Pittsburgh Penguins prospects Joel Blomqvist, Calle Clang and Kirill Tankov will represent Team Finland, Team Sweden and Team Russia, respectively, at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship held Dec. 26 - Jan. 5, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta and WP Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta.
Prospects Blomqvist, Clang, Tankov Selected to World Junior Championship
West Mifflin, Pa. native Logan Cooley selected to represent Team USA
Blomqvist, 19, was originally drafted by the Penguins in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. This season, the goaltender has split time between Karpat of Liiga, Finland's top professional league, and Hermes of Mestis, Finland's second-tier professional league. In his eight games with Karpat, Blomqvist has posted a 4-1-1 record with a .073 goals-against average, .964 save percentage and three shutouts which ranks fourth most in the league. While on loan to Hermes, he's appeared in three games with a 2.07 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.
The 6-foot-2, 183-pound Blomqvist will make his second consecutive trip to the World Juniors in Edmonton as he was selected last year for Team Finland, however did not appear in a game during the tournament.
The Uusikaarlepyy, Finland native has played parts of three seasons between Liiga and Mestis. In 2019-20, Blomqvist won Junior Liiga's Best Goalie Award after posting a league-leading .931 save percentage in 34 games with Karpat U20. Blomqvist has represented Finland on the international stage at the 2019 World U17 Hockey Challenge, where he won silver, and the 2019 World U18 Championships.
Blomqvist and Team Finland will open the tournament on Dec. 26 against Germany at 2:00 PM ET. Finland's preliminary play continues on Dec. 27 (2:00 PM ET vs. Austria), Dec. 29 (2:00 PM ET vs. Czech Republic) and Dec. 31 (7:00 PM ET vs. Canada).
Clang, 19, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the third round (77th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. This season, the goaltender is playing for Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League, Sweden's top professional hockey league. In eight games, Clang has posted a 3-4-0 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. In 2020-21, he played one game for Rögle BK and recorded a shutout before playing for Kristianstads IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden's second-highest professional league, where he appeared in 32 games posting a 13-19-0 record with a 2.46 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.
The Olofstrom, Sweden native will also make his second consecutive trip to Edmonton for the WJC but didn't start in last year's tournament. Clang has represented Sweden internationally at the 2019 World U17 Hockey Challenge and 2019 World U18 Championships, winning bronze and gold, respectively.
Clang and Team Sweden kick off their tournament on Dec. 26 against Russia at 4:30 PM ET. Sweden's preliminary play continues on Dec. 27 (9:30 PM ET vs. Slovakia), Dec. 29 (9:30 PM ET vs. USA) and Dec. 31 (4:30 PM ET vs. Switzerland).
Tankov, 19, was drafted by the Penguins in the seventh round (218th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft. This season, the forward has appeared in 25 games for SKA-Neva St. Petersburg of the VHL, Russia's second-highest professional league, recording six goals, six assists, 12 points and a plus-6. Prior to the VHL, the 6-foot-2, 190 pound forward spent parts of three seasons in the MHL, Russia's top junior league, between SKA-Varyagi im. Morozova and SKA-1946 St. Petersburg. In 176 MHL games, Tankov put up 35 goals, 55 assists and 90 points. This year's tournament will be Tankov's first international play.
Team Russia begins their tournament on Dec. 26 against Sweden at 4:30 PM ET. Russia's preliminary play continues on Dec. 27 (4:30 PM ET vs. Switzerland), Dec. 29 (4:30 PM ET vs. Slovakia) and Dec. 31 (9:30 PM ET vs. USA).
West Mifflin, Pa. native Logan Cooley has also been selected to represent the United States at the 2022 World Junior Championship. An alumnus of Sidney Crosby's 'Little Penguins Learn to Play Program' and the Penguins Elite, Cooley is in his second season with the U.S. National Team Development Program out of Plymouth, Mich. In 20 games this season, he has amassed 14 goals, 16 assists and 30 points ranking him third in scoring and first in points-per-game with 1.50.
All 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship games will be broadcast on NHL Network in the United States and TSN and RDS in Canada.
Click here
for a full tournament schedule.
