World Juniors Tournament

For Canadians, December means two things: the holidays are here, and so too is the World Junior Championship. Most Jets fans root for Team Canada, but the tournament also gives fans a chance to see the stars of tomorrow shine on the world stage. 2012 – Mark Scheifele shines during Canada drought The first year to include a Winnipeg Jets prospect was 2012. Mark Scheifele headlined the Jets’ class with an impressive six points in six games representing Team Canada. Canada unfortunately couldn’t recapture gold, but Scheifele scored two goals in the bronze medal game, a 4–0 win over Finland. Ivan Telegin also represented the Jets for Russia and recorded two points in six games, losing the gold medal game to Sweden in overtime. 2013 – Jacob Trouba propels USA to third gold medal, wins top honours Only two Jets prospects attended the 2013 World Junior Championship, but both made a big impact. Scheifele returned to Team Canada and finished the tournament with a strong eight points in just six games. Along the way, he won player of the game honours in Canada’s 6–3 win over Slovakia, but Canada went on to lose the bronze medal game to Russia in overtime. The real prize, however, went to Jacob Trouba. Trouba was all over the ice and, alongside Johnny Gaudreau, led the Americans in scoring with nine points in seven games. Trouba assisted on two game-winning goals—one against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals and another in the gold medal game against Sweden, which the USA won 3–1. His play earned him the IIHF award for top defenceman and a spot on the tournament all-star team. 2014 – Josh Morrissey and Nic Petan show promise for Canada Morrissey and Petan debuted at the World Juniors and had modest success on a largely disappointing Team Canada that failed to medal. Morrissey recorded three points in seven games, while Petan added five points, most notably scoring a late game-winning goal against Slovakia in the round robin. Andrew Copp contributed five points in five games for a USA squad that lost in the quarterfinals. Jan Kostalek also represented the Jets for the Czech Republic, tallying one point. He helped Czechia upset Canada in the round robin, but the team ultimately failed to medal. 2015 – Jets prospects in abundance, all impress in Toronto and Montreal Jets fans were spoiled in the 2015 World Junior Championship. With five prospects on four different teams, nearly every game featured a Jets player to watch. Morrissey and Petan returned for Canada and helped capture the country’s first gold medal in five years. Morrissey recorded four points in seven games, while Petan exploded for 11 points, tying Connor McDavid and Sam Reinhart for the tournament lead. Off the podium, three other prospects also impressed. Chase De Leo scored just one goal but netted the shootout winner over Finland in the round robin for a fifth-place USA squad. Kostalek returned for the Czech Republic and posted three points in six games, highlighted by a best player of the game award in an overtime win over Denmark. For Denmark, Nikolaj Ehlers led a revitalized team out of relegation and into the quarterfinals, recording four points in five games along the way. 2016 – Sami Niku and Pavel Kraskovsky square off in gold medal game Three Jets prospects represented Winnipeg in the 2016 World Junior Championship, and all delivered solid performances. Michael Špa?ek led the Czech Republic in scoring with five points in five games and earned player of the game honours in a shootout loss to Russia during the round robin. Kraskovsky recorded four points in seven games for Russia, helping them push through adversity to reach the gold medal game. However, Russia fell to Sami Niku’s Team Finland, a loaded roster that included Sebastian Aho, Jesse Puljujärvi, and pre-draft Patrik Laine. Niku posted three points in the tournament. Future Jets prospect Laine was named to the all-star team. 2017 – Jack Roslovic and Erik Foley capture gold with USA Three Jets prospects competed in the 2017 tournament. None produced big offensive numbers, but all contributed in multiple facets of the game. Špa?ek returned for the Czech Republic as an alternate captain and recorded three points in five games, including a late game-winning goal against Finland in the round robin. Foley and Roslovic helped the USA capture gold. Neither found much success on the scoresheet—Foley finished with one point and Roslovic with two—but Roslovic earned player of the game honours in a 5–2 win over Slovakia. 2018 – Kristian Vesalainen shines on weak Finnish squad The 2018 World Junior Championship was not the strongest showing for Jets prospects. Although three prospects made the tournament, only two played, as goaltender Mikhail Berdin remained in the press box as Russia’s third goalie. Dylan Samberg had a solid debut for the USA, posting four points in seven games and winning the bronze medal. Vesalainen had a strong tournament as a point-per-game scorer, collecting six points in six games and earning player of the game honours in a 4–2 loss to Canada. 2019 – Santeri Virtanen helps Finland capture gold Virtanen may not be a household name, but he was part of one of the best Finnish squads in history. He recorded three points in seven games during Finland’s gold medal run. Samberg added two points in seven games for a silver medal–winning USA team. David Gustafsson showed strong poise for Sweden as a dominant faceoff specialist and chipped in offensively with three points in five games. 2020 – Gustafsson and Ville Heinola show less in more With the Jets sending just two prospects, expectations were modest in 2020, but both players impressed. Heinola recorded five points in seven games, including a late assist on the game-winning goal against the USA in the quarterfinals. Gustafsson helped Sweden capture bronze and finished with four points while continuing to dominate in the faceoff circle as an alternate captain. 2021 – Trio of prospects medal in Edmonton and Red Deer The 2021 tournament presented unique challenges, taking place entirely within a COVID-19 bubble and without fans. Heinola returned for his second tournament and, alongside fellow Finn Henri Nikkanen, captured bronze with Finland. Heinola posted four points in seven games and earned player of the game honours in a quarterfinal win over Sweden, while Nikkanen added three points. Cole Perfetti delivered a strong showing for Canada, recording six points in seven games in a silver medal effort. 2022 – Perfetti leaves lasting impression on cancelled tournament Before reviewing the official results, it’s important to mention the originally cancelled 2022 tournament. Perfetti dominated early, recording five points in just two games to lead the tournament in scoring. Unfortunately, COVID-19 outbreaks forced the tournament’s cancellation. Perfetti and Nikita Chibrikov later elected not to return when the event was rescheduled for August. Brad Lambert and Daniel Torgersson returned in August to represent Finland and Sweden, respectively. While both teams performed well, the players struggled offensively. Lambert was limited to one goal in five games while playing reduced minutes for silver medal–winning Finland. Torgersson recorded two points in seven games for bronze medal–winning Sweden, including a two-goal performance against Switzerland in the round robin that earned him player of the game honours. 2023 – Plenty of points for prospects in Halifax Overall, 2023 was a strong year for Jets prospects, with one exception. Lambert continued to struggle for Finland, recording just one point in five games on a team that finished fifth. Fabian Wagner found his scoring touch, posting six points in seven games for Sweden, which lost in overtime of the bronze medal game. He recorded a three-point game against Austria and contributed as a penalty killer throughout the tournament. Rutger McGroarty and Chaz Lucius were offensive leaders for Team USA, each producing seven points in seven games. Lucius in particular stood out with a game-winning goal against Latvia and a star-making performance in the bronze medal game. Both players recorded three-point outings, with Lucius completing a hat trick by scoring the overtime winner against Sweden. Future Jets prospect Thomas Milic also impressed for Canada, backstopping them to a second straight gold medal. 2024 – McGroarty leads USA to championship gold McGroarty sought redemption and found it in Gothenburg. Serving as captain of Team USA, he led the squad on an undefeated run to the gold medal. He recorded nine points in seven games and shone brightest in a 10–2 round robin win over Slovakia, where he scored a hat trick and earned player of the game honours. Wagner returned for Sweden and was joined by newcomer Elias Salomonsson. While both struggled offensively, Sweden thrived on home ice, reaching the finals before falling to the USA. 2025 – Brayden Yager leads Canada to second straight disappointment The 2025 tournament proved difficult for Jets prospects. Yager was Winnipeg’s lone representative and served as Canada’s captain. Despite leading the team in scoring with three points in five games, Canada struggled throughout the tournament. Canada lost to the USA on New Year’s Eve and suffered a historic upset loss to Latvia in a shootout. The disappointment continued as Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, falling to Czechia. This year’s prospects to watch In the 15th year that the Winnipeg Jets will send prospects to the World Junior Championship, two players will represent the organization. Both Sascha Boumedienne and Alfons Freij will make their World Junior debuts for Sweden. They hope to help reverse Sweden’s fortunes, as the nation has won gold only twice in its history and just once since the 1980s. These two defencemen will look to follow in the footsteps of former Jets prospects and excel throughout the tournament. While Canada typically garners most of Jets fans’ attention, Sweden is another team worth cheering for this year.

Winnipeg Jets prospects through 15 years of World Junior Championships

Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers (Tuesday, Dec 27th)