The Montreal Canadiens have six prospects representing six different countries in the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championships. Their performance will be updated daily in this article.
Tournament statistics
| player | year project | Country | POS | specialist | you / gp | g | a | s | SOG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| player | year project | Country | POS | specialist | you / gp | g | a | s | SOG |
| Adam Engstrom | 2022 | Sweden | L.D | 2 | 16:22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Oliver Cabanen | 2021 | Finland | against | 2 | 15:13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Joshua Roy | 2021 | Canada | RW | 1 | 13:13 | 3 | |||
| Philip Messer | 2022 | Slovakia | C/RW | 1 | 20:12 | 1 | |||
| Vincennes Rohrer | 2022 | Austria | C/RW | 1 | 19:55 | 1 | |||
| Lynn Hutson | 2022 | United State | L.D | 1 | 14:07 |
Adam Engstrom
December 26: Sweden meets Austria
Austria fell behind the Swedish team in the second match of the competition, losing 11-0. Every Swedish skater had an advantage in the game and Engstrom finished at +4. Swedish manager Magnus Hafeld didn’t have to tax any of his players in the blast, as the match culminated at 6.30pm in favor of Axel Sandin-Belica. Engstrom, who started the fight in the best pairing, was knocked out at 15:37.
He assisted two goals in Sweden’s sixth and seventh and took the points lead among HBS prospects the next day. He’ll be fresh for the next game on Tuesday afternoon when the team will have to play a little more defensively.
December 27: Sweden vs Germany
In the dying seconds of the first half of Sweden’s match against Germany, Engstrom kicked the ball from the point and appeared to be deflected by a teammate before slotting home. IIHf rarely checks such plays after proper credit is given, so the goal remains on Engström’s baseline, his third point with two assists from the opening. The match turned into a goalkeeper duel between Karl Lindbom and Nikita Kwab, with Engström’s goal being the only goal scored.
Despite how competitive the game was compared to the 11-0 win the day before, the Sweden coach once again split the ice time fairly evenly. Six defensive players played at least 16 minutes, and the highest total was under 21. Engstrom finished near the low end of the range at 17:08, but it’s hard to find many errors with a player currently tied for seventh in tournament scoring .
Next match: December 29th against the Czech Republic
Oliver Cabanen
December 26: Finland vs Switzerland
Kapanen was named captain of the Finnish national team at his second World Junior Championships, after a silver medal this summer. The captain must now work with his teammates to pull off a shock loss to Switzerland after opening the tournament by surprise.
He finished the game at -1, not only on the ice for Attilio Biasca’s extra goal, but a late step to get the Swiss after his save on the puck attempt on the boards. Kapanen will know he needs to do more to help his team win, and we should expect to see a better performance from Finland in their second game, although offense is still an issue.
December 27: Finland vs Slovakia
Finland needed to do better after their first loss against Switzerland. Captain Oliver Kapanen needed to be much better after a difficult first game. On Tuesday against Slovakia, he responded with one of the best individual performances by a skater at the tournament so far.
He was effective on the showdown circuit and tough in puck fights to win possession. He scored three shots in the game, one of which curled for his first goal.
He added an assist on Finland’s next goal to finish the day with two points and was named man of the match after a 5-2 victory that put Finland back on track.
Next match: December 29 against Latvia
Joshua Roy
December 26: Canada vs Czech Republic
It wasn’t Canada’s usual relentless offensive effort in a pre-tournament game that got them to their first important game of the winter. Seeming to take their opponent seriously, they were upset as the Czechs scored two quick goals to end the first half and then another early in the second which proved enough to cause the upset.
Unfortunately for Roy, the highlight of the game was the ghost split-second hit on a field goal that would have given Canada a 2-0 lead in the first period. Then, Canada’s hopes of a comeback were dashed when quarterback Zach Dean was assessed a penalty midway through the period, during which the Czechs scored two more goals. Now it comes to whether Dean will face more discipline and could screw up Canada’s most effective lockdown line if that happens.
Roy fired three shots on goal as he tried to get his team back into the game, but Canada struggled to resolve goalkeeper Tomasz Suchanik and were one of many players left scoreless on the night.
Next match: December 28th against Germany
Philip Messer
December 27 vs Finland
Mesar saw Kapanen’s rebounding effort on Tuesday, and was unable to find a response. The 2022 first-round squad was hard pressed by Slovakia with over 20 minutes remaining. He was at -2 with only one shot on goal.
Slovakia will need their playmaker to make a difference to make an impact at this tournament. We expect a similar rebound for Kapanen when Slovakia tried to avoid a 0-2 start against the United States on Wednesday.
Next match: December 28th against the United States
Vincennes Rohrer
December 26: Austria vs Sweden
Rohrer was a surprising omission from the squad ahead of Austria’s match against Sweden. We knew he wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t head to the field for the match, which ended up being blown up by the Swedes.
Austrian coach Kirk Faure said Vinzenz Rohrer (MTL) “didn’t feel at his best”. They hope to get it back tomorrow. They said they missed him. ” Lion’s heart. “
Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) December 26, 2022
Let’s hope he’s not seriously ill for Austria’s spark plug and recovers in time for the team’s game on Tuesday.
December 27: Austria vs Czech Republic
Rohrer’s return to the squad did not change Austria’s luck. A day after Sweden lost 11-0 in the match, they were again severely beaten, conceding (nine) more goals than they scored (eight).
The only player drafted by the NHL to the Austrian roster, Rohrer played the most minutes of any skater on the team and narrowly escaped without being on the ice for a goal. He scored one of eight shots on Czech goalkeeper Tomas Sošanek but was unable to end the country’s goalless streak that stretched to two full matches.
At this point, perhaps a realistic goal for the Austrians is simply to score in their last two group stage matches. It seems that they are expected to end up in the relegation round, and it is difficult to see them in the first division for 2024.
Next match: December 29 against Canada
Lynn Hutson
December 26: United States vs Latvia
Team USA played a tougher match than expected against Latvia in the opening game of the tournament. A match that ended in a 2-2 tie after 40 minutes of play, and the Americans scored three goals to finally win comfortably, but faced an early upset.
Hutson did not score a point or even a shot in the 5-2 win. He played only 14:07, the second-lowest total among defensive teams, and that could be the case throughout the tournament as Luke Hughes takes the offensive minutes that Hutson thrives on. He kept well breaking up Latvia’s few offensive plays and assisting his team during the transitional period.
Next match: December 28th against Slovakia
