The Pittsburgh Penguins have seen 99 drafted prospects participate at the World Juniors. Who has had some of the best tournaments?
According to Elite Prospects, 99 Pittsburgh Penguins prospects have participated in the World Juniors Championship.
This year, the organization has three prospects participating in the event in Ottawa, ON: Tanner Howe, Kalle Kangas, and Emil Pieniniemi.
Moreover, the last Penguins prospect to win a gold medal is Calen Addison, who helped Canada to the top in 2020.
Interestingly, he is one of four players to win gold while representing Pittsburgh since 2009, joining Valterri Puustinen, Kasper Björjqvist, and Kasperi Kapanen, as no one from the organization won a gold medal from 2010 to 2015.
Historically, some of the tournament's best performances belong to Penguins prospects, so let's see how good those tournament runs were.
Most Career World Juniors Points: Markus Näslund (34)
Pittsburgh drafted Markus Näslund with the 16th overall pick in the 1991 Draft. During his two World Juniors appearances, he won back-to-back silver medals in 1992 and 1993, scoring 21 goals and 34 points in 14 games.
Moreover, Näslund collected 45 penalty minutes while averaging 2.43 points per game. At his tournament debut in 1992, he scored eight goals and ten points in seven games, and he followed up that performance with 13 lamplighters and 24 points in seven games the following year.
Best Career World Juniors Points Per Game: Jaromir Jagr (2.57)
As good as Näslund's performances were, Jaromir Jagr only played at the World Juniors once, in 1990, collecting 18 points in seven games thanks to five goals and 13 assists. That year, he averaged 2.57 points per game, making him one of two Penguins prospects, the other Näslund, to have an average higher than 2.00 at the tournament.
Penguins Prospects With World Juniors Gold
As one of the most gifted hockey players, Sidney Crosby is one of 18 Penguins prospects to win a gold medal at the World Juniors. However, considering he played at the 2004 and 2005 events, it is shocking that he won only one.
Here's a rundown of Pittsburgh prospects who won gold at the tournament:
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Best Performance by a Goalie: Tomas Duba (7-0-0)
The Penguins have seen 11 goalie prospects skate at the World Juniors, with Marc-Andre Fleury, Filip Gustavsson, and Joel Blomqvist being the big names.
Regarding top performances, Tomas Duba, a Pittsburgh seventh-round pick (217th overall) from the 2001 Draft, takes the honors.
In seven games, Duba was a perfect 7-0-0, winning the gold medal for Czechia in 2001. He posted two shutouts and gave up eight goals for a 1.14 GAA and .947 SV%, top marks for any Penguins goalies in tournament history.
Meanwhile, Fleury is the only prospect to play in ten games. He skated at the 2003 and 2004 events, earning an 8-2-0 record with a 1.70 GAA and .923 SV%. Despite backing Canada to the final each year, he won two silver medals.
Considering the Penguins have three prospects at the 2025 World Juniors, can they make a difference for their respective countries and add their names to the list of gold medal winners?
