EDITOR’S NOTE: Jaroslav Chmelar was the last player cut from Team Czechia and will not be in the tournament.
The World Junior Championships begin on Sunday and there will be five New York Rangers prospects at the tournament. Here’s a look at the future Blueshirts who will be playing.
With five prospects, the Rangers are very well represented with only four teams with more players at the tournament. The Carolina Hurricanes lead with 10 prospects and the Detroit Red Wings are next with eight. The Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild each have six prospects. The Rangers join the Ottawa Senators with five.
Ranger fans will be thrilled that the New York Islanders and the Tampa Bay Lightning have no prospects good enough to make the WJC. The best news for the Rangers is that they have so many prospects under 20 years old while the Rangers have become a top NHL team. The same applies to Carolina and Minnesota. Other teams with many players at the tournament like Los Angeles, Detroit and Ottawa are still deep in their rebuilds.
In all honesty, the Rangers should have six players as hockey observers were very surprised that 2021 first round pick Brennan Othmann was not selected by Team Canada. All he is doing is leading the Flint Firebirds of the OHL in scoring with 20 goals and 37 points in 24 games. Those 20 goals are good for a tie for third place in the league.
Team USA won the gold last year, beating Canada 2-0 for the title. Finland defeated Russia 4-1 for the bronze medal. The tournament was held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, the same host cities for this year’s WJC.
Let’s take a look at the Rangers prospects who were selected.