Recap: Coyotes Prospects at 2019 World Junior Championship

GLENDALE --Coyotes prospect Barrett Hayton turned heads playing for Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Hayton, whom Arizona selected with the fifth overall pick in last year's NHL Draft, produced four assists in five games.

"Barrett was really good," General Manager John Chayka said. "He was an 18-year-old playing in a tournament with a lot of 19-year-olds. He played a key role, and did a lot of good things, and showed us a lot of the same reasons why we selected him."

The host Canadians were ousted from the tournament by Finland in the quarterfinals.
In a match played vs. Switzerland in the preliminary round, Hayton assisted on the game-winning goal and was named Canada's Most Valuable Player of the game.
"He's a mature 200-foot player and impacts the game in a lot of different areas," said Chayka, who attended a big chunk of the tournament in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. "He can create a lot of offense and he led the tournament in scoring chances created and had four assists. When he does that playing center, and impacts the game in all areas of the ice, it's good to see and it gives us a lot of hope for the future."
Coyotes prospects Filip Westerlund (Team Sweden) and Jan Jenik (Team Czech Republic) also competed at the prestigious annual tournament.
Westerlund chipped in one goal and one assist in five games for Sweden, which was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Switzerland.
"To see Filip play against his peers was very helpful to us because he's usually over in Sweden playing against men in a pro league," Chayka said. "So, when we scout him he doesn't get as much opportunity or ice time as he did playing as a top pair defenseman in this tournament. He was a very impactful player, and it was nice to see him take that step in his development."
The Coyotes drafted Westerlund 44th overall in 2017.

Jenik, whom Arizona drafted 65th overall last year, chipped in one goal and one assist for the Czechs in three games. Like Canada and Sweden, Czech Republic did not advance past the quarterfinals.
"He's a good, raw player," Chayka said. "He has a great mind for the game and is a great competitor. He's a guy that wasn't getting a lot of opportunity at first, but by the end of the tournament he got some and made the most of it. He stepped in and was in at the end of the quarterfinal game against the USA when his team needed a goal."