Free washer | Not always relying on the World Juniors…

The names of Canadian prospects Ryan Poehling and Alexander Romanov were on everyone’s lips at the conclusion of the 2019 World Junior Championship.

Mathias Brunet
The Press

With five goals and eight points in seven games for the Americans, silver medalists, Poehling, a late first-round pick from CH two years earlier, received the title of tournament MVP.

Romanov, the great leader of the Russians and second round choice of the Canadian in 2018, was voted the defenseman par excellence of the competition. He had eight points in seven games and was already setting himself apart with his hard-hitting checks and contagious enthusiasm.

A little more than three years later, the two are no longer in the Montreal organization, even before reaching 24 years old. Romanov was gaining momentum at the Canadiens and helped fill a void at center in the trade for Kirby Dach, but Poehling was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Jeff Petry trade to get the salary wiggle room needed to retain Rem Pitlick.

We all got carried away in Montreal, with good reason, following the performances of these two hopefuls in this championship disputed in British Columbia.

There were also seven CH hopefuls at this tournament: Poehling, Romanov, Nick Suzuki, Jesse Ylönen, Jacob Olofsson, Cayden Primeau and Josh Brook. Olofsson and Brook were dropped by the organization. Ylönen and Primeau still have hope of breaking through. Suzuki is now the first center of the Canadian, and perhaps the next captain, while he had experienced a lackluster championship.

Morgan Frost finished first in scoring for Team Canada that year with eight points in five games. Suzuki was limited to three assists, in a more restricted role on the right wing.

The big trio of the team consisted of Cody Glass in the center, the one that the CH would have coveted at the start in the exchange of Max Pacioretty, Maxime Comtois and Owen Tippett. Coach Tim Hunter even compared Glass to former Rangers and Bruins glory Jean Ratelle.

Suzuki played on the right of Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Shane Bowers in a defensive line. Both of his former line partners were playing full-time in the American League last winter…as was Glass. Comtois and Tippett are still trying, with difficulty, to hang on to one of the top three lines of their respective teams.

If there is one lesson to be learned from this whole story, it is not to draw too hasty conclusions following this tournament.

Moreover, a cursory search quickly reveals that very few heroes at these championships become stars in the NHL.

Consider the Canadian squad rosters between 2019 and 2015. In 2019, Suzuki’s year, only three players (in bold) hold positions on one of their top two lines or top four defensemen. NHL team Suzuki and defensemen Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson. Alexis Lafrenière should eventually achieve this, he is still young and he was only 16 at the time of the tournament.

There were a few more in 2018. The team was better, by the way, with Jordan Kyrou and especially Cale Makar as frontrunners. Canada won gold after being kicked out of the top-4 the previous year. Two of the team’s top five scorers, Sam Steel and Brett Howden, play very limited roles in the NHL.

Plenty of players broke through from this mighty roster in 2017, runners-up but losing to the United States, but very few play leading roles today in the National League. Kale Clague, recently released by the Canadian, was the big offensive defender. Noah Juulsen was one of the good defenders in the team, but injuries marred his career.

Almost a third of the players of the 2016 team, although excluded from the top-4, after a quarter-final loss to Finland, plays an important role in the NHL. Dylan Strome finished first in scoring and Joe Hicketts was the top scorer in defense. His 5-foot-8 probably didn’t help him since he’s played just 22 career NHL games.

Big team in 2015 with a young Connor McDavid already dominating despite his age. Former Canadiens prospect Zach Fucale was the number one goaltender for this gold-medal team and Nic Petan was one of its key offensive leaders along with Max Domi, named tournament MVP. Brayden Point, now one of the best players in the National League, played on the left of a third line with Nick Paul and Jake Virtanen, but was a year younger than most players on the team. Now the number one defenseman for the Winnipeg Jets, Josh Morrissey was a member of the third pair behind Darnell Nurse, Shea Theodore, Samuel Morin and Madison Bowey.