Jackets prospects complete World Juniors

The future of hockey was on display as the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship took place over the holiday season, with four Blue Jackets prospects going to Sweden to take part in the international tournament that brings together the best Under-20 players in the world.

READ MORE: Four prospects taking part in World Juniors | Prospect analyst Chris Peters breaks down the Jackets

2023 second-round pick Gavin Brindley (forward, No. 4) and Team USA emerged with their first gold medal since 2021 and fifth since '10. He finished as one of the top scorers at the event and had assists on the game-winning goals in the semifinals and finals.

Two CBJ draft picks in 2022 first-round pick Denton Mateychuk (defenseman, No. 24) and 2022 third-round pick Jordan Dumais (forward, No. 22) were on Team Canada before it was eliminated in the quarters thanks to an upset by Czechia, while 2023 seventh-round pick Oiva Keskinen (forward, No. 20) was on Finland's squad that lost the bronze medal game.

Throughout the tournament, we recapped how each game goes for the CBJ draft picks as well as player stats.

Player Stats

Gavin Brindley (USA): 7 GP, 6-4-10, +7, 16 SOG, 16:47 TOI (third in tournament in goals, fourth in points)

Jordan Dumais (CAN): 5 GP, 1-1-2, Even +/-, 9 SOG, 14:23 TOI

Denton Mateychuk (CAN): 5 GP, 0-4-4, +6, 5 SOG, 24:32 TOI

Oiva Keskinen (FIN): 7 GP, 2-2-5, Even +/-, 5 SOG, 15:20 TOI

Results

United States (Brindley): Won gold medal

Finland (Keskinen): Lost bronze medal game

Canada (Dumais, Mateychuk): Lost in quarterfinals

Previous Results

Friday, Jan. 5

The final day of play featured a spirited gold medal game between rivals Sweden and the United States, with the latter looking for revenge for a previous IIHF U-18 loss. And the Americans got their wish, scoring all three third-period goals to pull away to a 6-3 victory over the host Swedes. Isaac Howard had what went down as the tournament winning goal, assisted by Brindley. The University of Michigan standout now gets his gold medal after falling short in his first appearance at the event last year.

Finland looked ready to cruise to the bronze as it led Czechia 5-2 at one point, but the Czechs scored six straight goals -- four in a minute span of the last two minutes -- to take bronze with an 8-5 win. It was a second straight medal for Czechia, while Finland had to wonder how it all went so wrong so quickly. Still, Keskinen finished with an assist to complete a strong tournament for the Tappara man. 

Thursday, Jan. 4

Keskinen gave Finland an early lead with a tap-in rebound goal just 1:51 into the game and the Finns made it 2-0 by the end of the first, but Team USA rallied to take a 3-2 semifinal win and will play for gold Friday.

Brindley had his third assist of the tournament as he had the second helper on Cutter Gauthier's power-play goal with 3:13 to go that went down as the game winner. Jimmy Snuggerud and Will Smith also scored for Team USA in the comeback victory.

After the game, Team USA named its top three players for the tournament, including Brindley, who is the first CBJ prospect to earn such an honor with the American team since Zach Werenski in 2016.

It will all be on the line for the Americans on Friday afternoon as they take on home Sweden in the final on NHL Network.

Tuesday, Jan. 2

The biggest surprise of the tournament came at the expense of the two of the CBJ prospects at the event, as Canada was upset 3-2 on a goal with 11 seconds left by Czechia. While that left Jackets defenseman David Jiricek happy, as he took a victory lap at morning skate, it was a crushing end for Dumais and Mateychuk. Afterward, Mateychuk was named one of the top three players at the tournament for Canada as well as the country's player of the game for the loss to Czechia.

Team USA had little trouble advancing past Latvia in the quarterfinals, leading 3-1 after one and 6-1 after two on the way to a 7-2 victory, though Brindley was held off the score sheet. Finland also played in one of the best games of the tournament so far, as Keskinen and the Finns eliminated Slovakia by a 4-3 score in overtime.

Sunday, Dec. 31

It was a big day for the Blue Jackets at the World Juniors, as all three countries with CBJ prospects posted key victories.

Brindley had another big day, scoring two more goals -- his third two-goal game of the tournament -- and adding an assist as Team USA drubbed Slovakia by a 10-2 score. Brindley first went coast-to-coast to score a nifty shorthanded goal in the second period, then tapped a shot across the goal line in the third as the U.S. pulled away. The win clinched first place in the pool for the United States.

Canada had to sweat a little bit as it faced a German team trying to avoid the relegation round, but Dumais scored the game-winning goal on the power play in the third to break a 3-3 tie as Canada went on to post a 6-3 victory. Dumais' tally from low on the left side of the zone was the first goal of the tournament for the talented wing. Mateychuk added an assist for Canada and played a team-best 26:59.

Lastly, Keskinen and Finland posted a 5-4 shootout win over rival Sweden, the first loss of the tournament for the home squad. Keskinen had a pair of assists in the victory. 

Friday, Dec. 29

All four CBJ draft picks were in action, but the only one to make an impact on the score sheet was Keskinen, who got his first goal of the tournament when he ripped home a shot on the power play in the third period of Finland's dominant 4-0 win over Latvia. It was a great bounce-back game for the Finns after Wednesday's loss to Germany, as Finland had a 43-23 edge in shots on goal.

Canada faced tournament host Sweden and the home fans left happy, as Sweden posted a 2-0 shutout victory that confirmed the home team will be a tough out in the medal round.

Meanwhile, the United States was pushed to a shootout by Czechia, with Isaac Howard's goal in the seventh round of the shootout delivering the win. Brindley was kept off the score sheet for the first time in the tournament but did draw a penalty in overtime.

Thursday, Dec. 28

It was another big day for Brindley, who posted two goals and an assist -- all in a five-minute span of the second period -- as the United States drubbed Switzerland by an 11-3 score. Brindley first one-timed a pass from Frank Nazar home to give the USA a 6-1 lead, then assisted on Leonard's goal before scoring off another Nazar feed to make it 8-1.

Brindley's second two-goal game of the tournament leaves the University of Michigan standout tied for the most goals in the tournament with USA teammate Jimmy Snuggerud, who had a hat trick against the Swiss.

Both Canada and Finland were off for the first time, with the Canadians set to face a big test against the host Swedes on Friday.

Wednesday, Dec. 27

Canada moved to 2-0 at the tournament with an impressive performance, scoring five times in the third period to post a 10-0 victory over Latvia. Mateychuk had two assists in the game and is now plus-5 at the tournament on Canada's top defensive pair, while Dumais notched his first assist of the event and had five shots on goal in the game.

Meanwhile, Keskinen and Finland were on the wrong end of the tournament's first big upset, falling 4-3 to Germany for the first time ever at the event.

Tuesday, Dec. 26

Brindley was the star of the day, posting two goals in the second period of the United States' 4-1 win over Norway. Brindley tallied on the power play to make it a 2-0 game and then ripped a wrist shot home 2:33 later after creating a turnover on the forecheck. After the game, he was chosen as Team USA's player of the game for his effort.

In a game featuring three CBJ draft picks, Dumais and Mateychuk were part of a Canadian team that worked its way to a 5-2 win over Keskinen and Finland on Tuesday. Mateychuk had a second assist on the first Canada goal and skated 24:03 on the top pair, while Dumais nearly scored but hit the post. Keskinen's 18:12 of ice time was third among Finnish forwards.