The end of December means two things in the hockey world: the National Hockey League season begins to get serious, and the best under-20 players in the world converge for two weeks of high-octane action. Pitting 10 teams of junior-aged players against each other for global supremacy, the IIHF World Junior Championship is one of the highlights of the hockey year. It showcases the top prospects from all 31 NHL clubs, provides a spotlight for several key 2019 NHL Draft hopefuls, and provides some of the best games of the entire season.
This year’s tournament takes place in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, and features Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Kazakhstan, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. The event features 34 first round selections from the 2017 and 2018 NHL Drafts, including two top-10 picks from 2017 and six top-10 picks from 2018.
To help guide the allegiances of hockey fans at a time where it might be a bit confusing to determine who to cheer for when (for example) Sweden plays Finland, we’ve crafted our annual guide to which prospects are representing the various NHL clubs at this event.
World Junior Players Sorted by Their NHL Teams
Anaheim Ducks (4)
- F Maxime Comtois – Canada – 2017 second round pick (50th)
- G Lukas Dostal – Czech Republic – 2018 third round pick (85th)
- F Isac Lundestrom – Sweden – 2018 first round pick (23rd)
- G Olle Eriksson Ek – Sweden – 2017 fifth round pick (153rd)
Arizona Coyotes (3)
- F Barrett Hayton – Canada – 2018 first round pick (5th)
- F Jan Jenik – Czech Republic – 2018 third round pick (65th)
- D Filip Westerlund – Sweden – 2017 second round pick (44th)
Boston Bruins (6)
- F Jack Studnicka – Canada – 2017 second round pick (53rd)
- D Daniel Bukac – Czech Republic – 2017 seventh round pick (204th)
- F Jakub Lauko – Czech Republic – 2018 third round pick (77th)
- D Urho Vaakanainen – Finland – 2017 first round pick (18th)
- F Pavel Shen – Russia – 2018 seventh round pick (212th)
- G Kyle Keyser – United States – free agent signing
Buffalo Sabres (4)
- F Matej Pekar – Czech Republic – 2018 fourth round pick (94th)
- G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – Finland – 2017 second round pick (54th)
- D Oskari Laaksonen – Finland – 2017 third round pick (89th)
- D Mattias Samuelsson – Sweden – 2018 second round pick (32nd)
Calgary Flames (4)
- F Martin Pospisil – Slovakia – 2018 fourth round pick (105th)
- F Milos Roman – Slovakia – 2018 fourth round pick (122nd)
- F Adam Ruzicka – Slovakia – 2017 fourth round pick (109th)
- F Filip Sveningsson – Sweden – 2017 seventh round pick (202nd)
Carolina Hurricanes (2)
- F Martin Necas – Czech Republic – 2017 first round pick (12th)
- F Jack Drury – United States – 2018 second round pick (42nd)
Chicago Blackhawks (7)
- D Ian Mitchell – Canada – 2017 second round pick (57th)
- F MacKenzie Entwhistle – Canada – 2017 third round pick (69th) [acquired from Arizona in the Marcus Kruger/Marian Hossa swap]
- D Jakub Galvas – Czech Republic – 2017 fifth round pick (150th)
- D Henri Jokiharju – Finland – 2017 first round pick (29th)
- D Adam Boqvist – Sweden – 2018 first round pick (8th)
- F Philipp Kurashev – Switzerland – 2018 fourth round pick (120th)
- F Evan Barratt – United States – 2017 third round pick (90th)
Colorado Avalanche (4)
- F Shane Bowers – Canada – 2017 first round pick (28th) [acquired from Ottawa in the Matt Duchene trade]
- F Martin Kaut – Czech Republic – 2018 first round pick (16th)
- D Danila Zhuravlyov – Russia – 2018 fifth round pick (146th)
- F Nikolai Kovalenko – Russia – 2018 sixth round pick (171st)
Columbus Blue Jackets (4)
- G Daniil Tarasov – Russia – 2017 third round pick (86th)
- F Kirill Marchenko – Russia – 2018 second round pick (49th)
- F Emil Bemstrom – Sweden – 2017 fourth round pick (117th)
- D Tim Berni – Switzerland – 2018 sixth round pick (159th)
Dallas Stars (2)
- F Oskar Back – Sweden – 2018 third round pick (75th)
- F Jason Robertson – United States – 2017 second round pick (39th)
Detroit Red Wings (4)
- D Jared McIsaac – Canada – 2018 second round pick (36th)
- F Joe Veleno – Canada – 2018 first round pick (30th)
- F Filip Zadina – Czech Republic – 2018 first round pick (6th)
- D Malte Setkov – Denmark – 2017 fourth round pick (100th)
Edmonton Oilers (3)
- D Evan Bouchard – Canada – 2018 first round pick (10th)
- D Dmitri Samorukov – Russia – 2017 third round pick (84th)
- D Phil Kemp – United States – 2017 seventh round pick (208th)
Florida Panthers (3)
- F Owen Tippett – Canada – 2017 first round pick (10th)
- F Aleski Heponiemi – Finland – 2017 second round pick (40th)
- F Grigori Denisenko – Russia – 2018 first round pick (15th)
Los Angeles Kings (5)
- D Markus Phillips – Canada – 2017 fourth round pick (118th)
- F Jared Anderson-Dolan – Canada – 2017 second round pick (41st)
- F Rasmus Kupari – Finland – 2018 first round pick (20th)
- F Johan Sodergran – Sweden – 2018 sixth round pick (165th)
- D Mikey Anderson – United States – 2017 fourth round pick (103rd)
Minnesota Wild (0)
- none
Montreal Canadiens (7)
- D Josh Brook – Canada – 2017 second round pick (56th)
- F Nick Suzuki – Canada – 2017 first round pick (13th) [acquired from Vegas in the Max Pacioretty trade]
- F Jesse Ylonen – Finland – 2018 second round pick (35th)
- D Alexander Romanov – Russia – 2018 second round pick (38th)
- F Jacob Olofsson – Sweden – 2018 second round pick (56th)
- G Cayden Primeau – United States – 2017 seventh round pick (199th)
- F Ryan Poehling – United States – 2017 first round pick (25th)
Nashville Predators (2)
- F Jachym Kondelik – Czech Republic – 2018 fourth round pick (111th)
- F Eeli Tolvanen – Finland – 2017 first round pick (30th)
New Jersey Devils (4)
- D Ty Smith – Canada – 2018 first round pick (17th)
- F Aarne Talvitie – Finland – 2017 sixth round pick (160th)
- F Fabian Zetterlund – Sweden – 2017 third round pick (63rd)
- G Akira Schmid – Switzerland – 2018 fifth round pick (136th)
New York Islanders (4)
- D Noah Dobson – Canada – 2018 first round pick (12th)
- G Jakub Skarek – Czech Republic – 2018 third round pick (72nd)
- F Logan Cockerill – United States – 2017 seventh round pick (201st)
- F Oliver Wahlstrom – United States – 2018 first round pick (11th)
New York Rangers (4)
- F Vitali Kravtsov – Russia – 2018 first round pick (9th)
- D Nils Lundqvist – Sweden – 2018 first round pick (28th)
- D Nico Gross – Switzerland – 2018 fourth round pick (101st)
- D K’Andre Miller – United States – 2018 first round pick (22nd)
Ottawa Senators (1)
- F Josh Norris – United States – 2017 first round pick (19th) [acquired from San Jose in the Erik Karlsson trade]
Philadelphia Flyers (7)
- F Morgan Frost – Canada – 2017 first round pick (27th)
- G Samuel Ersson – Sweden – 2018 fifth round pick (143rd)
- D Adam Ginning – Sweden – 2018 second round pick (50th)
- D Jack St. Ivany – United States – 2018 fourth round pick (112th)
- F Noah Cates – United States – 2017 fifth round pick (137th)
- F Joel Farabee – United States – 2018 first round pick (14th)
- F Jay O’Brien – United States – 2018 first round pick (19th)
Pittsburgh Penguins (1)
- F Filip Hallander – Sweden – 2018 second round pick (58th)
St. Louis Blues (1)
- F Klim Kostin – Russia – 2017 first round pick (31st)
San Jose Sharks (1)
- F Sasha Chmelevski – United States – 2017 sixth round pick (185th)
Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
- D Radim Salda – Czech Republic – 2018 seventh round pick (206th)
Toronto Maple Leafs (4)
- G Ian Scott – Canada – 2017 fourth round pick (110th)
- D Filip Kral – Czech Republic – 2018 fifth round pick (149th)
- D Rasmus Sandin – Sweden – 2018 first round pick (29th)
- F Pontus Holmberg – Sweden – 2018 sixth round pick (156th)
Vancouver Canucks (4)
- G Michael DiPietro – Canada – 2017 third round pick (64th)
- D Toni Utunen – Finland – 2018 fifth round pick (130th)
- D Quinn Hughes – United States – 2018 first round pick (7th)
- F Tyler Madden – United States – 2018 third round pick (68th)
Vegas Golden Knights (6)
- F Cody Glass – Canada – 2017 first round pick (6th)
- G Jiri Patera – Czech Republic – 2017 sixth round pick (161st)
- F Jonas Rondbjerg – Denmark – 2017 third round pick (65th)
- F Ivan Morozov – Russia – 2018 second round pick (61st)
- D Erik Brannstrom – Sweden – 2017 first round pick (15th)
- F Lucas Elvenes – Sweden – 2017 fifth round pick (127th)
Washington Capitals (2)
- D Alexander Alexeyev – Russia – 2018 first round pick (31st)
- D Martin Fehervary – Slovakia – 2018 second round pick (46th)
Winnipeg Jets (3)
- F Santeri Virtanen – Finland – 2017 fourth round pick (105th)
- F David Gustafsson – Sweden – 2018 second round pick (60th)
- D Dylan Samberg – United States – 2017 second round pick (43rd)