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Winnipeg Jets Prospects; Boxing Day Update: World Juniors Kickoff |
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As Boxing Day tradition has it, the World Juniors tournament started today, and the Winnipeg Jets had all four prospects representing the Jets in action. Brad Lambert (FIN), Rutger McGroarty (USA), Chaz Lucius (USA) and Fabian Wagner (SWE) are the four players selected to represent their countries from the Jets organization.
**This piece will be updated following the end of the USA-LAT game in regards to McGroarty and Lucius**
Fabian Wagner, who was the Jets' 6th round pick from the most recent draft, 2022, joined the rest of the Swedish team to face off against Austria. Now, a team like Austria doesn't typically have high expectations out of the fans watching the tournament, but the Swede's took advantage of their opportunity to put up a score of 11-0.
Wagner registered just under 13 minutes of ice time, but in the 12:51 he played, he registered a goal and a pair of assists. As I mentioned, there were a lot of goals, but the one Wagner scored was a beautiful shot that had a good chance of beating most goalies in the tournament. Wagner, who was written in as the 3rd line center, went 7 for 11 on the faceoff dot, good for 64%. I would expect to see Wagner get some more ice time over the next couple days, and while I see the line with him, Lekkerimaki and Stjernborg to stick otgether, they may play a more prominent role.
Brad Lambert and the Finnish team fell 3-2 in overtime to the Swiss team, kicking the tournament off with an upset. Now, of course I want to see all of the Jets prospects thrive, it is always fun seeing a team like Switzerland come out with a win. Lambert, who started the game off on the first line, saw a big drop off in ice time for the third period. Through the first two periods, he was on pace to hit 17 minutes, but only ended up with 3:13 in the final frame, finishing with 14:36 total.
Though he was kept off the scoreboard, and only registered one shot, Lambert was a big part of the offense Finland was generating. I was really disappointed to see Brad Lambert on the bench for the start of 3-on-3 overtime, as he is definitely the most polarizing player with that much ice to play with. I don't like to make assumptions based on one game, but it goes back a bit more than this tournament. Lambert has all of the skill, speed, everything, but isn't going to be the guy to lead his line to battle. In the perspective of the Jets lineup, he has the skill to do anything, but his best fit would be with Connor and Dubois, as he isn't relied on to generate everything. I don't expect the demotion to be long-term. He can bring it, and to be honest, I don't know if I agree with the decision to lower his ice time anyway. He was playing just fine.
Chaz Lucius, former 18th overall pick by the Jets, gave USA the game-winning goal on a beautiful rush play, breaking through the defenders and tossing a backhand shot far-side. Lucius played 15:05, and was 50% on the faceoffs. He was a great part of the generated offense for the Americans, and was quite busy with the puck, registering 4 shots and countless effective passes.
Rutger McGroarty, on the other hand, struggled a bit in his first game. Only playing 11:29, was the second lowest among any forward for team USA. McGroarty was quiet for the majority of the game, but when he would put together a strong shift, he was one of the best players. He may take a bit of adjusting, but there is certainly no reason to be concerned about his play yet. He has a wicked shot, but only registered one shot on goal. I would like to see some more of that.
Overall, it was a great night for the Jets' representation at the World Juniors, and look out for a piece very similar to this for the 27th with Wagner and Lambert are both back in action!
Let me know your thoughts on all four players' performances!
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • 
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