It’s really blowing to be a hockey fan right now. With barely remnants of NHL hockey – including the depressing defeat of our Minnesota Wild against Dallas stars because one of the few matches that was actually played recently – and players backing out of the Olympics with lowered heads, just nothing happens. All we can enjoy is mixing around with our feet and seeing some holiday deals, instead of watching our favorite team look up Arizona Coyotes or something like that.

Thank goodness we have it World juniors.

The winter tournament between the 10 Nations of Teens to decide which NHL prospects are really the best, has started with their preliminary matches – the ones that have not been canceled – earlier and the actual tournament starting on December 26th. hockey boredom is not enough Wild are well represented this year with six players among five different teams. Let’s take a look at some of the future prospects.

Carson Lambos, Canada

It’s always good to have a future blueliner on Team Canada, because the whole hockey world in the north will probably remember his name for decades if he makes a strong enough performance. They are freaks for this shit up there and Lambos will most likely be in Canada’s top four right-backs, even as a left-handed defender.

Canada decided to only take leftists when it comes to defenders, which supports my personal bias that handset is far too much. It does matter, but choosing to take the best group of blueliners instead of trying to force some proper left-right pairings is something that’s just nice to see.

Hopefully, Lambos will excel on the big stage and that will make him a strong impression when he visits Minnesota’s training camp later this fall.

Ryan O’Rourke, Canada

The older of the two Canadian blueliners, O’Rourke will play more of a shutdown role and was on the bottom pair against the Russian team in the show on Thursday. While it certainly is not the flashy defender we are used to seeing in this tournament – Calen Addison was a highlight recently – O’Rourke can stabilize the team and suppress some of the other talented forwards in the tournament.

Since he loves to hit, I just hope he’s not the perpetrator of the seemingly annual Defenseman hits a talented striker in the head and everyone hates them now.

Jesper Wallstedt, Sweden

Jesper is without a doubt the best goalkeeper in the tournament. Sure, Sebastian Cossa – who was taken before him in 2021 NHL draft – has a strong thing and some other guys can compete. But Wallstedt has already played among men at a historic pace and is about to become Sweden’s next stabilizing force between the pipes. While Marat Khusnutdinov may be the most talented skater among Wild prospects in the tournament, Wallstedt really has the highest ceiling and will get his fair share of the limelight.

he shall start the majority of Sweden’s games that matter, and hopefully he can get an individual prize or two.

Jack Peart, USA

A late call, Jack Peart was not supposed to be on the US list, but with some players quarantined, his number was called and he rushed up to Alberta to join in the fun. The second rounder of 2021 is a Minnesota boy and models his game after our own Jared Spurgeon, so this will be fun.

He is a firecracker when it comes to entering the zone and can skate quite well for a player who is just starting to get the college game under his feet. In addition, it is pronounced “PEE-ert” and I have said it wrong since he was drafted.

Marat Khusnutdinov, Russia

His name has already been mentioned, but Khusnutdinov is a complete breed. The undersized but dynamic center will be on Russia’s top line and against Canada in the show campaign, he had the 2023 wonderkid Matvei Michkov on his wing. Khusnutdinov is already being praised for how well-rounded he looks, and it has really been his whole game already, so it will be wonderful to see him play.

We are familiar enough with this view, but the Russian teenager has just resumed his KHL team and will play there until 2024. Not the best case scenario, but he will be a player worth the wait and will probably suddenly be Wild’s. second best center almost immediately, if nothing changes.

Our blog will have constant Khusnutdinov highlights ready for you all.

Pavel Novak, Czech Republic

And last, and probably most forgotten, Pavel Novak will play on the edge for the Czech Republic. Not one of the strong contenders for this tournament, but Novak has well deserved his place when he played in the WHL this season and can be one of their handful of offensive sparks this tournament. He can certainly surprise, and it’s a tournament made for 19-year-olds, so who knows, but we’ll check him out every now and then.

Schedule

Now that you’re familiar with all the Wild prospects that will be in the tournament, let’s check out the games they will be playing in. All games are available on the NHL Network in the United States, or TSN in Canada. The times are CST.

December 26

Russia (Khusnutdinov) against Sweden (Wallstedt) – 3:30 PM

Czech Republic (Novak) against Canada (Lambos, O’Rourke) – 18:00

United States (Peart) vs. Slovakia – 20:30

December 27th

Russia (Khusnutdinov) vs. Switzerland – 15:30

Germany vs Czech Republic (Novak) – 18:00

Sweden (Wallstedt) vs. Slovakia – 20:30

December 28th

Switzerland vs USA (Peart) – 3:30 PM

Austria vs Canada (Lambos, O’Rourke) – 18:00

December 29

Finland vs Czech Republic (Novak) – 13:00

Slovakia vs Russia (Khusnutdinov) – 3:30 PM

Canada (Lambos, O’Rourke) vs. Germany – 18:00

Sweden (Wallstedt) against the United States (Peart) – 20.30

December 30th

Czech Republic (Novak) vs. Austria – 15:30

December 31st

Switzerland vs Sweden (Wallstedt) – 3:30 PM

Canada (Lambos, O’Rourke) vs. Finland – 18:00

United States (Peart) against Russia (Khusnutdinov) – 20.30

January 1-5

Elimination and medal rounds