Prospect Info: World Junior Championships 2024

[STL fan in MN]

And Fischer could well make US squad after missing out this year. Not a sure thing (like the 5 you mentioned, who will all be back barring some serious regression or injury), but i would put chances at this point at better than 50/50 Fischer makes it onto US 25 squad.

Good call. I’d give Fischer a solid 75% chance of making the US team a year from now.

Burns isn’t likely IMO but has an above zero chance of making Team Canada.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Good call. I’d give Fischer a solid 75% chance of making the US team a year from now.

Burns isn’t likely IMO but has an above zero chance of making Team Canada.

If his team didn’t stink it would help.

 

[Thallis]

Posting some of the blurbs of our guys from the Athletic wrap ups:

From Pronmans' standouts and disappointments:

Standouts:
Sweden’s blue line

As I write this, I don’t know who the IIHF will name the top defenseman in the tournament. I presume it will be someone on Sweden. Their defense unit was the best part of their team, but I personally didn’t see one name rise above the rest. Elias Pettersson (VAN), Mattias Havelid (SJS), Theo Lindstein (STL), Tom Willander (VAN), Elias Salomonsson (WPG) and Axel Sandin Pellikka (DET) all played well. All six of those players skate well, moved pucks efficiently and competed hard. Sandin Pellikka provided important power play offense. Lindstein was a story of the tournament coming in as an injury replacement and being a top player for Sweden. Pettersson, Salomonsson and Willander were very solid defenders who made life tough on opponents and Willander’s skating often stood out.

Disappointments:
Dalibor Dvorsky, C, St. Louis (Slovakia)

Dvorsky’s tournament was up and down. He was actually good in the quarterfinal versus Finland, but given his significant skill level, and being a near-two-point-per-game player in the OHL, finishing fourth on Slovakia in scoring was a letdown. Dvorsky flashed his great skill and offensive sense, but I thought his effort in the round robin was in and out, which to go with a lack of pace in his game isn’t an ideal combination. That’s been the story of his season, and why he had trouble playing against men in the first half in Sweden before coming to the OHL. He’s very talented but Dvorsky does need to find a way to become a bit more consistent.

Wheeler:
Jimmy Snuggerud (F, St. Louis Blues): Around it. Sticking with plays. Going to scoring areas. Wrister coming off of his blade hard and quickly. Stronger than his opponents on pucks/stick lifts. Showed great touch as a passer. Missed preliminary round finale with bug, and while he was placed on the fourth line when he got back for a couple of games because Oliver Moore had played well in his absence, he was back on that unit for the second half of the semi and the gold medal game.

Otto Stenberg (F, St. Louis Blues): Stenberg only played 14 minutes a game in a third-line role but he still found ways to manufacture offense, spend his shifts in the offensive zone, and contribute on special teams. Everybody loves a worker with skill. That’s his game and he plays to his identity to a tee. Doesn’t try to do too much but makes things happen and is opportunistic. A model of consistency (point in every game to show for it).

Theo Lindstein (D, St. Louis Blues): Lindstein was a late addition to injuries to Calle Odelius and Jakob Noren on Sweden’s backend, and he didn’t just not look out of place, he was tremendous on a pairing with Tom Willander. He has typically been a steady two-way type for the Swedes but he showed some real creativity and offense throughout without sacrificing his reliable game defensively. Very impressive for an 18-year-old.

Dalibor Dvorsky (F, St. Louis Blues): Controls and protects the puck so well. Shot flashed in moments. Good in the faceoff circle. A go-to player as the third-youngest and a fourth-timer on the team. Skating still missing a step, but the rest of a talented middle-sixer is there. Dangerous on the PP with his shot/feel on the puck as a passer.

Juraj Pekarcik (F, St. Louis Blues): Noticeable in puck protection, both on the perimeter and in holding pucks to attack into the slot off his hip. Noticeable off the rush with his speed, gaining a step on defenders. I thought he was Slovakia’s best forward against USA to close out the preliminary round and he caught my eye consistently for an 18-year-old. Has some tools to work with.

 

[Brian39]

I'm overall very happy with this year's tournament. I didn't get to watch as much as I'd have liked (I never do), but fortunately my two priority-viewing teams didn't disappoint. For obvious reasons, I prioritized watching USA and Sweden.

Snuggy looked like much more than a good shot and took another step forward to prove that he isn't simply a product of talented line mates. 5 goals and 8 points for a guy who got too sick to play mid-tournament is pretty impressive. Take a bow on your World Junior career Snuggy: 10 goals, 21 points, a +12, a bronze and a gold medal through 13 World Junior games.

Lindstein was arguably the best D man in the tournament and was at absolute worst among the best. He had the benefit of playing with a #11 overall pick, but I haven't seen anyone suggesting that Willander carried the pair. My eyes certainly didn't tell me that and I think there is a case to be made that Lindstein played better of the two. I don't think he possibly could have looked better.

Stenberg had a great tournament as well (albeit in a lesser role). He did so many little things right and so much of his game seems like it will translate to the pro level on small ice. He just looks like a huge pain in the ass to play against.

This tournament is a small sample, but I very much believe that I was watching 3 future NHL contributors. I was watching specifically for these 3 guys, but all 3 had plays that jumped out to me every game I watched them. I saw more "that will work in the NHL" moments than "he needs to erase that from his game ASAP" moments. That isn't to say that they are NHL-ready or that they will seemlessly step in and contribute when they do make the jump, but these three looked far more polished than I expect from a #23 pick in his D+2 tournament and #25 and #29 picks in their D+1 tournament.

I didn't get to watch as much of Dvorsky as I'd have liked and he was much more of a mixed bag when I did watch. He had more "get that out of your game" moments than "NHLer" moments when I watched. Nothing to panic about right now for a younger guy in his D+1 tournament, but also not much to excite me for a #10 pick.

Nice tournaments from our 'lesser' prospects who were playing more support roles.

All in all, I think it says a ton about our prospect pool that I feel this good coming off the World Junior despite our #1 prospect making some 'biggest disappointment' lists. As is tradition, our scouting staff appears to have found some gems in the back half of the 1st round and there are multiple later round picks giving us reason to believe. Way, way too early to judge the 2023 draft, but I see a path for the 2023 draft to go down as a great one for the Blues even if Dvorsky falls noticeably short of our lofty hopes/expectations.

 

[Brockon]

I'm overall very happy with this year's tournament. I didn't get to watch as much as I'd have liked (I never do), but fortunately my two priority-viewing teams didn't disappoint. For obvious reasons, I prioritized watching USA and Sweden.

Snuggy looked like much more than a good shot and took another step forward to prove that he isn't simply a product of talented line mates. 5 goals and 8 points for a guy who got too sick to play mid-tournament is pretty impressive. Take a bow on your World Junior career Snuggy: 10 goals, 21 points, a +12, a bronze and a gold medal through 13 World Junior games.

Lindstein was arguably the best D man in the tournament and was at absolute worst among the best. He had the benefit of playing with a #11 overall pick, but I haven't seen anyone suggesting that Willander carried the pair. My eyes certainly didn't tell me that and I think there is a case to be made that Lindstein played better of the two. I don't think he possibly could have looked better.

Stenberg had a great tournament as well (albeit in a lesser role). He did so many little things right and so much of his game seems like it will translate to the pro level on small ice. He just looks like a huge pain in the ass to play against.

This tournament is a small sample, but I very much believe that I was watching 3 future NHL contributors. I was watching specifically for these 3 guys, but all 3 had plays that jumped out to me every game I watched them. I saw more "that will work in the NHL" moments than "he needs to erase that from his game ASAP" moments. That isn't to say that they are NHL-ready or that they will seemlessly step in and contribute when they do make the jump, but these three looked far more polished than I expect from a #23 pick in his D+2 tournament and #25 and #29 picks in their D+1 tournament.

I didn't get to watch as much of Dvorsky as I'd have liked and he was much more of a mixed bag when I did watch. He had more "get that out of your game" moments than "NHLer" moments when I watched. Nothing to panic about right now for a younger guy in his D+1 tournament, but also not much to excite me for a #10 pick.

Nice tournaments from our 'lesser' prospects who were playing more support roles.

All in all, I think it says a ton about our prospect pool that I feel this good coming off the World Junior despite our #1 prospect making some 'biggest disappointment' lists. As is tradition, our scouting staff appears to have found some gems in the back half of the 1st round and there are multiple later round picks giving us reason to believe. Way, way too early to judge the 2023 draft, but I see a path for the 2023 draft to go down as a great one for the Blues even if Dvorsky falls noticeably short of our lofty hopes/expectations.

The only thing that I saw watching the gold medal game from Lidstein that was cringe worthy were a few lapses in judgment when trying to push for offence when trailing in the 3rd.

Part of it is likely because of the defence pairing being juggled in game, but when he was feeling the pressure I felt he made mistakes that didn't show up in other games or on the defensive side.

I think ideally he's going to need an all around partner or a offensive partner while he's tasked with the defensive lifting for his pairing to excel in the NHL - rather than being the it factor on ice. Granted, that could have been the assigned role for the tourney (knowing ASP got the offensive assignments) and he and Willander were tasked with running down the clock and low risk plays - he could easily be an excellent offensive guy who hasn't been gifted the opportunity to demonstrate that component of his game.

 

[bleedblue1223]

As someone that was high on Lindstein, I don't want to take too much away from this tourney, I don't think we should all upgrade our projections thinking his going to be our next Petro, but it's absolutely a good sign that when playing with his peers, he still excels and doesn't look out of place.

So, the nice takeaway from me is that at a checkpoint in his development, he looks like a 1st round pick, and it was a pick that some viewed as a not 1st round caliber prospect. We'll see how the rest of his development goes.

 

[Blueston]

I'm overall very happy with this year's tournament. I didn't get to watch as much as I'd have liked (I never do), but fortunately my two priority-viewing teams didn't disappoint. For obvious reasons, I prioritized watching USA and Sweden.

Snuggy looked like much more than a good shot and took another step forward to prove that he isn't simply a product of talented line mates. 5 goals and 8 points for a guy who got too sick to play mid-tournament is pretty impressive. Take a bow on your World Junior career Snuggy: 10 goals, 21 points, a +12, a bronze and a gold medal through 13 World Junior games.

Lindstein was arguably the best D man in the tournament and was at absolute worst among the best. He had the benefit of playing with a #11 overall pick, but I haven't seen anyone suggesting that Willander carried the pair. My eyes certainly didn't tell me that and I think there is a case to be made that Lindstein played better of the two. I don't think he possibly could have looked better.

Stenberg had a great tournament as well (albeit in a lesser role). He did so many little things right and so much of his game seems like it will translate to the pro level on small ice. He just looks like a huge pain in the ass to play against.

This tournament is a small sample, but I very much believe that I was watching 3 future NHL contributors. I was watching specifically for these 3 guys, but all 3 had plays that jumped out to me every game I watched them. I saw more "that will work in the NHL" moments than "he needs to erase that from his game ASAP" moments. That isn't to say that they are NHL-ready or that they will seemlessly step in and contribute when they do make the jump, but these three looked far more polished than I expect from a #23 pick in his D+2 tournament and #25 and #29 picks in their D+1 tournament.

I didn't get to watch as much of Dvorsky as I'd have liked and he was much more of a mixed bag when I did watch. He had more "get that out of your game" moments than "NHLer" moments when I watched. Nothing to panic about right now for a younger guy in his D+1 tournament, but also not much to excite me for a #10 pick.

Nice tournaments from our 'lesser' prospects who were playing more support roles.

All in all, I think it says a ton about our prospect pool that I feel this good coming off the World Junior despite our #1 prospect making some 'biggest disappointment' lists. As is tradition, our scouting staff appears to have found some gems in the back half of the 1st round and there are multiple later round picks giving us reason to believe. Way, way too early to judge the 2023 draft, but I see a path for the 2023 draft to go down as a great one for the Blues even if Dvorsky falls noticeably short of our lofty hopes/expectations.

I think that while the criticism Dvo is receiving is not entirely unwarranted, it is largely over the top. i thought button actually did nice job explaining some of factors that limited dvo production in first part of tournament (crappy linemates, covering for teammates defensive shortcomings, etc.. ), but i also think there are elements in his game that he is still figuring out and that could well make him better player at NHL level than many guys who seem ahead of him now. I have very little doubt that he will be dang good nhl player.

 

[STL fan in MN]

If his team didn’t stink it would help.

You talking Notre Dame or Kingston? Both are meh but not downright horrible.

 

[Blueston]

As someone that was high on Lindstein, I don't want to take too much away from this tourney, I don't think we should all upgrade our projections thinking his going to be our next Petro, but it's absolutely a good sign that when playing with his peers, he still excels and doesn't look out of place.

So, the nice takeaway from me is that at a checkpoint in his development, he looks like a 1st round pick, and it was a pick that some viewed as a not 1st round caliber prospect. We'll see how the rest of his development goes.