The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that Morgan Rielly will not be playing in the world junior championship for Canada.
It was considered unlikely that Rielly would be loaned to Canada for the tournament, which begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden, though a stretch of three straight games in the press box made it something of a debate.
The defenceman has appeared in five straight games since then, and Toronto ended the speculation by confirming the 19-year-old will be sticking around.
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Rielly has a goal and nine assists in 27 games this season. He was the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft and made the team out of training camp.
Had he been loaned to Team Canada, Rielly was considered a candidate to be team captain.