VANCOUVER – December 23, 2021

The IIHF World Junior pre-tournament kicked off today with team Finland playing the United States. The tournaments being held in Edmonton Canada, and some games being played in Red Deer. Other games being played today are Slovakia vs. Germany, Russia vs. Canada, Czechia vs. Switzerland, and Austria vs. Sweden. However, the Czechia vs. Switzerland has been postponed due to Covid-19 protocols. These will be the only pre-tournament games being played with each team participating in only 1 game, originally there were 11 games planned to be played with each team participating in 2. This change in schedule is due to on growing Covid-19 concerns.

The official World Juniors tournament will begin on Dec. 26^th starting with 2 games in both Red Deer and Edmonton and will end by January 5^th, 2022. Team Finland and team Germany will go head-to-head to kick of the tournament in the early morning game.

Players to watch in the tournament are going to be projected number 1 overall pick Shane Wright for Canada and Logan Cooley for USA. Connor Bedard who isn’t eligible for the draft until 2023 is a very exciting 16-year-old to watch, he has unlimited potential. For Vancouver Canucks fans the player to watch will be prospect Dmitri Zlodeyev who’s playing for the Russians, he’s the lone Canucks prospect playing in the tournament this year.

Zlodeyev was drafted in 2020 in the 6^th round, 175^th overall. Zlodeyev will also be wearing an A as an assistant captain for the Russians. He remains unsigned by the Canucks as of now but if he seizes to impress, he could be looking at a contract from the big club by the end of the year. The undersized Russian forward listed at 5’11” and 183lbs doesn’t have much offensive potential in his game, but his defensive game details are what make him an intriguing prospect. Zlodeyev’s game reflects that of Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron or even Los Angeles Kings forward Philip Danault. Both players aren’t known for their goal scoring or passing but their defensive play makes them vital for their teams’ success.

With the young offensively gifted core the Canucks have intact already, what they lack is a forward who is defensively sound and who can kill penalties and protect a lead late in the game. If Zlodeyev can become the player the Canucks desperately need in their bottom six, this will be a brilliant late round draft pick by previous GM Jim Benning, who has a track record of having great picks, but also has draft busts on his record.

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