Winter is just around the corner, and for millions of hockey fanatics worldwide, the excitement that comes with it isn’t so much Christmas, but rather the yearly U20 World Junior Championships.
With Canada hosting the tournament in the nation’s capital this year, there’s a lot of buzz as Canada looks to ice yet another gold medal-winning roster after a disappointing campaign last year.
While the Leafs are deep in the contending stage of the core four’s competitive cycle, some nice drafting means that some prospects could still be under consideration for a roster spot for this year’s WJC.
Roster locks
Easton Cowan – F – London Knights – Canada
Easton Cowan was one of the best players on the OHL Champion London Knights last season, going 28 games in a row with points and being one of the few D+1 players brought to the WJC last year with Canada. While the Canadian struggled to find consistency at the tournament last year, often playing a supporting role, I think this year’s team with a myriad of elite offensive skillsets will mesh well with Cowan’s versatile game. He doesn’t have to be the primary creator or chance generator on his line the way he was last year, where his ability to maintain possession of the puck under pressure was a real eye-sore for me.
While Canada reckons to have an extremely deep roster (as they do every year) Cowan has followed up his D+1 campaign with a strong D+2 season. The point totals haven’t been at the insane pace it was last year (he’s got just 19 points in 14 games this season), but Cowan’s experience at this tournament last year as well as his versatility to play both special teams units at an elite level makes him a shoo-in to be pencilled in as one of Canada’s go-to forwards this year.
Miroslav Holinka – F – Edmonton Oil Kings – Czechia
Czechia hasn’t had the most elite draft classes the last two seasons at forward and I expect Miroslav Holinka to play a key role for them this year. Eduard Sale will likely carry the most responsibility from a chance generation perspective, but Holinka is off to a red-hot start in his first season on North American ice for Edmonton notching 18 points in 16 games.
He and Maximillian Curran are likely to factor in as Czechia’s top two centres at the tournament this year and will be expected to provide the majority of the secondary scoring behind Sale. Holinka’s also been a mainstay for Czechia internationally at prior tournaments, so the expectation is that with his amazing start to the season, he’ll continue to factor into a key role for them this tournament as well.
On the Outside Looking In
Noah Chadwick – D – Lethbridge Hurricanes – Canada
Noah Chadwick is playing at a very high level, following his breakout 2023–24 campaign. The Lethbridge Hurricanes captain was invited to the WJSS this summer and was one of the players who was considered to have an inside track to the team heading into this season. While Chadwick continues to be a source of offence for Lethbridge this year, putting up a point a game through 16 games, the electric play of some of Canada’s D+1 and D+0 defensemen may lead to him being on the outside looking in.
Sam Dickinson and Zayne Parekh have been playing at a ridiculous level since being drafted this past summer and barring Team Canada shadowbanning Parekh the way they did to Brandt Clarke a few years ago, those two will almost certainly feature on the team and take up the quarterbacking duties on the powerplay units. Tanner Moldenyk remains another option on the man advantage for Canada, who like Cowan is a returnee from last year’s tournament. Chadwick’s route to a roster spot has gotten very narrow and while I think he can play a more defensive-minded role for Canada, there are a lot of players I think that can excel in that role as well (like Sawyer Mynio).
Long Shot
Victor Johansson – D – Leksands IF – Sweden
Victor Johansson’s been a nice surprise for the Leafs this season. As another potential Thommie Bergman masterclass, the underweight 6’1” defenseman from Linkoping set the J20 Nationell on fire to start the year with Leksands. He’s since cooled down but his 17 points in 21 games this year already dwarfs his production from the entirety of last season.
I think that as a fringe player at this tournament for Sweden, who boasts an embarrassment of riches on the blueline with Sandin-Pellikka, Sahlin-Wallenhius, Lindstein, and Willander, Johansson lacks the refinement to his game to play a gritty bottom pair role. I think there’s a good chance he gets a closer look next season as some of Sweden’s top-end talent ages out or goes pro, but this year is just one year too early for him.
Ben Danford – D – Oshawa Generals – Canada
Danford’s case for a Team Canada slot was always going to be limited unless his offence took off in a huge way. The Leafs first-round pick from this summer has notched just six points in 16 games this year for Oshawa, but he continues to play a blue-collar shift for the Generals every game.
Danford could get an invite and make the team as a depth option; Canada’s always favoured guys who play a smart and poised defensive game on the bottom pair. Noah Warren, Jorian Donovan, Jack Matier, Nolan Allan, Donovan Sebrango and Ronan Seeley come to mind in most recent years. However, Canada has traditionally leaned into older players for that role and with the likes of Matthew Schaefer, Sawyer Mynio, Sam Dickinson and Zayne Parekh joining returnees Oliver Bonk and Tanner Moldenyk the numbers just don’t add up for Danford this year.
Conclusion
The tournament starts on Boxing Day as it does every year and while the Leafs will be one of the less represented teams at the tournament this year, having a chance to get a good look at Easton Cowan and Miroslav Holinka in starring roles for their nations will be exciting.
Keep an eye out for Jan. 5, when (fingers crossed) Team Canada will host the Gold Medal Game at 7:30 PM EST.
