USA Hockey has made another cut from their World Junior squad, sending defenseman Reilly Walsh back to Harvard. Walsh is a third-round pick of the New Jersey Devils, but was one of the younger players in development camp and will have a shot at the team again next year (provided he isn’t in the NHL).
The team is down to 26 players, with the final cuts expected after tomorrow’s final pre-tournament tune up game against Sweden. Walsh, 18, will return to his freshman year at Harvard where he has eight points in his first ten games. The undersized, but elite-skating son of former NHL player Mike Walsh, he’ll be one to watch as his NCAA career progresses.
- In terms of other World Junior players to watch, Mike Morreale of NHL.com gives us a breakdown of the names eligible for the 2018 draft. Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov obviously lead that group, but there are quite a few other top prospects set to play in the tournament. One to especially keep an eye on is Rasmus Kupari, the 17-year old Finnish forward who is already playing regularly for Karpat. He has his blemishes, but owns one of the highest offensive ceilings in the draft if everything clicks and could go in the top-10.
- Speaking of offensive upside, KHL insider Aivis Kalnins reports that Admiral Vladivostok has released bought out three key players, Vladimir Tkachev, Ivan Nalimov and Oskars Bartulis. Vladivostok is one of the teams that has had trouble paying its player salaries in the past. Tkachyev, 22, is an extremely undersized forward that has huge offensive skill, and was once heavily courted by the Edmonton Oilers. Kalnins believes that Tkachev has another deal in the KHL already, but Nalimov, a Chicago Blackhawks goaltending prospect, could come overseas. Many will also remember Bartulis from his short stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, after being selected in the third round of the 2005 draft.