With Team USA set to defend their IIHF World Junior Championship title, it is a good time to check in on the nationality demographics in the NHL. About a year ago, I shared a similar analysis; this time, I am updating the data and adding some additional insights.
Nationalities of NHL players
The percentage of US-born players in the NHL is essentially flat compared to last season’s 29.2 percent, standing at 29.1 percent of the league. The percentage of Canadian players has dropped by half a percent, down to 41.1 percent of the league, which is the lowest of all time. While these figures may shift slightly due to injuries, call-ups, and other factors as the season progresses, the trends have been consistent for a while.
Another trend in the NHL is the diminishing number of Canadian goalies in the league. When isolating goalies, the reduction as a percentage is even more pronounced than among skaters.
Here is a look at the pure volume of players by nationality during the 2024-25 season to date:
Age distribution of NHL players by nationality
To delve deeper, I analyzed the nationalities of NHL players by birth year to see if any upcoming trends are emerging. For example, I compared the age distribution of US players in the NHL to their Canadian counterparts with the same birth year. Note that not all birth years are represented; I excluded birth years with fewer than 20 players in the league.
Consistent with last season’s analysis, this season’s NHL player data by birth year revealed no significant trends. The percentage of Canadian players by birth year fluctuates between 25 and 54 percent, while the percentage of US players ranges between 28 and 40 percent across birth years. The 18 percent of players in the “other” category for the 2004 birth year represents just five players, three of whom are Slovakian (Juraj Slafkovsky, Samuel Honzek, and Simon Nemec).
The growth of US representation in the NHL
As mentioned earlier, the number of US-born players in the NHL has been trending upward for a while. I also examined the birth states of US-born NHL players. Here is a look at the number of states represented by at least one NHL player during the season. This highlights how widely hockey has expanded geographically within the United States.
Note that the data shows a reduction in states season-over-season from 37 to 35. The number of states represented can only grow throughout the season, so it is possible and likely that the number of birth states represented during the 2024-25 season will return to 37.
I’ve long attributed the growing interest in hockey among Americans to three main events: 1) the Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympics, 2) Wayne Gretzky’s trade to the LA Kings, and 3) NHL expansion. While the first two are difficult to quantify definitively, the impact of NHL expansion aligns closely with growth in USA Hockey memberships by state over the years.
To illustrate this transformation, I compared maps of NHL players’ birth states from the 1990-91 season to the current 2024-25 season. The evidence of “southern expansion” becomes strikingly clear in this comparison.
Nationality breakdown by NHL team
As a fun bonus, here is a look at the nationality breakdown by current NHL team. For example, the Seattle Kraken roster is 61 percent Canadian and only 13 percent American. The team with the highest percentage of American players this season is the New York Rangers, at an impressive 50 percent.
If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions for further exploration, leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you!
With Team USA showcasing dominance in the IIHF World Junior Championship so far, a compelling narrative has emerged, highlighting the United States as a burgeoning hockey superpower. This shift challenges the traditional mindset, and we’re beginning to expect momentous victories from USA Hockey teams.
I have been consistently documenting the growth of USA Hockey, using it as a justification for NHL expansion into new markets. To visually represent the progression, it seems timely to share another data analysis on the prevalence of American hockey players in the NHL, showcasing the remarkable journey we’ve undergone.
Nationalities of NHL players
The number of US-born players in the NHL has reached an all-time high this season, at 29.3 percent of the league. In contrast, the percentage of Canadian players has dropped to 41.2 percent, the lowest of all time. It’s worth noting that these figures might undergo slight changes due to factors such as injuries, call-ups, and other scenarios between now and the end of the season, but this is a good look at how the countries are trending.
As the chart indicates, this trend has been going on for quite some time.
Here is a different way to look at the data, which makes clearer how many NHL players come from each nation in the 2023-24 season to date:
To delve deeper into the analysis, I also examined the nationalities of current NHL players based on their birth year to determine if there is any indication of an upcoming trend. For instance, I compared the age distribution of US players in the NHL to that of their Canadian counterparts with the same birth year.
In my opinion, there was nothing noteworthy when examining this year’s NHL players by birth year. Generally, the percentage of Canadians by birth year fluctuates randomly between 38 percent and 50 percent across the entire range of birth years. Similarly, the percentages of US players vary between 20 percent and 40 percent throughout the birth years.
The growth of US players in the NHL
As mentioned earlier, the number US-born players in the NHL has been trending up for a long time.
Digging a bit deeper on that, here is an overview of the birth states of US-born NHL players. The below visualization may not be perfect for illustrating the growth of some states, but it’s worth noting that the category labeled as “Other” now includes 95 players in the NHL this season. This category encompasses states with fewer than 10 players represented in the current season. That tells you some non-traditional markets have seen growth.
Another perspective to consider on the data is to observe the number of states being represented by at least one NHL player throughout the season.
Most analyses attribute the growing interest in hockey among Americans to three main themes: 1) the Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympics, 2) Wayne Gretzky being traded to the LA Kings, and 3) NHL expansion. While the first two are challenging to validate definitively, the impact of NHL expansion aligns with the growth in USA Hockey memberships by state over the years.
To illustrate this transformation, I compared a map of NHL players from the 1990-91 season to the current 2023-24 season. The discernible impact of “southern expansion” becomes rather evident in the comparison.
Nationality by team
As a fun bonus piece of content, here is a look at the nationality breakdown by NHL team this season. The Kraken are 48 percent Canadian and 23 percent American. The team with the highest percentage of American players is the New York Rangers at 50 percent.
If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions for further exploration, leave a comment below and I will get back to you.
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.
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.
National team rosters for the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship have started to emerge in recent days, and it seems the Seattle Kraken prospect pool will be well represented.
Here’s your preview of the upcoming holiday tournament with a focus on these players with local ties.
A World Juniors primer
The 2024 World Juniors will take place Dec. 26 – Jan. 5 in Gothenburg, Sweden. In the United States, World Juniors games will be broadcast on NHL Network.
For teams that hold selection camps before determining their final rosters, those typically begin about two weeks before the first game. Team USA’s camp opens on Dec. 14, for example. We may have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the players in exhibitions leading up to the tournament, which are sometimes available via online streams.
This year’s contest is the 48th edition of the World Juniors. It is the seventh time that Sweden will be the host. Team Canada enters the tournament as two-time defending champions, but in some corners, they are not considered the favorites in this year’s contest.
What is the big deal with the World Juniors?
Why do some hockey fans celebrate the WJC as the highlight of their hockey calendars? Put simply, it’s the best international hockey competition going. The NHL and other stakeholders are working to secure the return of adult best-on-best competitions in a “World Cup” format and at the Olympics, but those conversations have often led to disappointment in the past. In contrast, the World Juniors has endured.
How does the tournament work?
For the uninitiated, the World Juniors is a 10-nation men’s hockey tournament for under-20 players. A player still qualifies as “under-20” so long as his 20th birthday falls during the year of the tournament’s final game. (In other words, anyone born in 2004 or later is eligible for this 2024 tournament.) Teams can bring a roster of 23 players, plus two extra non-roster players in case a replacement becomes necessary.
The 10 teams are divided into two five-team groups in a “Preliminary Round.” This year, Group A includes Canada, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Latvia. Group B includes the United States, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Norway.
After a round-robin series, the top four teams from each group advance to the “Playoff Round.” The top four placed teams from the Preliminary Round will play a crossover quarterfinal game: 1A vs. 4B, 1B vs. 4A, 2A vs. 3B and 2B vs. 3A. Semifinals are then determined by ranking criteria, as described on the World Juniors website. Semifinal losers meet in a Bronze Medal game; winners meet in the Jan. 5, 2024, final.
The fifth-placed teams from the Preliminary Round square off in a “Relegation Round Series,” which is a best-of-three series. The winner remains at the WJC level for the 2025 World Juniors. The loser is relegated to 2025 World Championship Division I Group A–a parallel, lower-tier tournament. The winner at that level is elevated to play in the 2025 World Juniors.
You can find the full game schedule, including local broadcast times, here. Early notable games to circle include Finland squaring off with Canada at 5:30 am PT on Dec. 26, the United States and Czechia at 8:00 am PT on Dec. 29, Canada versus Sweden at 10:30 am PT on Dec. 29, the United States against Slovakia at 3:00 am PT on Dec. 31, and Sweden taking on Finland at 5:30 am PT on Dec. 31.
Team Canada
Teams are allowed to bring 25 players to the tournament itself, but some nations will invite more players to a pre-tournament camp in order to make final evaluations and prepare additional players in case of injury. Team Canada announced 30 camp invites on Dec. 5, including Kraken prospects Jagger Firkus, Carson Rehkopf, and Ty Nelson. Team Canada’s Selection Camp opens on Dec. 10.
With five cuts yet to come, let’s take a look at the players with local Seattle ties who are likely to be on or off the Canadian roster.
Very likely in: Jagger Firkus
Firkus, 19, is a right-shot winger, drafted by Seattle at No. 35 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. After two seasons averaging more than a point per game, Firkus has taken his play to the next level this year for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL. Firkus is in the top three in the WHL in goals and points, having delivered a litany of highlight-reel plays for the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Jagger Firkus (SEA) was my pick for WHL Player of the Year this season
Last week Kraken coach Dave Hakstol was asked about Firkus and intimated that Firkus the forward entered the year with the goal of making the Canadian World Juniors Team. When asked about Firkus’s progress, Hakstol said: “The lasting [impression of Firkus] for me is improvement from one year to the next. You see that from training camp to training camp. Going back this year to Moose Jaw and having the opportunity to be a premiere player, he’s taken advantage of that.”
Firkus has the full offensive skill set to be a difference maker at the junior level: instincts, vision, stick skills, and a heavy, accurate shot that he can manipulate at will. His defensive game is not quite as advanced, but he is sound positionally and has skated as one of Moose Jaw’s top penalty killers for a while now.
His limitations relate to his size–and lack of high-end speed for his size. While sturdier competition at the professional level may be able to take Firkus out of a play, I don’t expect that to be much of an issue for Firkus at the World Juniors.
Both Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic project Firkus on the final roster and playing in a middle-six role. When the World Juniors roles around, a disproportionate amount of my focus will be on Firkus and the next player on this list.
Very likely in: Carson Rehkopf
Rehkopf, 18, is a left-shot winger drafted by the Kraken No. 50 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. Similar to Firkus, Rehkopf has taken a leap forward in his junior level production this year with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL. He currently leads the OHL in both goals and points.
This production moved up Rehkopf’s timeline for World Juniors consideration. Typically, the tournament is dominated by 19-year-old players. 70 percent of the players on Team Canada’s 30-man roster are in their age 19 season. Rehkopf is among the minority of underage players with a chance to take the ice in Gothenburg.
So what does Rehkopf bring? Unlike many of Canada’s forwards, Rehkopf brings a bigger frame (6-foot-2, 194 pounds) that can hold up along the walls and at the net front. That said, Rehkopf is also a highly skilled player. He has a heavy, accurate wrist shot that jumps off his stick with ease. This year, he has taken leaps forward in his playmaking ability and skating to free himself on cycles and breakaways. As a result, there are few holes in his offensive game at the moment.
While Rehkopf has been a center for Kitchener, he is still developing as a two-way player and brings little value on the face-off dot. So Team Canada would likely use him on the wing.
Though Wheeler and Pronman were divided on the topic earlier in the fall, now both agree that Rehkopf will make Team Canada’s roster and will play. Given his unique traits, I too think he has a strong chance to make it.
Toss-up: Ty Nelson
The blue line may see the most competition at Team Canada camp. Hockey Canada invited 10 defensemen to camp, which suggests there may be two (or more) cuts from this group.
Ty Nelson, 19, was a third-round Kraken draft choice, No. 68 overall, in 2022. Nelson is a stout, physical player who defends well and wins board battles at the junior level. He has some risk-taking tendencies as a puck-mover, but that’s because he trusts his skill. He’s an asset on the power play working either from the point or the left circle in two-defensemen formations, where he deploys his dangerous one-timer.
His prospects to make the team likely hinge on how much offense and power play production Team Canada believes it needs from the lower-half of its blue-line depth chart. Right now, Scott Wheeler has Nelson on the team and playing, while Corey Pronman has Nelson missing the 25-man cut. Nelson’s prospects are probably 50-50 at this point.
Out: David Goyette
Kraken prospect David Goyette was included in a larger group of players invited to Team Canada orientation meetings over the summer, but he did not make the cut of top-30 players for camp. This was certainly a disappointment for Goyette, who is in his last year of age eligibility and pushed his production in the CHL even higher this season.
Goyette faced staunch competition for a spot as Canada is flush with smaller, playmaking top-nine forwards, and Goyette does not bring a fourth-line checking profile or true high-end center skills. Unfortunately for Goyette, Hockey Canada preferred players like Firkus.
Goyette is not the only player of his profile left home. Bradly Nadeau and Andrew Cristall, just to name two, are both smaller, high-end scorers also left off the roster.
Out: Shane Wright
Believe it or not, even after his leading role as captain of the 2023 World Juniors team, Wright remains eligible for the 2024 team due to his January, 2004, birthday. Given a dearth of true center depth, Team Canada would surely have loved to have the captain return. However, the Kraken are not making Wright available this year. And, to be honest, we’d be surprised if Wright were interested in going. He won a gold medal last year, and his focus is on getting his professional career on track.
Wright joins a star-studded list of eligible-but-absent Canadian forwards, including Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli. For many, these lineup holes drop Team Canada to either second or third in the World Juniors power rankings.
(Bonus) Very likely in: Scott Ratzlaff
Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Scott Ratzlaff has a strong chance to make Team Canada’s 25-man roster, at least as the third goaltender. Both Pronman and Wheeler project Ratzlaff to beat out Samuel St.-Hillare for this role. Losing Ratzlaff for a month would be a tough blow for the Thunderbirds, but it would mark back-to-back years a Thunderbirds netminder has made Team Canada at the World Juniors. Former Thunderbirds goalie Thomas Milic emerged as the primary goaltender for the 2023 gold medal team.
Team Sweden
Team Sweden announced its 23-man roster for the World Juniors on Wednesday. This group isn’t subject to any further paring during a pre-tournament camp; it’s the team Sweden will bring to Gothenburg. One Kraken prospect is on the list.
In: Zeb Forsfjäll
Forsfjäll, 18, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Kraken in 2023. The small, left-shot center has played much of the last two seasons for Skellefteå AIK of the SHL–the highest-level professional league in Sweden.
His game is “hard to play against,” and he has filled a checking role for AIK. While Forsfjäll has only logged somewhere around 10:00 time on ice per game and accumulated only three goals in 39 total SHL games, AIK has kept him active since his arrival, which speaks to the value of Forsfjäll’s worth ethic and tenacious play.
I got a chance to watch Forsfjäll closely at the World Junior Summer Showcase in July, and I saw a highly mobile, defense-first centerman who was not only relentless in his puck pursuit but skilled in navigating the neutral zone with the puck on his stick. He brought energy and defensive talent to the penalty kill as well.
At the time, I said I “highly doubted” that Forsfjäll would make this year’s talent-laden World Juniors team as an 18-year-old. Clearly, his play convinced the Swedish leadership otherwise.
It remains to be seen whether Forsfjäll will be active or a scratch when the puck drops on Dec. 26. Forsfjäll is eligible for the 2025 tournament, and it is possible he is included with this year’s team to prepare him for an active role next year.
For his part, prospect analyst Chris Peters (a very good friend of the Sound of Hockey Podcast) was not surprised Forsfjäll made the team. Peters mentioned on his most recent Talking Hockey Sense podcast that Forsfjäll is highly regarded in Sweden for his work ethic. Peters projects Forsfjäll to play a fourth-line role.
Team Finland
Team Finland’s roster has not yet been disclosed, but it is widely expected two Kraken prospects will play prominent roles.
Very likely in: Jani Nyman
Nyman, 19, was a Kraken second-round pick in 2022, No. 49 overall. He’s a hulking six-foot-four, 207-pound left-shot winger who uses his physicality well both on and off the puck, but is most notable for his heavy shot. I’ve written a fair amount about Nyman recently. For more information go here and here.
Nyman has played the last two years for Ilves in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league. He has moved into a top-six role this season and has responded with impressive production. His 14 goals lead Liiga.
He played in the 2023 World Juniors, tallying two goals and an assist in five games. This year, most public prognosticators project Nyman as Finland’s top-line left wing.
If Finland is going to factor into the medal conversation at the 2024 World Juniors, it will likely be because Nyman has delivered offensively.
Very likely in: Niklas Kokko
The other reason Finland could succeed at the 2024 World Juniors? Another 2022 Kraken second-round pick–goaltender Niklas Kokko. Finland brought Kokko, 19, to the 2023 World Juniors as an underage player. Though he did not play, this suggested that he was viewed as the favorite to take the mantle for the 2024 team.
In the year since then, Kokko has done nothing but confirm Team Finland’s confidence in him and appears poised to be the primary goaltender. In Liiga play, Kokko has started 10 games for Kärpät. He began the season as the clear-cut backup but earned more playing time as the year has progressed with strong play. His .906 save percentage is tied for ninth in Liiga, and he is one of only two teenage Liiga goalies with 10 or more starts. (He has plainly outperformed the other, Noa Vali, who has an .881 save percentage.)
In international play, Kokko has started six games for Finland so far this season, a figure unsurpassed by any other Finnish goalie. And this total does not count his exhibition starts as the lead goaltender for Team Finland at the World Junior Summer Showcase in July.
Speaking of the World Junior Summer Showcase, that event pitted Kokko against Team Sweden and Team USA–two teams commonly referenced as favorites to win the World Juniors. And I thought Kokko was either the best or second-best player for Team Finland in attendance. He plays a calm and disciplined Finnish butterfly style. Over the summer it worked really well keeping his team in the game when Finland was often outgunned.
The question is, can Kokko steal Finland a game or two in Gothenburg? If so, “the Young Lions” will have a chance.
Likely out: Visa Vedenpää
Goalie Visa Vedenpää was Seattle’s sixth-round pick in 2023. While it is possible that Team Finland brings along Vedenpää, 18, as an inactive third goalie akin to how it brought Kokko along as an underager last year, it is more likely Vedenpää misses the cut entirely. The sense I get is that Vedenpää is not quite as high on Team Finland’s depth chart as Kokko was last year. I haven’t seen any public prognosticators projecting him onto the team.
Vedenpää has had a solid season for the Kärpät U20 team and has taken several turns in goal for Finland’s international U20 team this season, including at the World Junior Summer Showcase. He has a chance to be in the mix for the 2025 team.
Team Czechia
Last but not least is the reigning silver medalist, Team Czechia. Like Finland, Czechia has not yet announced its roster, but we expect a Kraken prospect to be on there when it does.
Very likely in: Eduard Šalé
Sale, 18, was Seattle’s first-round pick in 2023 at No. 20 overall. Sale is a left-shot winger who spent his draft season playing for HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga, Czechia’s top professional league.
This year he has moved to the OHL, where he plays for the Barrie Colts. His transition to North American hockey has not been without speed bumps, but he has still compiled a respectable total of seven goals and 14 assists in 25 games.
While Sale is just 18 and remains eligible for the 2025 World Juniors, he has already played–and played well–on this top junior stage. He played for Czechia’s 2023 silver medal team and delivered an impressive total of six points in seven games.
Sale’s game is built on skating, puck handling, and playmaking. He’s a skilled shooter too, with great natural tools, but he is still developing that aspect of his game. On the downside, he is at times criticized for his lack of engagement defensively and in physical play.
The World Juniors will be a great opportunity to check in on Sale because he has excelled in international play in the past. Similar to Nyman and Kokko for Team Finland, production from Sale is a big key for Team Czechia if it has any hopes of taking home a medal for a second consecutive year.
Curtis Isacke
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
The 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship began on Sunday and will continue over the next week. Among the many eyes on the tournament are the eyes of the Seattle Kraken who have two prospects competing.
The most notable prospect is first-round pick Matty Beniers who is an alternate captain with Team USA, but Seattle also will be watching fourth-round pick Ville Ottavainen who is playing for Team Finland.
There might be some Kraken players tuning in as well, as 14 current players at one time represented their countries at the World Junior Championship.
Jordan Eberle represented Canada twice, first in 2009 when he won gold, and then again in 2010, when Canada earned silver.
“As a Canadian kid I grew up watching the World Juniors,” Eberle said. “I still love watching it, to me it’s some of the most exciting hockey. It’s passionate and you watch these kids going and flying around there… for me it’s a Christmas tradition since I’ve been a kid. I always dreamed of playing in it and obviously got to live that.”
Eberle isn’t alone. Joonas Donskoi played twice for his home country Finland and put up some points. He played 13 games over the two tournaments and scored five goals and 11 points.
“I was in World Juniors twice and have a lot of good memories,” Donskoi said. “I think for a young player that’s probably the biggest stage then you can play on and obviously getting ready for NHL draft too for a lot of those guys. There’s a lot of scouts and everything so a lot of good memories.”
Donskoi came off the ice after practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex Monday and was aware that Finland had just completed a 7-1 win against Austria. He said that he tries to watch as much as his hockey schedule and newborn baby allow him to.
Eberle’s magic moment
Of all the Kraken players who made an appearance at the World Juniors, none come close to matching Eberle’s moment in the 2009 tournament. His Canadian team trailed Russia 5-4 in the semifinals and time was winding down.
Canada pulled the goalie for an extra attacker and Eberle was able to find the puck in front of the net and score a backhand goal to tie the game with 5.4 seconds left. The Canadians would go on to win in the shootout – and yes, Eberle converted in the shootout – and then ultimately take home the gold medal.
Eberle scored six goals for Canada that tournament, but the one that tied the game with Russia was the biggest. It’s a goal that inspired a generation of Canadian stars that followed.
Last year, Minnesota Wild prospect Adam Beckman was invited to a stacked Team Canada World Junior camp to try and crack the roster. He had been playing for the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs and had no trouble recalling his favorite World Juniors moment.
“I have quite a few memories,” Beckman said. “The most excited I’ve ever been is Canada playing Russia in the (2009) semifinal. They were down with like 20 seconds and Jordan Eberle had the puck and ripped a backhand. They ended up winning in the shootout.”
Despite leading the WHL in scoring the season prior, Beckman, who was a second-round pick, was sent home.
Beckman isn’t alone. Ask any prospective young Canadian player and they’ll fondly remember watching that game and that moment, inspiring dreams of becoming the next national hero.
“I think at this point it’s certainly made me feel old,” Eberle said when asked about younger players remembering his goal. “When they say that, I kind of get goosebumps, and that’s their childhood memory. It kind of makes me laugh a bit and ages me but at least it’s a very fond memory.”
The World Juniors are being held in Red Deer and Edmonton this year. Last year they were played in the Edmonton bubble with no fans and this year are facing reduced capacity in both cities for COVID precautions.
While we may see another Eberle like moment in this year’s World Juniors, it won’t come with the same noise level of his big goal.
“It’s just a shame that obviously there’s not full capacity the last couple years and they don’t get that experience that I had with the Canadian crowd behind them,” Eberle said. “But nonetheless, it’s a great tournament to watch.”
All of the 2022 World Junior games will be carried live on the NHL Network.
The IIHF World Junior Championship kicks off this week as the best players under 20 years old across 10 countries take the ice in Alberta for a two-week tournament. It is the pinnacle of hockey for this age group and quite literally will put the NHL’s future on full display.
I took a deep dive through the rosters to provide more context on 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 106 NHL-drafted players in the tournament this year, with 28 of those players selected in the first round. For comparison, last year there were 114 players drafted with 44 of them being first round draft picks.
As usual, Canada and the US have the highest number of NHL-drafted players on their teams, but this year Sweden is tied with the US for the second-most drafted players.
Last year Canada had 24 drafted players, USA had 23, and Sweden had 18.
World Junior players by NHL team
Carolina leads all NHL teams with 10 prospects in this tournament, followed by Detroit with eight. The Seattle Kraken have two drafted prospects playing in this year’s tournament, in Matty Beniers (USA) and Ville Ottavainen (Finland).
Only the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lighting have zero prospects playing in the 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 playing.
Canada versus USA
I always enjoy looking at the contrast of the roster mix of the Canadian and US teams because it 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.
Here is a breakdown by CHL league and NCAA conference.
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 comment section or connect with me on twitter.
