The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship is fast approaching and there are a handful of draft-eligible prospects expected to play big roles in the upcoming tournament.
TSN’s Director of Scouting Craig Button has Boston University centre Macklin Celebrini and United States National Team Development Program forward Cole Eiserman remaining at No. 1 and No. 2 on his list, and he expects both players to star at the tournament in Sweden.
Celebrini is expected to crack Team Canada’s roster and play a prominent role. As a 17-year-old at Boston University this season, he has nine goals and 22 points in 13 games. At the U18s in April, he had six goals and 15 points in seven games to lead Canada to bronze.
An elite two-way centre, Button is confident Celebrini will make an impact for Canada in December.
“His on-ice maturity is outstanding,” said Button of Celebrini. “He knows where his game is. He doesn’t get waylaid if certain areas of his game aren’t prominent. He can do so many things in the game and he doesn’t get deterred.”
Similarly, Eiserman projects to play a starring role for the Americans who look to improve on last year’s bronze-medal finish. He has 25 goals and 40 points in 19 games with the USNTDP this season.
“The way I would describe Cole is he’s not intimidated by the competition,” said Button. “I think for a 17-year-old player going to play at the World Junior, you can’t be in awe, you can’t be intimidated. He’s sure of his capabilities.”
While Finnish forward Konsta Helenius drops one spot from No. 4 on September’s list to No. 5, he is now the third highest ranked forward on Button’s list, jumping ahead of Russian forward Ivan Demidov, who falls to No. 6. Helenius is also expected to be on the Finnish roster for the World Juniors.
“He’s smooth, he’s smart, he makes the game look easy,” said Button of Helenius. “He’s so smart – elite hockey sense.”
Helenius, 17, has eight goals and 17 points in 23 games playing in the SM-Liiga with Jukurit.
Expected to join Helenius in Sweden is winger Emil Hemming, who is No. 12 on Button’s list. Hemming has four goals and two assists in 22 games playing for TPS in SM-Liiga.
“He’s a mature player that’s already played some games in the SM-Liiga and he’s had some success,” said Button.
The draft-eligible player projected to play the biggest role for his team is Norwegian forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. Ranked No. 18 on the list, the 18-year-old has one goal and four assists in 19 games with Mora IK in Sweden this season but will play heavy minutes for Norway at the World Juniors as the country plays in the tournament for the first time since 2014.
Defenceman David Reinbacher played on a weak Austrian team in last year’s tournament that was eventually relegated but it didn’t hurt his draft stock as he was taken fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in June. Like Reinbacher, Brandsegg-Nygard will be evaluated a little differently than his draft peers playing in the tournament.
“There’s going to be a lot of one-on-one assessment, what he’s doing individually,” said Button. “His skills are really good, but [when] you’re watching him, you want to see him doing things that are helpful to a team. But he’s not going to get the support back. They’re not good enough.”
Debuting at No. 19 and No. 27 respectively on Button’s list in September, forwards Cayden Lindstrom and Liam Greentree aren’t expected to be on the Canadian roster for the World Juniors. However, both have made big leaps on this list with strong play so far this season, jumping to No. 9 and No. 11 respectively.
Lindstrom is one of the biggest players in the draft at 6-foot-5, but his game isn’t all about size. He has 18 goals and 33 points in 24 games with the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers this season. As a rookie, he had 19 goals and 42 points in 61 games.
“I don’t know where you find big, powerful players like that,” said Button. “He’s got a skill set. He’s got a will set. And a physical attributes set.”
Like Lindstrom, Greentree is quickly closing in on his rookie season totals. He has 16 goals and 34 points in 21 games on a Windsor Spitfires team that is one of the worst in the Ontario Hockey League with just six wins so far this season in 24 games.
“He’s not just playing well on that team, he’s their best player,” said Button.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
