World Juniors: Standout Performer From Each NHL Team in the East

With an exciting 2023 world juniors in the books, Tony Ferrari looks at a prospect from each Eastern Conference NHL team who stood out most at the tournament.

The World Junior Championship ended with the Canadians winning their back-to-back gold after beating Czechia in overtime. The Americans collected the bronze after a thrilling 8-7 overtime win against Sweden.

One of the best parts of the world juniors for NHL fans is seeing your favorite team’s top prospects performing on the world stage against the best competition from their age group. Let’s take a look back at some of the standouts for each Eastern Conference NHL club (aside from Toronto and Pittsburgh who had no players participate at the world juniors).

While the Bruins expected Lysell to be their top prospect at the WJC, Dans Locmelis stood out the most. The top center on Latvia’s team was their top goal-scorer and best offensive player. He scored in both games of the relegation round and against Switzerland, adding Latvia’s only shootout goal against the Swiss as well. He showed good instincts and excellent shiftiness in the offensive zone to open up space for himself. He could return to the tournament next season.

The leading scorer of the silver medallists will head back to the Rochester Americans fresh off an outstanding performance at the world juniors. Kulich came up huge in every big moment for the Czechs. He scored in overtime against Sweden in the semifinal and got Czechia on the board against Canada to queue the comeback attempt in the gold medal game. Kulich is one heck of an offensive player. He uses his speed and slippery skill to work himself out of puck battles with possession and attack high-danger areas. His seven goals were tied for second behind only Connor Bedard.

The Canes always have some prospects at the annual U-20 championship, but it was one of their less heralded players that stood out throughout the tournament. Jackson Blake was one of the United States’ most impactful secondary scorers. He got to the dirty areas with regularity. Blake was the hardworking winger on the team’s second line, complimenting Chaz Lucius and Rutger McGroarty quite well. He was also the victim of a close no-goal call in the semifinal against Canada. Overall, the Canes prospect exceeded expectations.

The captain of the strongest Czech team in a generation was fantastic at the world juniors. He used all of his tools at both ends of the ice. His eight points in seven games were the third-highest total amongst blueliners. Only Jiri Kulich outscored him on the team. Svozil played a smart two-way game and played significant minutes throughout the tournament. Fellow Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek was named to the tournament all-star team, but Svozil would have also been a great choice.

The Americans needed someone to be their play driver on the third line, and Savage took on that responsibility to a high degree of success. Savage plays an intelligent and hardworking game that blends surprising bits of skill with a high-end work ethic. His six points were a nice dose of secondary scoring for a U.S. squad that heavily relied upon their top players to score.

The top-scoring defender at the world juniors was named to the tournament’s all-star team. He has six points in 25 games with Sodertalje in the Allsvenskan but managed 10 in his seven-game stint at the WJC. He tied for the lead in scoring for the Swedes with Filip Bystedt, scoring a few memorable goals along the way, including a beautiful overtime winner against Czechia in the round-robin. The offensive pop may be a bit of an aberration, but Jansson had a fantastic tournament.

After losing to Czechia in Canada’s first game, Joshua Roy moved up to the top line with Connor Bedard and Logan Stankoven. The move couldn’t have been more perfect. Roy isn’t going to drive a line, but he compliments high-skill players well. He’s a great passer and good finisher who is content to allow his linemates to be the primary puck carriers and creators. He uses his offensive tools to facilitate play and let his teammates play to their ability.

The Slovaks were one of the tournament’s most intriguing and surprising teams. Nemec played a big part of that offensively at a point-per-game pace while showing some solid defensive tendencies. He embraced the Slovaks’ physical personality and got in on the action, using his frame to battle in front of the net and punish opponents. He helped the Slovaks push Canada to the brink in the quarterfinal in a game that felt like it could go either way.

Odelius didn’t quite have a tournament to remember, but he was the Islanders’ only prospect at the event. Odelius has the skill and skating ability to play a strong two-way game but was limited in his deployment and was even the seventh defender for a stretch. Next year’s tournament will be when he makes a legitimate impact.

The Rangers had a few players stand out from the world juniors, from Brennan Othmann to Adam Sykora. Chmelar that stood out from the crop. The Czech winger tended to play around the net and generate chances from in tight, win board battles and move the puck to teammates from the wall. Even when Chmelar wasn’t finding the scoresheet, he was very noticeable on the ice for making the right play at any given moment.

The Senators’ 10th overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft was their big focus of the tournament, and he showcased his game quite well. He was a solid finisher around the crease, scoring three goals, all from in tight. Boucher did find himself in the penalty box four times, but the physical winger’s game lends itself to that at the international level. He didn’t have a dominant tournament by any means, but he was solid in what he does.

The American winger was one of the team’s best players. His blend of power and offensive IQ were a welcome addition to the squad. He was a weapon on the power play as a shooter and put his playmaking ability on display throughout the tournament. He was a bit slow to find the back of the net but did score four goals in the three games after the round-robin. Gauthier has a great shot and loves to crash the crease. He’s a very Flyers-esque player.

Duke was a nice, hard-working piece of the bottom six for the Americans as they captured the bronze medal. His work ethic and net-front play were strong throughout the tournament. He has been a staple in the American program, playing at the U-17 and U-18s despite never truly being an offensive difference maker, thriving on playing the game right in the bottom six.

The Americans didn’t have many defenders who specialized in defensive play, so Chesley had a chance to fill that role. Unfortunately, he played some of the fewest minutes on the U.S. blueline. Chesley is a smart and mobile blueliner who acted as a safety blanket for the U.S. defenders that played more offensively when he was on the ice. He should have a chance to play a bigger role next year.