Strong Vancouver Canucks – BC Factor at the World Juniors

When the postponed 2022 World Junior Championship begins on Tuesday, Team Canada will be well represented by hockey players from British Columbia and the tournament in general represented by prospects for the Vancouver Canucks.

Recently turned 17-year-old centre Connor Bedard from North Vancouver, the projected top pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, headlines the list. He had four goals and an assist in two games for Canada before the WJC was ended in December.

He’s joined by 19-year-old Kent Johnson of Port Moody, the 2021 5th-overall pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Forward Logan Stankoven, a 2nd-round draft choice of the Dallas Stars last summer, played for his hometown Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League, as did 20-year-old goaltender Dylan Garand, a 4th-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2020 and a native of Victoria.

Because of the postponement due to the Covid pandemic, this ’19-year-old tournament’ features plenty of players who have since turned 20.

Vancouver Canucks World

Start with 2022 1st-round draft pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki representing Team Sweden in Edmonton. The Canucks prospect right winger just turned age-18 on July 24th and wasn’t on the roster the first time around last winter.

Joni Jurmo, drafted two years ago in the 3rd-round by the Vancouver Canucks, will play defence for Finland in this tournament.

Another 20-year-old Canucks draft pick, left-shot defenceman Jacob Truscott, a 5th-rounder from 2020, will play for Team USA.

Time stood still and an opportunity is lost for Vancouver Canucks 2020 6th-round draft pick Dmitri Zlodeyev of Russia. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine this past spring, Russia and its supporting country Belarus were ruled out of international tournaments. Zlodeyev’s goal, two penalty minutes and his two games played from the start of the 2022 WJC last December will be erased with this do-over.

Fabian Lysell, who had 62 points in 53 WHL games for the Vancouver Giants this past season, is on the roster for Team Sweden. The 19-year-old from Gothenburg was the 21st-overall pick of the Boston Bruins last summer.

And Again …

With the players who haven’t turned age-20 yet, there will be roster overlap with the 2023 World Junior Championship that starts in December. Players of Bedard and Lekkerimaki’s ilk will be representing their countries again with a short turnaround. First camps for the next tournament have already been held.

The Vancouver Canucks featured three other draft picks on the Team Sweden summer camp roster. Defencemen Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Myrenberg and forward Lucas Forsell have been given the opportunity to crack the squad.

This Week

Team Canada will play Team Sweden in their lone pre-tournament exhibition match on Monday before starting official games on Wednesday against Latvia. The Canadians also have Czechia, Finland, and Slovakia in Group A.