Brett Connolly has been loaned to Team Canada by the Tampa Bay Lightning. This will provide Connolly with the chance to represent his country in the upcoming 2012 IIHF world junior hockey championship. Connolly has four goals and eight points in 28 games in his rookie season. "It's important for these young guys to play in these big events and in pressure games," Lightning GM Steve Yzerman said. "They make you better. We still want him here, but what's best for Brett Connolly in the long run is best for us all. I'm confident this is the right thing for him."