Canadian NHL team prospects to watch at World Juniors

The annual World Junior Championship tournament is a great chance for NHL fans to check in on their favourite team’s top prospects.

This year, all seven Canadian NHL teams will be represented in the annual Christmas tournament, which will drop the puck in Ottawa on Boxing Day.

The pool of Canadian team prospects is smaller than in other years, with just 11 players combined between the 10 nations. Team Canada, looking to improve after a quarterfinal defeat a year ago, features four Canadian team prospects, the most of any country. 

Here is a closer look at the prospects to watch for each Canadian NHL team.

Calgary Flames
Axel Hurtig, D, Sweden
Age: 19
Draft: Seventh round, No. 208 (2023) by Flames
Club team: Calgary Hitman (WHL)

Hurtig stands at six-foot-five and is a stay-at-home defenceman who doesn’t put up a lot of points. After three years with Rogle’s junior team in Sweden and a brief stint with the club’s senior men’s team, Hurtig made the move to North America this season and is playing in his NHL team’s backyard.

“I’m a big defenceman who likes to hit guys,” he said in an interview with the Flames' website this summer. “Not afraid to step up, just a hard-nosed defenceman.”

The WHL doesn’t publish hit stats, but Hurtig leads his team with a plus-22 rating through 28 games and has two goals and seven points so far.

Edmonton Oilers
Beau Akey, D, Canada
Age: 19
Draft: Second round, No. 56 (2023) by Oilers
Club team: Barrie Colts (OHL)

Akey is a puck-moving right-shot defenceman who could get some power play time for Team Canada. He was limited to just 14 games last season after having surgery on both shoulders but has returned to the Colts lineup this season with 19 points in 25 games.

Paul Fischer, D, United States
Age: 19
Draft: Fifth round, No. 138 (2023) by Blues
Club team: Notre Dame (NCAA)

The Oilers acquired Fischer for future considerations from the Blues last summer on the same day they didn't match the offer sheets given to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. The left-shot defenceman is a sophomore at Notre Dame who has nine assists in 18 games this season. A Chicago native, Fischer has said he grew up idolizing former Blackhawks and Oilers defenceman Duncan Keith.

Montreal Canadiens
Rasmus Bergqvist, D, Sweden
Age: 19
Draft: Seventh round, No. 224 (2023) by Canadiens
Club team: Skelleftea AIK (SHL)

Bergqvist has made the jump to the SHL after spending the past two years with Skelleftea’s junior team. A six-foot-two left-shot defenceman, Bergqvist has one assist in 21 games as a rookie in the senior division this year. 

“He is tough to play against. He likes to deliver a hit when the time is right,” Skelleftea’s junior coach Joel Rönnmark told Habs Eye on The Prize in an interview. “He also has a good reach to cut passing lanes, and he doesn’t shy away from getting into the shooting lanes.”

Ottawa Senators
Vladimir Nikitin, G, Kazakhstan
Age: 19
Draft: Seventh round, No. 207 (2023) by Senators
Club team: Astana Snezhnie Barys (Rus-MHL)

Nikitin played his draft season with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL where he went viral for scoring a goalie goal in a game last March.

This season he returned to his native Kazakhstan to play for Nur-Sultan Barys of the KHL, although so far he has only suited up for Barys’ junior team. In 12 appearances he has a 4-8-0 record with a .884 save percentage.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Easton Cowan, RW, Canada
Age: 19
Draft: First round, No. 28 (2023) by Maple Leafs
Club team: London Knights (OHL)

Cowan is the top prospect in the Maple Leafs' system and the reigning Most Outstanding Player in the OHL. He is in the midst of a 56-game point streak, an unofficial record surpassing Doug Gilmour, and has 28 points in 20 games this season.

"We think Easton is going to be a major part of this team moving forward,” general manager Brad Treliving said in an interview on The FAN Pre-Game in September.

Cowan is one of five players returning from last year’s Team Canada and will be counted on to lead the way offensively.

Miroslav Holinka, C, Czechia
Age: 19
Draft: Fifth round, No. 151 (2024) by Maple Leafs
Club team: Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)

Holinka spent his draft year playing in the senior men’s league in his native Czechia but made the move to North America this season. The big six-foot-two centre is a scorer who has collected 10 goals and 21 points in 23 WHL games this season.

Vancouver Canucks
Tom Willander, D, Sweden
Age: 19
Draft: First round, No. 11 (2023) by Canucks
Club team: Boston University (NCAA)

Williander is one of the Canucks' top prospects and a player on track to develop into a reliable two-way defenceman. He is one of nine players returning from Sweden’s silver medal-winning squad on home ice a year ago. Williander leads the Terriers in defence scoring with 11 points this season and has stepped up into more of a leadership role after Lane Hutson graduated to the NHL.

Sawyer Mynio, D, Canada
Age: 19
Draft: Third round, No. 89 (2023) by Canucks
Club team: Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)

Mynio is a two-way defenceman who plays in all situations for a last-place team. He has 19 points in 18 WHL games this season. Sportsnet scout Jason Bukala writes that Mynio makes "life difficult on opponents" and should be used in a shutdown role for Canada at this tournament.

Basile Sansonnens, D, Switzerland
Age: 18
Draft: Seventh round, No. 221 (2024) by Canucks
Club team: Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)

Sansonnens is a big left-shot defenceman. He made the jump from Switzerland to North America this year and is playing a small role with this season’s Memorial Cup hosts.

“He’s a big defenceman. He's raw,” Canucks scouting director Todd Harvey said at the draft. “We’ve seen him a lot and we liked his raw ability and with some growth, there's a good player there.” 

Winnipeg Jets
Brayden Yager, C, Canada
Age: 19
Draft: First round, No. 14 (2023) by Penguins
Club: Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

The Jets acquired Yager this summer in the Rutger McGroarty trade with the Penguins. He is one of the Jets' top prospects and will be counted on to be a scorer for Canada while serving as captain. This season in the WHL Yager has 12 goals and 34 points in 23 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes.