Russia Cuts Five From Their World Junior Roster
Team Russia is taking a bit of a different approach to their cuts for the World Juniors. Their federation announced five cuts but they still have two more to make to get down to the maximum 23-man roster. Heading home are the following players:
F Ivan Chekhovich (SJ, injured)
F Artem Nikolaev (undrafted, injured)
D Danill Valitov (undrafted)
D Artem Volkov (undrafted)
F Alexander Yaremchuk (undrafted)
That means their roster currently stands as follows:
Goaltenders
Pyotr Kochetkov (undrafted)
Amir Miftakhov (undrafted)
Daniil Tarasov (CBJ)
Defensemen
Alexander Alexeyev (WSH)
Yevgeni Kalabushkin (undrafted)
Ilya Morozov (undrafted)
Saveli Olshansky (undrafted)
Alexander Romanov (MTL)
Mark Rubinchik (undrafted)
Dmitri Samorukov (EDM)
Danila Zhuravlyov (COL)
Forwards
Grigori Denisenko (FLA)
Artyom Galimov (undrafted)
Alexander Khovanov (MIN)
Klim Kostin (STL)
Nikolai Kovalenko (COL)
Vitali Kravtsov (NYR)
Kirill Marchenko (CBJ)
Ivan Morozov (VGK)
Ivan Muranov (undrafted)
Vasily Podkolzin (draft eligible in 2019)
Nikita Shashkov (undrafted)
Pavel Shen (BOS)
Kirill Slepets (undrafted)
Stepan Starkov (undrafted)
Instead of registering their full roster later today, it appears that the Russians will register a smaller group of players and decide on their final two cuts as the tournament progresses. They’re only required to submit 15 skaters and two goaltenders at this time but it’s likely they’ll have a few more skaters than that on their initial roster. While the tournament starts tomorrow, Russia’s first game isn’t until Thursday when they take on Denmark.
Full World Junior Championship Schedule
In what has become a holiday season tradition, tomorrow will mark the start of this year’s IIHF World Junior Championship. The best U20 players from all over the world will come together in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia to compete for the coveted gold medal, and a place in junior hockey history. Many have already been drafted by an NHL team, but still have to prove their worth to their future organization or show the many scouts just what they missed out on.
Things will kick off tomorrow afternoon and continue through to Saturday, January 5th when the final relegation, bronze and gold medal games will all be played at Rogers Arena, home of the Vancouver Canucks.
The full schedule is as follows (all times in CST):
Wednesday, December 26th
Czech Republic vs Switzerland – 3:00pm – Vancouver, BC
United States vs Slovakia – 5:30pm – Victoria, BC
Canada vs Denmark – 7:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Finland vs Sweden – 9:30pm – Victoria, BC
Thursday, December 27th
Russia vs Denmark – 3:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Slovakia vs Sweden – 5:30pm – Victoria, BC
Switzerland vs Canada – 7:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Finland vs Kazakhstan – 9:30pm – Victoria, BC
Friday, December 28th
Czech Republic vs Russia – 7:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Kazakhstan vs United States – 9:30pm – Victoria, BC
Saturday, December 29th
Denmark vs Switzerland – 3:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Slovakia vs Finland – 5:30pm – Victoria, BC
Canada vs Czech Republic – 7:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Sweden vs United States – 9:30pm – Victoria, BC
Sunday, December 30th
Switzerland vs Russia – 7:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Kazakhstan vs Slovakia – 9:30pm – Victoria, BC
Monday, December 31st
Denmark vs Czech Republic – 3:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Sweden vs Kazakhstan – 5:30pm – Victoria, BC
Russia vs Canada – 7:00pm – Vancouver, BC
United States vs Finland – 9:30pm – Victoria, BC
Tuesday, January 1st
No games scheduled
Wednesday, January 2nd
Relegation Match 1 of 3 – 1:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Quarter Final 1 of 4 – 3:00pm – Victoria, BC
Quarter Final 2 of 4 – 5:30pm – Vancouver, BC
Quarter Final 3 of 4 – 7:00pm – Victoria, BC
Quarter Final 4 of 4 – 9:30pm – Vancouver, BC
Thursday, January 3rd
No games scheduled
Friday, January 4th
Relegation Match 2 of 3 – 11:00am – Vancouver, BC
Semifinal 1 of 2 – 3:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Semifinal 2 of 2 – 7:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Saturday, January 5th
Relegation Match 3 of 3 – 11:00am – Vancouver, BC*
Bronze Medal Game – 3:00pm – Vancouver, BC
Gold Medal Game – 7:00pm – Vancouver, BC
*If necessary
Sweden Finalizes Roster For The World Juniors
Team Sweden has made its final cuts in advance of the upcoming World Juniors. Hockey Sverige’s Uffe Boden reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Jacob Ragnarsson (NYR) plus forwards Hugo Leufvenius (undrafted in 2018) and Nils Hoglander (draft eligible in 2019) were the final cuts. This means their final 23-man roster is as follows:
Forwards
Emil Bemstrom (CBJ)
Oscar Back (DAL)
Lucas Elvenes (VGK)
Samuel Fagemo (draft eligible in 2019)
David Gustafsson (WPG)
Pontus Holmberg (TOR)
Rickard Hugg (undrafted in 2018)
Filip Hallander (PIT)
Isac Lundestrom (ANA)
Jacob Olofsson (MTL)
Filip Sveningsson (CGY)
Johan Sodergran (LA)
Fabian Zetterlund (NJ)
Defensemen
Adam Boqvist (CHI)
Philip Broberg (draft eligible in 2019)
Erik Brannstrom (VGK)
Adam Ginning (PHI)
Nils Lundkvist (NYR)
Rasmus Sandin (TOR)
Filip Westerlund (ARI)
Goaltenders
Adam Ahman (undrafted in 2018)
Olle Eriksson Ek (ANA)
Samuel Ersson (PHI)
Final rosters must be submitted by December 25th, one day before the tournament gets underway. Six of the ten participating countries still need to trim down their rosters and with pre-tournament games wrapping up today, those cuts will likely be coming shortly.
USA Hockey Makes Final Cuts For World Junior Championships
After a 6-2 victory this morning over the Czech Republic in their final pre-tournament exhibition game, USA Hockey made their final cuts to their team before the World Junior Championships start on Dec. 26, according to NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. , The team released forwards Sean Dhooghe, Cole Coskey and Samuel Walker as well as cutting defensemen Michael Callahan, Ty Emberson and Joey Keane.
Here is the final 23-man roster:
F Evan Barratt (CHI)
F Noah Cates (PHI)
F Sasha Chmelevski (SJS)
F Logan Cockerill (NYI)
F Jack Drury (CAR)
F Joel Farabee (PHI)
F Jack Hughes (2019 draft eligible)
F Tyler Madden (VAN)
F Josh Norris (OTT)
F Jay O’Brien (PHI)
F Ryan Poehling (MON)
F Jason Robertson (DAL)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (NYI)
D Mikey Anderson (LAK)
D Quinn Hughes (VAN)
D Phil Kemp (EDM)
D K’Andre Miller (NYR)
D Dylan Samberg (WIN)
D Mattias Samuelsson (BUF)
D Jack St. Ivany (PHI)
G Kyle Keyser (BOS)
G Spencer Knight (2019 draft eligible)
G Cayden Primeau (MON)
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the release of Dhooghe, who many felt deserved to make the team. The undersized (5-foot-3, 150 pounds) Dhooghe has performed quite well in his sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin where he has already surpassed his goal total from last year. He has nine goals and 14 points in 18 games so far this year, but went undrafted last year despite incredible talent.
The team did keep two players who didn’t attend the WJC summer camp as both Madden and St. Ivany were able to prove their value to Team USA with their play in these exhibition games.
The team kept all three goaltenders on their roster, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as U.S. general manager John Vanbiesbrouck has kept three goaltenders on World Junior rosters seven of the last eight years with the exception of 2016.
Atlantic Notes: Nylander, Miller, Athanasiou, Zadina
While there was an expectation that the Toronto Maple Leafs would even get better once they signed William Nylander to a six-year, $45MM deal, the team hasn’t gotten the production out of their young star so far as many would have hoped. The 22-year-old sat out for the first 59 days of the season holding out, but has struggled so far since returning to the Toronto lineup.
So far the forward has just two assists in seven games and while he is undoubtedly still trying to shake off the rust after such a long layoff, The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn (subscription required) writes that Nylander has been the worst player on the ice for the Maple Leafs lately, pointing out his most recent performance against Florida was quite sub-par, including making several mistakes, including missing a wide-open shot from Connor Brown at one point, while never taking a single shot against the Panthers. While the scribe believes that Nylander will eventually turn it around, he believes that Nylander could continue his current trend for a bit more.
- Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Hub reports that defenseman Kevan Miller will not be cleared until Dec. 27 at the earliest. The blueliner has been out since Nov. 26 after suffering cartilage damage to his larynx. The 31-year-old has only appeared in 11 games this season, but have to hope that Miller will be back within a week. The team does hope that Jake Debrusk will play Sunday.
- The Detroit Red Wings played without Andreas Athanasiou Saturday and could be without him again on Sunday, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The 24-year old expected to play today, but was ruled out with an upper-body injury and he remains questionable for Sunday. Athanasiou is having a breakout year so far with 11 goals in just 32 games. His career-high is 18.
- When the Detroit Red Wings allowed Filip Zadina to join the Czech National Team for the World Junior Champsionships, the team was well aware that the move could backfire. The Athletic’s Katie Strang (subscription required) writes there is always concern with injury, diminished returns or the potential that Zadina could return to some of his junior league habits, but the team still felt that playing at the World Juniors could be a huge benefit for Zadina’s development to get him ready for the NHL game. “I think that he knows that he’s not quite ready,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said. “He’s close, but he has to work on other aspects of his game. When they call him up they don’t want him to come back here. Their whole plan — I can’t speak for them, but I don’t think they want to give him that thrill of getting called up and have that disappointment of getting sent down.”
Urho Vaakanainen To Play For Finland At World Juniors
Urho Vaakanainen is no longer listed on injured reserve on the Boston Bruins website, but he won’t be coming back to play in the NHL for the next little while. That’s because the 19-year old defenseman is off to join Finland at the World Junior Championship in Vancouver, adding another legitimate force to a team that has gained a few over the last week.
Vaakanainen hasn’t played since taking a Mark Borowiecki elbow to the head in late October, a play on which he suffered a concussion. He has been working his way back slowly and skating with the Bruins, but he’ll make his return to game action for Finland instead. That kind of an upgrade is incredibly important for the country’s hopes in the tournament, especially given the recent additions of Eeli Tolvanen and Henri Jokiharju as well.
In fact, Vaakanainen projects to play alongside Jokiharju on Finland’s top pairing, one that could very well challenge for the best in the entire tournament. The two have both shown an ability to compete at the NHL level already, and could very well return there after a medal run in early January. Boston has gotten a little more healthy on the blue line of late, but could decide to insert the 19-year old if they feel he can help.
At the very least, this is a good sign for Vaakanainen’s future after the uncertainty surrounding his concussion. It’s hard to know how early brain injuries can affect a player’s career, but we’ll get to see if he can shake off the rust quickly and show off his smooth defensive ability against some of the talented forwards around the world.
Timothy Liljegren Ruled Out Of The World Juniors
Maple Leafs prospect defenseman Timothy Liljegren has been ruled out of participating in the World Juniors, the team announced (Twitter link). He suffered a high ankle sprain at the beginning of the month with Toronto’s AHL affiliate and is currently classified as being out week-to-week.
Liljegren, Toronto’s first-round pick (17th overall) back in 2017, is in his second season with the Marlies and was off to a strong start before suffering the injury. He currently has eight points (2-6-8) in 19 games after collecting 17 (1-16-17) in 44 contests last year. This would have been his second time in this tournament after playing a regular role last year.
This is a tough blow for a Sweden back end that’s projected to be their strength. However, they still have quite a few first rounders on their defense corps in Adam Boqvist (Blackhawks), Erik Brannstrom (Golden Knights), Rasmus Sandin (Maple Leafs), and Nils Lundkvist (Rangers) while projected 2019 first rounder Philip Broberg is also in the mix for a spot. Sweden still has to cut one more defender before they finalize their roster for the tournament which gets underway on Wednesday against Finland.
Isac Lundestrom Loaned To Team Sweden
Though he wasn’t included on the preliminary roster for Sweden , Isac Lundestrom is heading to the World Juniors. According to Elliott Teaford of the OC Register, the Anaheim Ducks have loaned Lundestrom to Team Sweden for the upcoming tournament, which beings on December 26th. Lundestrom had been playing in the AHL after suiting up 15 times with the Ducks earlier this year.
Lundestrom’s addition is a huge step towards the gold medal for Sweden, who already had a rock solid defense corps but were inexperienced up front. The 19-year old Ducks prospect will bring some NHL experience along with a long history of international competition. He was part of the Swedish team that barely lost to Canada in the gold medal game a year ago, and previously had won a U17 bronze medal and U18 silver medal in the same year. Lundestrom will be leaned on heavily to drive the play in the offensive zone for his country, just as he was at times this season in Anaheim and San Diego.
Selected 23rd overall in 2018 he surprised many by making the Ducks out of camp as an 18-year old, and was even given the chance to play at center during certain games. That’s high praise for a player who many believed needed several years of seasoning, but perhaps shouldn’t have been shocking given his experience. Lundestrom had already completed two full seasons in the SHL before being drafted, and even got a taste of the men’s professional league during the 2015-16 season. While his absolute ceiling is still a ways off, his polish so far has been spectacular for a player of his age. The World Juniors will be just another chapter in his development, and one which the Ducks hope will take him to another level offensively.
Poll: Who Will Win The 2019 World Junior Championship?
Tonight in Kelowna, British Columbia, Russia and Sweden battle it out in the first pre-tournament game for the upcoming World Junior Championship. This tournament, made up of under-20 players from around the world, is one of the premiere international competitions in the world of hockey and brings with it plenty of intrigue. NHL fans in particular get a glimpse of the next wave of superstars, often before they’re even drafted. That’s no different this year, where the tournament will feature several exceptional talents scheduled to go in the 2019 or 2020 entry drafts.
Last year, Canada defeated Sweden in a memorable final game to secure the gold medal on Tyler Steenbergen‘s first goal of the tournament. St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou led the Canadians in scoring with ten points in seven games, while Ottawa Senators prospect Drake Batherson scored a team-leading seven goals. Colorado Avalanche fans got a look at two of their own top prospects in Cale Makar and Conor Timmins, while newly minuted Philadelphia Flyers starting goaltender Carter Hart was the star in net. Amazingly, only a single player will return from that team for Canada in Max Comtois as most of the others have either aged out of the tournament, are dealing with injury or were withheld by their NHL teams.
Canada isn’t the only medal favorite though, as several other countries are bringing explosive lineups of their own. The discussion has to start with the United States, where Quinn and Jack Hughes are set to be the talk of the tournament. Quinn, the elder brother and a defenseman selected by the Vancouver Canucks seventh overall in June, is having an outstanding sophomore season at the University of Michigan and is expected to turn pro afterwards. Jack, the younger and a center, is expected to go first-overall in the 2019 draft to whoever wins the lottery.
Finland has the presumptive second-overall pick playing for their group in Kaapo Kakko, but also got some great news today when Henri Jokiharju was loaned from the Chicago Blackhawks. Jokiharju should be a difference maker for the Finnish team, who also should be strong in net with Buffalo Sabres prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Sweden doesn’t have the firepower up front of some previous years, but is an absolute powerhouse on defense even without the injured Timothy Liljegren. The five-man offensive units should be more than strong enough with the likes of Erik Brannstrom and Adam Boqvist jumping into the rush.
The Czech Republic got some great news when Filip Zadina was cleared of injury, and after getting some experience at the AHL level he should be even more dangerous this time around. Russia meanwhile will bring another strong mostly 19-year old group to Vancouver, and have some AHL experience of their own in Klim Kostin who was loaned by the St. Louis Blues.
In all, this should be another outstanding tournament filled with exceptional talents. Cast your vote below on who you think will win the whole thing, and then tune in on December 26th to see it all kick off.
Who will win the 2019 WJC?
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Canada 49% (553)
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USA 27% (308)
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Finland 9% (101)
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Sweden 5% (55)
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Russia 4% (50)
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Czech Republic 2% (21)
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Kazakhstan 2% (17)
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Slovakia 1% (10)
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Switzerland 1% (6)
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Denmark 0% (2)
Total votes: 1,123
[Mobile users click here to vote]
Gabe Vilardi Will Not Play In World Juniors
Both the Los Angeles Kings and Team Canada were hoping that young forward Gabe Vilardi would be able to recover in time to take part in the upcoming World Junior Championship, but according to Mark Masters of TSN that isn’t going to happen. He had played a few conditioning games in the AHL before taking part in Canada’s selection camp, but with pre-tournament games starting this week and Vilardi still unable to practice with the team, a decision had to be made. The question now will be whether Vilardi is sent immediately back to the OHL.
While this is obviously disappointing for Vilardi, it’s good news for the rest of the Canadian forwards including 17-year old Alexis Lafreniere. The potential 2020 first-overall pick has made the squad, and given his practice spot beside Nick Suzuki and Jaret Anderson-Dolan it won’t just be as the extra forward. The young QMJHL phenom has 53 points in 31 games for the Rimouski Oceanic and has done nothing to show he shouldn’t be at the very top of the 2020 draft board.
It certainly hasn’t been a smooth ride for Vilardi since being selected 11th overall by the Kings in 2017. He played just 32 regular season games with the Kingston Frontenacs last season due to injury, and has suited up just four times this year after dealing with another back issue. All four of those contests have come in the AHL, but given his age he is not allowed to stay there for the whole season. If he is healthy enough to play, and the Kings don’t keep him with the NHL team, he’ll have to go back to the OHL where he very well could be on the trade block once again. Kingston is sitting last in the OHL Eastern Conference and could flip Vilardi for a huge package of future assets given he will not be back next season.