Wolanin, who maintains dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, had yet to make his international debut for either country but shared that given his father's tenure with the national team and his own experience growing up in America that he's excited to join Team USA.
"I was born in Quebec City but raised in the States and I've never represented either country in any kind of international play," he said. "I know it's tough to say it in a Canadian hockey market like Ottawa but it was a pretty easy choice for me to accept Team USA's offer."
The Senators will be well represented when the puck drops on May 10th as Wolanin joins several of the team's young players in Slovakia including Thomas Chabot, USA teammate Colin White, Christian Jaros and Rudolfs Balcers as well as tournament veteran Mikkel Boedker.
"Those were some of the first guys to text me," said Wolanin about the bond between the young Sens. "It's funny to think about seeing Jaros on the other side in a Slovakia jersey or a guy like Balcers who I lived with at the hotel in Ottawa for a couple months and traveled up and down with from Belleville represent Latvia. It's going to be a really cool experience and from talking with the other guys, we're really looking forward to also representing the Ottawa Senators at the tournament."
This will also mark Wolanin's first experience visiting Europe but before he reaches out to fellow Sens defender Christian Jaros for a tour, who's hometown of Kosice is one of the host cities for the tournament, there is some business to take care of first.
"We play Slovakia in the first game of the tournament so we'll see how he acts out there," Wolanin joked. "If we don't get into it too bad on the ice maybe he can show me around the city on an off day."
Wolanin also shared that he will sport his familiar #86 for Team USA which is fitting as he's approaching this tournament as an opportunity to continue his first full professional season. His 70 games this year split between Ottawa and Belleville are nearly double what he would typically play during his three years at the University of North Dakota and he believes that this type of experience could really help to set him up for success next season in Ottawa.
"We talked a lot about getting NHL experience this year so I think extending that into this tournament which is full of some of the best NHL players in the world will be huge for me," he said. "It's a great opportunity to represent my country and to continue to build my resume so I'm pretty excited to have the chance to play for Team USA in Slovakia and continue my development at the same time."
"And anytime you get to represent the Ottawa Senators it's an honour," he continued. "Now I get the chance to represent my country on an international stage which is something not a lot of people get to do."
The 2019 World Hockey Championship kicks off this Friday in Slovakia and will see Wolanin and the 5 other Senators hit the ice this weekend. You can check out the
full tournament schedule here
.
