Prospect Ramblings: Top 2020 Draft-Eligible Players at the WJC

 

The World Junior Championships are an annual tradition around the holidays for hockey fans. With it being the top U20 tournament around the world, it has become an event known to be dominated by 19-year-old players. Every year there are a few draft-eligible players that get into the tournament at 17 or 18 years of age and put on a show. This year was no exception. If anything, the draft eligibles were even more prominent this year.

 

With many of the top prospects playing for their nation this year, there was a lot of young talent at the 2020 World Junior Championships. From the top names like Alexis Lafrenière and Lucas Raymond to the mysterious prospects such as Jan Myšák and Tim Stützle, this years event had a lot to look forward to for the prospect world. Today we’re going to look at the top drfat-eligible players along with some of the big names that didn’t have a big impact on the tournament. 

 

Alexis Lafrenière, LW, Canada (Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL)

5GP     4G-6A-10P     Tournament MVP, All-Star, Gold Medal 

 

What is there to say? This kid is REALLY good. Lafrenière had an outstanding tournament that was almost lasted a little over four periods because of an injury scare in Canada’s 6-0 loss to Russia in the round-robin. After putting up four points in those first four periods, he picked up right where he left off upon his return in the quarter-finals against Slovakia. The young Canadian, and a top prospect for the 2020 draft, put on a show. He was often besting his opponents on pure skill but when that wasn’t going his way, he would outwork them as well. 

 

 

Lafrenière was one of the more dominant forces we’ve seen at a World Juniors recently and if he wasn’t injured he likely would have racked up even more points in the two-plus games he missed, both against inferior opponents in Germany and the Czech Republic. It wasn’t just his offensive production, however. He was a physical presence for the Canadians and he provided energy and confidence that they seemed to lack without him. He may no