North Bay hockey fans cheering for Ty Nelson at World Juniors

Hockey fans in North Bay have been glued to their screens since Boxing Day as one of their own is at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden.

North Bay Battalion blueliner Ty Nelson received a late call-up by Hockey Canada.

Outside of Memorial Gardens Wednesday morning, before Canada's game against Latvia, a handful of fans gathered to cheer on their defenceman.

"As long as they wear a Canada jersey, I’ll be cheering," said Battalion fan Gary MacDonald.

After initially being cut by Hockey Canada in the pre-tournament selection camp in Oakville, Ont. Nelson received a late call-up after injuries and illness plagued the team’s defence.

"I love to see dreams come true,” said Seth Compton, another Battalion fan.

“I know that this kid has worked super hard to get to where he's at and we're supporting him from home."

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Nelson was on a family vacation in Pittsburgh, Penn. when he got the call.

"We watched the Penguins game and were going to watch the Steelers game, but then I got the news about 10, 15 minutes before I was about to walk out the door for the Steelers game," he told TSN.

"Packed up the car and was on the road to Toronto within 20, 30 minutes. It was a whirlwind day."

Battalion head coach Ryan Oulahen spoke with Nelson to wish him luck.

"He was pretty emotional and pretty excited to head over to Sweden," Oulahen told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

"It makes watching games a lot of fun watching with a Battalion player in it.

Nelson told TSN's Mark Masters that he plans to be a voice on the ice and plans to inject energy into the squad.

"I like to be a vocal leader and just try and do whatever the team needs me to do to be successful," he said.

"That's the type of player I want to be to this team."

Canada won its opening game 5-2 over Finland. Nelson had not even had a chance to practice with the team before that game but ended up playing about seven minutes.

“They got off to a slow start and looked a little tired but picked it up in the second half of the game," said fan Nicholas Forsyth.

"We're on the right track."

Canada defeated Latvia 10-0 Wednesday afternoon with Nelson picking up two assists in the game.

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The last North Bay Battalion player to play for Canada at the World Juniors was Nick Paul in 2015 where he won gold alongside Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi and NHL superstar Connor McDavid.

A dedicated fan base and city cheer, hoping another gold medal comes back to Memorial Gardens.

"Go Ty go," said MacDonald, cheering.

"Bring home the gold."