INSIDER: World Junior Camps Underway For Kings Prospects

Happy Friday, Insiders!

Taking a quick turn away from the NHL level to talk about a handful of Kings prospects, who are set to begin their respective camp in advance of the upcoming World Junior Championships in Minnesota. In total, seven Kings prospects were selected to camp rosters, representing five of the ten countries that will compete in the tournament later on this month.

With the event set to begin on December 26, we’re getting very close to seeing what final rosters might look like. There are some locks in that group and also some Kings prospects who are on the bubble approaching final cuts. A look at all seven players attending camp and where they potentially land for the final event.

Starting at the top, with the defending champion United States, two Kings prospects will compete in camp for a spot on the final roster. Defenseman Henry Brzustewicz and forward Brendan McMorrow will attend camp with Team USA, Both players certainly have a shot at cracking the roster for the tournament, with their final camp beginning on Monday in Duluth, Minnesota. More on the pair of Americans heading to participate in the tournament on home ice.

Just North of the border, Canada has two top Kings prospects participating as well. Hockey Canada previously announced that training camp will start today, at the Gale Centre in Niagara Falls, ON. Highly-regarded forward prospect Liam Greentree and last season’s Canadian starting goaltender Carter George are both on the invitiation list, with the pair of Kings prospects set to participate in camp later on today.

George is a mortal lock for the tournament. Chatted with him recently about the WJC, full conversation and episode will be out before the tournament, and you could tell there’s a lot of pride when he plays for Team Canada. Think there’s also a motivation from him to avenge a defeat in the quarterfinals of last season’s tournament and this will be his last opportunity to play in the event, before he ages out. Canada will be well represented through George and, in a perfect world, Greentree will be there as well. Canada is awaiting participation details from players who are currently playing in the NHL, which could eat up a couple of spots on their final roster. Asked Greentree before the season about the opportunity and he admitted it’s something he’s thought of and a team he certainly wants to make.

“World Juniors is something that I’ve thought about and hopefully I can crack that lineup, that would be really cool,” he said. “Representing your country, especially at the World Juniors, is really special so that would be a really cool thing to be a part of.”

Beyond the North American quartet, the Kings have three prospects in their system expected to play in the tournament, all of whom were drafted in 2025, and all of who have past tournament experience.

Leading the charge there is goaltender Petteri Rimpinen, who will represent Finland.

Rimpinen was selected as the tournament’s best goaltender last season and is a lock for Team Finland one again. The Kings got him later in the draft and he was a standout performer last season in Liiga, Finland’s top men’s league. Rimpinen is once again set to be between the pipes as the starting goaltender for Team Finland and he’ll be looking to get the job done after his team fell against Canada in last season’s gold-medal game. Rimpinen called it a “special moment” to win a silver medal when we chatted over the summer, but certainly seemed ready to get another crack at getting over the hump. More from Rimpinen HERE after he attended his first development camp with the Kings a few months prior.

Rounding out the camp-attending crew are forwards Vojtech Cihar (Czechia) and Jan Chovan (Slovakia). Both players skated in this event last season and now, as NHL Draft selections and returning players, we should expect them to see a larger role this time around. Cihar signed his entry-level contract with the Kings on Wednesday, a three-year deal that is likely to slide back a year, as he’s unlikely to play in the NHL next season. Cihar has eight points (4-4-8) from 27 games played playing in Czechia’s top men’s division, while getting regular minutes in the lineup. That’s a win for a player of that age. Should hopefully be an impact player for Team Czechia when playing against his peers. For Chovan, he is playing his first season of hockey in North America with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves. He’s collected 16 points (6-10-16) from 27 games played, which is decent production, and I thought he showed some skill during the Rookie Faceoff in Irvine back in September. He played a small role at last season’s tournament but should be in a position to play a larger role this time around.

Final roster submission is December 24 and the tournament begins on December 26. Not sure we’ll see all seven of those players make the final rosters, but certainly a decent crew of Kings prospects who are at least in the mix to make the final rosters. There will be some pre-tournament games, exhibitions, between now and then which could shape what the final rosters look like. Hoping for a strong Kings representation and we’ll go from there!