The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship kicked off Tuesday, and I thought it would be a good time for another Data Dump to see how this year’s rosters are constructed. For those that don’t know, the WJC is a best-on-best tournament for under-20-year-olds across 10 countries. The tournament is in Gothenburg, Sweden, and will run through Jan. 5.

This should help you understand how these teams are built and who you might want to keep an eye on in this year’s tournament. Enjoy.

Drafted World Junior players

There are 98 NHL-drafted players in the tournament this year, with most of those selected in the first round.

Team USA has the most drafted players on the roster with 21. Sweden is just behind them with 20. The United States and Sweden are considered favorites in this year’s tournament, but you can never count Team Canada, which has 19 drafted players on its roster. Canada also has Macklin Celebrini, who is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft.

World Junior players by NHL team

The Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, and Arizona Coyotes have the most drafted players in this tournament with seven. The Seattle Kraken have six players in the tournament, the most they have sent to any one WJC tournament. Seattle had just three prospects in last year’s tournament.

The Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche are the only two NHL teams with no prospects in this year’s tournament.

Here is a detailed breakdown with all drafted players, separated by NHL team.

Roster breakdown by league

Next, let us look at what are the most common leagues in which these players are currently competing.

This seems like a particularly big year for NCAA players represented in the tournament with 31 players, although if you combine the three CHL leagues into one, there are still 60 players from Canada’s top junior league in this WJC.

Average age

Here is a look at the age distribution by team.

Canada versus USA

One thing that doesn’t change much from year to year is the roster mix of the Canadian and American teams, which showcases each country’s hockey development approach. Team Canada tends to select most of its players from major junior/CHL hockey, while Team USA leans heavily on the NCAA.

You can catch most of the games starting very early on NHL Network. The TV schedule can be found here.

I hope this gives you a deeper understanding of the rosters in this year’s tournament. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments section.