RALEIGH, NC. - The 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) World Junior Championship officially begins today.
Still not sure what it is or why we're covering it? Hopefully we can pick up an assist for you here.
2022 World Junior Championship Primer
Assisting you in keeping up with the future of the club over the next few days
Who: Each year ten qualifying countries bring their best players under the age of 20* to compete for gold. The ten nations are split into two five-team groups and following a single round-robin series in each group, the top four teams from each group will advance to a playoff round.
(\players may turn 20 and participate in the tournament if their birthday is on or after 1/1/2022)
This year's two groups are:
Group A: Austria, Canada, Czechia, Finland, Germany
Group B: Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, United States
(Note: Prior to the tournament Czech Ice Hockey Association President Tomas Kral informed the IIHF that going forward their national teams would be using the name "Czechia" rather than "Czech Republic". The plural/possessive remains "Czechs".)
This year there are over 100 NHL draft picks on the ten rosters with each member club having an average of just over three prospects representing them.
Why is this a big deal for the Canes?
Carolina has ten draft picks on six different rosters, just the third time in the event's 44-year history that this has happened, the first since 2005 when the league shortened the draft to seven rounds.
In further layman's terms, the team has the rights to some very bright up-and-coming players and
they've done a very good job drafting the last few years.
The following Canes prospects are the event (sorted by alphabetical, country name):
Canada
Defenseman #8 - Ronan Seeley
Finland
Defenseman #21 - Aleksi Heimosalmi
Forward #24 - Ville Koivunen
Germany
Goaltender #30 - Nikita Quapp
Russia
Forward #21 - Nikita Guslistov
Forward #28 - Alexander Pashin
Forward #13 - Vasily Ponomaryov
Sweden
Forward #18 - Zion Nybeck
Defenseman #26 - Joel Nystrom
United States
Defenseman #23 - Scott Morrow
When:* Round robin play starts today and will run through Friday, December 31. A full tournament schedule
can be found here
. Opening round games will be played in the time slots of 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9:30 EST.
Sunday, December 26:
Finland (Heimosalmi, Koivunen) vs. Germany (Quapp) - 2 p.m. EST
Russia (Guslistov, Pashin, Ponomaryov) vs. Sweden (Nybeck, Nystrom) - 4:30 p.m. EST
Czechia vs. Canada (Seeley) - 7 p.m. EST
United States (Morrow) vs. Slovakia - 9:30 p.m. EST
Monday, December 27:
Austria vs. Finland (Heimosalmi, Koivunen) - 2 p.m. EST
Russia (Guslistov, Pashin, Ponomaryov) vs. Switzerland - 4:30 p.m. EST
Germany (Quapp) vs. Czechia - 7 p.m. EST
Sweden (Nybeck, Nystrom) vs. Slovakia - 9:30 p.m. EST
Tuesday, December 28:
Switzerland vs. United States (Morrow) - 4:30 p.m. EST
Austria vs. Canada (Seeley) - 7 p.m. EST
Wednesday, December 29:
Finland (Heimosalmi, Koivunen) vs. Czechia - 2 p.m. EST
Slovakia vs. Russia (Guslistov, Pashin, Ponomaryov) - 4:30 p.m. EST
Canada (Seeley) vs. Germany (Quapp) - 7 p.m. EST
Sweden (Nybeck, Nystrom) vs. United States (Morrow) - 9:30 p.m. EST
Thursday, December 30:
Czechia vs. Austria - 4:30 p.m. EST
Slovakia vs. Switzerland - 7 p.m. EST
Canes vs. Montreal Canadiens - 7 p.m. EST
Friday, December 31:
Germany (Quapp) vs. Austria - 2 p.m. EST
Switzerland vs. Sweden (Nybeck, Nystrom) - 4:30 p.m. EST
Canada (Seeley) vs. Finland (Heimosalmi, Koivunen) - 7 p.m. EST
United States (Morrow) vs. Russia (Guslistov, Pashin, Ponomaryov) - 9:30 p.m. EST
The playoff rounds will begin on January 2 and the championship game is currently scheduled for January 5.
Where: This year's games are being played in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.
Why Is This Really Important: Half of the players that have dressed for the Hurricanes this season played in this tournament. Last year, a 19-year-old Trevor Zegras won the tournament's Most Valuable Player and this season he's produced nearly a point-per-game for the Anaheim Ducks, including a
. While the majority of the players in the event will not make the jump to "rising NHL star" status as quickly as Zegras, it is possible. For others, it can be viewed as a gauge for how well they perform against the best in the world from their current age group. This is beneficial because some prospects are currently attempting to develop in leagues overseas against grown men well older than them, and this will show their abilities on a more level playing field.
How Can I Watch: NHL Network holds the television rights in the United States. TSN broadcasts the games in Canada.
Worth A Click:
Mailbag #11: World Juniors Week
Holiday Break Come Early: Reflecting On The Canes Joyful Start
Ten Canes Prospects Selected For World Juniors
All-Star Fan Voting Open Now
