Montreal Canadiens: What to look forward to at the 2019 World Juniors

The day has arrived for the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championships to begin and the Montreal Canadiens have a decent number of prospects at the tournament.

Boxing Day has several meanings for different people. The average citizen thinks of it as a day to take advantage of sales at various malls and shopping centres, but for a hockey fan, it’s the beginning of the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championships. And if you’re a Montreal Canadiens fan, you’ll be excited by the prospects who will be taking part in the annual tournament.

Eleven national teams will be playing at the World Juniors: Canada, America, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. The Montreal Canadiens have a total of prospects there.

Canada

Josh Brook (D) – 2017 second-round pick

Nick Suzuki (F) – 2017 first-round pick (acquired in Max Pacioretty trade)

USA

Ryan Poehling (F) – 2017 first-round pick

Cayden Primeau (G) -2017 seventh-round pick

Sweden

Jacob Olofsson (F) – 2018 second-round pick

Finland

Jesse Ylönen (F) – 2018 second-round pick

Russia

Alexander Romanov (D) – 2018 second-round pick

It’s amazing how solid the last two drafts look for the Montreal Canadiens, isn’t it?

What will be great to track on the Habs side of things are the roles each prospect will have on the team. Brook has brought his success from the Moose Jaw Warriors to Canada’s blueline with ease. He’s had his defensive mishaps during the pre-tournament, but his skating and hockey IQ stands out amongst the rest of the blueliners making him a dangerous name in all three zones.

Suzuki may not be the guy but looks to be the number two guy with 2020 phenom Alexis Lafrenière on his right. His deceptive playmaking could be a massive asset and put goaltenders in tough situations. Lafrenière and Maxime Comtois better have their pucks on the ice as there may be a number of easy tap-ins coming their way.

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Poehling will be a veteran on the American roster while Primeau will look to make the most of the attention he’s garnered over the calendar year. The Habs scouting staff managed to find an incredible goaltender in the final round of the draft two years ago give his success at Northeastern University. Primeau has slowed down after finishing with a .931 save percentage last season. He currently has .918 going into this tournament and should contend for the starting job in net for the US.

Ylönen has been producing for Finland already. His shiftiness and ability to drive the net has led to some key scoring which will be an asset for the line. He’s also worked well when on the ice with top draft-eligible prospect Kappo Kakko and that could prove to be a good duo as the tournament continues.

An interesting player to watch is Romanov. The 18-year-old did an incredible thing in making the KHL this season for CSKA Moscow. He was given limited time to play but has slowly gained the trust of the coaching staff to play more minutes for the team. That experience should be key as he mans the blueline for Russia.

And finally Olofsson. Similar to Ylönen and Romanov, he debuted in a professional league this season playing for Timra IK of the SHL. Olofsson has bounced from center to the wing for Sweden, and it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up long-term.

What he brings though is a big body and a mind for offence which will help make the top line dangerous.

Next. Habs Boxing Day Shopping. dark

There’s a lot for Montreal Canadiens to look for, and hopefully, they make a massive impact for their respective teams.

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