Devils have NHL-high seven prospects at World Junior Championship

The New Jersey Devils' present and future appear very bright.
The Devils, who lead the Metropolitan Division with 47 points, will have an NHL-best seven prospects taking part in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The elite under-20 tournament, which will be played in Buffalo, starts Tuesday and runs through Jan. 5. Games will be played at KeyBank Center and HarborCenter, as well as an outdoor game between the United States and Canada at New Era Field, home of the Buffalo Bills, on Dec. 29.
Among the New Jersey prospects are two team captains, forward Joey Anderson of the U.S. and defenseman Yegor Zaitsev of Russia.
RELATED: [NHL rookies prospering after strong performances at 2017 World Juniors]
Anderson, a third-round pick (No. 73) in the 2016 NHL Draft, had two assists in seven games to help the U.S. win the gold at the 2017 WJC. He has nine points (four goals, five assists) as a sophomore at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Zaitsev, a seventh-round pick (No. 205) in the 2017 NHL Draft, has two assists in 25 games with Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Joining Zaitsev on Russia will be forward Mikhail Maltsev, who will be an alternate captain. The fourth-round pick (No. 102) in the 2016 draft has five assists in 16 games with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL.
Other Devils prospects in the tournament are Canada forward Michael McLeod, the No. 12 pick of the 2016 draft; forwards Jesper Boqvist and Fabian Zetterlund of Sweden; and forward Marian Studenic of Slovakia. Boqvist (No. 36), Zetterlund (No. 63) and Studenic (No. 143) were selected in the 2017 draft.
The Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars each will have six prospects in the tournament.
Among those taking part for the Bruins are four players chosen in the 2016 draft: U.S. forward Trent Frederic (No. 29) and defenseman Ryan Lindgren (No. 49), Finland forward Joona Koppanen (No. 135), and Sweden forward Oskar Steen (No. 165). Also in the tournament are Finland defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, the No. 18 pick of the 2017 draft, and U.S. goaltender Jeremy Swayman, a fourth-round pick (No. 111) in 2017.
Two Flames prospects will captain their teams at the tournament: Canada forward Dillon Dube, chosen in the second round (No. 56) of the 2016 draft, and Finland defenseman Juuso Valimaki, the No. 16 pick in the 2017 draft. Also taking part for Finland is Slovakia forward Adam Ruzicka, a fourth-round pick (No. 109) in 2017, and three players selected in the 2016 draft: U.S. defenseman Adam Fox (No. 66), Sweden forward Linus Lindstrom (No. 96) and Finland forward Eetu Tuulola (No. 156).
The Stars will have their two 2017 first-round picks in the tournament, Finland defenseman Miro Heiskanen (No. 3) and U.S. goaltender Jake Oettinger (No. 26). Their first pick in the 2016 draft, U.S. forward Riley Tufte (No. 26) also will play. Two other Stars prospects drafted in 2016 taking part are Sweden forward Fredrik Karlstrom (No. 90) and Canada goaltender Colton Point (No. 128), along with Czech Republic defenseman Ondrej Vala, a free agent signed Sept. 29, 2016.

All 31 teams will have at least one player in the tournament, and there will be 33 first-round picks, including Vancouver Canucks defenseman Olli Juolevi, the No. 5 pick of the 2016 draft who will play for Finland in the World Juniors for the third time.
The 10 teams are split into two groups in the preliminary round.
Group A
includes the defending champion U.S., along with Canada, Finland, Denmark and Slovakia.
Group B
consists of Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic, Belarus and Switzerland.