As the hockey calendar continues a return to normalcy, the sport’s best holiday tradition is back in its familiar post-Christmas slot. Canada will once again serve as host for the World Junior Championships, with action set to begin on Boxing Day (December 26) and gold medals will be adorned on January 5. Even as friends and families around North America were gathering over this past weekend, the best junior-aged hockey players representing ten of the top nations in the world were busy making a quick mental transition to what will serve as the top international tournament of their young lives.
Unlike recent years, where the LA Kings seemed to have prospects littered across nearly every team in the tournament, GM Rob Blake has just three of his prized youngsters competing at the 2023 WJC, each representing a different country. Below is a quick recap of each prospect and a general overview of the tournament itself.
World Junior Championship Basics
Usually, the lowest-ranked team gets relegated to a lower division, and the winner of the lower division gets promoted into this tournament. However, as the other divisions were canceled last year due to COVID, no teams have been changed out for the 2023 WJC:
Group A
Austria
Canada
Czechia
Germany
Sweden
Group B
Finland
Latvia
Slovakia
Switzerland
United States
The tournament’s schedule is pretty straightforward. Each team plays one game against each other in the same group for seeding purposes. The bottom team from each group pair against each other in a best-of-three battle. The loser gets relegated for next year.
A single-elimination tournament begins on January 2 with the other eight teams. Basically, it’s three playoff games in four days if you make it to one of the medal games. Those eight teams are paired against the other seeded teams in the opposite group. So, the top team from Group A battles the fourth place team from Group B, and so on.
This is the 2023 WJC. Even though games officially begin in 2022, the designated year is always tied to when the gold medal will be awarded. Similar to how the 2023 Super Bowl champion will actually come following the 2022 NFL season.
Brandt Clarke: Defense, Canada (1st round pick in 2021)
Jersey No. 5
Headlining Blake’s prospects, Brandt Clarke’s appearance on Team Canada resonates as an ‘about time’ statement. Eyebrows were raised around the OHL last year when Clarke was not invited to his home country’s WJC selection camp in December. Those questions continued when he wasn’t added to the re-scheduled tournament in August. Some were ready to fetch the pitchforks if Clarke wasn’t part of this roster during his last year of eligibility.
In his limited time playing this season, Clarke has held his own. The skilled defender has four points in 14 professional games (two assists in 9 NHL games; plus one goal and an assist in 5 AHL appearances). In some brief pre tournament action, serving as a prelude to the actual WJC, Clarke notched four points (2 G, 2 A) in 3 games with Canada.
One Game Left: Clarke Talks Greene, O’Donnell, and Ontario Reign Experience
Kenny Connors: Forward, United States (4th round pick in 2022)
Jersey No. 27
One of the fastest risers in LA’s prospect pool has to be Kenny Connors, who will be wearing the red, white, and blue. Joining the organization when the Kings picked him No. 103 overall, he has taken the collegiate route by storm. The Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL alum leads top-15 ranked UMass in scoring with 17 points (7 G, 10 A) in 16 appearances.
In WJC exhibition play earlier this month, the skilled forward had one goal in two games.
Kenny Connors finishes off the sweet no-look feed from Gavin Brindley.
USA leads 2-1.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/qaZj411iQG
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 21, 2022
Otto Salin: Defense, Finland (5th round pick in 2022)
Jersey No. 3
Rounding out the Kings trio of prospects is a well-balanced blueliner in Otto Salin. He has six points (1 G, 5 A) in 23 games for HIFK in Liiga action. Find out more about what the scouts had to say about him here.
WJC Schedule for Kings Prospects
Every game of the 2023 World Junior Championship will be televised by NHL Network. These are the games featuring Kings prospects (all times Pacific):
Monday, December 26:
Finland vs Switzerland, 8:00 AM
USA vs Latvia, 1:00 PM
Canada vs Czechia, 3:30 PM
Tuesday, December 27:
Finland vs Slovakia, 8:00 AM
Wednesday, December 28:
USA vs Slovakia, 1:00 PM
Canada vs Germany, 3:30 PM
Thursday, December 29:
Finland vs Latvia, 8:00 AM
USA vs Switzerland, 1:00 PM
Canada vs Austria, 3:30 PM
Saturday, December 31:
Finland vs USA, 1:00 PM
Canada vs Sweden, 3:30 PM
Monday, January 2:
Quarterfinals – TBD
Wednesday, January 4:
Semifinals – TBD
Thursday, January 5:
Bronze Medal Game – TBD
Gold Medal Game – TBD
For a look back at the last tournament played during its traditional holiday time period, be sure to check out detailed scouting notes on nine LA Kings prospects below.
RELATED CONTENT:
World Juniors: Grading the Performance of Nine LA Kings Prospects
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