler and Tanev. Luckily both of them are under contract for a couple more seasons.