2021 wjc draft picks

Looking at the future

On an unprecedented day at the IIHF World Junior Championship, tomorrow’s stars of the game share the same ice

Jason La Rose
|
January 2, 2021
|

Never before has it happened – all four quarterfinals at the IIHF World Junior Championship on the same sheet of ice on the same day.

Today is Super Saturday in Edmonton, with eight teams all looking to punch their tickets to the semifinals.

It also means an unmatched collection of talent will be on display.

In all, the rosters of the eight playoff teams include 113 National Hockey League draft picks, 43 of whom heard their named called in the first round.

Canadian forward Quinton Byfield is the highest pick, going second overall to the Los Angeles Kings in October, while Swedish forward Arvid Costmar was the latest player selected, taken 215th by the Vancouver Canucks in 2019.

Thirty of 31 NHL teams have at least one draft pick still in action at the World Juniors; only the St. Louis Blues are not represented. The Kings have the most with nine selections, including recent first-rounders Byfield, Alex Turcotte (fifth overall in 2019) and Tobias Björnfot (22nd overall in 2019).

A team-by-team look at the prospects still chasing gold…

Anaheim Ducks (6) – Sam Colangelo (USA), Jamie Drysdale (CAN), Jackson LaCombe (USA), Albin Sundsvik (SWE), Henry Thrun (USA), Trevor Zegras (USA)

Arizona Coyotes (3) – John Farinacci (USA), Aku Räty (FIN), Victor Söderström (SWE)

Boston Bruins (2) – Roman Bychkov (RUS), Matias Mäntykivi (FIN)

Buffalo Sabres (4) – Dylan Cozens (CAN), Ryan Johnson (USA), John-Jason Peterka (GER), Jack Quinn (CAN)

Calgary Flames (4) – Yan Kuznetsov (RUS), Jakob Pelletier (CAN), Dustin Wolf (USA), Connor Zary (CAN)

Carolina Hurricanes (4) – Noel Gunler (SWE), Zion Nybeck (SWE), Vasili Ponomaryov (RUS), Ryan Suzuki (CAN)

Chicago Blackhawks (4) – Kirby Dach (CAN), Michael Krutil (CZE), Landon Slaggert (USA), Michal Teply (CZE)

Colorado Avalanche (4) – Justin Barron (CAN), Bowen Byram (CAN), Drew Helleson (USA), Alex Newhook (CAN)

Columbus Blue Jackets (3) – Yegor Chinakhov (RUS), Samuel Knazko (SVK), Mikael Pyyhtiä (FIN)

Dallas Stars (1) – Thomas Harley (CAN)

Detroit Red Wings (7) – Jan Bednar (CZE), Gustav Berglund (SWE), Albert Johansson (SWE), Theodor Niederbach (SWE), Lucas Raymond (SWE), Elmer Söderblom (SWE), Eemil Viro (FIN)

Edmonton Oilers (2) – Philip Broberg (SWE), Dylan Holloway (CAN)

Florida Panthers (5) – Emil Heineman (SWE), Spencer Knight (USA), Devon Levi (CAN), Anton Lundell (FIN), Kasper Puutio (FIN)

Los Angeles Kings (9) – Tobias Björnfot (SWE), Quinton Byfield (CAN), Martin Chromiak (SVK), Brock Faber (USA), Arthur Kaliyev (USA), Lukas Parik (CZE), Kasper Simontaival (FIN), Jordan Spence (CAN), Alex Turcotte (USA)

Minnesota Wild (4) – Matthew Boldy (USA), Vladislav Firstov (RUS), Marat Khusnutdinov (RUS), Pavel Novak (CZE)

Montreal Canadiens (3) – Cole Caufield (USA), Kaiden Guhle (CAN), Jan Mysak (CZE)

Nashville Predators (5) – Yegor Afanasiev (RUS), Yaroslav Askarov (RUS), Semyon Chistyakov (RUS), Juso Pärssinen (FIN), Philip Tomasino (CAN)

New Jersey Devils (6) – Arseni Gritsyuk (RUS), Alexander Holtz (SWE), Dawson Mercer (CAN), Patrick Moynihan (USA), Shakir Mukhamadullin (RUS), Jaromir Pytlik (CZE)

New York Islanders (2) – Simon Holmström (SWE), Matias Rajaniemi (FIN)

New York Rangers (4) – Brett Berard (USA), Dylan Garand (CAN), Braden Schneider (CAN), Hunter Skinner (USA)

Ottawa Senators (4) – Roby Järventie (FIN), Tyler Kleven (USA), Jake Sanderson (USA), Tim Stützle (GER)

Philadelphia Flyers (3) – Emil Andrae (SWE), Bobby Brink (USA), Cam York (USA)

Pittsburgh Penguins (2) – Joel Blomqvist (FIN), Calle Clang (SWE)

San Jose Sharks (4) – Santeri Hatakka (FIN), Artemi Knyazev (RUS), Adam Raska (CZE), Yegor Spiridonov (RUS)

Tampa Bay Lightning (2) – Hugo Alnefelt (SWE), Maxim Groshev (RUS)

Toronto Maple Leafs (6) – Mikhail Abramov (RUS), Artur Akhtyamov (RUS), Rodion Amirov (RUS), Roni Hirvonen (FIN), Mikko Kokkonen (FIN), Topi Niemelä (FIN)

Vancouver Canucks (2) – Arvid Costmar (SWE), Vasili Podkolzin (RUS)

Vegas Golden Knights (3) – Brendan Brisson (USA), Kaedan Korczak (CAN), Peyton Krebs (CAN)

Washington Capitals (2) – Martin Has (CZE), Connor McMichael (CAN)

Winnipeg Jets (3) – Ville Heinola (FIN), Henri Nikkanen (FIN), Cole Perfetti (CAN)

And let’s not forget the players who haven’t yet been drafted.

Names like Matthew Beniers (USA), Danil Chaika (RUS), Oskar Olausson (SWE), Stanislav Svozil (CZE), Jesper Wallstedt (SWE) have all been identified as potential first-round picks in 2021, while Brad Lambert (FIN), Simon Nemec (SVK) and Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK) are all highly-touted names for the 2022 draft.

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

emadziya@hockeycanada.ca 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

ssharkey@hockeycanada.ca

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

jknight@hockeycanada.ca

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