Shushkewich: Four JNT standouts from MLB Draft Series
Toronto Mets infielder Elliot Lascelles (Toronto, Ont.), left, batted .394 in nine games for the Junior National Team in their recent MLB Draft Series games. Photo: Baseball Canada
June 26, 2026
By Tyson Shushkewich
Canadian Baseball Network
The Junior National Team concluded their latest road trip on Sunday, a nine-game stand that saw some of Canada’s best prep stars face off against teams within the MLB Draft League.
The MLB Draft League is made up of six teams and operates as a split-season league, with the first half of the season made up of players who are college players or eligible high schoolers for the MLB Draft, while the second half is similar to a pro league but is made up of former college players who can no longer play amateur baseball. Essentially, the JNT squad was facing some established talent, including top college players and high school prospects, while getting exposure in front of as many scouts as possible.
In nine games, the JNT went 1-8, scoring 48 runs while belting a collective five home runs.
The team was without their ace in Sean Duncan (Port Coquitlam, B.C.), one of the top Canucks heading into the MLB Draft, as he requires surgery to fix his UCL after leaving his start in the Dominican Republic earlier this year.
While Duncan was on the sidelines for this trip, a few Canucks stood out amongst the crowd against some of the top draft-eligible players heading into the summer.
Elliot Lascelles – INF
Nobody had a better showing on the JNT squad than Elliot Lascelles.
The Toronto, Ont., product suited up in all nine games and led the team in average (.394), OBP (.523), SLG (.545) and OPS (1.068). He collected 13 hits, including one double and two triples with seven RBIs (second on the team). Lascelles also walked a team-leading 10 times and stole eight bases without getting caught, another JNT high.
Defensively, Lascelles posted a clean sheet, splitting time between shortstop and second base. In total, he converted 20 assists between both positions and didn’t make an error (he spent one game at DH).
Lascelles entered Draft League play as the fourth-ranked player on the 2026 Canadian Baseball Network Draft List and ranks at No. 155 on MLB Pipeline. With this impressive showing against other top draft-eligible players, his chances of going to Yale are highly unlikely.
Kadyn Armitage – INF
Splitting time up the middle with Lascelles was Surrey, B.C. native Kadyn Armitage, who has a commitment to Indiana University.
Armitage led the JNT squad with 10 RBIs, including a four-RBI day against Mahoning Valley, which ended up being the club’s only win (16-3) on the trip. He finished the trip with seven hits (.233 batting average) with one double and one home run, a grand slam against the Scrappers that saw him send a 91.1 MPH fastball 384 feet to left-centre field. Armitage walked six times and tacked on four stolen bases. The B.C. native committed two errors in 57 innings in eight games.
The 2026 grad could be headed to Indiana where he would join fellow Canucks Will Moore (Paris, Ont.), Brodey Bitove (Toronto, Ont.) and Brayden Ricketts (Brampton, Ont.).
Maxime Blain – OF
Outfielder Maxime Blain is no stranger to the JNT stage, and the Repentigny, Que., product put forward a strong showing against high-calibre players.
The Wabash Valley College commit finished second on the team in OPS (.948) and went 8-for-24 (.333 batting average). Across seven games and 24 at-bats, he walked five times and stole two bases while adding a double, a home run and four RBIs.
His best game came against the Aberdeen IronBirds when he went 3-for-4 with his solo home run coming in the top of the eighth inning when he turned on an outside 93.4 MPH fastball to send it over the opposite field wall, landing 331 feet.
Blain split his time between the corner outfield spots with a couple of starts in the DH position. He recorded 12 putouts on 13 chances.
Josh Mills – LHP
Canada’s pitching staff got hit hard on this trip, but left-hander Josh Mills was a standout arm amongst the group.
The Leduc, Alta., native appeared in two games (one start) for the Canucks, sporting a clean 0.00 ERA across five innings while allowing just two hits. Mills nibbled around the strike zone a bit and found himself in a couple of tough spots thanks to four walks, but he was able to escape every jam he put himself in. The left-hander sported a 1.20 WHIP and led the Canuck pitchers in average against (.118). In his start against the IronBirds, he pitched four innings and racked up three strikeouts.
With the coaching changes at the University of Houston, Mills decommitted and is now heading to Coastal Carolina.