Rosters for the World Junior Championships are set. The annual IIHF tourney will start on Christmas Day and end on January 5. Edmonton is the host city using the Oilers home arena, Rogers Place.
The Blackhawks have four prospects representing three nations:
* Kirby Dach, Canada
* Landon Slaggert, USA
* Michal Teply and Michael Krutil, Czech Republic
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Kirby Dach
It may not have been a surprise that Dach was the offensive leader during Team Canada’s intrasquad scrimmages. Even in drills, he showed off some jaw-dropping moves including this gem:
What also stood out was how Dach displayed maturity and leadership after the tardiness snafu with Dylan Cozens and with the way he conducted himself where coaches felt was worth emulating by the rest of his teen mates.
That poise, commitment, and professionalism points to something Tyler Cameron mentioned on the message boards for the last blog which is Dach being a front runner to be named captain. He should at least be wearing an A.
A fun element to selection was how Team Canada solicited others like family to help announce to players that they made the squad. In Dach’s case, he was told via phone call by his Blackhawks teammate and former landlord Brent Seabrook.
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Landon Slaggert
It was a long shot for Slaggert to make the cut for Team USA as a college freshman and 3rd round draft pick. Yet, he earned a spot and could be the heart and soul of the 4th line with his energetic three-zone play which he has put on display in his first year at the University of Notre Dame.
An argument could be made that Slaggert made Team USA only because others -- namely Nick Robertson (Leafs), Johnny Beecher (Bruins), and Thomas Bordeleau (Sharks) -- were taken out of the running for reasons other than on-ice performance.
The Leafs didn’t permit Robertson to attend camp. Beecher tested positive for COVID and his roommate Bordeleau were released from the team as a health precaution. An interesting tidbit is Beecher has one more game to serve from a suspension that started at last year’s WJC.
Regardless, Slaggert is physical, competitive, and relentless with equal parts of defensive awareness and offensive smarts. This bodes well for Team USA, Fighting Irish, and Blackhawks. Chicago could use more prospects like him in the system.
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Michal Teply & Michael Krutil
Although they won’t be relied upon as the elite players for the Czech Team, Teply and Krutil will be key cogs in the next tier of talent. Both have size that they use to their advantage and are reliable at both ends of the rink.
Even though he’s a proven goal scorer, Teply has actually shown to be a better playmaker whenever he has represented his country in world tourneys. If chances present themselves, though, he can rip the puck from anywhere -- even under pressure -- as a volume shooter.
Krutil is a prospect who does everything generally well but doesn’t excel at any one of them. What puts him over the top versus other D prospects with the same talent profile is his compete level. His size is something to like, too, at 6’3” 205 pounds. He’s only 18 years old.
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Other Camp Invitees
Lukas Reichel tested positive for COVID but thankfully hasn’t shown symptoms in quarantine. Despite the fact, he wasn’t included in camp and thus isn’t on Team Germany’s roster. This will be his second season playing for Berlin in the German elite league. The DEL starts league play on the 17th.
Antti Saarela would likely have made Team Finland if he hadn’t suffered an injury before camp opened up. He should be playing again later this month with Ilves Tampere in the Finnish elite league. This is his fourth season in Liiga. He just turned 19 this past June.
Alex Vlasic and Drew Commesso are fortunately healthy but Boston University has restricted Men’s Hockey from playing until January 8 due to a positive COVID case with an individual associated with the team. The Terriers season opener was supposed to be December 5.
The likelihood of Vlasic making Team USA was pretty high. His role would have been as one of the shutdown defenders which is a role he should be groomed for as a Blackhawks hopeful. Vlasic needs to elevate his game as a premier defensive stalwart within his peer group.
Commesso, however, would have been the 3rd string tender behind Spencer Knight (Panthers) and Dustin Wolf (Flames). The USA roster only has these two goalies for the tourney. Even if the team carried three, it would have been doubtful for Commesso to get into a game.
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Prospects Update
Wyatt Kaiser is trending up while Slava Demin is trending down. Both NCAA defensemen are on university teams -- University of Minnesota-Duluth and University of Denver respectively -- that are in full flight in this pandemic era.
Despite being a freshman, Kaiser has been playing regularly on the top D pair exhibiting a reliable 200-foot game. His defense is responsibly airtight. Offensively, he has shown composure at the point with excellent vision, puck movement, accurate passing, and quick shot release.
Demin has been scratched multiple times already as a junior after being a consistent starter during his first two seasons. In my
top D prospects blog, I ranked Demin ahead of Kaiser (9th and 10th) but would say Kaiser may have what it takes to surpass Demin.
Brandon Hagel and Tim Soderlund are ending their loan stints in Europe -- Switzerland and Sweden respectively -- gaining confidence with the opportunity to play their distinctive styles and produce at PPG paces. Keep in mind that they are playing at the second (non-elite) level.
If there’s a dark horse to crack the Hawks roster next month, Hagel would be in the mix if not the lead candidate. Ever since the Hawks signed him as a free agent in 2018, Hagel’s stock keeps ratcheting up incrementally. He’s at worst a 4th liner but could surprise as a middle 6 winger with offensive jam.
Soderlund had a forgettable first season in North America last season as he was riddled with injuries splitting time between Rockford and Indy. However, when he has the green light to play his fearless and relentless rendition of hockey like in his loan assignment, he proves to be a difference maker.
Josiah Slavin and Dominic Basse are off to noticeably admirable starts to their sophomore and freshman seasons at Colorado College. The Tigers head coach is Mike Haviland, formerly a Blackhawks assistant coach and head coach of the prior AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals.
Last season Slavin had a pedestrian first year with 13 points in 34 games. So far this season, he has burst out of the gate with a PPG pace and heavy style. He didn’t post huge offensive stats in three USHL seasons but his calling card for the pros will be his industrious work along the boards and net front.
Basse made his NCAA debut with a relief appearance then followed up with his first start and win yesterday. He’s the Tigers backup behind Matt Vernon, son of Flames goaltending great Mike Vernon. As an unknown quantity, Basse is one to watch to see if he emerges as a viable prospect.
Jakub Galvas is in his fifth season playing in elite European men’s leagues in the Czech Republic and Finland. Just 21 years old, he plays mainly 1st pair on the blueline with occasional starts on the 2nd pair. He is also a WJC alumnus representing the Czech Republic in 2018 and 2019.
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Readers Q&A Mailbag
Calling all readers! If you have any questions you want to ask about the Blackhawks or IceHogs, please send me a private message or email me at
[email protected].
All questions will be answered and featured in next week’s mailbag blog to close out a whirlwind 2020. Thank you to those who have submitted questions already!
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See you on the boards!
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