The Summer camps for the 2016 World Junior Championships have wrapped up and for the first time in quite awhile, there is an actual possibility that the Montreal Canadiens might not have any prospects playing in this premier event. The good news is that two Canadiens prospects participated in these camps, Defenceman Noah Juulsen for Canada and Forward Lukas Vejdemo for Sweden. Both players were drafted this Summer, the 18 year old Juulsen in the 1st round while the 19 year old Vejdemo was a surprise pick in the third round. Both players went into their respective camps as bubble players. Coming out of the camps and scrimmages, it seems as though Juulsen has broken through into the conversation of Canada’s top 6 defencemen while Vejdemo is still on the outside looking in.
Only Defenceman Joe Hicketts is a returnee from Canada’s 2015 gold medal winning roster. Unlike other years there is ample opportunity for younger players like Juulsen to grab a roster spot. Prior to being invited to the under 20 camp, Juulsen’s only and limited experience with Hockey Canada was when he suited up for Team Canada Pacific at the Under 17 Championships. Other 18 year old defenders like Jeremy Roy and Thomas Chabot seemingly had an inside track to the top 6 as they have more experience with Hockey Canada and have been on the radar longer than Juulsen. However, Juulsen proved why he shot up the NHL’s Central Scouting 2015 rankings, jumping from a preliminary 2nd/3rd round projected pick to 38th by the midterm ranking and up to 22nd (North American Skaters) by the final rankings. His constant improvement and the development of his offensive game caught the eye of Hockey Canada and the Montreal Canadiens. Juulsen can also bring a bit of bite and a physical edge that should help him make Canada’s final Roster come December. He also cracked Craig Button’s top six as well:
With #WJC summer camp over, @CraigJButton assesses #TeamCanada and makes a roster projection. http://t.co/GbtymGfO1N pic.twitter.com/IHO7X2ZgBy
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) August 7, 2015On the other hand, Lukas Vejdemo came out of camp with mixed reports. Vejdemo was a late addition to Sweden’s camp and roster to participate in the Lake Placid tournament last week. It was the first time that Vejdemo has been invited to a Team Sweden camp which is especially notable as Vejdemo is already 19 years old. He did suffer through injuries during key developmental years but one wonders if he would have been invited if the Canadiens had not drafted him in the 3rd round of this year. Vejdemo only recorded one assist during the brief Lake Placid tournament. Mid-way through reports were positive with Vejdemo seemingly moving his way up Sweden’s lineup:
Since the beginning of Sweden's camp Vejdemo has gone from the 4th line to the 2nd line as the coaching staff has gotten to know his game.
— Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) August 6, 2015Vejdemo has played well in spot duty on the 3rd line to earn himself a shift centering Sweden's top line with Kempe and Olofsson. #Habs
— All Habs (Canadiens) (@All_Habs) August 7, 2015Whereas by the end of the tournament Vejdemo seemed to be the 13th extra forward:
#Habs: Note du camp à Lake Placid de l'équipe suédoise. Lukas Vejdemo, un choix de 3e tour, a fini le tournoi dans le rôle de 13e attaquant.
— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) August 8, 2015Sweden - F:
Kempe-Holmstrom-Olofsson
Asplund-Eriksson Ek-Lööke
Timashov-Forsbacka-Karlsson-A. Karlsson
Törnqvist-Ehn-Grundstrom
Vejdemo
— Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdon) August 7, 2015Vejdemo’s spot on team Sweden will greatly depend on how the 1st half of his season goes with Djurgarden and if he can stay with the big club and make an impact.
While it’s possible that zero Canadiens prospects make it to the 2016 World Junior Championships, most likely Habs fans will have at least one player (Juulsen) to cheer for and hopefully Vejdemo can squeeze onto Sweden’s roster as well. Playing for one’s country is an incredible experience and the World Junior tournament has been known to be key towards the development of future NHL’ers. Of the current Canadiens roster, only 9 players never played in this tournament which translates to 62.5% of the roster having World Junior Hockey experience.
Brian Flynn David Desharnais Torrey Mitchell Christian Thomas Dale Weise Mark Barbiero Jeff Petry Tom Gilbert Greg Pateryn
With a number of Canadiens prospects having graduated to the pro ranks this year, the cupboards are just starting to be restocked. Couple that with not having a 2nd or 4th round draft pick in 2015 and it’s not a great surprised that the Canadiens will not be greatly represented at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships. Habs fans were spoiled in 2015 with the likes of Zach Fucale (Canada), Jacob de la Rose (Sweden), Artturi Lehkonen (Finland) and Martin Reway (Slovakia) all having participated right here in Montreal. Hopefully by the time the tournament comes back to Montreal in 2017, Habs fans will have a few more prospects to cheer for as well…
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