Oilers prospect ready to suit up for Canada in his future NHL home

World Juniors bubble is filled with NHL talent Team Canada, including 20 first round NHL picks, is beginning a five day quarantine. CTV News Edmonton’s Adam Cook explains.

EDMONTON — Dylan Holloway has received a few interesting phone calls over the last few months. The first two came after the Edmonton Oilers picked him in the first round of the NHL draft in October.

“Right after the draft McDavid called me, so that was pretty special...right after that Gretzky called me,” Holloway recently told TSN’s Mark Masters.

Last week, it was Holloway’s mother on the end of the line who delivered the news that he made the cut for Team Canada’s World Juniors roster.

“They had my Mom on FaceTime too, so she was the one that broke the news to me. I guess they told her before so it was super special,” Holloway said.

The Oilers prospect is on a roster loaded with stars. Not unusual for the WJC team but Hockey Canada was able to take it a step further this year, stacking multiple layers of elite talent because of the pandemic pause. The squad features 20 first-round NHL draft picks.

“There’s a lot of talent out there so you kind of just got to soak it in and learn from each other, I think.”

The Calgary native plays for the Wisconsin Badgers and is getting his first taste of what it may feel like to play in his future NHL home.

“Just thinking about the future. I could possibly be playing there is really awesome. I’m going to be able to be in the Oilers dressing room and play in Rogers Arena. It’s a pretty special feeling,” said Holloway.

Canada’s first pre-tournament game is against Sweden on Monday, Dec. 21.