The 2024 World Junior Championships are right around the corner and three Vegas Golden Knight prospects have been named to their national team rosters. The 11-day tournament kicks off on Tuesday, Dec. 26 in Gothenburg, Sweden as the best hockey players under 20 years old take center stage. Matyas Sapovaliv will represent Team Czechia, David Edstrom will be there with host country Sweden, and Arttu Karki will skate with Finland.
Matyas Sapovaliv
Sapovaliv will take part in his third-straight World Junior Championships for Team Czechia as he looks to make his mark in this year's tournament. The 6’3 center put up nine points in 14 games between his last two tournaments, averaging a point per game in 2023 and helping his team to its first medal since 2005. The 2022 second-round draft pick (48th overall) is in his third season with the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL, posting 36 points (12G, 24A) in 27 games so far this season. Sapovaliv signed his three-year, entry level contract with the Golden Knights on Dec. 27, 2022 and according to VGK Director of Player Development Wil Nichol, Sapovaliv is a “big, strong, two-way center ice man. This kid is legit in a lot of ways.”
David Edstrom
Edstrom suits up for his first World Juniors with Team Sweden after having been selected by the Golden Knights in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft (32nd overall). The Golden Knights signed the 18-year-old Swede to a three-year, entry level contract less than a month later. Edstrom previously skated with the U18 team, recording 13 points in 16 international games. The 6’3, 190lb centerman is playing his second season of pro hockey in the Swedish Elite League with Frölunda HC, recording 10 points (4G, 6A) in 25 games so far this season. Per Director of Player Development, Nichol, Edstrom “is playing meaningful minutes, right around 15 to 16 a game. He’s got a lot of Nic Roy in his game. Just a real good two-way center.”
Arttu Karki
Karki puts on the blue and white of Team Finland for the World Juniors for the first time in his international playing career. The 2023 third-round draft pick (96th overall) from Viiala, Finland has spent the last two seasons with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL. The defenseman is on a point-per-game pace in 2023-24. Karki has tallied 16 goals and 14 assists in 30 games with the Greyhounds. Director of Player Development, Nichol, adds that Karki, “is getting a lot of attention right now because he’s putting the puck in from the blueline…He’s off to a really nice start in the offensive category for sure.”
