IIHF World Juniors Preview

Merry Christmas hockey fans, it’s that time of year, the best time of year; the IIHF World Juniors! This is one of the best tournaments for hockey fans worldwide and a great way to find out who some of the best hockey prospects are in the world. We’ll go through each team and predict there outcome of the tournament (last to first), and which player(s) to keep an eye on. 

Latvia: They haven't had much success in this tournament, but last year in the world championship they finished with a bronze medal (completely different tournament). Latvia will look to stay in this tournament for next year and hope to not get relegated. I have two players to watch for Latvia, 1) Dans Ločmelis, a fourth-round pick by Boston in the 2022 Draft has played solid so far this year; playing for Umass, he has 5 points (4 goals) in 12 games so far. This will be his third time playing in this tournament. 2) Niks Fenenko, the defenseman is a bit undersize when it comes to weight as he is 6 foot 1, 176 pounds, but he is producing in the QMJHL this year with 25 points in 29 games, he went undrafted, but if he plays well enough in his third tournament maybe a team will give him a shot? 

Norway: This is their first time in the tournament since 2013-14 and quickly got relegated after that. They lack star players, they don’t have depth, and it will be tough for them to do anything in this tournament. A player to watch out for though is Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, the 6 foot 1 194 pound right-winger is a versatile player with a high IQ, has a wicked shot and is keen to contribute to his teammates' offensive production. He will no doubt be a first-round pick this year but his draft ranking could climb drastically if he can put this Norway team on his back. 

Germany: One would think Germany would do well with all the star players in the NHL, but one couldn’t be more mistaken, they just don’t have a good team, and they haven’t been producing any players since maybe Lukas Reichel. The way that one can see it is that there only good player in this tournament is Julian Lutz, the second-round pick in the 2022 draft who is playing pretty well with the USHL, he has great vision and sets up his teammates well; let's see if he can do it with this team. 

Switzerland: The cool thing about this team is that they have two players on this team with the same name who are unrelated (Simon Meier and Endo Meier). This team is not horrible, they have some depth and have a star player in Lian Bichsel. The massive 6 foot 5 defenseman, was drafted 18 overall in 2022 by Dallas, he put up 7 points in 16 games before getting loaned to his SHL team. He will look to carry his squad in this year's tournament. 

Finland: Don’t get it twisted, the Finland team isn’t bad, they have a lot of NHL-drafted players, but how good are those players compared to other teams? Their depth is great, and have a star in the making. The player to watch is the future top 7 pick in this year's draft Konsta Helenius, this kid is gross, he is more well-known for his playmaking abilities, but his IQ is off the charts. Keep an eye on the kid!

Czechia: They have a ton of star power but lack depth, kind of like the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have players like Eduard Sale and Juri Kulich manning the ship, who are both NHL draftees for their respective teams. The guy to watch though is Adam Jiricek; a gifted defenceman who is known for his offence, although he hasn’t been producing much. He’s a puck-moving defender, who can quarterback the powerplay. This tournament can help his draft stock. 

Slovakia: This team is the team that will be the most competitive in recent years and if there was a Slovakia team that would get their first medal since 2015, it would be this one. They have a ton of studs who recently got drafted in the likes of talented goalie Adam Gajan, a star Center/right winger in Dalibor Dvorsky, who just got drafted 10 overall and even Samuel Honzek who got drafted 16 overall this past year. The player I will be watching though is Adam Gajan, I would like to see if he can repeat last year's performance because that guy was a stud last year. 

Sweden: Golly, this team is lethal, only 3 players on the squad aren’t on an NHL team. This team will get a medal for sure, but I would not be surprised if they compete for a gold medal. They have stars and depth, the only question mark would be goaltending. Watch out for Oskar Petterson, not a low-key guy on this stacked team, but may be a bit under the radar.  Plays with a ton of speed, and intensity and will do his best to create space with his body. 

Canada: A team that will always be a powerhouse, that will compete for a gold medal every year, but looking at the competition this year but mostly the USA, it will be very hard for Canada to threat-peat. Don’t count them out as they are always competitive, they have a complete team captained by Fraser Mintin. There isn’t one player to keep an eye on, I want to see what the leadership of this team will look like, and how will they do with only one returning member from last year's team (Owen Beck). 

USA: This is their gold medal to lose, this team is just so stacked, the offence, the defence, even the goaltending, just wow. USA will look to break Canada's win streak and get their first gold medal since 2021. Who is the player to watch on this team? Well, I would keep my eyes on Rutger McGroarty, the captain of this team, the only thing this guy struggles with is his skating, he has everything else, he looks the part and will try to captain this team to a gold medal. He also has a sick name.