Free washer | Your Canadians at the World Junior Championship

The World Junior Championship will open in about ten days. The exclusion of young center Owen Beck from the Canadian squad came as a surprise, but Joshua Roy, Filip Mesar, Oliver Kapanen and no doubt Lane Hutson and Adam Engstrom will represent the Canadian.

Will their presence at this prestigious tournament guarantee their future in the NHL? And does Beck’s exclusion herald a less rosy future? No, obviously.

But out of curiosity, let’s have fun retracing the journey, or absence, of the members of the current edition at the World Junior Championship.

Nick Suzuki

The captain of the Canadiens did not have the honor of being chosen as part of the Canadian team at 18, despite a 96-point season in Owen Sound the previous year. He was retained at 19, in 2018-2019, but in a modest role, on the right wing of a third line supplemented by Jaret Dolan-Anderson in the center and Alexis Lafrenière, then 17 years old. The team’s star offensive players were Morgan Frost, Maxime Comtois and Cody Glass. Suzuki has been limited to three assists in five games.

Cole Caufield

Caufield represented the Americans twice, but came under criticism after both tournaments. He was still young in the first year, in 2020, and limited to two small points in five games. Expectations were much higher the following year, on the eve of his 20th birthday, but his two goals and three assists in five games disappointed many even though he had had good chances to score in the tournament. The second line he formed with Matt Beniers and Matt Boldy had never taken off, while Trevor Zegras had soared above the competition with 18 points in seven games.

Kirby Dash

Third overall pick in 2019, already in the NHL with Chicago, Dach was expected to be Canada’s big star for the 2020 tournament, following Chicago’s gracious loan, but a wrist injury suffered during a preparatory match against Russia ended his tournament and forced him to undergo delicate surgery. This injury has delayed his progress. Dach had just been named captain.

Sean Monahan

Monahan was part of the first group of cut players along with Adam Pelech, Derrick Pouliot, Francis Beauvillier and Tyler Graovac at his first camp at age 18 in 2012, and was unavailable the following year as he began his NHL career with the Calgary Flames at age 18. Members or former members of the Canadiens, Jonathan Drouin, Phillip Danault and Xavier Ouellet were there the year Monahan was cut. The last two were, however, older and experienced.

Christian Dvorak

Dvorak was an attacking player in the junior ranks. He amassed 230 points in 125 games in his last two seasons in London, in the Ontario Junior League, along with a certain Mitch Marner. He represented the Americans, his country of birth, in 2016, within a powerful club composed among others of Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski. He usually formed a line with Sonny Milano and Anders Bjork and had eight points in seven games. The Americans were eliminated by the Russians in the semi-finals and Dvorak had scored his club’s only goal.

Kaiden Guhlé

Guhle was already a mainstay in defense at 18 for coach André Tourigny in 2021, and one of the few players of that age on the team, in a duo with Justin Barron, today with Laval Rocket. He had three points in seven games, but was mostly employed five-on-five and in a defensive role. He was named captain the following year, a year ago, but the tournament was put on hold due to COVID. The Canadian wisely withdrew him from the tournament resumed last summer so that he is in good shape for training camp.

Juraj Slafkovsky

The NHL’s first overall pick last summer played for the first time in this tournament in 2021, at the age of only 16, in a very young Slovakian team, which also had two other players from his age, Simon Nemec and Filip Mesar. He was shut out in five games; his team scored only seven goals in five games. Slovakia won just one game, 1-0 against Switzerland, but held on against Canada with a creditable 3-1 loss. It announced a promising future. Slafkovsky was there the following year, but was packing his bags after two games due to the pandemic.

Jordan Harris

Harris, the Canadiens’ third-round pick in 2018, was selected in his final year of eligibility, 2020. He was a solid second pair with Sabers prospect Mattias Samuelsson. It should be noted that he played there on the right side, where the Canadian tried to place him in training camp, without success. Of the team’s other defensemen that year, besides Harris and Samuelsson, only K’Andre Miller was an NHL regular. Cam York and Zac Jones are tossed between the National League and the minors, Ty Emberson and Spencer Stastney are in the American League full-time.

Josh Anderson

Anderson was not a big point producer in the junior ranks, hence his later selection, at 95^e rank, in the fourth round, by Columbus in 2012. He was nevertheless selected within the team in 2014, and played a modest role within a line with Kerby Rychel and Frederik Gauthier. Anderson, just one point in seven games during the tournament, is the only member of the line to hang on to the NHL. The club’s top six strikers that year were Bo Horvat, Sam Reinhart, Scott Laughton, Curtis Lazar, Nic Petan and a certain Connor McDavid.

Mike Hoffman

Hoffman was an enigmatic player in the junior ranks, isn’t he always, and he was rescued by Guy Boucher once in Drummondville in 2008. He was drafted in the fifth round only by Ottawa and even went through the ‘ECHL at the start of his career. In context, it was never in Canada’s plans.

Brendan Gallagher

Although he was a modest fifth-round pick by the Canadiens in 2010, despite his lack of speed and small size, Gallagher was finally selected at 19 by the Canadian team. We didn’t regret it. He had six points in as many games in 2012. Although he was the leading scorer in Ontario, Tyler Toffoli was shunned in favor of forwards like Quinton Howden, Brett Connolly, Michaël Bournival, Freddie Hamilton and Devante Smith-Pelly . Canada had won bronze. The Canadians lost to the Russians in the semifinals despite three points from Gallagher.

David Savard

Defender drafted a little late, in the fourth round in 2009, born late, a late in hockey jargon, David Savard was never selected by the Canadian junior team. That didn’t stop him from already being dominant in the American League at age 20. Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan Ellis, Travis Hamonic, Marco Scandella, Calvin de Haan, Colten Teubert and Jared Cowen were the Canadian defensemen in his final year of eligibility. The last two did not break through, or barely.

Arber Xhekaj

Never drafted in the junior ranks or in the NHL, Xhekaj has obviously never been on the radar.

Mike Matheson

Although he was a first-round pick in 2012, 23^e in total, despite his mobility, Matheson, who chose to continue his apprenticeship at Boston College, was never chosen by the programs of the Canadian junior team.

Evgenii Dadonov

Dadonov participated in two World Junior Championships with Russia, in 2008 and 2009. He amassed seven points in as many games in his second appearance, with a club led by Nikita Filatov, whose NHL career was short-lived despite being selected sixth overall by Columbus in 2008.

Jonathan Drouin

Third overall pick in 2013 by Tampa, Drouin took part twice. At only 18, he even played an offensive role there while Nathan MacKinnon was confined to a fourth line center position! Drouin was even better the following year, with nine points in seven games, but this time MacKinnon was not there, already retained in the NHL.

Jake Allen

Bad memories for Allen. He had had an extremely difficult match in the final of the tournament against the Americans in 2010 and some even wondered if he was going to recover from his poor performance. The American goalkeeper had also experienced difficulties in this meeting won 6-5 by the United States. But like Allen, Jack Campbell had a great career afterwards…

Joel Armia

Armia has represented Finland three times, including a first time at 16. Hard to believe today that this young prodigy was drafted in the 16th^e total rank in 2011 by Buffalo. In his last tournament, in 2013, Armia amassed 12 points in 6 games, ahead of Teuvo Teravainen, Alexander Barkov and Artturi Lehkonen, however younger than him.

The best of both worlds !

By analyzing the situation coldly, the Canadian had the best of both worlds, Thursday night against Anaheim. He lost against the worst club in the NHL, yes, but the game was close despite a poor performance from the CH, Cole Caufield scored two goals, the youngsters played again in abundance, Jordan Harris added another point, his fifth in its last six games, and Montreal not only slips back in the standings, but sees the gap to the tail narrow with wins for the Flyers, Sabers and Blues.

If the draft took place today, the Canadiens would draft in 10^e rank with own choice and at 13^e rank with the choice of the Panthers, still defeated Thursday. Sixth place in the draft is still in sight since Philadelphia is only three points behind Montreal.