Last December, the IIHF World Junior Championships was scheduled to take place. Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic threw a wrench into those original plans. A week ago, the IIHF World Junior Championships restarted.
Four prospects represent the Philadelphia Flyers. Switzerland has defenseman Brian Zanetti. Sweden has defenseman Emil Andrae. Canada has a pair of forwards, Tyson Foerster and Elliot Desnoyers. Foerster is the addition; the others made a World Juniors roster in 2021.
Yesterday, group play wrapped up. Tomorrow, the quarterfinal rounds begin.
Currently, Canada sits atop Group A. Group B features the United States on top. Sweden is second to the United States in Group B, with Switzerland in fourth place. Switzerland secured its first victory last night without Zanetti.
Here’s how they’ve all performed during group play:
Tyson Foerster (2G, 1A, 13 SOG)
A later addition to the 2022 World Juniors Championship tournament, Foerster is leaving his mark, more often than not, on a deep Canada roster.
Consistently, Foerster continues to pester goaltenders. He always has multiple shots on goal, and his ability to shoot is his greatest asset.
Foerster is accumulating points on varying plans of attack. He’s delivering in even-strength scenarios and on the powerplay. We’ve all heard about his ability to boom on a one-timer, but he’s multi-dimensional. Here’s a clean entry into the OZ, earning the assist on a goal by Olen Zellweger:
Here, Foerster keeps his consistency. Ridly Greig rips through Finland, but Foerster trails. Cleaning up the mess, Foerster scores on the powerplay:
Elliot Desnoyers (2 SOG)
An original representative of the Flyers for Canada, Desnoyers fits his role as a more defensive forward. In this lineup, he’s playing bottom-six minutes. As the 2022 World Junior Championship tournament progresses, Desnoyers might make a little noise offensively.
Ahead of the 2021-2022 NHL season, Desnoyers gave Morgan Frost a headache in the 2021 Flyers Training Camp. He’s a two-way forward who made a solid impression on Alain Vigneault before his tenure ended.
“Every time he steps on the ice, he gets noticed.”
Alain Vigneault; 10/1/2021
Though he has yet to net a point in this tournament, Desnoyers plays a vital role in keeping opponents comfortably behind Canada.
Emil Andrae (3G, 4A, 17 SOG, +4)
Foerster was the draw when he made a 2022 World Junior Championship roster for Canada. Equally, possibly more impressive, is Andrae. Philadelphia should salivate over his defensive performance, especially on the powerplay.
Andrae is an intelligent blue-liner. He, a defenseman, outshot Foerster to this point in the tournament. Of all the Flyers prospects, Andrae shines the brightest to this point in the 2022 World Juniors. He leads Philadelphia prospects in total points, including goals scored.
In a 6-0 shutout victory, Andrae took six shots on goal against Austria. He potted two goals in that win, including a quick snap from the faceoff circle. Later, his patience was on display. He corraled the puck, used traffic on the crease, and released a calculated shot. Andrae earned the powerplay goal on Sebastian Wraneschitz:
Ironically, his minus rating performance against the USA flexed his muscle.
In a 3-2 loss, Andrae notched a goal and an assist. The USA was the most demanding opponent for Sweden at this point in the 2022 World Juniors tournament.
Brian Zanetti (1A, 1 SOG, -2)
Over the last two games, Switzerland has battled teams closely. They lost to Germany, but recovered with a victory versus Austria.
Unfortunately, Zanetti weaned out of the lineup. He spent 2:49 TOI in the 3-2 loss to Germany. Next, he was out of the lineup versus Austria, the only victory for Switzerland.
Similar to Andrae, Zanetti had his best performance against the USA. He notched his only point, an assist. Zanetti forced a takeaway in the DZ, breaking Joel Henry out for an early equalizing goal. He did serve a couple penalties, resulting in a USA powerplay goal.
Upcoming WJC 2022 schedule
Next is the quarterfinal round of the 2022 World Junior Championship. Sweden will take on Latvia at 3:30p. Canada goes head-to-head with Switzerland at 7p. On the nightcap, USA will battle Czechia at 10:30p.
(Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)
