Power, Beniers among NHL prospects who impressed at 2022 Olympics

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Beijing Olympics included an interesting blend of former NHL players and NHL prospects.

When the NHL announced Dec. 22 that its players would not participate in the Olympics after the regular-season schedule had been disrupted due to increasing COVID-19 cases and a rising number of postponed games, the 12 participating teams were forced to find the best possible alternatives.
The 25-player roster for the United States included 13 NHL prospects and 15 NCAA players, including University of Michigan center
Matty Beniers
, selected No. 2 by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Owen Power
, selected No. 1 by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2021 draft, joined Columbus Blue Jackets forward prospect
Kent Johnson
(No. 5, 2021) among NHL prospects and former NHL players with Canada.
The 12-day tournament concluded when Finland won 2-1 against the Russian Olympic Committee in the gold-medal game at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing on Saturday.
Here are 12 prospects who stood out in the men's ice hockey tournament at the Olympics (listed alphabetically):
Matty Beniers, F, United States
Beniers scored two points (one goal, one assist), had 11 shots on goal and averaged 19:39 of ice time in four games. In his second college season, the 19-year-old is tied for sixth among NCAA players with 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 28 games, and leads Michigan with eight power-play goals.
Brendan Brisson, F, United States
Brisson scored two goals, had 13 shots on goal and averaged 11:24 of ice time in four games. The 20-year-old was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round (No. 29) of the 2020 NHL Draft. Brisson is second behind Beniers in scoring at Michigan with 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 29 games, and the sophomore leads Michigan with five-game winning goals.
Drew Commesso, G, United States
The 19-year-old, chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round (No. 46) of the 2020 draft, went 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .964 save percentage in two games at the Olympics. He made history as the youngest goalie ever to start for the U.S. men's Olympic team, making 29 saves in an 8-0 win against China on Feb. 10. Commesso is 12-8-3 with a 2.48 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 24 games as a sophomore at Boston University.
Brock Faber, D, United States
Faber played a game-high 25:48 in a 3-2 win against Germany on Feb. 13, and had one assist in 24:45 of ice time in four games at the Olympics. The 19-year-old right-shot defenseman was chosen by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round (No. 45) of the 2020 draft. He has scored 11 points (two goals, nine assists) and has 25 blocked shots in 24 games as a sophomore at the University of Minnesota.
Sean Farrell, F, United States
The 20-year-old led the United States with six points (three goals, three assists) in four games. Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round (No. 124) in the 2020 draft, he has scored 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 17 games as a freshman at Harvard University.
Arseny Gritsyuk, F, Russian Olympic Committee
The 20-year-old scored three points (one goal, two assists) and averaged 11:50 in ice time in six games for ROC. He also scored the game-deciding goal in the eighth round of the shootout against Sweden in the semifinals on Friday to send ROC to the gold-medal game. Chosen by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round (No. 129) in the 2019 NHL Draft, Gritsyuk has scored 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) in 39 games with Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Kent Johnson, F, Canada
The 19-year-old was Canada's second-youngest forward after Mason McTavish (Anaheim Ducks), but his five points (one goal, four assists) in five games were tied for second on the team. The University of Michigan sophomore is seventh among NCAA players with an average of 1.30 points per game (30 points in 23 games).
Matthew Knies, F, United States
Knies, who was born in Phoenix, became the third Arizona-born hockey player ever to represent the United States at the Winter Olympics, joining Broc Little with the men's team at the 2018 PyeongChang Games and Lyndsey Fry with the women's team at the 2014 Sochi Games. The 19-year-old scored two points (one goal, one assist) and averaged 17:25 of ice time in four games. Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round (No. 57) of the 2021 draft, he's scored 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 26 games as a freshman at the University of Minnesota.
Jack McBain, F, Canada
McBain, selected by the Minnesota Wild in the third round (No. 63) of the 2018 NHL Draft, scored two points (one goal, one assist) and averaged 10:40 in ice time in five games. The 22-year-old has scored 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 18 games as a senior at Boston College.
Alexander Nikishin, D, Russian Olympic Committee
The 20-year-old was the youngest player on ROC and had six shots on goal and averaged 19:16 of ice time in six games. Selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round (No. 69) of the 2020 draft, Nikishin has scored 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 46 games this season with Spartak Moscow in the KHL.
Owen Power, D, Canada
The 19-year-old was Canada's youngest defenseman but led them with an average of 21:38 of ice time in five games. He also had one assist and 12 shots on goal. A sophomore at the University of Michigan, Power is second among NCAA defensemen with an average of 1.08 points per game (26 points in 24 games), and is tied for the Michigan lead with 37 blocked shots.
Juraj Slafkovsky, F, Slovakia
Slafkovsky (6-3, 218), No. 2 in
NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of International skaters
eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft, was voted the tournament's most valuable player award after he led all players with seven goals in seven games for Slovakia while being the event's youngest player at 17 years old. He scored two goals in a 4-0 win against Sweden in the bronze-medal game Saturday, helping Slovakia win its first Olympic ice hockey medal. Slafkovsky has scored four points (one goal, three assists) in 21 games with TPS in Liiga, the top professional men's league in Finland.
"It's just an amazing feeling," Slafkovsky said. "After all we went through, bouncing back from the first two losses and a tough [4-1] loss to Sweden in the group stage. This has been an amazing few weeks since the start of camp and I'm so happy to be part of this."