Five Canadiens Prospects Going For Gold At World Juniors

Are you ready for some summer hockey featuring five Montreal Canadiens prospects?

The 2022 World Junior Championships resume Tuesday in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta after being put on hiatus thanks to a tournament wide COVID outbreak in December.

While top Montreal Canadiens prospects Juraj Slafkovsky (2022 first round, first overall), Filip Mesar (2022 first round, 26th overall) Lane Hutson (2022 second round, 62nd overall), Luke Tuch (2020 second round, 47th overall), Blake Biondi (2020 fourth round, 109th overall) and Kaiden Guhle (2020 first round, 16th overall), won’t be playing, the Montreal Canadiens will still have the following five prospects battling for gold in arguably the most exciting hockey tournament besides the Stanley Cup playoffs:

Riley Kidney, center, Canada, 2021 second-round pick (63^rd)

Joshua Roy, center/left wing, Canada, 2021 fifth-round pick (150^th)

Petteri Nurmi, defenseman, Finland, 2022 seventh-round pick (194^th)

Jan Mysak, center/left wing, Czechia, 2020 second-round pick (48^th)

Oliver Kapanen, center, Finland, 2021 second-round pick (64^th)

Kidney and Roy were not at Hockey Canada World Juniors training camp last summer and did not participate in the games this past December but thanks to the likes of Shane Wright and Dylan Guenther opting out, and sensational 2021-22 seasons by both Montreal Canadiens prospects in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, they were invited to the second camp earlier this summer.

Playing for the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Roy led the league in points with 119 and was tied for third in goals with 51 lamplighters. Kidney also played this past season in the QMJHL and finished right behind Roy in points with 100 and also lit the lamp 30 times.

“Probably a week before I got the call, my agent said I have a chance to make this team so that made me hit the gym and work even harder,” Kidney told TSN recently. “Then I finally got the call and I was super-happy. It was a dream come true. For me, when I didn’t get invited there, I just wanted to work super hard to prove to Hockey Canada that I’m good enough to play here. Next year in Halifax, that’s my year, that’s my hometown so I want to prove that I’m good enough to play here and play in that tournament.”

Hockey Canada will kick off the second portion of the 2022 World Juniors against Latvia at 6 PM ET on Wednesday. Click here for the rest of the tournament schedule.