2022 WJC Participants By NHL Team
The 2022 World Junior Championships will get underway from Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta on Sunday. As is the norm and to be expected from the top U-20 competition in the world, the World Junior tournament field is loaded with drafted NHL talent. While most nations don’t have the prospect depth to form a roster completely composed of NHL prospects and those that do have opted to include some younger, future draft picks, there are still a whopping 106 drafted players on WJC rosters. Nine of ten WJC have at least one current NHL prospect and six of those nine have at least ten draft picks. Those players come from 30 of the NHL’s 32 teams, with the Carolina Hurricanes leading the way with ten prospects. While enjoying the WJC action in the coming days, keep track of who may one day be playing at the highest level:
Anaheim Ducks (4):
F Mason McTavish, Canada
D Ian Moore, USA
F Sasha Pastujov, USA
D Olen Zellweger, Canada
Arizona Coyotes (1):
F Dylan Guenther, Canada
Boston Bruins (1):
F Fabian Lysell, Sweden
Buffalo Sabres (4):
F Jakub Konecny, Czechia
D Nikita Novikov, Russia
D Owen Power, Canada
F Isak Rosen, Sweden
Calgary Flames (1):
F Matt Coronato, USA
Carolina Hurricanes (10):
F Nikita Guslistov, Russia
D Aleski Heimosalmi, Finland
D Ville Koivunen, Finland
D Scott Morrow, USA
F Zion Nybeck, Sweden
D Joel Nystrom, Sweden
F Alexander Pashin, Russia
F Vasily Ponomarev, Russia
G Nikita Quapp, Germany
D Ronan Seeley, Canada
Chicago Blackhawks (4):
G Drew Commesso, USA
D Wyatt Kaiser, USA
D Michael Krutil, Czechia
F Landon Slaggert, USA
Colorado Avalanche (1):
F Oskar Olausson, Sweden
Columbus Blue Jackets (4):
F Kent Johnson, Canada
D Samuel Knazko, Slovakia
F Martin Rysavy, Czechia
D Stanislav Svozil, Czechia
Dallas Stars (4):
F Mavrik Bourque, Canada
F Daniel Ljungman, Sweden
F Logan Stankoven, Canada
F Albert Sjoberg, Sweden
Detroit Red Wings (8):
G Jan Bednar, Czechia
G Sebastian Cossa, Canada
D Simon Edvinsson, Sweden
F Carter Mazur, USA
F Theodor Niederbach, Sweden
F Redmond Savage, USA
D Donovan Sebrango, Canada
D Eemil Viro, Finland
Edmonton Oilers (2):
F Xavier Borgault, Canada
D Luca Munzenberger, Germany
Florida Panthers (5):
F Elliot Ekmark, Sweden
D Kasper Puutio, Finland
F Mackie Samoskevich, USA
F Ty Smilanic, USA
F Justin Sourdif, Canada
Los Angeles Kings (6):
F Martin Chromiak, Slovakia
D Brock Faber, USA
D Helge Grans, Sweden
F Samuel Helenius, Finland
D Kirill Kirsanov, Russia
F Kasper Simontaival, Finland
Minnesota Wild (6):
F Marat Khusnutdinov, Russia
D Carson Lambos, Canada
F Pavel Novak, Czechia
D Ryan O’Rourke, Canada
D Jack Peart, USA
G Jesper Wallstedt, Sweden
Montreal Canadiens (3):
D Kaiden Guhle, Canada
F Oliver Kapanen, Finland
F Jan Mysak, Czechia
Nashville Predators (4):
G Yaroslav Askarov, Russia
F Simon Knak, Switzerland*
D Anton Olsson, Sweden
F Fedor Svechkov, Russia
New Jersey Devils (4):
F Alexander Holtz, Sweden
D Luke Hughes, USA
G Jakub Malek, Czechia
D Shakir Mukhamadullin, Russia
New York Islanders (0)
New York Rangers (4):
F Brett Berard, USA
F William Cuylle, Canada
G Dylan Garand, Canada
F Kalle Vaisanen, Finland
Ottawa Senators (5):
F Ridly Greig, Canada
F Roby Jarventie, Finland
D Tyler Kleven, USA
G Leevi Merilainen, Finland
D Jake Sanderson, USA
Philadelphia Flyers (3):
D Emil Andrae, Sweden
F Elliot Desnoyers, Canada
D Brian Zanetti, Switzerland*
Pittsburgh Penguins (3):
G Joel Blomqvist, Finland
G Calle Clang, Sweden
F Kirill Tankov, Russia
St. Louis Blues (3):
F Tanner Dickinson, USA
D Leo Loof, Sweden
F Jake Neighbors, Canada
San Jose Sharks (1):
F William Eklund, Sweden
Seattle Kraken (2):
F Matthew Beniers, USA
D Ville Ottavainen, Finland
Tampa Bay Lightning (0)
Toronto Maple Leafs (3):
F Roni Hirvonen, Finland
F Matthew Knies, USA
D Topi Niemala, Finland
Vancouver Canucks (1):
F Dmitry Zlodeyev, Russia
Vegas Golden Knights (4):
F Jakub Brabenec, Czechia
D Lukas Cormier, Canada
F Jakub Demek, Slovakia
G Jesper Vikman, Sweden
Washington Capitals (1):
F Oskar Magnusson, Sweden
Winnipeg Jets (4):
F Nikita Chibrikov, Russia
F Chaz Lucius, USA
F Cole Perfetti, Canada
F Daniel Torgersson, Sweden
*Switzerland roster pending finalization on Sunday; team has been in COVID-19 quarantine since Thursday but will be ready to begin tournament and participate as schedule, the Swiss announced.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Chicago Blackhawks
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2021-22 season and beyond. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Chicago Blackhawks
Current Cap Hit: $84,388,897 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Kirby Dach (one year, $925K)
F Reese Johnson (one year, $881K)
F Philipp Kurashev (one year, $843K)
Potential Bonuses
Dach: $2.5MM
Entwistle: $32.5K
Kurashev: $32.5K
Total: $2.565MM
Dach hasn’t progressed as much as anyone in the Chicago organization had hoped. At 20, he’s still certainly young enough to be a long-term fixture for them but he’s not there yet. As a result, a bridge deal is quite likely and he’ll have to pick up his play to have a shot at any of his four ‘A’ bonuses worth $212.5K each. Kurashev has been a useful player that has moved up and down the lineup but his production has been limited each season. He should be able to get a small raise but it won’t be on a long-term deal. Johnson has spent most of the season on the big club in a limited role and seems like a good candidate to take a minimum NHL salary next summer in exchange for a higher AHL salary.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Ryan Carpenter ($1MM, UFA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury ($7MM, UFA)
D Calvin de Haan ($4.55MM, UFA)
F Kurtis Gabriel ($750K, UFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($850K, UFA)
D Caleb Jones ($850K, RFA)
F Dominik Kubalik ($3.7MM, RFA)
G Kevin Lankinen ($800K, UFA)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM, UFA)
F Dylan Strome ($3MM, RFA)
Shaw has been on LTIR all season and won’t return but his cap relief will keep Chicago in compliance to the salary cap. Kubalik’s third NHL campaign hasn’t gone anywhere as well as his first two as he has been more of a depth scorer this season. He’s owed a $4MM qualifying offer in the summer and that might be too pricey for the Blackhawks to afford which would put him on the open market in a spot to take a pay cut. They’re in a similar situation with Strome who has struggled to even crack the lineup this season. A $3.6MM qualifier is what is required and it seems quite unlikely that will be tendered. Instead, something closer to $2MM on the open market may be doable. Carpenter is a capable checker but as someone that’s best suited for the fourth line, he’ll be hard-pressed to get much more than that on the open market. Gabriel was just acquired from Toronto and after clearing waivers at the start of the season, it’s safe to suggest he’ll be capped at a minimum deal next year.
In his prime, de Haan was a quality shutdown defender but he hasn’t been that player for the last few seasons. He can still kill penalties and play on the third pairing but with no offense to speak of, he’s someone that should be landing closer to $1MM on the open market in the summer. Jones has been limited due to injury this season which doesn’t help his free agent case. A small raise beyond the required 5% in his qualifying offer is reasonable but he’s not going to break the bank and a long-term contract makes no sense for him. Gustafsson caught on with Chicago late in training camp and has been better in his own end although that has coincided with a drop-off in production. For a player known for his production, that’s not ideal. It’s hard to see him doing better in free agency in July as a result.
Now 37, Fleury is clearly nearing the end of his career. He’s having an okay season but he’s going to have a hard time selling himself as a sure-fire starter in the summer. A one-year deal around half of his current price tag – still in that higher tier for a platoon goalie – may be a more reasonable target if he wants to play another year. Lankinen is having a tough year compared to his rookie season which isn’t going to help his case in free agency. He’ll be able to land a raise based on that first year but he looks likelier to settle for something in the lower end of the backup market in the $1.25MM to $1.75MM range.
Two Years Remaining
F Henrik Borgstrom ($1MM, RFA)
F Brett Connolly ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Alex DeBrincat ($6.4MM, RFA)
F Patrick Kane ($10.5MM, UFA)
F Jujhar Khaira ($975K, UFA)
F Jonathan Toews ($10.5MM, UFA)
Kane and Toews have been linked together for well over a decade now and are on their second set of identical contracts. That won’t happen again two years from now, however. Kane continues to produce at a top-line rate and while that could change between now and then, there still should be enough interest in him on a medium-term deal for him to remain one of the higher-paid wingers in the league. That shouldn’t be the case for Toews. He has struggled considerably this season after missing all of last year due to illness. Aside from an outlier in 2018-19, he hasn’t produced at a top center level in a while. If he can turn it around and still produce like a second liner, he could land a deal around half of his current price tag. But if his current struggles are a sign of things to come, that price tag will be going down even further.
DeBrincat is a particularly interesting RFA case in 2023. His contract, although it kicked in after the rule change for the qualifying offer, still goes by the old rules since it was signed early. That means his qualifying offer is $9MM instead of 120% of his AAV. Right now, there are 19 forwards in the league at that price tag or more and quite a few are centers. DeBrincat is scoring like a high-end winger but his size is always going to give some teams pause. It’d be difficult to envision Chicago non-tendering him unless his production falls off a cliff next season but will they be ready to hand him a Kane-like contract to buy out the remaining prime years of his career? The Blackhawks can offer less but with DeBrincat being a year away from UFA eligibility, he could simply accept the qualifier. Whoever is at the helm next summer – either interim GM Kyle Davidson or someone else – this is a file that they’ll want to try to address.
Borgstrom’s return to North America hasn’t gone well as he has had a limited role when he has been in the lineup and hasn’t done much with it. If that continues, he’ll be a non-tender candidate even at a $1.1MM qualifying offer due to his arbitration eligibility. Connolly is who they took on to add Borgstrom plus some other pieces. He’s an NHL-caliber player but is making much more than he should. He’s someone that should be closer to $1MM on the open market and he could get there this summer if Chicago needs to free up some short-term cap room. Khaira is a capable checker but nothing much has changed for him since he hit the market last summer after being non-tendered. Accordingly, it’s reasonable to project his next contract should check in close to this one.
Three Years Remaining
F Mackenzie Entwistle ($812K this season, $800K through 2023-24, RFA)
F Brandon Hagel ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Mike Hardman ($913K this season, $800K through 2023-24, RFA)
D Riley Stillman ($1.35MM, RFA)
F Tyler Johnson ($5MM, UFA)
Johnson was acquired from Tampa Bay over the summer to give them some extra center depth while adding a second-round pick in exchange for a player who won’t play again (Brent Seabrook). There’s some value in what they got but it remains an above-market contract and as tight as they are to the cap ceiling, it’s fair to wonder if that was the best utilization of that money. Hagel has turned into a reliable secondary scorer and was a good undrafted free agent pickup. As long as he can even hold his own on the third line (and he’s doing better than that now), they’ll get a nice return on their deals. Entwistle and Hardman are currently on entry-level deals but signed cheap one-way extensions that can be cleared off the cap entirely if they lose their spot. Otherwise, they’re decent depth pieces for just above the league minimum.
Stillman was the other player of note brought on when they took on Connolly’s contract. He’s not playing heavy minutes but he’s a regular part of Chicago’s back end. Assuming he can hold down that sixth spot moving forward, they’ll get okay value at least on this contract but they’re certainly hoping he’ll be able to take on a bigger role down the road.
Pacific Notes: Yamamoto, Puljujarvi, Holland, Kane
The Oilers aren’t expected to engage in any extension talks with pending RFA wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi this season, reports Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (subscription link). Both players carry a $1.175MM cap hit this season and are eligible for salary arbitration this summer. However, they’re on opposite trajectories which makes in-season discussions a bit tricky.
Yamamoto has struggled considerably this season, collecting just five goals and two assists in 29 games, a sizable drop from the 26 points in 27 games he had as a midseason recall just two years ago. Puljujarvi, meanwhile, is off to the best start of his career and is only two points shy of matching his career high in points (25) that he set last season. With limited cap space to work with beyond this season, GM Ken Holland may need to free up some money if he wants to sign either of them long term. Given that the Oilers are trying to contend this season, a move like that is likelier to happen in the offseason which makes the decision to wait on extension talks an understandable one.
More from the Pacific:
- Still with Edmonton, many teams are having cap issues with multiple players in COVID protocol but Holland has an idea to try to get around that. In a recent interview with 630CHED (audio link), he proposed that players in COVID protocol get the same treatment as players on LTIR – teams can exceed the cap by up to that players’ AAV but have to be compliant to activate them. That would allow them to afford to bring up replacements without having to play short for a game to receive a cap-exempt recall with those players returning to the minors when those in protocol return. Edmonton is among the many teams facing that issue as they return to play as Holland acknowledged they will have some cap challenges with at least four regulars – Puljujarvi, Duncan Keith, Darnell Nurse, and William Lagesson – among those that won’t be available if play resumes over the next few days.
- Evander Kane is among a trio of players placed into COVID protocol earlier this week on the Sharks’ farm team, per an announcement from the Barracuda, their AHL affiliate. The 30-year-old – who is now fully vaccinated – is off to a good start to his first career stint in the minors with six assists and eight points in five games but will have to wait for a little while to add to those totals.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: New York Islanders
In the spirit of the holiday season, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the New York Islanders.
What are the Islanders thankful for?
A stingy defense corps.
Yes, part of their success is due to Barry Trotz’s system but the Islanders boast a group of blueliners that is still relatively unheralded. Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech are both quality rearguards locked up on long-term deals that could wind up being team-friendly by the end; Pulock’s extension carries a $6.15MM AAV through 2030 that kicks in next season while Pelech checks in at $5.75MM through 2029. That’s a quality duo on the back end to build around for a long time. Noah Dobson will also be part of that long-term future while Scott Mayfield’s contract continues to be one of the better bargains in the league for at least one more year after this one.
Individually, none of these players brings a ‘wow’ factor to the table but as a group, it’s a good enough unit to help keep them close most nights even when the offense struggles. If they’re going to claw their way back into the playoff picture, this group will be a big part of it (especially with Pulock set to return soon).
Who are the Islanders thankful for?
For years, Sorokin has been touted as their goalie of the future. After finally coming to North America and playing last season, he was the backup to Semyon Varlamov. It’s time to consider the torch as passed. This season, the 26-year-old has been one of the better goalies in the league, posting a .926 SV% which puts him in the top ten league-wide in that category. He also has made over 70% of the starts this season. Part of that is due to an early injury to Semyon Varlamov but Sorokin has also outplayed Varlamov considerably as well. There was some risk to Sorokin’s three-year, $12MM contract considering he had played all of 22 regular season games heading into this season but all of a sudden, he’s one of the better bargains for goaltenders around the league.
What would the Islanders be even more thankful for?
Offense. Not just depth scoring or secondary scoring, or offense from the defense. The Islanders need production, period. Mathew Barzal is their star center but he only has five goals this season (which still puts him in a tie for fourth on the team). Kyle Palmieri, Josh Bailey, and Zach Parise are all capable veteran players and they’re all stuck at a single goal. Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin are big pieces of their fourth line on above-market contracts and they’ve failed to light the lamp in 39 combined games. The defense as a whole has just five tallies on the season. You get the point.
With even an average offense and some better luck on the COVID front, this is a team that could be right in the playoff mix as things stand. If they’re going to get back into postseason contention with the struggles they’ve had early on, they’re going to need a lot of players to rediscover their scoring touch over the holiday break.
What should be on the Islanders’ Holiday Wish List?
Beyond adding scoring, more defensive depth would go a long way towards helping their chances of climbing back into the race in terms of giving them some injury insurance (and we know GM Lou Lamoriello isn’t throwing in the towel just yet).
But the biggest thing on their wish list both now and in the future is cap space. They don’t have it and they need it in a big way. The Isles were forced to bridge their young stars to merely stay cap-compliant now so it’s a longer-term concern. If they want to add now, they need to free up cap room first and if they want to keep their core intact, they need to free up cap room. Accordingly, that is going to be the biggest wish in the coming weeks, months, and years for the Isles.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
2021 Spengler Cup Cancelled Due To COVID-19
The 2021 Spengler Cup won’t be taking place due to COVID-19 cases affecting teams within the tournament, per The Hockey News’ Steven Ellis.
The tournament was set to begin tomorrow, December 26th. A severe number of cases today within the NL’s HC Davos organization, the hosts of the tournament, forced the cancellation after the Canadian national squad and HC Ambri-Piotta (NL) also backed out.
The Spengler Cup is the world’s oldest invitational hockey tournament, including six teams every year including Team Canada and HC Davos. This year, Frolunda HC (SHL), HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovak Extraliga), KalPa (Liiga), HC Sparta Praha (Czech Extraliga), and the Bern Selects were also scheduled to participate.
It’s the second straight year that the tournament has been cancelled due to COVID-19.
No Contract Talks Yet Between Bruins And Tuukka Rask
Going back to last summer, it has been widely expected that Tuukka Rask would eventually rejoin the Bruins once he has fully recovered from hip surgery that he underwent in July. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday including NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin, team president Cam Neely indicated that while there have been talks between Rask and GM Don Sweeney, they haven’t been regarding a contract for this season yet.
That isn’t to say that there haven’t been any discussions – Rask has been using Boston’s team facilities to rehab while even serving as an emergency goalie for practice but there’s a difference between that and putting pen to paper on a contract. In the meantime, Neely indicated that the current COVID situation certainly isn’t helping as they want to see Rask face NHL-caliber shots in practice to get ramped up and back into playing shape. With the team being in the midst of an outbreak and their facilities closed, that’s hard to do and depending on how long this lasts, it could delay their plans to bring him back accordingly.
It’s not as if they absolutely have to get Rask back right away either. Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have combined for a .919 SV% and a 2.39 GAA, making the Bruins one of the stingiest defensive teams in the league. Adding Rask to that tandem is a luxury over a necessity.
As a result, Sweeney needs to preserve as much of his cap space as possible to fill other team needs closer to the deadline so whatever contract offer they make to Rask will come in a lot cheaper than the $7MM AAV he had on his last deal. Fortunately for them, Rask has indicated a willingness to sign for cheap, allowing them to preserve some flexibility. However, it appears Boston fans will have to wait a little while longer for the 14-year veteran to officially make his return.
2021 Year In Review: January
2021 has certainly been another eventful year both on and off the rink. Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. We begin with the month of January.
Barzal Bridge: Throughout the entire COVID delay to the start of the 2020-21 season, the expectation was that the Islanders would be forced to do a bridge deal with their top center in Mathew Barzal. In the end, it’s exactly what happened as the two sides agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract that will carry a qualifying offer of $8.4MM in 2023. While a longer-term contract was preferable for both sides, the shorter term gave New York a little bit more wiggle room to work with which they used to officially complete contracts for veterans Matt Martin, Tom Kuhnhackl, Andy Greene, and Cory Schneider. Barzal hasn’t been able to match the production from his Calder-winning season in 2017-18 when he averaged over a point per game but he is still an offensive weapon on a team that is best known for being a low-scoring squad.
Crawford Retires: It was somewhat surprising when Corey Crawford left Chicago and signed a two-year, $7.8MM contract with the Devils. In the end, Crawford decided not to go through with it, instead announcing his retirement. He hung up his skates with a 260-162-53 record with a 2.45 GAA, .918 SV%, and 26 shutouts along with a pair of Stanley Cup titles in 2013 and 2015, all coming with the Blackhawks. Meanwhile, with no other veteran netminders available that close to the start of the season, New Jersey opted to have Scott Wedgewood serve as the backup last season with Aaron Dell and Eric Comrie also seeing limited action with the team.
Swapping Young Stars: Pierre-Luc Dubois didn’t exactly hide his desire to leave Columbus while Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic were certainly amenable to leaving Winnipeg. In the end, the three were all swapped for each other with the Jets picking up a third-round pick along with Dubois. Columbus retained enough of Dubois’ salary to make it a match with Laine while Roslovic quickly signed a two-year, $3.8MM bridge deal after being acquired. Interestingly enough, it was Roslovic who had the best season of the three as he picked up 34 points in 48 games with his new team. This season, however, Dubois has gotten off to a particularly strong start, notching more points than Laine and Roslovic combined (although Laine has been limited to just 10 games due to an oblique injury).
Big Extensions: After a promising rookie season, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford was quite impressed with John Marino and handed him a six-year, $24.4MM extension that bought out the remainder of his RFA-eligible years plus three UFA seasons. At the time, it looked like the deal had the potential to be a big bargain for them down the road if he was able to build on his rookie performance although there was some risk considering how inexperienced he was. The early returns have been inconsistent as he took a bit of a step back last season although Marino has bounced back this season, logging 22 minutes a game while chipping in with 12 points in 30 games. That’s the type of performance that could make this a team-friendly deal in the near future.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets were able to lock up one of their top young talents, inking Oliver Bjorkstrand to a five-year, $27MM extension. He has become a reliable top-six piece for Columbus and has become fairly consistent in the scoring department, ranging between 0.32 and 0.4 goals per game (between 26 and 33 over an 82-game season) in each of the last four years. The contract more than doubled his AAV at the time and bought out four seasons of UFA eligibility.
Rutherford Resigns: Just weeks after signing Marino, Rutherford abruptly resigned as GM of the Penguins, citing personal reasons for why he decided to leave. He was at the helm of Pittsburgh since 2014 with the team winning a pair of Stanley Cups during his tenure with them. Of course, this won’t be the last time that Rutherford finds himself in one of these Month in Review columns over the coming days with him now being in Vancouver. Patrik Allvin took over as interim GM and has been speculatively linked as a candidate to join Rutherford with the Canucks in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NHL Extends Holiday Break, Postpones December 27th Games
The NHL announced per a tweet Friday evening that all games scheduled to take place on Monday, December 27 are postponed in order to provide for adequate COVID-19 testing results after teams return from the holiday break.
Teams are still permitted to return to practice on Sunday, December 26.
There were 14 games scheduled to happen on Monday. Only the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, and Tampa Bay Lightning are unaffected by these postponements.
The league said in their press release today that a further update on their return to play plans will come on Sunday. If an additional rash of positive tests come in that weekend, it’s exceedingly likely that further postponements will happen.
50 games had already been postponed this year, bringing the total number of postponements to 64.
Czechia Announces Final Roster For 2022 WJC
After their pre-tournament game against Switzerland was cancelled yesterday due to COVID-19 concerns, Czechia has named their final roster for the 2022 World Junior Championships which begin in earnest on December 26.
Two names in particular of note on this team are David Jiricek and Jiri Kulich, who are both eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft. Jiricek is a likely top-ten and potential top-five selection come July, and a good tournament could help solidify that positioning. He’s actually serving as an assistant captain for the team along with 19-year-old undrafted Michal Gut. Montreal Canadiens prospect Jan Mysak was announced as the team’s captain earlier in the week.
Jiricek is impressing this season with five goals and six assists in 29 games with HC Plzen in the Czech Extraliga. Kulich, a likely second- or third-round selection, has seven goals and four assists with Karlovy Vary in the Extraliga.
The Czechs will be watched intently by Columbus Blue Jackets fans, as they carry a pair of talented prospects in defenseman Stanislav Svozil and forward Martin Rysavy. Svozil somewhat unexpectedly fell to the third round in 2021 where Columbus drafted him 69th overall. He’s done well in his first season in North America, posting a goal and 17 assists in 26 games with the WHL’s Regina Pats. Rysavy, a seventh-rounder in 2021, has five goals and 11 assists in 28 games with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.
Toronto Maple Leafs Place William Nylander In COVID Protocol
The Toronto Maple Leafs tweeted out this afternoon that the team placed right wing William Nylander into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Nylander becomes the seventh forward and 13th Maple Leaf on the protocol list. Morgan Rielly entered protocol just yesterday.
John Tavares, Alexander Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev, David Kampf, Wayne Simmonds, Jason Spezza, Rasmus Sandin, Travis Dermott, T.J. Brodie, Jack Campbell, and Petr Mrazek round out the rest of the COVID absences for Toronto.
In all likelihood, this means that Nylander won’t be available if the team resumes playing next week. The 25-year-old Swede is enjoying his best season to date, posting 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 30 games while playing 18:47 per game.
With Nylander now out, when Toronto hits the ice again, it’ll likely give a chance for players like Kyle Clifford and Joey Anderson to get back onto the active roster and play some games.