Vancouver Canucks prospects invited to world junior summer showcase
The excitement for Canucks prospects continues. With the World Junior Summer Showcase coming up at the end of the month, a few Canucks prospects were invited by their national teams.
International tournaments are great. Especially for Vancouver Canucks fans as of late. More and more of them are being featured on the World Junior stage. For most people, they don’t get to watch our prospects during the year. You hear about the stats and can see as many GIFs as you want, but it’s not quite the same as watching full games.
The World Junior Summer Showcase is taking place from July 28-August 4 in Kamloops. If you’re in the area or can make the trip out there, this could be the chance to see some Canucks prospects in person, as well as a few high-profile prospects for next year’s draft. This showcase does not guarantee a spot on the team, but an invite signifies that a player is being considered this early, which is fairly high praise. Especially for first time attendees.
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If you were hoping to see the likes of Jonah Gadjovich, Kole Lind or Elias Pettersson there, you will be disappointed. All three are too old for the tournament. In the case of Gadjovich and Pettersson, they are recovering from injury. Same goes for Olli Juolevi. Now, we can shift focus to the those invited.
Invitees
Let’s start with Team Canada. Michael DiPietro and Jett Woo were added to their camp roster. DiPietro did not make the cut to the team that won Gold last year, but after an excellent season in the OHL and a late addition to the World Championships, this is not surprising.
At this point, I think it’s fairly safe to assume that DiPietro will start for Canada, but a lot can change between now and December. As for Jett Woo, this is very exciting for him with his first ever invite. It’s too early to figure out his chances of making the team, but still great nonetheless.
Looking at Team USA, we see Quinn Hughes returning for his second World Junior camp. Last year, he didn’t receive much ice time, but that will change this time around. One other name to note on the roster is his brother, Jack. If you wanted more incentive to see these games, taking an early look at the first overall pick of the next draft is a pretty good reason.
Next: Using NHLe with our top prospects
Last, but not least is Team Finland. Toni Utunen was invited by his country’s camp as well. Serving as the captain of the World Junior U18 team last year, it’s no surprise that he received an invite. I don’t know much about Utunen. But I am intrigued by what kind of role he could play if he makes the U20 team. That’s all for now, but we will provide you updates as more rosters are released.