Prospect Report: Several blossoming Stars in mix for World Juniors

The 2018 World Junior Championship is just around the corner, and several Dallas Stars prospects are in the mix to play at the tournament, which gets underway Dec. 26 in Buffalo, New York.

Countries released preliminary and selection camp rosters for the World Juniors last week and Stars prospects listed include defenseman Miro Heiskanen (Finland), goaltender Jake Oettinger (USA), left wing Riley Tufte (USA), goaltender Colton Point (Canada), center Fredrik Karlstrom (Sweden), and defenseman Ondrej Vala (Czech Republic).
Heiskanen, Karlstrom, and Vala all played at the 2017 World Junior Championship. Oettinger was there as the third goalie for the gold-medal U.S. team, but did not play. Tufte and Point are looking to play at the tournament for the first time.
The final rosters are expected to be announced later this month. The World Juniors, which feature some of the best under-20 players in the world, runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5.
Here's a look at how Heiskanen, Oettinger, Tufte, Point, Karlstrom, Vala and other Dallas prospects playing in Europe, juniors and college fared over the past week.

NCAA

LW Riley Tufte (1st round/2016) scored two goals as No. 17 Minnesota Duluth defeated Nebraska-Omaha, 6-2, on Saturday. Tufte has 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 19 games, and leads Minnesota Duluth in goal scoring.
Tufte Stats: Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) | 19 GP | 8 G | 3 A | 11 PTS | +2 | 20 PIM
G Jake Oettinger(1st round/2017) went 1-1-0 over the weekend for Boston University and stopped 42 of 48 shots. He made 27 saves on 30 shots in a 3-2 loss to UMass-Lowell on Friday and then stopped 15 of 18 shots in a 9-3 win over UMass-Lowell on Saturday. Oettinger is 7-9-1 with a 2.91 goals against average and .902 save percentage.
Oettinger Stats: Boston University (Hockey East) | 7-9-1 | 2.91 | .902
G Colton Point(5th round/2016) played one game last week, stopping 20 of 24 shots in Colgate's 4-2 loss to Connecticut. Point is 8-4-4 with a 1.90 goals against average and .938 save percentage. Point ranks fourth in the nation in save percentage and seventh in goals against average.
Point Stats: Colgate (ECAC) | 8-4-4 | 1.90 | .938
C/LW Rhett Gardner (4th round/2016) scored one goal as No. 5 North Dakota and No. 2 St. Cloud State battled to a 2-2 tie Friday. Gardner has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 18 games.
Gardner Stats: North Dakota (NCHC) | 18 GP | 3 G | 7 A | 10 PTS | +5 |12 PIM
D Joe Cecconi(5th round/2015) picked up one assist in two games for the University of Michigan giving him 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 16 games. Cecconi leads Michigan defensemen in scoring.
Cecconi Stats: Michigan (Big Ten) | 16 GP | 3 G | 8 A | 11 PTS | -8 | 16 PIM
D Michael Prapavessis (4th round/2014) did not register any points in one game for RPI. Prapavessis has nine assists in 17 games.
Prapavessis Stats: RPI (ECAC) | 17 GP | 0 G | 9 A | 9 PTS | -7 | 8 PIM

North American Juniors

RW Nick Caamano (5th round/2016) tallied three goals and one assist in three games for Hamilton of the Ontario Hockey League last week. Caamano has eight points (four goals, four assists) in seven games since being acquired by Hamilton last month. He has 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists) in 29 OHL games this season.
Caamano Stats: Hamilton/Flint (OHL) | 30 GP | 16 G | 13 A | 29 PTS | -5 | 44 PIM
LW Jason Robertson (2nd round/2017) did not score in two games for Kingston of the OHL last week, snapping his point streak at seven games. Robertson has 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists) in 30 games and is tied for 10th in the OHL in points and 12th in goal scoring.
Robertson Stats: Kingston (OHL) | 30 GP | 17 G | 22 A | 39 PTS | +10 | 20 PIM
C Liam Hawel (4th round/2017) recorded one goal and one assist in three games for Guelph of the OHL last week giving him 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 26 games.
Hawel Stats: Guelph (OHL) | 26 GP | 4 G | 11 A | 15 PTS | -6 | 11 PIM
C Brett Davis(6th round/2017) scored one goal in three games for Kootenay of the Western Hockey League over the last week. Davis has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 32 games.
Davis Stats: Kootenay | 32 GP | 8 G | 7 A | 15 PTS | -6 | 11 PIM
D Ondrej Vala (Free agent/2016) registered one assist in two games for Kamloops of the WHL. Vala has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 30 games.
Vala Stats: Kamloops (WHL) | 30 GP | 7 G | 12 A | 19 PTS | +1 | 28 PIM

Europe

D Miro Heiskanen (1st round/2017) did not record any points in two games for HIFK in Finland's top league last week. He did play a season-high 29:21 in a 4-3 overtime loss to Karpat on Tuesday and then matched his season-high with nine shots on goal in a 3-1 win over HPK on Saturday. Heiskanen has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 17 games.
Heiskanen Stats: HIFK (Liiga) | 19 GP | 9 G | 4 A | 13 PTS | +9 | 6 PIM
D John Nyberg (6th round/2014) tallied two assists in two games for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League. Nyberg has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 26 games and is averaging 18:18 of ice time per game.
Nyberg Stats: Frolunda (SHL) | 26 GP | 2 G | 8 A | 10 PTS | E | 32 PIM
D Jakob Stenqvist (6th round/2016) picked up one assist in two games for Bjorkloven in Sweden's second league last week. Stenqvist has 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) in 25 games and ranks third among league defensemen in scoring.
Stenqvist Stats: Bjorkloven (Allsvenskan) | 25 GP | 1 G | 13 A | 14 PTS | -3 | 10 PIM
LW/C Fredrik Karlstrom (3rd round/2016) did not score in two games for Linkoping in the SHL last week. Karlstrom has three points (one goal, two assists) in 26 games.
Karlstrom Stats: Linkoping (SHL) | 26 GP | 1 G | 2 A | 3 PTS | -1 | 6 PIM Linkoping (Sweden, Jr.) | 3 GP | 2 G | 0 A | 2 PT | -3 | 4 PIM
C Jacob Peterson (5th round/2017) did not play last week. He has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 22 games in Swedish juniors and no points in five SHL games.
Peterson Stats: Frolunda (Sweden, Jr.) | 22 GP | 11 G | 12 A | 23 PTS | -6 | 12 PIM Frolunda (SHL) | 5 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 PTS | -1 | 0 PIM
G Markus Ruusu (6th round/2015) played two games for TUTO Hockey in Finland's second league, going 1-0-1 and stopping 45 of 51 shots. Ruusu has played in Finland's top league, the second league and juniors this season.
Ruusu Stats: Ilves (Liiga) | 5-6-0 | 3.75 | .851 Ilves (Finland, Jr.) | 0-2-0 | 2.57 | .924 TUTO (Mestis) | 1-0-1 | 3.02 | .882
D Miro Karjalainen (5th round/2014) did not register any points in two games for HPK in Finland's top league. He has three assists in 19 games this season and ranks second in the league with 106 penalty minutes.
Karjalainen Stats: HPK (Liiga) | 19 GP | 0 G |3 A | 3 PTS | -5 | 106 PIM
LW Valeri Nichushkin(1st round/2013) tallied one goal in two games for CSKA in the KHL last week giving him 18 points (11 goals, seven assists) in 33 games.
Nichushkin Stats: CSKA (KHL) | 33 GP | 11 G | 7 A | 18 PTS | +9 | 10 PIM
Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter at @StarsInsideEdge.