#world-juniors

#world-juniors

After carving up the ice with the Medicine Hat Tigers and establishing himself as the likely top prize of the 2026 NHL draft lottery, the kid from the Yukon moved to the Big Ten, where he was expected to play one impressive year before signing with whichever bad pro team got the luckiest. He's a little on the small side, though he literally just turned 18,

That said, I do think it will come down to the wire. Why I say that is because the United States and Sweden, who I think are the second-most-likely team to top the group, don't play each other until the final day of preliminary round action. Barring any major upsets, the Sweden-United States game on New Year's Eve should decide who tops Group A and who comes second.

Johansson is still so raw. As a pure defenseman, he covers the man well and is rarely out of position. He still needs to add pure muscle and do a better job at reading and receiving passes coming his way. From watching him in development camp, you saw a young kid who struggled to do much with the puck - like he was too nervous.

Misa, selected second overall by the Sharks at the NHL Draft in June, had three points in seven games with the Sharks. If he plays in 10 NHL games this season, the first year of his NHL contract will be burned. Warsofsky said the Sharks' medical staff is confident that Misa will be out for a week or two and not require several months of recovery.

He's a two-way forward but has offensive firepower, his shot gets fans on their feet and uses his size to get to the front of the net. Along with his offence his size and being a right-handed centre making him an exciting prospect. He also has experience playing in the top Czech league and while he had just three points in 18 games it's impressive for a teenager to be playing professional hockey in Europe.

Some might say that Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan is following in the same footsteps as former star Mitch Marner -- and the ex-Leaf revealed that he was talking with the young prospect all throughout last season.

Linus Eriksson will compete against Canada in the World Junior Summers Showcase after contributing a goal and an assist in Sweden's previous game against Team USA.