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There aren’t many hopes for the CH in action at the World Junior Championship that has just started, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of interesting things to watch for fans of the Flanelle.
Several media outlets and fans have spent a good part of the fall debating between Michkov and Reinbacher, but assuming Michkov didn’t want to play in Montreal and/or that the CH scouts wanted nothing to do with him, the comparison with another excellent right-handed defenseman from this draft class, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, becomes 100 times more interesting and 1000 times more relevant in my eyes.
Craig Button had, against all odds, ranked the small Swedish defenseman (5’10) 5th on his final list in 2023, and I had said this while ranking him 14th in my mock draft for the Penguins (the Wings eventually drafted him in 17th place):
Sandin-Pellikka is the best player still available in the stands and could just as well become the best defenseman of this draft.
As fate would have it, the Penguins turned their attention to Brandon Yager (who has since been traded to the Jets for Rutger McGroarty) and mainly decided to bet on another Swedish player, more experienced, to support Letang, a certain Erik Karlsson…
Be that as it may, Sandin-Pellikka, with 22 points in 25 games in the top league in Sweden (SweHL), started the competition strong with a spectacular performance of 3 goals and 4 points against Slovakia, before taking it a bit easier yesterday against Kazakhstan…
Finally, even though he wouldn’t have been able to play at this WJC because he is already 20 years old, it’s such a bummer for everyone that Reinbacher is injured at the moment!
Canadiens prospect Rasmus Bergqvist ties it up with a good shot!
pic.twitter.com/8nEgwU5EcE
— RDS (@RDSca) December 26, 2024
Bergqvist, a 6’1″ left-shot defenseman, was modestly drafted in the 7th round at 19 years old last June by Montreal, but he is already playing regularly in the SweHL.
At least we’ll have the chance to observe him closely until the end of the competition to get a better idea….
Unlike MBN, Eklund is rather slight at 5’11”, 163 pounds, but he compensates with more creativity and agility.
#Canucks Tom Willander connects with top #2025NHLDraft prospect Victor Eklund with a deft redirection.
Nice find by Willander, with Eklund planting his stick as a target.
: @TSN_Sports pic.twitter.com/mSJcuAePf4
— Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) December 27, 2024
It will be interesting to take a closer look at his performances at the end of the tournament. We will then perhaps be better able to determine if it would be worth it for a team like the Canadiens – who are likely to “select” between 6th and 10th place – to pay a little more attention to Eklund.
On the side of Logan Hensler, he is seen more as a future quality right-side defenseman, ultra-mobile with a good frame. Not a bad insurance policy, considering the numerous question marks that remain regarding the future of the right side of the Montreal defense…
But would it be a good idea to use a top-10 pick on this kind of rather sober profile? Hensler, who played about fifteen minutes against Germany, will need to have a strong tournament and especially a very good end to his NCAA season to convince me, as he has shown underwhelming statistics (0 goals, 7 assists, -3 in 17 games) in a rather ordinary club in Wisconsin…
We won’t get carried away by Cole Hutson’s five-assist performance against Germany in a 10-4 blowout, but Lane’s brother is still quite a hockey player.
Nothing new here; I’ve been saying it for several months, ranking him 8th on my final personal list for the last draft and at 17th place (for the Capitals… who finally picked him in 43rd place!) in the mock draft created alongside Marc-Olivier Beaudoin.
Of course, Michael Hage won’t get the chance to prove himself against Hutson during this competition, having not even been invited to the Canadian junior camp, but it doesn’t matter; we’ll keep an eye on both of them in the upcoming seasons, as they are currently playing in the NCAA…
So far, Hutson, slightly bigger than his brother and a bit more orthodox in his defensive play and skating, has recorded a dazzling 14 points in 16 games “in place” of Lane at Boston University.
In light of Kirby Dach’s season, the CH can’t regret their choice too much right now… But let’s admit that having both Hutson brothers on the same team would have been something that could revolutionize ice hockey! #justkidding
But who knows exactly what might happen in the coming months with this team? We know, among other things, that there will likely be more “rebuilding” type trades that could weaken the team in the short term…
That’s why we need to keep an eye on this trio of high-level prospects at the WJC.
Hagens and Schaefer started the competition off strong on Thursday, but now, with the serious injury suffered by the Canadian defenseman, we unfortunately won’t have the chance to witness a great duel between the two on December 31. We simply won’t see Schaefer again in the tournament, as he will be out for two to three months…
Ouch!
Heavy fall into the boards for Matthew Schaefer, who left and hasn’t returned to the game
: RDS#MondialJunior | #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/Gr7mjU6sVJ
— RDS (@RDSca) December 28, 2024
On his part, Martone has played very little so far (only 7 minutes and some dust against Latvia…) and may perhaps drop a bit in the minds of scouts after this competition…
An ordinary, even disappointing tournament on his part could even “help” him fall out of the top 5. But let’s reserve judgment for now. Maybe the loss against Latvia will motivate Coach Cameron to give him a chance…
We’ll talk about all this and many other things at the end of the tournament!
