Flyers World Juniors 2022 Preview

The rescheduled 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship in Edmonton gets underway on August 9 and will run through the gold medal and bronze medal games on Aug. 20. The original 2021-22 tournament slated for late December to early January was postponed due to various positive COVID-19 tests after the tournament had already gotten underway.

The game results and team standings from the original version of the tournament will not count in the rescheduled tournament, which will begin from scratch. However, players' personal statistics from the previous version will count toward their international career totals and be recorded separately for the 2021-22 season. Thus, officially, there are "two" WJCs in 2021-22 for record-keeping purposes, with medals being awarded for the latter only.
Eligibility rules for the rescheduled 2022 tourney have reverted back to the ones for the original tourney. Thus, even if the player has since turned 20 years old, he remains eligible for the August tournament. As long as the player did not turn 20 prior to Jan. 1, 2022, he remains eligible.
The Flyers organization had three prospects at the original tournament: forward Elliot Desnoyers (Canada), defenseman Emil Andrae (Sweden) and fellow blueliner Brian Zanetti (Switzerland). All three are back for the August tournament, and have been joined by Tyson Foerster (Canada).
Here's a player-by-player look at what fans can expect from each player.
Tyson Foerster (RW, Team Canada):The Flyers' 2020 first-round pick was unavailable to play at the original tournament due to a November shoulder injury that required surgery. Originally starting the 2021-22 season in the American Hockey League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Foerster was assigned to the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts after completing his rehab. He played the regular season's final 13 games plus six playoff tilts for Barrie.
In terms of timing and game conditioning, the hard-shooting winger was clearly not yet at 100 percent even after getting into Barrie's lineup. However, he has since fully recovered and is slated to play a prominent role for Team Canada at the WJC.
Foerster will start the tournament on Canada's second line right wing, playing with center Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars prospect, 109-point scorer with the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers in 2021-22) and left wing Kent Johnson (Columbus Blue Jackets 2021 first-round pick, made his NHL debut this past season after two years at the University of Michigan).
Foerster, who turned 20 on January 18, also is slated to be part of Team Canada's power play.
Elliot Desnoyers (C/W, Team Canada): Versatility is one of the Flyers' 2020 fifth-round pick's strong suits. He can be plugged into a lineup in various different roles and has the ability to play either center or wing in any game situation.
Desnoyers is slated to open the tournament as Canada's fourth-line center. He will have New York Rangers' prospect Will Cuylle (who played the 2021-22 season with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires) and 18-year-old Anaheim Ducks' 2022 first-round pick Nathan Gaucher (Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) as his tournament opening wingers.
Desnoyers is coming off an excellent draft-plus-two season for the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads. One of the Q's best two-way forwards, Desnoyers contributed 42 goals and 88 points in 61 regular season games and nine points (1g, 8a) in five playoff matches in 2021-22. He centered his team's top line, played on the No. 1 power play unit as well as the top end of the penalty killing rotation.
For Team Canada, the smooth-skating French Canadian forward will primarily be assigned to checking duties at 5-on-5 plus a penalty killing role. However, he could be moved up in any given game.
During the original 2021-22 WJC, Desnoyers posted three assists in two games played for Team Canada. He turned 20 on January 21.
Emil Andrae (D, Team Sweden): Andrae, the Flyers' 202 second-round pick, served as the Junior Crowns' captain at the original 2021-22 WJC tourney and will reprise that role in the August tourney. He's a veteran of major international junior competitions by now, having also played for Sweden at the 2020-21 WJC as well as various lower age-group tournaments.
The fireplug-like Andrae (5-foot-8, 180 pounds) has lowered his body fat percentage since being drafted by the Flyers and transformed it into leaner muscle mass. He's always been a very highly skilled player with the puck and a player with an above-average hockey IQ.
Andrae is coming off a breakthrough season at Sweden's Allsvenskan level (highest professional minor league) and will spend the full 2022-23 season at the elite (Swedish Hockey League) level for HV71. He was Allsvenskan's top offensive and all-around defenseman this past year.
Andrae will play 20-plus minutes per game for Sweden at the WJC and figure prominently in their power play. At the original tournament, he had a goal and an assist in two games played. He turned 20 on February 23.
Brian Zanetti (D, Switzerland):Drafted by the Flyers in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Zanetti is a fleet-footed puck mover who will enter his second OHL season in 2022-23 for the Peterborough Petes. He makes a very good first pass and has some long-term two-way upside. At lower levels, he's a second power play unit candidate depending on the depth of his team.
Zanetti was part of Team Switzerland's roster at the original 2021-22 WJC. He played third-pairing minutes in one game. Since then, he's had the benefit of an additional half-season of season major junior season in Canada.
Zanetti turned 19 on March 15. He will remain eligible for the 2022-23 World Juniors and could play a larger-scale role for the Swiss squad come the next tournament after Christmas this year. Even now, he's a player from whom the underdog Swiss side can use some clutch contributions in triggering breakouts and potential counterattacks at 5-on-5.
Schedule-at-a-Glance
Here's a look at the preliminary round games that will involve Flyers-affiliated prospects. Medal round assignments will be determined after the preliminaries.
Aug. 9: Tournament starts, no Flyers prospects in action.
Aug 10: Sweden (Andrae) vs. Switzerland (Zanetti), Canada (Foerster and Desnoyers) vs. Latvia.
Aug. 11: Canada (Foerster and Desnoyers) vs. Slovakia, USA vs. Switzerland (Zanetti).
Aug. 12: Sweden (Andrae) vs. Austria.
Aug. 13: Canada (Foerster and Desnoyers) vs. Czech Republic, Germany vs. Switzerland (Zanetti).
Aug. 14: USA vs. Sweden (Andrae).
Aug. 15: Switzerland (Zanetti) vs. Austria, Canada (Foerster and Desnoyers), Sweden (Andrae) vs. Germany.
Aug. 16: No games.
Aug. 17: Medal round quarterfinals (four games).
Aug.18: No games.
Aug. 19: Medal round semifinals (two games).
Aug. 20: Bronze medal game, gold medal game.