Curtis Lazar Jersey Card

Congratulations are in order for Curtis Lazar, who was named the captain of Team Canada ahead of the World Juniors which will start this weekend in Montréal and conclude in Toronto at the end of the Holidays. The young forward from British Columbia is on loan from the Ottawa Senators - the team that drafted him 17th overall in 2013 - after suiting up for them 27 times this year so far. The hope is that he plays a central role in redeeming last year's 4th-place finish on home ice and can return to the team fully energized and ready to take on more responsibility at the NHL level as the Sens make a push towards a playoff spot.

He's broken records belonging to Steven Stamkos and Sidney Crosby at the Midget level, and from the moment he stepped into the WHL with the Edmonton Oil Kings, he has been on a steady stream of improvement, netting 31 points in 63 regular-season points in his rookie season followed by an impressive 19 in 20 games in the playoffs, and accumulating 38 goals and 61 points in 72 games in his sophomore year, saving his best for last, 41 goals and 76 points in just 58 regular-season games last year, plus 10-12-22 in 20 games to lead the Oil Kings to the Memorial Cup last year.

He's been compared to Milan Lucic a lot because he's built tough (210 pounds on his 6'0'' frame at just 19 years old), but as a right-handed center who likes to play in traffic and can also pass, I'd compare him to Ryan Getzlaf.

Here he is sporting the Oil Kings' red uniform, from In The Game's 2013-14 Heroes And Prospects set (card #M-05 of the Game-Used Jersey sub-set, the ''Black'' version), with a huge matching swatch that take sup most of the card:

Cool card depicting a player who'll help the Sens for a long time; he and Kyle Turris will make a nice one-two punch at center ice that will match up with some of the best teams within three years.