Canadiens Daily

Habs Daily: Bergqvist World Juniors, Key WJC Prospects, Kapanen

Published

4 weeks ago

December 27, 2024

Marc Dumont

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Thursday.

Montreal Canadiens News

The Montreal Canadiens will only have one player at the 2025 World Junior Championship, which got underway on Thursday. Swedish defenceman Rasmus Bergqvist was picked 224th overall by the Habs at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, making him the penultimate pick of the draft.

He’s yet to score a goal in 21 SHL games for Skellefteå this year, but he did manage to score goals in back-to-back games during pre-tournament play.

TIE GAME!

Rasmus Bergqvist rips one home to tie the game 1-1! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/bt5Cs0IkyX

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2024

He also scored Sweden’s first goal in their 5-2 tournament-opening win versus Slovakia. The 19-year-old defenceman is being used on Sweden’s top pairing, alongside Detroit Red Wings standout Axel Sandin-Pellikka.

Even with just one Canadiens prospect in the mix, there are a few players worth monitoring, as the Habs are likely to be in the mix for a top-10 pick at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Prospects such as Matthew Schaefer (Canada), Porter Martone (Canada), James Hagen (USA), Logan Hensler (USA), and Victor Eklund (Sweden) are set to playing important roles during the tournament. [Potential Canadiens Draft Picks To Watch At World Juniors]

Speaking of Hagens, he scored the USA’s first goal of the tournament, and set up the team’s second goal as well as the United States faced Germany.

ANOTHER ONE 🗣️

James Hagens finds Gabe Perreault who makes no mistake in front.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/vD6Cf2nu0K

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2024

He would go on to register a third point shortly afterwards, which was also his second goal of the game.

James Hagens. 3-point game. Monster performance. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ehtfRHeEqN

— Nathan “Grav” Murdock (@NathanGraviteh) December 26, 2024

We also mentioned David Lewandowski in the prospects to watch article, a German forward. He also scored in Thursday’s game between Germany and the USA. The play was reviewed for offside, and was judged to be perfectly legal.

GOOD GOAL FOR GERMANY 🚨

Team USA challenges Lewandowski’s goal but after a review it was deemed a good goal.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/sseAmyTH7n

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2024

Oliver Kapanen opened the scoring for Timra versus Leksands, Emil Heineman’s former team. With Kapanen’s help, Timra won 4-2. He now has four goals and six assists in 11 games since being loaned to the SHL club by the Canadiens.