The 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship Tournament will be played in Hensinki, Finland December 26 – January 6 and will once again feature several young Red Wings prospects. While rosters haven’t yet been officially finalized, countries have begun announcing their WJ Camp rosters, with camps starting here in the next week. While there may be some final cuts from the rosters below, we have a pretty good idea of what the teams will look like. So far, Canada, Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland have announced their camp rosters that contain 6 Red Wings prospects.
- Joe Hicketts will once again represent Canada and there’s been talk for quite a while that he may be a top candidate to wear the “C”. The WHL veteran blueliner leads all WHL defensemen in points and is a workhorse for his Victoria Royals, where he also wears the “C”.
- Axel Holmstrom and Christoffer Ehn will both return to Sweden’s camp after both playing in the tournament last year. Axel Holmstrom is tied for 1st place in scoring in the SHL among junior players.
- Vili Saarijarvi’s will attend Finland’s camp after a a stud performance last year in the U18 tournament, being voted the U 18 WJC best defenseman, top 3 player on the team, and having the most assists by a defenseman (6), most goals by a defenseman (3), and most points by a defenseman (9).
- Evgeny Svechnikov has been invited to Russia’s camp, but Russia’s full camp roster hasn’t been release yet.
- Joren van Pottelberghe has been invited to Switzerland’s camp. It’s a little different situation for a goalie in these tournaments, because there can be only one… Maybe two if the team decides to split starts. I don’t really know much about the other Swiss goalies so I’m not sure where Joren fits in their depth chart.
One notable absence from the WJ rosters is Wings center Dominic Turgeon. Dom represented Team USA last year, and despite having a great season with the Portland Winterhawks, he hasn’t been invited to camp this year.
Here are the full rosters for the Red Wings representatives, sans Russia who hasn’t released theirs yet.
| Camp Roster Switzerland | Camp Roster Sweden |
| Goaltenders: | Goaltenders: |
| Gauthier Descloux, Genève-Servette | Felix Sandström – Brynäs |
| Joren van Pottelberghe, Linköpings HC(SWE) | Linus Soderstrom – Djurgarden |
| Ludovic Waeber, Fribourg-Gottéron | Erik Källgren – Linkoping |
| Defencemen: | Defencemen: |
| Tim Dubois, SC Bern | Sebastian Aho – Skellefteå AIK |
| Marco Forrer, EV Zug | William Lagesson – UMass Amherst |
| Andrea Glauser, Fribourg-Gottéron | Jacob Larsson – Frölunda |
| Edson Harlacher, Kloten Flyers | Adam Ollas Mattsson – Djurgarden |
| Fabian Heldner, HC Davos | Andreas Englund – Djurgarden |
| Roger Karrer, GCK Lions Zurich | Marcus Pettersson – Skellefteå AIK |
| Simon Kindschi, HC Davos | Gustav Forsling – Linkoping |
| Jonas Siegenthaler, ZSC Lions Zurich | Gabriel Carlsson – Linkoping |
| Forwards: | Forwards: |
| Dominik Diem, GCK Lions Zurich | Luke Vejdemo – Djurgarden |
| Chris Egli, HC Davos | Jacob Forsbacka-Karlsson – Boston University |
| Nico Hischier, SC Bern | Fredrik Olofsson – Nebraska Omaha |
| Auguste Impose, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) | Carl Grundström – MODO Hockey |
| Tino Kessler, HC Davos | Dmytro Timashov – Quebec Remparts |
| Johnny Kneubühler, Lausanne HC | Rasmus Asplund – Farjestad |
| Denis Malgin, ZSC Lions Zurich | Alexander Nylander – Steel Heads |
| Timo Meier, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) | Joel Eriksson Oak – Farjestad |
| Dario Meyer, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) | William Nylander – Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Julien Privet, SC Bern | Oscar Lindblom – Brynäs |
| Damien Riat, Geneva-Servette | Jens Lööke – Brynäs |
| Noah Rod, Geneva-Servette | Axel Holmstrom – Skellefteå AIK |
| Kris Schmidli, GCK Lions Zurich | Christoffer Ehn – Frölunda |
| Pius Suter, ZSC Lions Zurich | Anton Karlsson – Frölunda |
| Calvin Thürkauf, Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | Adrian Kempe – Ontario Reign |
| Head Coach: | |
| John Fust |
| Camp Roster Finland | Camp Roster Team Canada |
| Goaltenders: | Goaltenders: |
| Kaapo Kahkonen, Blues Espoo (Liiga) | Mackenzie Blackwood, Barrie (OHL) |
| Emil Larmi, Peliitat Heinola (Mestis) | Mason McDonald, Charlottetown (QMJHL) |
| Veini Vehvilainen, JYP Jyvaskyla (Liiga) | Defencemen: |
| Defensemen: | Thomas Chabot, Saint John (QMJHL) |
| Olli Juolevi, London Knights (OHL) | Jakob Chychrun, Sarnia (OHL) |
| Miro Keskitalo, TPS Turku (Liiga) | Travis Dermott, Erie (OHL) |
| Jesper Mattila, Ilves Tampere (Liiga) | Vince Dunn, Niagara (OHL) |
| Niko Mikkola, KalPa Kuopio (Liiga) | Haydn Fleury, Red Deer (WHL) |
| Sami Niku, JYP Jyvaskyla (Liiga) | Joe Hicketts, Victoria (WHL) |
| Vili Saarijarvi, Flint Firebirds (OHL) | Brandon Hickey, Boston University (HE) |
| Robin Salo, Vaasan Sport (Liiga) | Noah Juulsen, Everett (WHL) |
| Eetu Sopanen, Peliitat Heinola (Mestis) | Roland McKeown, Kingston (OHL) |
| Joni Tuulola, HPK Hameenlinna (Liiga) | Travis Sanheim, Calgary (WHL) |
| Urho Vaakanainen, Espoo Blues (Liiga) | Jake Walman, Providence College (HE) |
| Forwards: | Forwards: |
| Sebastian Aho, Karpat Oulu (Liiga) | Mathew Barzal, Seattle (WHL) |
| Kasper Bjorkqvist, Espoo Blues (Liiga) | Anthony Beauvillier, Shawinigan (QMJHL) |
| Roope Hintz, HIFK Helsinki (Liiga) | Rourke Chartier, Kelowna (WHL) |
| Antti Kalapudas, Karpat Oulu (Liiga) | Lawson Crouse, Kingston (OHL) |
| Patrik Laine, Tappara Tampere (Liiga) | Michael Dal Colle, Oshawa (OHL) |
| Juho Lammikko, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) | Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cape Breton (QMJHL) |
| Miro Makinen, Jukurit Mikkeli (Mestis) | Julien Gauthier, Val-d’Or (QMJHL) |
| Julius Nattinen, Barrie Colts (OHL) | Jayce Hawryluk, Brandon (WHL) |
| Jesse Puljujarvi, Karpat Oulu (Liiga) | Travis Konecny, Ottawa (OHL) |
| Sebastian Repo, Pelicans Lahti (Liiga) | Mitchell Marner, London (OHL) |
| Aleksi Saarela, Assat Pori (Liiga) | Nick Merkley, Kelowna (WHL) |
| Miska Siikonen, Pelicans Lahti (Liiga) | Brendan Perlini, Niagara (OHL) |
| Jonne Tammela, KalPa Kuopio (Liiga) | Brayden Point, Moose Jaw (WHL) |
| Patrik Virta, TPS Turku (Liiga) | John Quenneville, Brandon (WHL) |
| Mitchell Stephens, Saginaw (OHL) | |
| Dylan Strome, Erie (OHL) | |
| Spencer Watson, Kingston (OHL) | |
| Head Coach: | |
| Dave Lowry, Victoria (WHL) |
We’ll have an update once the rosters are finalized, but I fully expect all 6 of the Red Wings prospects at camps to make their countries teams. The biggest question is…. Which team will you be rooting for? Your home team? The team with your favorite prospect? There are some tough decisions to be made.
