World Junior Championship | Players to follow

Overview of the forces in place before the start of the tournament.

The Quebecois

With 5 players out of 22, a little more than a quarter of the team, Quebec is well represented this year within the Canadian team at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Yet only one, Maveric Lamoureux, was a first-round pick, and late, at 29^e rank.

Maveric Lamoureux, defender

A late first-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2022, this tall 6-foot-7 defenseman has amassed 27 points in 25 games since the start of the season in Drummondville, after having had a good camp with the Coyotes.

Mathis Rousseau/Samuel St-Hilaire, goalkeepers

Rousseau and St-Hilaire will form the first Quebec pair at the World Junior Championship since Pascal Leclaire and Olivier Michaud… 22 years ago! The first had a brilliant season in Halifax, but was not drafted in his first year of eligibility. The second shines for a second consecutive year in Sherbrooke and was also shunned in the NHL draft.

Jordan Dumais, winger

Jordan Dumais had to wait until the third round of the 2022 draft before being chosen by Columbus despite a 109-point season. He had 140 in just 64 games last year in Halifax and could surpass that mark this season. The Blue Jackets do not regret their choice!

Noah Warren, defender

The Ducks relied on this tall 6-foot-4 defenseman despite limited offensive potential. He also has only 5 points in 20 games in Victoriaville. But Anaheim, like the Canadian team, appreciates the young man’s robustness and defensive contribution.

Tristan Luneau injured

Quebec defender Tristan Luneau will ultimately not be able to participate in the World Juniors due to an injury, Hockey Canada announced Saturday afternoon. The one who played seven games for the Anaheim Ducks this season is suffering from a viral infection, according to journalist Mark Masters of TSN. Hockey Canada also announced the withdrawal of another defenseman, Tanner Molendyk. Jorian Donovan of the Brantford Bulldogs and Ty Nelson of the North Bay Battalion in the Ontario Junior League will replace them on the Team Canada roster.

Katherine Harvey-Pinard, The Press

Five Canadians to watch

Canada has already been better off, but still has nine first-round picks, and the NHL’s likely first pick in 2024.

Conor Geekie, center

Geekie isn’t the tallest skater, but he has an imposing frame at 6-foot-4 and has a well-above-average hockey IQ. The Coyotes made it 11^e pick in 2022, after drafting Logan Cooley at 3^e rank. Geekie is having his best season in the junior ranks with 49 points in 26 games with the Wenatchee Wild, but he is approaching his twenties. A great challenge in his first experience at the World Junior Championship.

Brayden Yager, center

The Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have a big backup, but they now count on Brayden Yager, 14^e pick in 2023, their highest offensive pick since Jordan Staal in 2002. Yager has 41 points in 28 games in Moose Jaw and he managed to break into the Canadian roster at just 18 years old.

Matthew Poitras

Poitras was the big surprise at Bruins camp and he earned a job in Boston due to the lack of depth at center, but he ran out of steam as the weeks went by and the Bruins chose to loan him to Canada. This second round pick in 2022 was nevertheless able to play 27 games in the NHL, and amassed 13 points. His experience and great creativity will make him a player capable of transforming the team.

Matthew Savoie, center

Savoie was drafted at 9^e rank by the Sabers in 2022. His teammate in the junior ranks Zach Benson was chosen a year later by the same Sabres, in 13^e rank, but Buffalo nevertheless chose to keep Benson in its lineup and send Savoie back to the junior ranks. The Canadian team will be able to benefit from the experience of Savoie, who played one game in the NHL and six in the American League this season.

Denton Mateychuk, defenseman

Mateychuk is forgotten among the Blue Jackets’ string of high draft picks. He’s not six feet tall, but has great offensive skills. The young man has 35 points in 24 games so far in Moose Jaw. We even thought about keeping him in Columbus to start the season.

Five stars to follow

The Americans and Swedes have no shortage of stars, but the Czech Republic has just obtained a major one.

Liam Ohgren

He has just been named captain of the Swedish team, even if health problems delayed his start to the season in Farjestad, in the Swedish first division (SHL). Complete, tenacious winger, drafted by the Wild thanks to the first round pick (19^e in total) obtained from the Kings in the Kevin Fiala trade. Minnesota also obtained young defender Brock Faber in the transaction, already employed more than 24 minutes per game.

Cutter Gauthier

The Flyers prospect, drafted fifth overall in 2022, after Shane Wright, will spearhead the attack on the American side. He had ten points in seven games last year at this Championship, at only 18 years old. A power forward who can play center or wing.

Will Smith

Some Canadian fans dreamed of it for a while, before seeing this young American center being drafted fourth overall by the San Jose Sharks, one place ahead of CH. Smith has 23 points in 17 games in his first NCAA season at Boston College. He had 127 points in 60 games last year in the American development program.

Jiri Kulich

The Czech Republic received an unexpected gift when the Buffalo Sabers agreed at the last minute to loan them their late first-round pick in 2022. At just 19 years old, Kulich was the leading scorer in the American League when he crossed the line. Atlantic to join its national junior team, with 16 goals in 23 games in Rochester.

Noah Ostlund

Another Sabers prospect, center Noah Östlund, was named Sweden’s MVP in a preseason game against the Americans on the eve of the tournament. He will form a formidable duo with Jonathan Lekkerimaki, like him a first-round pick in 2022. Östlund has speed to spare and a lot of creativity.

Five major absentees

Canada seems to suffer more than the others with the loss of Bedard, Fantilli and Wright, but let’s not forget other countries, Slovakia, for example…

Simon Nemec/Juraj Slafkovsky

Slovakia, a small country of barely five million souls, which has seen its lean years, could have terrified the giants if it had been able to count on its two best, winger Slafkovsky and defender Nemec, the two first picks in the 2022 draft. Slafkovsky is now established in the CH’s first trio and Nemec has just joined his compatriot in the NHL, with the Devils, where he already plays more than 20 minutes per game.

Shane Wright

At the time when Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis announced his refusal to lend his young star to the Canadian team, Wright had just been recalled to the National League and Francis affirmed that his protégé had nothing to gain from play this tournament. Wright stayed in Seattle for only three games and had just one point in his last five games at Coachella Valley in the American League. Finally…

Connor Bedard

Even if he is eligible for the current tournament and that of 2025, it would have been almost indecent to allow Bedard to participate in this Championship after his performance of 23 points in only 7 games with Canada last year. Coming into the tournament, Bedard already had 30 points in 33 games with the poor Blackhawks.

Logan Cooley

The Americans already have a lot of offensive power and should recover from the loss of Cooley, 14 points in 7 games last year. We reduced Cooley’s playing time recently in Arizona, he now plays in a fourth line, so it would not have been unthinkable that we would consider loaning him out for the duration of the tournament, but we prefer to keep him in a stable environment.

Leo Carlsson

Sweden is among the favorites for the tournament. This team would have been formidable with this young center to support Noah Östlund, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Liam Öhgren and company, but Carlsson’s place is in the NHL, where he already has 15 points in 23 games in Anaheim, at only 18 years old.