LA Kings Prospects Found Success at 2018 World Junior Championship

The beginning of January had hockey fans' eyes glued to the World Junior Championship. The 42nd annual tournament was hosted by Buffalo, New York and included the first ever outdoor game in an IIHF world championship at New Era Field.
Canada, perhaps unsurprisingly, took gold, followed by Sweden and the United States for silver and bronze.
This year, three LA Kings prospects took home some hardware. All three were defenseman. All three represented different countries.
Kale Clague, a 2016 second round draft pick for the Kings, won gold with Canada. Jacob Moverare, a 2016 fourth round draft, brought home silver with Sweden. And, Mikey Anderson, a 2017 fourth round pick, got a bronze medal with the United States.

Kale Clague

Clague has spent the past couple of years with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League. In 28 games this season, Clague tallied 10 goals, 37 assists and has an impressive +31 rating.
Clague, an alternate captain on Team Canada, played six games and registered two assists in this year's tournament. One of those assists came in a dominating 8-0 win over Denmark.
Watch: Youtube Video
Before the tournament, Clague knew he would have to step up given a nagging injury on Canada's Dante Fibro.
"I definitely think a leadership role is there," Clague told SportsNet's Daniel Nugent-Bowman. "I expect myself to be the best defenceman on this team. That's what I want to be."

His leadership helped Canada take home gold for the 17th time, bringing the country's overall gold total to 31.
Watch: Youtube Video

Jacob Moverare

Moverare has played in the Ontario Hockey League with the Mississauga Steelheads for the past two seasons. So far this season, he's played 31 games scoring three goals and adding 18 assists.
For Moverare, making Team Sweden this year was especially meaningful. In last year's tournament, Moverare was the last man cut from Team Sweden before the championships. The cut happened on Christmas Day.
This time around, Moverare got to participate in a team that won their pool and help them win their first medal since 2014.

Mikey Anderson

Anderson spent the 2015-17 seasons with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League; this season he is playing with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 16 games, Anderson has scored three goals and added seven assists for the university.
You might have been seeing double in the tournament, as Mikey's brother Joey Anderson was the captain of this year's U.S. team.
The brothers, who are only 11 months apart, also both play on the University of Minnesota-Duluth team.
Mikey played seven games with one assist in the tournament. The assist came in a dominating 9-0 United States win over Denmark. The defenseman helped win America a medal for a third consecutive year, their longest streak for the tournament history.
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The three defensemen's shiny, new medals are just a small part of their journey in the hopes of one day playing in the NHL for the LA Kings.