2022 World Juniors: Award Contenders

Months after it was originally scheduled to occur, the 2022 World Junior Championship is upon us. The rosters may be a bit different than before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, but there is still a ton of talent that will be taking the ice. Aside from teams winning medals, individual players will also earn some hardware following the tournament.

While it’s safe to say we don’t want to rush to the end and see who wins the gold, it’s always fun to take a look at who could be taking home some of these individual honors. Here are some potential award contenders to keep your eyes on during the tournament.

Top Forward

United States: Logan Cooley, Brett Berard, Matt Coronato, Matthew Knies, Sasha Pastujov

Canada: Connor Bedard, Mason McTavish, Kent Johnson, Brennan Othmann, Logan Stankoven

Sweden: Fabian Lysell, Isak Rosen, Liam Ohgren, Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Finland: Aatu Raty, Kasper Simontaival, Roni Hirvonen, Joakim Kemell, Brad Lambert

Czechia: Jan Mysak, Jiri Kulich, Matyas Sapovaliv, Ivan Ivan

The top forward at this year’s tournament is likely going to come from one of these 23 players. There are some names to look out for on other teams, but none that will likely have the overall impact as those listed.

Defensemen: Simon Edvinsson, Sweden; Luke Hughes, United States

Goaltender: Jesper Wallstedt, Sweden

The All-Star Team is already half-filled, as the aforementioned award winners naturally all earned slots. It’s composed solely of players on teams that could very well end up as the final four. Cooley will be the go-to guy for Team USA, while the Finns will be a tough-out and Raty will be a key factor behind that. Edvinsson may fly under the radar relative to some of the other defenders he’ll be facing, but if the Swedes are going to go deep, he will be leading the way from the blue line.

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