The 2023 U20 World Junior Championship drops the puck today in Halifax and Moncton, Canada. The Buffalo Sabres will have three of their top prospects participating in the tournament this year. Team Sweden will feature 2021 first-round pick Isak Rosen and 2022 first-round pick Noah Ostlund. Czechia will once again lean on 2022 first-round pick, Jiri Kulich.

For those of you interested in the 2023 NHL Draft you’ll get a look at some of the top prospects in that class during this tournament. Consensus top pick Conor Bedard will play for Team Canada, along with another projected top pick, Adam Fantilli.

A few other top prospects the tournament will feature are Leo Carlsson (SWE), Eduard Sale (CZE), and Dalibor Dvorsky (SVK).

Noah Ostlund

Ostlund will be participating in his first U20 tournament and it likely won’t be the last. He comes into it off of an inconsistent and injury-filled season. He has two goals and 11 points in 19 games playing Djurgardens in Sweden’s second-tier league Hockeyallsveskan.

In pre-tournament games, Ostlund has been on a line with Djurgardens’ teammate and 2022 first-round pick Liam Ohgren. We’ll if the Swedes put another 2022 first-round pick and teammate Jonathan Lekkerimaki on the other wing.

Isak Rosen

As for the other prospect on the Swedish national team, Isak Rosen will a staple on their top line. They’ll be relying on the 19-year-old to be a key contributor in this tournament.

We all know how well he has played in the AHL with the Rochester Amerks to this point. It’ll be interesting to see who his linemates will be for most of the tournament. In their last pre-tournament game he was on a line with San Jose Sharks 2022-first round pick Filip Bystedt and 2023 NHL Draft top prospect, Carlsson.

Jiri Kulich

Kulich comes into this event looking to build on his strong year and repeat his performance for the 2022 World Junior this past summer. He was one of the top players in that tournament and helped lead Czechia to a fourth-place finish.

The Czech roster may not be as strong this time around without Jan Mysak. Therefore, more pressure will be on Kulich to lead the way and surprise some teams as they did a few months ago.

Group A

• Canada
• Sweden
• Czechia
• Germany
• Austria

Group B

• USA
• Finland
• Switzerland
• Slovakia
• Latvia

Sweden Schedule – Group Stage

Game 1: 12/26 vs Austria – 1:30 PM EST

Game 2: 12/27 vs Germany – 1:30 PM EST

Game 3: 12/29 vs Czechia – 1:30 PM EST

Game 4: 12/31 vs Canada – 6:30 PM EST

Czechia Schedule – Group Stage

Game 1: 12/26 vs Canada – 6:30 PM EST

Game 2: 12/27 vs Austria – 6:30 PM EST

Game 3: 12/29 vs Sweden – 1:30 PM EST

Game 4: 12/31 vs Germany – 1:30 PM EST