With the 2015 World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto just around the corner, NHL teams faced decision time on whether or not to send the top prospects on their roster to the international under-20 tournament.
The Ottawa Senators decided to send Curtis Lazar and the New York Rangers sent Anthony Duclair, while the Edmonton Oilers decided to not send Leon Draisaitl.
With the NHL’s holiday roster freeze taking effect on Friday Dec., 19, here are the remaining 10 World Junior Championship-eligible players in the NHL and what their status is.
Bo Horvat, Vancouver Canucks
The ninth overall pick of the 2013 draft is averaging only 10:18 of ice time a night for the Canucks, which is the least of anybody who’s played more than five games for the team. But he has won 56 per cent of the 182 faceoffs he’s taken. In 18 games, Horvat has one goal and four assists with a minus-2 rating.
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
You didn’t expect the Oilers to take the cautious, safe approach with a top prospect, did you? In 32 games this season, the third overall pick from the 2014 draft has two goals and five assists while averaging 12:46 of ice time a night. The Germans aren’t likely to medal at the WJC, but at the very least, it might have been refreshing for Draisaitl to get away from the defeated culture in Edmonton right now.
Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
The first overall pick in last summer’s draft, Ekblad took the decision out of Florida’s hands with his strong play this season. Averaging 22:01 of ice time a night, Ekblad is second in team scoring with 18 points in 29 games and is tied for the team lead with 13 assists. Usually defencemen take a while to develop, but Ekblad looks more like a veteran than an 18-year-old rookie.
Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Another piece of Florida’s promising young core of talent, Barkov never was a realistic candidate for the WJC. The Finn, taken second overall in the 2013 draft, is second on the team to fellow centre Nick Bjugstad in ice time and he’s a strong corsi player, too. Barkov was eligible for last year’s WJC and didn’t go. This monster is an NHL calibre player who’s having a big impact on Florida’s push back to playoff relevancy.
Nikita Zadorov, Buffalo Sabres
The big Russian defenceman was picked 16th overall in 2013 and was part of Russia’s entry in the WJC last winter. There, he scored four goals and five points in seven games en route to a bronze medal. Russia could use him again, but this time the Sabres are electing to keep Zadorov on the NHL club. Through 21 games, Zadorov has two goals and four points and is one of only three Sabres with a positive plus-minus (plus-1). He’s averaging 18:41 of ice a night and scored the overtime-winner Saturday against Florida.
Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay Lightning
Since the third overall pick from 2013 has been a healthy scratch from Tampa Bay’s lineup on a few occasions, there appeared to be an outside chance he’d be sent to the world juniors. After all, Brett Connolly was released by the Lightning for the tournament in 2012, one season after he was picked sixth overall. But current Tampa GM Steve Yzerman wants Drouin in the NHL. The graduated Halifax Moosehead has two goals and 11 assists in 24 games this season.
Mirco Mueller, San Jose Sharks
Another guy who’s been made a healthy scratch a number of times this season, the 6-foot-3 Mueller (picked 18th overall in 2013), is still with the Sharks, however the team hasn’t yet ruled out sending him to the WJC. Mueller has represented Switzerland in the past two WJCs and would be an elder statesmen on the team this time.
Valeri Nichushkin, Dallas Stars
The Russian, taken 10th overall in 2013, scored 34 points in 79 NHL games as a rookie last season, but has been limited to four games by injury this season. In mid-November he had surgery on his hip, which is expected to keep him out of the lineup for three-to-four months. He last played in the WJC at the 2013 event.
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Andre Burakovsky, Washington Capitals
Last year, Burakovsky was an important part of Sweden’s silver medal team, scoring seven points in seven games at the WJC. This year, the 23rd overall pick of the 2013 draft is tied for seventh in NHL rookie scoring with 13 points in 26 games. On Monday, the Capitals announced he would be staying with their team instead of being loaned to the Swedish junior squad.
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon on the same WJC team would have been pretty sweet, but we all know there was never a chance the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native was going to this tournament. Last year’s Calder Trophy winner, MacKinnon is still playing well, scoring five goals and 19 points in 30 games for the floundering Avalanche. MacKinnon and the Avs had nothing to gain by loaning him to Team Canada for a couple weeks. Still, he qualifies for this list.
