4 future Rangers in action as WJC gets under way

For New York Rangers fans desperate for a hockey fix, it was provided by the IIHF World Junior Championships.  Four Ranger prospects were in action on Sunday as the tournament got off to a start with four games.

Canada 6, Czechia 3

Canada’s power play overwhelmed the Czech Republic 6-3.  Ranger goalie prospect Dylan Garand got the nod in goal and was touched up for three first period goals.  One he probably wanted back, but had little chance on the other two.

Garand shut them out over the last two periods, finished with 14 saves on 17 shots.

The other Ranger prospect in the game was left winger Will Cuylle and though he didn’t score, he played 11:10 on the fourth line and took two shots.  His ice time was limited by the 16 minutes in penalties taken by the Czechs as he doesn’t play the power play.  He did see a lot of time on the penalty kill.

Although he didn’t score, Cuylle played big part in the win.  Seven minutes into the second period, he collided with top Czech defenseman David Jiricek.

Jiricek took the worse of the collision and had to leave the game.  The score was tied at the time and Czechia took a slew of penalties right after the injury.  Without their top defenseman, the Czechs were helpless on the penalty kill, giving up two goals to give Canada the 5-3 lead.

If you watched the game, you had to come away impressed with Owen Power, Buffalo’s #1 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.  He’s a huge defenseman with a fantastic shot and he led all players with 21:48 minutes of icetime and he had a hat trick, the first by a Canadian blueliner in the WJC. Ranger fans need to remember that two years ago it was Alexis Lafrenière who was the guy everyone was talking about.

USA Slovakia

The final game of the day was in Red Deer at the Centrium with Team USA taking on Slovakia.  Ranger prospect Brett Berard started the game on the first line with Matty Beniers (Seattle) and Matthew Coronato (Calgary).

The USA jumped out to a 2-0 lead on two power play goals in the first period.  They added a third goal in the second period at even strength.  The Slovaks dominated the third period, scoring just one minute in.  With just under three minutes left in the game, Slovakia scored to pull within one with the teams playing 4v4.  They pulled their goalie and put pressure on the USA, but they were able to hold on.

Berard didn’t make the scoresheet, but after two periods he led Team USA with four shots on goal while playing just under 10 minutes.

Finland 3 Germany 1

The first game featuring a Ranger prospect was a 3-1 win for Finland over Germany at Rogers Place in Edmonton.   Finland took an early 1-0 lead in the first period, but Germany tied the score just three minutes into the second period.  The Finns got the lead back and opened up a two goal lead in the third period.  Ranger prospect Kalle Väisänen played on the fourth line for Finland, logging 18 shifts for 11:31 of ice time.  He was scoreless.

Sweden 6 Russia 3

Sweden and Russia played a barnburner with the Swedes prevailing 6-3 in Red Deer.  Sweden took a 3-0 lead 14 minutes into the second period before Russia was able to score.  In a wild, chippy third period, the teams scored five goals with Russia closing to 4-3 before Sweden scored two late goals to clinch the win.

What’s ahead

There is only one game on Monday featuring a Rangers prospect as Finland takes on Austria in Edmonton at 2pm EST.   Left winger Kalle Väisänen (#23) should be in the Finnish lineup.

The USA and Canada are both back on the ice on Tuesday with Switzerland taking on Team USA at 4:30pm EST and Canada facing Austria at 7pm EST.

All games will be televised on the NHL Network.