The Montreal Canadiens have six prospects representing six different countries at the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship. Their performances will be updated daily in this article.
Tournament statistics
Player Draft Year Country Pos GP TOI/GP GAP SOG Player Draft Year Country Pos GP TOI/GP GAP SOG Adam Engström 2022 Sweden LD 2 16:22 1 2 3 3 Oliver Kapanen 2021 Finland C 2 15:13 1 1 2 4 Joshua Roy 2021 Canada RW 1 13:13 0 0 0 3 Filip Mesar 2022 Slovakia C/RW 1 20:12 0 0 0 1 Vinzenz Rohrer 2022 Austria C/RW 1 19:55 0 0 0 1 Lane Hutson 2022 United States 14:00 LD 07 0 0 0 0
Adam Engstrom
December 26: Sweden vs Austria
Austria were no match for the Swedes in the second game of the competition, going down 11-0. All of Sweden’s skaters earned a lead in the game, with Engström finishing at +4. Swedish head coach Magnus Havelid didn’t have to record any of his players during the stretch, with the top game at 18:30 for Axel Sandin Pellikka. Engström, who started the match with the top pair, went out at 15:37.
He had secondary assists on goals six and seven for Sweden, taking the points lead among Habs prospects after one day. He will be fresh for the next game on Tuesday afternoon, when the team may have to play a little more defense.
December 27: Sweden vs Germany
In the final seconds of the first period of Sweden’s game against Germany, Engström fired the puck from the point, appearing to deflect off a teammate before going into the net. The IIHf rarely examines such plays after the fact to give proper credit, so the goal remains on Engström’s stat line, his third point to go with two assists from the opening game. The game turned out to be a goalkeeping duel between Carl Lindbom and Nikita Quapp, with Engstrõm’s goal being the only one scored.
Despite the game being closely contested compared to the 11-0 win the day before, Sweden’s head coach once again distributed the ice time fairly evenly. Six defensemen played at least 16 minutes, and the highest total was under 21. Engström finished toward the lower end of the range at 17:08, but it’s hard to find much fault with a player who is tied for seventh place in the tournament score.
Next match: December 29 against the Czech Republic
Oliver Kapanen
December 26: Finland against Switzerland
Kapanen has been named captain of Team Finland at their second Junior World Championship, following their silver medal in the summer. The team leader now has work to do with his teammates to put behind them a shock defeat to Switzerland after the tournament got off to an upset start.
He finished the game -1, not only on the ice for the overtime goal scored by Attilio Biasca, but a step late to get to the Swiss player after leaving his station to try to win the puck to the boards. Kapanen will know he needs to do more to help his team win, and we should expect to see a better performance from Finland in their second match, although attack is still expected to be an issue.
December 27: Finland vs Slovakia
Finland had to be better after their first loss to Switzerland; captain Oliver Kapanen needed to be much better after a difficult first game. On Tuesday against Slovakia, he responded with one of the best individual performances by a skater in the tournament so far.
He was effective in the faceoff circle and tough in puck battles to win possession. He recorded three shots in the game, one of them a highlight reel wraparound for his first goal.
He added an assist on the next Finnish goal to finish the day with two points, earning player of the match honors after a 5-2 win that got Finland back on track.
Next match: December 29 against Latvia
Joshua Roy
December 26: Canada vs Czech Republic
It wasn’t the typical relentless offensive effort Canada had shown in pre-tournament play leading into their first meaningful game of the winter. They seemed to take their opponent lightly, and it came back to bite them as the Czechs scored two quick goals to end the first period, then another early in the second that was enough to cause an upset.
Unfortunately for Roy, his highlight play of the game was a split-second offside on a goal that would have put Canada up 2-0 in the opening period. Canada’s hopes of a comeback were dashed when their centre, Zach Dean, was awarded a game penalty in the middle, in which the Czechs scored two more goals. Now it’s a question of whether Dean will face another discipline, and he could tangle with Canada’s most effective closing line if that happens.
Roy had three shots on goal as he tried to rally his team, but Canada struggled to solve goalkeeper Tomáš Suchánek and was one of several players knocked unconscious on the night.
Next match: December 28 against Germany
Felipe Mesar
December 27 against Finland
Mesar witnessed Kapanen’s rebound effort on Tuesday, and was unable to get a counter. The 2022 first-round pick was heavily supported by Slovakia with more than 20 minutes played. It was -2 with just one shot on goal.
Slovakia will need the playmaker to be a difference maker to make any impact in this tournament. We should expect a rebound similar to what Kapanen produced as Slovakia tries to avoid an 0-2 start against the United States on Wednesday.
Next game: December 28 vs. USA
Vincent Rohrer
December 26: Austria against Sweden
Rohrer was a surprise omission from the lineup just before Austria’s match with Sweden. We learned that he had not been feeling well and therefore did not make his way to the arena for the match, which ended up being a blowout at the hands of the Swedes.
Austrian head coach Kirk Furey says Vinzenz Rohrer (MTL) simply “didn’t feel his best”. They hope to get it back tomorrow. They said they missed him. “Lion heart”.
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) December 26, 2022
Let’s hope this isn’t a major ailment for the Austria spark plug and that he’s recovered in time for the team’s game on Tuesday.
December 27: Austria vs Czech Republic
Rohrer’s return to the lineup did little to change Austria’s fortunes. A day after going down 11-0 to Sweden, they were beaten once again, conceding more goals (nine) than they took shots (eight).
The only NHL-drafted player on Austria’s roster, Rohrer played the most minutes of any skater on the team and miraculously escaped not being on the ice for a goal. He registered one of eight shots on Czech goalkeeper Tomáš Suchánek, but was unable to snap the country’s goalless streak that stretched to two full games.
At this point, the Austrians’ realistic goal is probably just to score one goal in their remaining two group stage matches. They seem destined to finish in the relegation phase, and it’s hard to imagine them staying in the First Division in 2024.
Next game: December 29 vs. Canada
Lane Hutson
December 26: USA vs Latvia
Team USA played a tougher game than expected against Latvia at the start of the tournament. a game that tied 2-2 after 40 minutes of play. The Americans scored three goals to win comfortably in the end, but flirted with an early upset.
Hutson didn’t record a point, or even a shot, in the 5-2 win. He played just 14:07, which was the second-lowest total among the defense corps, and that may be the case throughout the tournament as Luke Hughes takes advantage of the offensive minutes Hutson thrives on. In his time in the first game, Hutson used his good hooking to break up the few offensive plays Latvia had and help his team in transition.
Next match: December 28 against Slovakia