Forwards Colby Armstrong, Matthew Lombardi and Nathan Smith and defencemen Jean-Francois David and Duncan Keith were given the bad news Friday morning at the team's selection camp in Toronto.
With 27 players remaining on their roster, coach Stan Butler and his staff must make five more cuts -- including two forwards, a defenceman and two goaltenders -- before announcing their final squad on Saturday.
Smith was especially disappointed as it was his second attempt at making the junior team.
"I felt I probably played my best game last night and was released this morning so I was a little bit surprised," said the Swift Current Broncos winger.
"I was pretty confident I would have made it past this morning, but I guess not."
Smith was the last of the five players to meet with Butler and his assistants on Friday.
"He (Butler) just said that there's a lot of players that I was similar to and they decided to go with different directions and what can you say to that really?" said Smith.
David was perhaps the least disappointed of the released players.
After being passed over in two NHL drafts, the Shawinigan Cataractes defenceman said it was an honour just to be named among the 13 blueliners invited to the selection camp.
"He (Butler) took another direction because I am an offensive defencemen and I think he's taking defensive defencemen," said David.
Keith, a defenceman with Michigan State, will have another opportunity to tryout for the squad next year, but said he was disappointed with his performance in Thursday night's exhibition game against a group of Ontario university all-stars.
"Last night wasn't one of my better games," said Keith. "Unfortunately that's what happens in a short competition like this. You always have to be on top of your game.
"I'll work hard this year and in the summer and next year and hopefully get an invite back and have a better outcome next year."
Lombardi, of the Victoriaville Tigres, got caught in a numbers game at centre and Armstrong of the Red Deer Rebels had difficulty adjusting to the larger international ice surface.
Canada plays the university all-stars again Friday. They lost 4-3 in Thursday's exhibition.
