The 2022 World Junior Championship in Edmonton is over. Canada won Gold in a wild 3-2 overtime victory over Finland; Sweden won Bronze via 3-1 over Czechia.
Way back on August 8th, which feels like a lot longer than 12 days ago, I wrote an article discussing what to expect from the Red Wings’ 9 World Junior Championship participants.
Things changed over the last 12 days, and some players had better tournaments than others.
Now this is all about competitive hockey in August between players under 20 years of age, but the World Juniors definitely serve as a bit of a developmental milestone.
For the Red Wings’ 5 prospects who will take part in the fall prospect tournament and main training camp (Sebastian Cossa, Donovan Sebrango, Eemil Viro, Simon Edvinsson and Jan Bednar), he WJC will have served as some “runway” with which for the players to sharpen themselves for the competitive hockey in September, where jobs will be on the line and spots in exhibition games may or may not determine where players like Sebastian Cossa end up this fall.
Let’s look at the 9 participants, examine how they performed, and where they stand going forward:
TEAM USA:
Carter Mazur, forward: Mazur was one of the standouts of the tournament for Team USA, finishing with 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points in 5 games played. He finished at +1 with 17 shots on goal in an average of 15:06 played per game. He played on the Americans’ top line.
Mazur played about as well as you could possibly hope for on Team USA, serving as a smart, “sneaky dirty” net-front pest and rebound-sniffing machine.
Mazur is headed back to the University of Denver this fall, where the 20-year-old sophomore will look to get a little bigger and stronger (at 6′ and 173 pounds, he’s got some work to do in the weight room), a bit more consistent, and a bit better at his skating–all achievable goals
We won’t see him in a Red Wings uniform again until next summer, assuming that he remains in Denver for his junior season, but his hard-working, blue-collar player’s demeanor, combined with his 2021-22 NCAA and World Junior stats indicate that Mazur may very well be a gritty top-six forward in the making.
Red Savage, center: Savage surprised a bit, registering 2 goals and an assist for 3 points in 5 games, finishing at +5 in an average of only 11:43 played.
The 19-year-old Savage was entrenched as a 4th line center/wing on coach Nate Leaman’s Team USA, but he performed better than expected, utilizing his superior skating to get in on the forecheck and generate turnovers before turning tail and getting back on the backcheck. Able to win faceoffs and willingly block shots, passes and sacrifice his body for his teammates, he busted his ass all tournament long.
Savage, like Mazur, needs to get a little bigger and stronger at 5’11” and 181 pounds, and, like Mazur, he’s headed back to Miami of Ohio for his sophomore season, so we won’t see him until next summer’s development camp. At present, he projects to be the kind of 3rd or 4th line center that 32 NHL teams need–somebody who embraces his role and is absolutely willing to sacrifice for his teammates while playing a supporting role.
TEAM CANADA
Sebastian Cossa*, goaltender: We knew how things would go for the 19-year-old Cossa, because Dylan Garand was going to be the starter. So Cossa played in 1 game for the Gold Medal-winning Canadians, finishing with a win, a 2.00 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
Now I know that you and everybody else who is a Red Wings fan is worrying that the Wings swung and missed with the 15th overall pick in 2021, when they could have picked star Swedish netminder Jesper Wallstedt instead. Wallstedt finished on the tournament All-Star team; Cossa finished on the bench.
All of that being said, Cossa remains an excellent prospect who’s coming off a WHL Championship during the 2022 season with the superb Edmonton Oil Kings, a season in which he went 33-9-and-3, with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Those numbers are down from his draft year, where he played only half a season, but Cossa played for a high-flying team that was built to win 2-1, 3-2 or 4-3, and he won. A lot.
The 6’6,” 209-pound goaltender has several goaltenders in his way in the Red Wings’ developmental pipeline in likely AHL’ers Victor Brattstrom, Jussi Olkinuora and Jonathan Lethemon, so he’s probably heading back to the WHL for an “overage” season (he turns 20 in November), presumably after participating in both the Red Wings’ prospect tournament, training camp, and at least one of the Wings’ 8 exhibition games.
All while Wallstedt, who’s been playing pro for the last couple of seasons with Lulea in Sweden, heads directly to the AHL.
That’s okay! I still believe that Cossa is an unfinished prospect and a goaltender who’s still learning to be consistent in his position, so being at the top of the league on the ever-competitive Oil Kings, who won’t be quite as good after winning the WHL Championship, but will still be competitive, will be very good for him. He needs to learn how to win with less goal support and with more shots against, and that’s what he’s going to get this upcoming season, on top of a second training camp with the Red Wings. His developmental curve is going to take longer than Wallstedt’s, but Detroit drafted him believing that Cossa has the higher ceiling. It’s Cossa’s job to ensure that his “floor” continues rising this upcoming year.
Donovan Sebrango*, defenseman: Sebrango looked exactly like what you would hope a 20-and-a-half-year-old with 96 games of AHL experience would look like on Canada’s blueline–frickin’ steady and dependable. Sebrango finished the tournament with 2 assists in 7 games, finishing a +7 with 7 shots in an average of 19:58 played per game, all while playing on the top defensive pairing alongside Olen Zellweger.
Sebrango has already “turned pro,” and the 6’1,” 194-pound defenseman won’t be playing on the first defensive pairing in the AHL or NHL, but Sebrango will probably be negotiated into the prospect tournament, where he will be big, tough and occasionally mean as he out-works and out-muscles his opponents, playing a strong defensive defenseman’s game.
I went into the tournament thinking that Sebrango was perfectly pigeon-holed into a #6 defenseman’s slot. Now, I think that the Grand Rapids Griffins-bound defenseman will go through the prospect tournament as one of the team’s leaders, he’ll go through training camp and the exhibition season with a little more swagger in his game, and he’ll head to the AHL for one more “season of seasoning” more ready to compete for a 4/5/6 spot instead. He really can be utilized in any situation, although he’s best-suited to a middle defensive pairing, and he’s just as steady as they come.
Like Savage, there are 32 teams that want a good supporting player that plays on their blueline as capably as Sebrango does, using his stick to make strong checks, laying on the body when necessary, and sacrificing his body to block shots. There is still more for Sebrango to learn before he makes the NHL leap, but he’ll be in good hands under the tutelage of Griffins captain Brian Lashoff.
TEAM FINLAND
Eemil Viro*, defenseman: I will repeat myself from my initial prospect profile: “Viro will attempt to ‘make the jump’ to North American ice this fall, and the 6,’ 165-pound defenseman has two-and-a-half seasons’ worth of pro experience under his belt with TPS Turku of the Finnish Liiga as a 20-year-old.”
A good introduction can always be used twice, and that’s particularly true for Viro, a small defenseman who, like Sebrango, tends to fade into the woodwork when he’s at his best. Viro finished with 1 assist and a +1 in 7 games for Finland, slowly but surely working his way up from the 3rd defensive pairing to the 2nd defensive pairing, then the 1st defensive pairing by the Gold Medal game. He averaged 18:38 of ice time, and while he’s not that offensively inclined (per se), his assist came in the Gold Medal game, as did one of his 6 shots on goal.
What Viro is is smart, steady, and sharp, using his short stick as capably as Sebrango uses a longer weapon to jab pucks from opponents, and his skating is superior, so the little guy gets around the ice in a hurry. It’s still evident that the pace and geometry of hockey played on an 85-foot-wide NHL rink is going to be an education for him, but he’s efficient, steady, smart, and occasionally physical.
On a very crowded developmental pipeline’s blueline, Viro will take part in the prospect tournament, main camp and the exhibition season looking to stand out by blending in, playing as a mid-pair defenseman who essentially can make an impression upon you by disappearing into a mistake-free game. That’s useful on every team.
TEAM SWEDEN
Simon Edvinsson*, defenseman: Edvinsson played on the Bronze Medalist Swedes’ first defensive pairing, alongside Helge Grans, finishing with a goal and an assist for 2 points in 6 games played, with a +2 plus-minus rating and 10 shots in an average of 22:27 played.
Let’s get the non-Cossa elephant out of the room here: Yes, he was a disappointment, on the whole. He missed the last round robin game with food poisoning, he missed a pre-tournament game with an injury that he may or may not have played through throughout the tournament, and he just never looked quite comfortable out there, despite being a massive 6’6,” 209-pound defenseman who can skate, skate, skate.
There were mistakes, there were hiccups, there were inconsistencies of performance from game to game and shift to shift, and there was a lot of Edvinsson trying to do too much all by himself, committing to hits early and committing to following the puck around the ice a little late. Edvinsson tried to make the big, fancy play and make the big, fancy hit, even if it put him or his defensive partner out of position, and as a result, he just never settled in to being himself.
I said before the tournament that Edvinsson faced the highest expectations of any prospect, and I was right. He didn’t meet them, and he got some smack-talk for it.
Is he still ready to challenge for an NHL job on what is a stacked Red Wings blueline, at all of 19 years of age?
I’m honestly not certain at this point. I do know that the prospect tournament, training camp and the exhibition season are gonna tell us a lot more about his level of development after one-and-a-half SHL seasons of experience than the World Junior Championship’s 7 games did.
I do know that, when he is comfortable and fully healthy, Edvinsson’s elite skill set merits the expectations that are placed upon his shoulders, mostly because he can skate like the wind at 6’6,” he’s got a great stick, smart passing and shooting skills, he defends and gaps up well, he sees the ice like a pro, and when he’s comfortable, he, like Seider, knows what to do with the puck before it’s on his stick.
He’s also a lot like “Mo” a year ago, he’s still a bit of a “wild horse” that needs to be reined in, and if he spends some time in Grand Rapids, it isn’t going to hurt him one bit, because he hasn’t played on a North American-sized 85-foot-wide rink before.
So let’s be a little patient and a little forgiving of Edvinsson’s sin of not being on his “A” game in August. What he does in September and October will matter more than what he did this past week-and-a-half in Edmonton.
William Wallinder, defenseman: Wallinder played on the Swedes’ second defensive pairing, alongside team captain Emil Andrae, and he finished with 3 assists in 7 games, finishing at +3, with 6 shots on goal in an average of 16:08 of ice time.
Wallinder is going back to Rogle BK of the SHL for at least one more season as a just-turned-20-year-old, and at 6’4″ and 190 pounds, he’s basically an XXL-sized Viro. Steady, smart, stronger offensively than I thought he would be, and with more of an edge than I thought he’d display, though he didn’t display his snarl very often.
To some extent, the fact that he didn‘t stand out that much is a plus; the fact that he stood out in all the right ways–affording Andrae the opportunity to skate up ice and post 8 points in 7 games, in no small part because Wallinder was always back there on the blueline, ready to erase any defensive mistakes with his spare, steady, physical but efficient play.
Wallinder will have to eventually stand out among the many middle-of-the-lineup guys that the Wings have on their developmental pipeline’s blueline, but for now, his trajectory is professional-at-worst and continuing upward, and that’s what you hope for.
Theodor Niederbach, center: The gumption! The gall! Niederbach caused a stink by leaving the mighty Frolunda HC for Rogle BK because he felt that he deserved more ice time after being pigeonholed into a 3rd line, defensive center’s role, and what did he start out as in the World Junior Championship?
A 3rd line, defensive center. He finished the WJC with 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points in 7 games, assuaging his first game’s worth of 29 penalty minutes(!) with 6 better games, taking 12 shots and playing an average of 17:52 as Sweden’s 2nd line center.
Wallinder is heading back to Sweden to earn a more offensive role with Rogle, and this was excellent practice for the 5’11,” 174-pound center. He worked his way up the lineup, he displayed excellent skating skills, a Mazur-like “sneaky dirty” edge to his hard-charging forechecking game, he was great at winning faceoffs (more earlier on than later in the tournament) and he played capably as the “down low/behind the net” man on the Swedes’ power play.
He’s not nearly big enough, strong enough or experienced enough to play in North America yet, but among his peers, he was excellent, serving as a surprising member of a deep Swedish forward corps–and an offensive catalyst for a forward corps that could barely dent the back of the net–all while playing with gumption, gall and balls. Good!
TEAM CZECHIA
Jan Bednar*, goaltender: Bednar started the World Junior Championship as a project, and he leaves the World Junior Championship as a project.
Bednar played in 3 games, finishing 0-1-and-1 with a 4.00 goals-against average and a 90’s-like .854 save percentage. That’s not great.
When the Czechs were shaky, Bednar didn’t give them much help. When the Czechs were good, the 6’4,” 201-pound goaltender looked exactly like what I thought he would at 19 going on 20 (this August 26th), having only played one full QMJHL season over the course of his entire career.
He was shaky and inconsistent, because Bednar’s got a ton of talent, making exceptional saves and displaying fantastic fundamentals, but consistency is the bane of his existence, and until Bednar learns how to be a more patient, consistent goaltender, he’s going to have to thank his lucky stars that he’s got at least one more year to play in the QMJHL to hone his skills and plain old “get reps.”
Bednar is skilled enough to eventually earn a pro contract. He’s got enough flash and panache in goal to eventually be signed by the Red Wings. But he’s rarely played over 30 games over the course of his entire development, last season’s 47 starts excluded, so he just needs time, “reps” and effort.
Being able to work with the Red Wings’ goaltending coaches over the course of the prospect tournament and main training camp should help further his development, and at this point, that’s what the Wings’ brass and Wings fans alike will want from him–development.
That’s what being a prospect is. Developing as a player and a person, and sometimes that includes falling flat on your face in a short-format tournament in order to learn and grow.
Ask Simon Edvinsson, who is still NHL-bound. Or any of the other prospects who participated in the World Junior Championship.
Most will become pro players. Some will become NHL’ers. A couple will become stars. Maybe one will become an All-Star. And maybe a couple won’t be Red Wings in five years. But that’s player development for you–and on a night like this, let’s remember what it’s all about:
Oh Canada Baby!!! Atta’ boy Donovan ❤️❤️#WorldJuniors #LGRW pic.twitter.com/sggSdpkoXh— Kim Sebrango (@Sebrango_9) August 21, 2022
Speaking of learning and growing, this pretty much concludes my coverage of the 2022 World Junior Championship. While many of you were enjoying August in the sun, I was happily and enthusiastically emptying my tank of time, energy and effort trying to cover the Red Wings’ prospects throughout the 12-day tournament.
Now I’m very tired and very spent at 2:13 in the morning on August 21st, and while I’ve been kind enough to spare you the fundraising talk for the last week-and-change, I need to remind you that I have to raise funds to:
- Pay the bills, website renewal on August 31st included;
- Get my damn car’s headlights and tail lights fixed, and oil changed, so that;
- I can shop and get my dry cleaning done and then;
- Go up to Traverse City to cover the prospect tournament and training camp for you.
I hate to ask, but I’ve got to ask for help in order to get there from here, and to pay the bills, because we don’t have ads or commercials here.
So:
If you’re willing to lend a hand, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.
