The World Junior Championships are always one of the most fun times of the year in the hockey world, especially for fans who like to follow NHL prospects. The annual tournament is full of the best young players in the sport, so it’s the best chance each year to check in on the future stars of the league facing each other.
USA vs. Sweden is the must-watch World Juniors game for NHL prospect fans
It’s not the gold medal game, but this semifinal is loaded with potential NHL stars.
Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images
This year’s tournament has been no different, and it’ll be highlighted Thursday by the semifinal matchup between the United States and Sweden. While it’s not the gold medal game that will decide who leaves Buffalo as champion, it will be the must-watch game for NHL fans who want to see as many elite prospects as possible.
Team USA may be the team with more familiar faces to American viewers at home, but the Swedish team is not to be underestimated in terms of star power. Even in a tournament with talented groups from Canada, Russia, Finland, and the Czech Republic, this is the game NHL fans will want to tune into. Here’s why, along with a full breakdown of the prospects in USA-Sweden by NHL rights.
The Rasmus Dahlin show
The big name at the top of Sweden’s roster is defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, a wunderkind defenseman who is considered the consensus lock to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft.
Dahlin is a wizard with the puck, and one of the most gifted young blue liners to ever grace the sport. Searching for comparable players to the 17-year-old (yes, he’s still just 17) is a fruitless endeavor because there really hasn’t been anyone like him. He made last year’s Swedish WJC team at age 16, and at this year’s tournament, he’s seemingly cemented his place as the upcoming No. 1 pick.
The defenseman has five assists in five games, and while he hasn’t scored a goal yet, he leads Sweden with 22 shots on goal. No blue liner has more assists in the tournament, and only Czech Republic’s Libor Hajek, a 2016 second-round pick by Tampa Bay, has more points.
Even on a defense with very good prospects like Timothy Liljegren and Erik Brannstrom, Dahlin immediately stands out.
So if you want to see that kind of talent right now, you should watch this game. Dahlin is going to be the Next Big Thing in hockey.
A showdown of elite forward prospects
A defenseman might be the biggest star of this game, but otherwise, this game should feature some ridiculously good forward play. Both teams have some of the best forward prospects in all of hockey, so the chances should be flying in both directions with the amount of speed and skill on the ice.
For the Americans, the big names to lead the way are Casey Mittelstadt, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 draft, and Brady Tkachuk, who is emerging as a likely top-five pick this year with his stellar play in Buffalo. Mittelstadt leads all players in the tournament with 10 points, while Tkachuk is tied for third with seven. Those two could be in the NHL a year from now.
They will be joined by the likes of Kieffer Bellows, Kailer Yamamoto, Joey Anderson, Josh Norris, and potentially Logan Brown if he’s ready to return from injury. It’s a ton of talent up front — Bellows leads the tournament with six goals, for example — but Sweden should actually be able to go toe to toe.
The main reason for that is the top trio of Alexander Nylander, Elias Pettersson, and Lias Andersson, who have combined to score 10 of the team’s 23 goals so far. All three were top-10 picks — Nylander in 2016, Pettersson and Andersson in 2017 — and they’ve lived up to the billing in Buffalo so far.
The Americans will have their hands full trying to stop that trio, which is as good as any threesome they’ll face.
A potential Team USA Olympic goalie audition
The men’s roster announced by USA Hockey for the 2018 Winter Olympics doesn’t include anyone from this World Juniors team, but there could be a late addition from the trio of goaltenders. The team still needs to add two more goalies to its roster for Pyeongchang, and according to reports, WJC netminders Joseph Woll and Jake Oettinger are in the mix.
Those two have split time in this tournament to mixed success. Oettinger has a .907 save percentage in two games, while Woll has a .883 save percentage in three games. Still, if one of them finishes strong over the next couple games, that could factor into who USA Hockey decides to bring to the Olympics to back up Ryan Zapolski. It’d be an impressive feat for either player.
Complete prospect breakdown for USA vs. Sweden
For full WJC rosters and NHL affiliations, click here.
2018 NHL Draft prospects
Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk
Team USA defenseman Quinn Hughes
Team USA defenseman Scott Perunovich
Sweden forward Isac Lundestrom
Sweden defenseman Rasmus Dahlin
Anaheim Ducks
Team USA forward Max Jones
Sweden goaltender Olle Eriksson Ek
Boston Bruins
Team USA forward Trent Frederic
Team USA defenseman Ryan Lindgren
Team USA goaltender Jeremy Swayman
Sweden forward Oskar Steen
Buffalo Sabres
Team USA forward Casey Mittelstadt
Sweden forward Marcus Davidsson
Sweden forward Alexander Nylander
Calgary Flames
Team USA defenseman Adam Fox
Sweden forward Linus Lindstrom
Chicago Blackhawks
Sweden forward Tim Soderlund
Columbus Blue Jackets
Team USA defenseman Andrew Peeke
Dallas Stars
Team USA forward Riley Tufte
Team USA goaltender Jake Oettinger
Sweden forward Fredrik Karlstrom
Detroit Red Wings
Sweden defenseman Gustav Lindstrom
Sweden goaltender Filip Larsson
Edmonton Oilers
Team USA forward Kailer Yamamoto
Los Angeles Kings
Team USA defenseman Mikey Anderson
Sweden defenseman Jacob Moverare
Montreal Canadiens
Team USA forward Ryan Poehling
Nashville Predators
Team USA forward Patrick Harper
New York Islanders
Team USA forward Kieffer Bellows
New York Rangers
Team USA forward Lias Andersson
New Jersey Devils
Team USA forward Joey Anderson
Sweden forward Jesper Boqvist
Sweden forward Fabian Zetterlund
Ottawa Senators
Team USA forward Logan Brown
Philadelphia Flyers
Sweden defenseman Linus Hogberg
Pittsburgh Penguins
Sweden goaltender Filip Gustavsson
San Jose Sharks
Team USA forward Josh Norris
Toronto Maple Leafs
Team USA goaltender Joseph Woll
Sweden defenseman Timothy Liljegren
Vancouver Canucks
Sweden forward Elias Pettersson
Vegas Golden Knights
Sweden defenseman Erik Brannstrom
Washington Capitals
Sweden forward Axel Jonsson Fjallby
Winnipeg Jets
Team USA defenseman Dylan Samberg
Undrafted
Sweden forward Glenn Gustafsson
Sweden defenseman Jesper Sellgren
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