PROSPECTS: Five Headed to 2022 World Junior Championship

With August comes many things: hot summer days, vacations, back-to-school preparations…and this year, World Juniors hockey.
While championship competition doesn't normally take place at this point of the year, due to the pandemic, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship starts on Monday, and five Blackhawks prospects will be in action for their respective countries.
Wyatt Kaiser, Dominic James and Landon Slaggert will be representing Team USA -- Slaggert with the "A" on his chest, named an alternate captain for the Americans -- while Victor Stjernborg will represent Sweden. Defenseman Ethan Del Maastro will also represent Canada as a late addition just before the tournament started.

Slaggert, a forward out of Notre Dame, was drafted in 2020 in the third round at 79th overall. He was a member of the gold medal-winning World Juniors team in 2021 and is participating in his third IIHF tournament for the U.S. Slaggert was originally named an alternate captain for the 2022 tournament in December before it was postponed, and has maintained the title for the tournament in Edmonton this time around.
Kaiser, another 2020 third-round selection at 81st overall out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, will be leading the U.S. team on defense as he returns for his second World Juniors tournament.
James, another Minnesota-Duluth prospect selected in this year's draft at 173rd overall in the sixth round, will be making his World Juniors debut this time around. He was a part of last year's roster before the tournament was cut short.
Forward Stjernborg will also be making his first IIHF appearance for Sweden, after he was selected in the fourth round at 108th overall in the 2021 Draft.
Del Mastro, who replaced Daemon Hunt on Team Canada's roster due to injury, was drafted in 2021 in the fourth round at 105th overall and will be making his third international tournament appearance.
A few other Blackhawks prospects were in consideration for tournament rosters in Edmonton. First-round picks from last month's draft Kevin Korchinski and Frank Nazar were among the final cuts for Canada and the U.S., respectively. Aidan Thompson a third-round pick for Chicago last month,

for U.S. head coach Nate Leaman before the tournament, but will miss the competition due to a knee injury suffered in the lead up. All three are still eligible for the 2023 World Juniors tournament in December as the two competition returns to its normal holiday schedule.
The U.S. most recently won gold in 2021, the fifth first-place finish in team history, and has won 13 medals in the tournament overall. Sweden has not won World Juniors since 2012. All five Blackhawks prospects will face off on Sunday, Aug. 14 in the preliminary round as well, the final round-robin game on the schedule for the Americans.

USA Schedule

• Aug. 9: vs. Germany - 9 p.m. (NHLN)
• Aug. 11: vs. Switzerland - 9 p.m. (NHLN)
• Aug. 13: vs. Austria - 1 p.m. (NHLN)
• Aug. 14: vs. Sweden - 9 p.m. (NHLN)

Sweden Schedule

• Aug. 10: vs. Switzerland - 1 pm (NHLN)
• Aug. 12: vs. Austria ­- 1 pm (NHLN)
• Aug. 14: vs. USA - 9 pm (NHLN)
• Aug. 15: vs. Germany - 9 p.m. (NHLN)

Canada Schedule

All times listed in CT