2017 World Juniors: Grades for every NHL team’s prospects

The 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship ended on Thursday exactly as it should: with a high-octane gold medal game that showed off why the sport is such a thrill.

With the tournament in the books, it’s time to look back at which NHL prospects lived up to expectations or disappointed their fans.

Spoiler alert: most of them did pretty well. The future of hockey is bright!

Buoyed by three Canada players, Carolina’s system had a great World Juniors. The best of them was Julien Gauthier, the 21st overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The winger started slow but became a force during the knockout round. His goals came in bunches: two against Slovakia and two against Sweden, becoming the final push Canada needed to reach the gold medal game. He led Canada with five WJC goals.

Nicolas Roy had a decent tournament as well, but his four goals and seven points will be overshadowed by his inability to get the puck on net during the shootout against the United States. Defenseman Jake Bean took a backseat to most of the other strong Canada defensemen.

Like Julius Nattinen, and most of Finland’s players, Janne Kuokkanen was a non-factor. The Hurricanes’ second-round pick hit the scoresheet once with a lonely assist.

Charlie McAvoy and Canada’s Thomas Chabot (a Senators prospect) were the stars of the tournament. Just look at this.

McAvoy was a horse for the United States, playing well into overtime for two consecutive nights between the semis and the gold medal game. He also led the team with six points. Boston has a future stud on its hands.

They also happened to have three other great defensemen at the tournament. Ryan Lindgren couldn’t play in the final game, but he was as vital to the USA’s success as anyone. And Jérémy Lauzon scored a few times for Canada in the latter stages of the WJC.

And although the Czechs had a quiet month, Bruins defenseman prospect Jakub Zbořil played well with four points in five games.

Arguably no NHL team came away from the World Juniors with more hope for the future than the Wild. Their prospects were, frankly, stupid good.

Jordan Greenway was both an offensive and physical force for the USA.

Luke Kunin, the USA captain, was a presence in every phase of the game. Joel Eriksson Ek, the Swedish captain, finished with six goals and 10 points.

But the true star of the whole tournament was Kirill Kaprizov. The Wild took him in the fifth round in 2015. I don’t think many knew who he was before the tournament began. But by the end he was a household name: a WJC-leading nine goals, 12 points (tied for the tournament lead), and an absurd 33 shots on goal. Kaprizov looks like a diamond in the rough for the Wild.

Dylan Strome may have captained Canada, but his American Coyotes prospect counterpart overshadowed him.

Not that Strome didn’t play well, mind you. The 2015 third overall pick finished with a team-leading 10 points. He was great.

But Clayton Keller, Arizona’s 2016 first-round pick, shone brighter. He flashed strong scoring abilities (not just an elite shot) and the kind of mobility and playmaking vision the Coyotes fell in love with. Arizona’s future is bright and enviable.

Thomas Chabot and Colin White. The Senators’ two best prospects were (arguably) the two best players in the World Juniors.

Chabot won the tournament MVP after his 10 points and four goals led Canada to the gold medal game. Only Kaprizov scored more WJC goals than White (seven), who came up huge in the moments the USA needed him most. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Jonathan Dahlén (SWE) and Filip Chlapík (CZE), both of whom enjoyed success this year as well.

Just a great tournament from Caps prospects. Ilya Samsonov was a revelation for the Russians, showing off a controlled aggression few goalies that age can succeed with. Watching him go toe-to-toe with Tyler Parsons in the semis was a delight.

Jonas Siegenthaler played a shutdown role for Switzerland and handled it admirably. Few penalty killing defensemen were as impactful as him.

Hey remember when a kid named Nylander tore up the World Juniors? It seems like last year.

One year after his brother, William, led Sweden with a great tournament, Sabres prospect Alexander Nylander ended up leading the entire World Juniors in scoring. Well, actually, he tied Russia’s Kirill Kaprizov with 12 points, but he was a force nonetheless. And he quieted anyone doubting he was as talented as his brother.

He wasn’t the only Sabres Swede with a great 2017 World Juniors: Rasmus Asplund, an early second-round pick last summer, was one of the best playmakers in the whole tournament.

Dallas sent five players to the World Juniors, and three of them made significant impacts on their teams. One was Joseph Cecconi, who proved to be a capable third-pairing defenseman for the USA. One was Fredrik Karlstrom (SWE).

The other was Denis Guryanov (or Gurianov, as he spells it in North America). The Stars’ 2015 first-round pick started slowly but became a force to be reckoned with in the knockout stages. His night against the USA in the semis was his best: he scored twice in regulation and twice in the shootout despite Russia’s loss, earning comparisons to Chris Kreider for his “bull in a china shop” demeanor. Dallas has a strong player in the pipeline with Guryanov.

It does speak to the nature of the sport that so many World Juniors players began the tournament as world-beaters and finished rather quietly, and vice-versa. Tyson Jost, Colorado’s 10th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, certainly qualifies as the former.

Jost began the World Juniors with two points in his first two games with flashy highlights sprinkled in between. He finished with just four points in seven games, a far cry from what it seemed like he’d end up with. But he’ll likely be back next year if he’s not already in the NHL.

You know which Finland player actually had a great tournament? Detroit’s Vili Saarijärvi. The diminutive 2015 third-round pick was involved in a lot of Finland’s best scoring plays, leading the team’s defensemen with five points in six games. Only five d-men in the whole tournament had more points than him.

Czech Republic’s Filip Hronek also led his blue line in points. Joren van Pottelberghe started all five of Switzerland’s games with a .926 save percentage. A good showing for a Detroit franchise about to hit the rebuild button.

The headliner out of the Flames’ World Juniors is USA goalie Tyler Parsons. He’s quickly earning a “winner” pedigree; he led the OHL’s London Knights to a championship last season and just led the USA to its fourth World Juniors gold medal. His poise was truly impressive.

Calgary also spread impact prospects around the tournament. Oliver Kylington was an important part of Sweden’s elite defense. Pavel Karnaukhov was a solid checker for Russia. Dillon Dubé played well on special teams for Canada.

Blake Speers and Michael McLeod turned in strong performances in limited roles with Canada (it was Speers’ goal that helped Canada reach the semis), but Yegor Rykov was the best Devils’ player in the tournament.

Partnered with Mikhail Sergachyov for much of the tournament, Rykov dished out six assists and one goal in seven games. He logged over 20 minutes of ice time consistently, giving Devils fans a glimpse at a future lean-on guy on the blue line at the NHL level.

New York sent three players to the tournament. It was Mathew Barzal and Kieffer Bellows who shined brightest.

Bellows, however, didn’t truly make a big impact until the gold medal game, where he scored twice as part of two comebacks for the USA. Barzal was dominant for most of the tournament, however, likely a result of his time with the Islanders in the NHL this year.

Montreal sent two defensemen to the World Juniors: Noah Juulsen (CAN) and Mikhail Sergachyov (RUS). The latter made a bigger impact as part of Russia’s top pairing that improved mightily as the tournament progressed. Again, Sergachyov’s brief stint in the NHL this season likely helped there. He was a key reason the Russians came away with a medal for the billionth time in WJC history. (True fact.)

Philly absolutely loaded the World Juniors with prospects. Nobody had more than the Flyers’ nine players. And while some played huge roles, overall the franchise turned out a mixed bag.

It must’ve been a treat for Flyers fans to watch Sweden’s Felix Sandstrom and Canada’s Carter Hart play against each other in the semifinals. Both are Flyers prospects, and both ended up as the best goalies in the tournament not named Tyler Parsons.

Philippe Myers, an undrafted prospect for Philly, turned a lot of heads playing for Canada. As one of Canada’s most active d-men, Myers contributed three assists in five games before a concussion ended his WJC early.

German Rubtsov embraced a checking-line role with Russia, but didn’t really stand out. Mikhail Vorobyov, however, did: the Flyers winger led the whole tournament with 10 assists and was generally a mess for opponents to deal with.

The Flyers’ other prospects were rather unremarkable.

Czech forward Michael Špaček drew a lot of praise last year and mostly picked up where he left off in the 2017 World Juniors with three points in five games. But I was most impressed with Jack Roslovic, the United States power forward.

Roslovic grew stronger as the tournament went on. You could tell his time in the AHL has taught him to use his size to his advantage. On more than one occasion, Roslovic would box out an opponent to get into a good shooting position. He’s a big-bodied presence that will pair nicely with Winnipeg’s skilled forward corps.

All five of Tampa Bay’s players played for Canada. And most of them impressed.

Mitchell Stephens, Anthony Cirelli, and Mathieu Joseph all scored at least one big goal late in the tournament. But the consistent presence was Taylor Raddysh, who served as Mathew Barzal’s wingman. Raddysh was one of the youngest players in the World Juniors, so expect him to play a bigger role next season. But what he did show was quite promising.

As if the Leafs didn’t need any more playmaking forwards. When called upon by the U.S., Jeremy Bracco delivered. His Swedish counterpart played even better. Carl Grundström displayed a hockey IQ bested by few others in the World Juniors, playing effectively as a penalty killer while racking up seven points in seven games. And Martins Dzierkals played injured all tournament and still stood out on a bad Latvia team.

Troy Terry. Troy Terry. Troy Terry.

Terry, a 2015 Anaheim draft pick, is a first-line guy at the University of Denver who played a fourth-line role for the USA. But he became a national hockey legend in the final two games of the tournament, scoring three times (!!) in the shootout to beat Russia and then scoring the shootout game-winner against Canada in the gold medal game.

Sweden defenseman Jacob Larsson had a quiet tournament with two points on 14 shots. But not bad, either. Finland’s Julius Nattinen, on the other hand, had a forgettable month: no points in six games on a team that was the biggest disappointment of the tournament.

With Alex DeBrincat left at home by the USA, the Blackhawks only notable prospects this year was Denmark’s Mathias From and Sweden’s Lucas Carlsson. From, a forward who was drafted in 2016, only made it into three of Denmark’s five games, but he made an impact when he did. By tournament’s end, this was still the best goal of the whole event.

Edmonton could’ve sent Connor McDavid to the World Juniors, which is weird to think about. They settled for Aapeli Räsänen, their sixth-round pick from last summer. Like Kaprizov, Räsänen surprised many with his performance: six points in six games and a couple of big goals along the way.

This may shock you, but the two guys the Kings had in the World Juniors were both defensemen. And they both did well!

Kale Clague, their second-round pick in 2016, put up six points in seven games with Canada while anchoring their top pairings. Erik Černák was challenged facing the top lines of the Czech Republic’s opponents. The good news is his penalty penchant didn’t follow him from the OHL.

St. Louis drafted Tage Thompson last year hoping he’d become a David Backes replacement: a huge forward who could check and defend responsibly while chipping in offensively. Thompson did just that for the United States: he was a bull along the boards and a go-to guy on the power play. Though his patented hard slap-shot didn’t connect often, it was enough to make a difference in how the USA was defended on the man advantage.

A good showing.

San Jose has drafted from smaller European countries over the last few years, and it’s starting to pay off. Joachim Blichfeld was Denmark’s best player with three goals in five games. Kārlis Čukste showed up on a Latvia team that got run out of the building and ultimately relegated.

Yakov Trenin, that great prospect you see when you try to trade with the Predators in NHL 17 despite having never heard of him before, played very well for Russia in a third-line role and special teams role. He chipped in offensively as well with two goals and four assists. Defenseman Dante Fabbro played in every Canada game, but his offensive prowess failed to materialize.

Rasmus Dahlin. Get used to that name.

The Swedish defenseman is just 16 years old. He’s not eligible for the NHL draft until 2018. But he’s already special. Watching him play, skate, and read the game reminds one of Erik Karlsson. He’s that good.

Switzerland’s Nico Hischier has been rising up the 2017 draft rankings all year, but he truly made a name for himself in this tournament as his country’s best forward. He almost single-handedly upset the USA in the quarterfinals. Other than Finland’s Eeli Tolvanen, few 2017 draft eligibles truly stood out. Lias Andersson (SWE), Martin Necas (CZE), Elias Pettersson (SWE), and most of Finland’s elite prospects (Kristian Vesalainen, Miro Heiskanen, Urho Vaakanainen) all failed to improve their draft stock like Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi did last year.

A lot of eyes were on Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Canadian center the Jackets surprisingly selected third overall ahead of Jesse Puljujarvi last summer. He was ... okay, I guess? Five points in seven games is nothing to sneeze at, but you’d be hard-pressed to remember anything he did on the ice after games. Probably wanted to see a little more from him.

Kasper Björkqvist was a non-factor for Finland. Filip Gustavsson only got one start for Sweden, but it was a good win against the Czech Republic. The Pittsburgh goalie will probably be Sweden’s top starter next year.

A quiet World Juniors for the Rangers. Almost like they trade most of their draft picks and prospects to desperately keep their shrinking playoff window open. But I digress.

The prospect worth mentioning for the Rangers is Slovakia goalie Adam Huska. He had a bad few weeks: a 1-2 record, a 5.00 goals against average, and a dismal .873 save percentage in three games. Huska’s great season with Connecticut did not carry over to the WJC.

You usually think of the Panthers as loaded with prospects, but with many of them graduated to the pros, the franchise only sent Finland forward Henrik Borgström to the World Juniors. With no points and a -2 plus/minus, it’s like the Denver University kid wasn’t even there. Kind of like his team.

What a disappointing tournament for the Canucks.

Olli Juolevi, Vancouver’s fifth overall pick last summer, captained Finland’s descent to the relegation round. His time in the OHL this season hasn’t been great, either, but he didn’t start to play well defensively until late in the tournament. A lot was riding on him, and he didn’t deliver.