We had previewed the World Juniors once before, back in late December. Unfortunately, the same wave of COVID which paused the NHL season resulted in a cancellation of the tournament. Luckily, the IIHF has been able to re-schedule the event for this month in Edmonton, starting today and running through August 20.
The standings reset, and the rosters have changed a bit as well, but there are still four Columbus Blue Jackets participating:
Kent Johnson (Forward, Canada): The #5 pick in 2021, Johnson made his NHL debut this spring after two seasons at the University of Michigan. He is an alternate captain for this tournament and brings an impressive amount of international experience, having scored goals in each of the December tournament, the Olympics in February, and the senior World Championships in May.
David Jiricek (Defenseman, Czechia): This summer’s #6 pick, Jiricek is a new addition to this list. He tallied one assist in one game played in the previous attempt at this tournament, then added a goal and assist in five games with the senior team in the World Championships. That came after missing most of the back half of his team’s season while recovering from a knee injury. This event could be a springboard for Jiricek to compete for a roster spot at Jackets camp in September.
Stanislav Svozil (Defenseman, Czechia): At the draft, Jiricek said that he and Svozil are friends. It will be fun to watch them play together for their country, and hopefully they’ll play together in Columbus some day. Read more about Svozil here, in his profile as the 22nd ranked Columbus prospect.
Martin Rysavy (Forward, Czechia): A seventh round pick last season, this big-bodied winger could be a rising prospect to keep an eye on. He scored 26 points (8/18) in 45 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL in his first season in North America.
Here is the TV schedule for games featuring these players on NHL Network:
Tuesday, August 9
Slovakia vs. Czechia, 2 p.m. ET
Wednesday, August 10
Canada vs. Latvia, 6 p.m. ET
Thursday, August 11
Czechia vs. Finland, 2 p.m. ET
Canada vs. Slovakia, 6 p.m. ET
Saturday, August 13
Czechia vs. Canada, 6 p.m. ET
Sunday. August 14
Latvia vs. Czechia, 6 p.m. ET
Monday, August 15
Finland vs. Canada, 6 p.m. ET
Wednesday, August 17
Quarterfinal, 12 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal, 3:30 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal, 7 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal, 10:30 p.m. ET
Friday, August 19
Semifinal, 4 p.m. ET
Semifinal, 8 p.m. ET
Saturday, August 20
Bronze Medal Game, 4 p.m. ET
Gold Medal Game, 8 p.m. ET
Feel free to post tweets and videos in the comments as these future Jackets hopefully put on an impressive performance.