Canada faces Germany in round-robin of World Juniors
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Team Canada takes on Germany in their second game of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship on Wednesday, Dec 28, in Halifax.
The Canadians are looking for their first back-to-back gold medals since they won five straight from 2005-09 and are primed to do so with eight returning players from 2022.
Team Canada’s roster boasts nine players who were drafted in the first round of the NHL Draft including 2022 fourth overall selection Shane Wright, 2021 eighth overall choice Brandt Clarke, and 2021 ninth overall pick Dylan Guenther. All three players have spent significant time in the NHL this season.
Guenther has appeared in 21 games with the Arizona Coyotes, racking up three goals and 11 points; Clarke has two assists in nine games with the Los Angeles Kings; and Wright has a goal and two points in eight games with the Seattle Kraken.
In addition to the players with NHL experience, Team Canada will also be powered by Regina Pats phenom Connor Bedard and University of Michigan freshman forward Adam Fantilli. Bedard and Fantili are looking to use this tournament as a showcase for NHL teams as they prepare for the 2023 NHL Draft.
TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button ranks Bedard at the top of his draft eligible list with 27 goals and 64 points in 28 games with the WHL’s Pats. Fantilli is ranked No. 4 on Button’s list and he has 11 goals and 26 points in 16 games with the NCAA’s Wolverines.
Germany finished in sixth place at the 2022 World Juniors in Edmonton after going 2-2-0 in the preliminary round and then losing 5-2 to Finland in the quarter-finals.
The Germans will be led by Coyotes prospect Julian Lutz, Washington Capitals prospect Haakon Hanelt, and Carolina Hurricanes prospect Nikita Quapp.
Lutz, 18, was drafted 43rd overall in the 2022 NHL Draft and has six assists in 13 games in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga playing against men. Hanelt, 19, was drafted 151st overall in the 2021 NHL Draft and plays for the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques where has three goals and 17 points in 28 games this season. Quapp, 19, was drafted 187th overall by the Hurricanes and has appeared in three games this season with the Lausitzer Foxes of DEL-2 in Germany.