The World Junior Hockey Championship has historically been a competition that provides progress reports on top prospects who have already been drafted by NHL clubs. It\u2019s a tournament that\u2019s flush with best-on-best battles from the top hockey countries in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Canadian hockey fans will no doubt be flocking to Minneapolis-St.Paul over the holidays to support this year\u2019s group of Canadian teenagers. But they will also be keen to watch their favourite Canadian NHL team\u2019s prospects live and in a high-leverage environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With that in mind, here\u2019s a look at the previously drafted and developing prospects from Canadian franchises, who will be competing for their countries at the 2026 WJC:<\/p>\n
Zayne Parekh, 6-foot, 187 pounds, right-shot defenceman\u00a0\u00a0
Drafted: Calgary Flames, first round (ninth overall) in 2024<\/p>\n
Parekh has been loaned to Team Canada after dressing for 11 games with the Flames this fall. Before being released, Parekh missed some time rehabbing an injury in Calgary. He will be relied upon to quarterback the top power-play unit for the Canadian squad. Parekh has contributed incredibly dynamic offensive results at the junior level in the past, producing 33G-74A in 61 games playing for Saginaw in the OHL.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Braeden Cootes, 5-foot-11, 186 pounds, right-shot forward
Drafted: Vancouver Canucks, first round (15th overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Cootes is a proven leader and relentless competitor who can be deployed in all situations. He very rarely cheats defence to chase offence. Cootes is the Captain of his junior club in Seattle and past captain of Canada\u2019s U18 team. He\u2019s contributed 10G-13A in 17 WHL games so far this season after breaking camp with the Canucks and suiting up for three NHL games this fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cole Reschny, 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, left-shot centre
Drafted: Calgary Flames, first round (18th overall) in 2025\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reschny\u2019s approach is very similar to Cootes\u2019. He\u2019s very reliable in all three zones and has proven that he can contribute offence in all situations. Reschny made the move to North Dakota (NCAA) after being drafted out of Victoria in the WHL last year. He has produced 2G-16A in his first 16 college games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michael Hage, 6-foot, 188 pounds, right-shot centre
Drafted: Montreal Canadiens, first round (21st overall) in 2024<\/p>\n
Hage is a future top-six NHL forward and another outstanding prospect in the Montreal Canadiens pipeline. He\u2019s developing at the college level playing at the University of Michigan.\u00a0Hage averages between 15-18 minutes of ice time per game with all of his shifts coming at even strength and the power play. He\u2019s produced 10G-18A in 20 games for the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ben Danford, 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, right-shot defenceman
Drafted: Toronto Maple Leafs, first round (31st overall) in 2024)<\/p>\n
Danford is a match-up defenceman who will be called upon to kill penalties, block shots and work to keep the puck out of Canada\u2019s net. He\u2019s easily defined. Danford is a strong skater who has improved his small area agility. He\u2019s trending towards being a possible second-pairing defenceman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sam O\u2019Reilly, 6-foot-1, 184 pounds, right-shot forward
Drafted: Edmonton Oilers, first round (32nd overall) in 2024<\/p>\n
O\u2019Reilly plays for Canada\u2019s head coach Dale Hunter in London, and the Knights rely on O\u2019Reilly to contribute in a variety of roles. He provides better than secondary offence and can be trusted to match up versus top line opponents and be deployed on the penalty-kill. O\u2019Reilly has contributed 12G-16A in 28 games with London this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Swedes are bringing a veteran roster to Minnesota that includes four Canadian team prospects, including two from the Winnipeg Jets prospect pool.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sascha Boumedienne, 6-foot-1, 184 pounds, left-shot defenceman
Drafted: Winnipeg Jets, first round (28th overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Boumedienne is an elite skater who is best described as a two-way\/transitional defender. He\u2019s aggressive escaping pressure in his zone and leading the rush with the puck on his stick. Boumedienne reminds me of Montreal Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson at a young age. The Boston University defenceman has contributed 2G-4A in 17 college games this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alfons Freij, 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, left-shot defenceman\u00a0
Drafted: Winnipeg Jets, second round (37th overall) in 2024<\/p>\n
Every NHL roster requires steady, simple players and Freij fits that description. He\u2019s a mobile two-way defenceman who closes on opponents effectively with his fantastic skating ability. He won\u2019t jump out offensively, but he efficiently goes about his business defensively and makes a solid first-pass launching the attack from his zone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Victor Johansson, 6-foot-1, 165 pounds, left-shot defenceman
Drafted: Toronto Maple Leafs, fourth round (120th overall) in 2024<\/p>\n
Johansson doesn\u2019t move the needle much offensively, but he\u2019s a mobile defender who arrives on time to engage and win pucks. Opponents shouldn\u2019t underestimate his physical push back. He\u2019s not imposing but Johansson gets involved and doesn\u2019t shy away from playing with some edge. His minutes will likely come in a depth role for Team Sweden.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wilson Bjorck, 6-foot, 165 pounds, left-shot forward
Drafted: Vancouver Canucks, fifth round (143rd overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Bjorck is a freshman at Colorado College. The bulk of his ice time comes at even strength and on the power play. He has better than average pace and above average puck skill. Bjorck has the ability to drive opponents off their blue line off the rush and takes the puck to the net when a lane opens up. He was a prolific scorer at the U20 level in Sweden (28G-39A last season). He\u2019s contributed 5G-3A in his first 15 college games.<\/p>\n
David Lewandowski, 6-foot-1, 177 pounds, left-shot forward
Drafted: Edmonton Oilers, fourth round (117h overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Team Germany will lean heavily on Lewandowski to produce offence at even strength and on the power play. He\u2019s developing in the WHL playing for the Saskatoon Blades and has produced 8G-24A to date this season. He\u2019s a solid skater who can be an open ice and small area threat offensively. The bulk of his ice time will come at even strength and the power play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carlos Handel, 6-foot-1, 174 pounds, right-shot defenceman
Drafted: Montreal Canadiens, sixth round (177th overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Handel plays for Halifax in the QMJHL and is an intriguing prospect to scout. He\u2019s a two-way defenceman with a transitional element to his game. Handel is a strong skater who isn\u2019t afraid to rush the puck or pinch down to extend plays in the offensive zone. He has the tools to potentially develop into a decent pro prospect in time, but his detail and execution is a work in progress. I\u2019m curious to see how his game has evolved compared to where he was at last year’s WJC.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Finns are always a tough out at this tournament and have a decent amount of depth at every position. Having said that, it\u2019s somewhat surprising to see they only have one drafted player from a Canadian NHL franchise on their roster, but it\u2019s a name that will be familiar to Montreal Canadiens fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aatos Koivu, 6-foot, 175 pounds, right-shot centre
Drafted: Montreal Canadiens, third round (70th overall) in 2024<\/p>\n
Aatos is the son of former Canadiens captain Saku Koivu and he plays for TPS in the Finnish Elite League. Koivu is a darting forward who\u2019s quick to space and generally responsible in all three zones. He leans distributor\/playmaker more than pure shooter. It will be interesting to see how Team Finland deploys Koivu. He\u2019s the kind of player who can be used in a variety of roles, including on the penalty-kill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Americans are the two-time defending champions and look poised to contend for another gold medal in Minneapolis. They return nine players from last year\u2019s team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Logan Hensler, 6-foot-3, 198 pounds, right-shot defenceman
Drafted: Ottawa Senators, first round (23rd overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Hensler continues to evolve. His combination of size and fantastic skating ability project him as a potential middle-pairing, two-way defenceman at the NHL level. He\u2019s being deployed in all situations at Wisconsin (NCAA) and has contributed 3G-5A in 15 games this year. Hensler is a returning defenceman for Team USA and is likely to be deployed in all situations for the Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
L.J. Mooney, 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, right-shot forward
Drafted: Montreal Canadiens, fourth round (113th overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Mooney has to be especially excited, and motivated, to suit up for Team USA since the tournament is being hosted in the city he plays his college hockey. Mooney is a freshman at the University of Minnesota. He\u2019s a darting, skilled, competitive, undersized forward who has the skill to be a game breaker offensively. Mooney has contributed 4G-11A so far in his freshman season with the Golden Gophers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asher Barnett, 6-foot-1, 201 pounds, left-shot defenceman
Drafted: Edmonton Oilers, fifth round (131st overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Barnett is one of many Michigan Wolverines suiting up in the tournament. The freshman is a useful two-way defenceman who moves well and outlets pucks responsibly. He contributes some secondary offence, but his primary ice time is likely to come at even strength and on the penalty-kill for Team USA. Barnett competes in the hard areas. He\u2019s engaged in the defensive zone and works to clear traffic from around his crease with enthusiasm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Basile Sansonnens, 6-foot-4, 211 pounds, left-shot defenceman
Drafted: Vancouver Canucks, seventh round (221st overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
Sansonnens was drafted out of the QMJHL last June. He played for the Rimouski Oceanic last season and has graduated to the pro game in Switzerland this year suiting up for Lausanne HC. Sansonnens is a towering defender who relies on his size and length to take away time and space defensively. He isn\u2019t punishing physically and doesn\u2019t produce a ton of offence, but he\u2019s generally steady overall and a player the Swiss coaches can rely upon to keep things simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mikus Vecvanags, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, left-catching goaltender
Drafted: Montreal Canadiens, fifth round (134th overall) in 2025<\/p>\n
If Vecvanags, who plays for Newfoundland in the QMJHL, wins the net for Latvia he will be counted on to be their best player every game. Vecvanags has good size, plays the puck well and generally tracks the play moving side to side on time. He\u2019s a butterfly goalie with a stance that leans forward, meaning he sometimes sits deep in his butterfly when down on the ice, which can expose the upper corners of the net. Vecvanags has huge opportunity in front of him at this tournament. The Canadiens are deep in net with goalie prospects, but Vecvanags has time on his side. He\u2019s committed to the University of Maine (NCAA) after this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The World Junior Hockey Championship has historically been a competition that provides progress reports on top prospects who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-364286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}