Jaden Schwartz is many different things to many different people as a returning veteran for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship.

To 2012 NHL Entry Draft eligible Mathew Dumba, he was a shoulder to lean on Tuesday morning.

A casualty to the initial cuts coach Don Hay and the rest of his Hockey Canada staff, Dumba had Schwartz to lean on in the wake of the bad news.

“It’s never fun,” Schwartz said. “You don’t get a lot of sleep during these nights. It’s a scary thing. You want to make this team. It’s a dream come true if you do. The phone rang and they asked for Matt. I just tried to wish him the best.”

Before letting him go, the 19-year-old Schwartz left the 17-year-old Dumba will some pearls of hockey wisdom, including a gem about Dumba’s former Red Deer Rebels teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

“He said to me they cut (Tyler) Seguin one year and Nuge the other and first and second overall for both of them,” a red-eyed Dumba said. “He said use that as motivation. It’s only uphill from here.”

Schwartz was there when Nugent-Hopkins was among those cut from Canada’s entry a year ago. Much like the Edmonton Oilers standout, Schwartz seems promise in Dumba.

“He’s an unreal player,” Schwartz said.

Now he has the motivation to follow in the footsteps of other recent high-profile cuts.

Aaron Vickers is the managing editor of Future Considerations and can be found on Twitter. For all the latest Future Considerations news and posts, follow FC’s Official Twitter Feed, on YouTube and on Facebook!