The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC) wrapped up on Jan. 5 with Team USA beating the hometown Team Sweden by a final score of 6-2. Four Sharks prospects played in the gold medal game, giving Sharks fans some hope for the future. What’s more, two other prospects played in the elimination rounds, rounding out an IIHF WJC where the Sharks were well-represented.
What we learned about Canadian defenseman Jake Furlong
Jake Furlong was the first of the Sharks prospects eliminated in the tournament when he and Team Canada lost to Czechia in the quarterfinals. Furlong only scored one point in the tournament, but it was a huge one. Down 2-1 to the Czechs in the the quarterfinal game, Furlong received the puck at the point, skated along the blueline and then fired it through a bunch of traffic to find the back of the net.
Jake Furlong’s 2nd goal this season ties up the WJ Quarters for Canada 🤯
— BetMGM Canada (@BetMGMCanada) January 2, 2024
pic.twitter.com/qW9qhckGHx
So, what did we learn about Furlong in his first foray on the world stage? He’s not a flashy player and certainly wasn’t a shoo-in to make Team Canada when the camp invitees were announced, but he showed the coaches he could be a reliable defenseman who can move the puck reasonably well. He won’t be the guy that fans flock to, but he will be the guy that coaches rely on.
Look at his ice time in this tournament, for example. Furlong had the third-highest ice time for Team Canada, behind Denton Mateychuk and Maveric Lameroux. He played more than 20 minutes in that quarterfinal game and that’s when Team Canada trailed for most of the game. Ultimately, he will not be a top-pairing defenseman for the Sharks, but if he continues to progress, he will be a reliable player that the Sharks can throw onto the ice in any situation.
What we learned about American defenseman Eric Pohlkamp
Eric Pohlkamp finished the tournament with three points (one goal, two assists) and a plus-three rating on an extremely good American team that only faced one real scare when it went down to Team Finland 2-0 in the semifinals. His ice time wasn’t impressive as the games got harder. He didn’t touch the ice in the game against Finland and received just two shifts for less than a minute of ice time in the gold medal game. But again, this is a very, very good American team.
What Sharks fans learned is that Pohlkamp, while he will never be a superstar in the NHL, may still become an asset to the Sharks. This is a player who has continued to persevere through setbacks and succeeded in spite of them. Remember, he wasn’t drafted in 2022 and now, in 2023, he’s a gold medal winner with Team USA. He was chosen over other top 18 and 19-year-olds to represent America at this best on best tournament. Pohlkamp has persevered and succeeded and that should not be discounted.
Here’s what Scott Wheeler of The Athletic had to say about Pohlkamp following the tournament:
“Didn’t play when the games matter, but used his booming (understatement, he probably has the heaviest point shot in the event) shot early in the tournament and played his typically aggressive and competitive style,” said Wheeler.
What we learned about number four draft pick Will Smith
Forward Will Smith was not the most impressive player for Team USA in this tournament. In fact, he might not have been among the three or four most impressive players for America. That’s okay. He was also younger than players like Rutger McGroarty, Cutter Gauthier and Jimmy Snuggerud, who were all leaned on more heavily by Team USA’s coaching staff.
However, that doesn’t mean that Smith was a slouch in the tournament. Smith was still a more than a point per game player with nine points in seven games. What’s more, he had two points against Sweden and two points against Finland, the two biggest games of the tournament for the Americans. Smith’s shot pass to score the first goal of the gold medal game shows his awareness on the ice.
The boys got directions and have arrived at the Scandinavium 🗺️
— FloHockey (@FloHockey) January 5, 2024
It's 1-0 #TeamUSA 🇺🇸#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/tHPRGKpdwk
So, what should Sharks fans know about Smith? Scouts say he has a tendency to work a little less when he doesn’t have the puck. Put the puck on his stick and he’s a beast, but in regular season games or in this case the round robing games, he may not always be fully engaged. That’s the bad news. The good news is that all those great qualities that the Sharks scouts saw in him come out when he’s playing in big games.
“He still needs to play with a little more jam but I mostly liked his tracking and effort level off of the puck,” wrote Wheeler. “Had his best shift of the tournament on the game-tying second period goal in the semi, tracking back hard and then applying pressure back the other way to twice be disruptive before getting free at the backdoor to take a pass from Gabe Perreault. He returned the favour to Perreault, who got free for him to hit with a beautiful slap-pass, in the gold medal game, too.”
I think the one thing all fans are wondering is what happens when the trio of Smith, Perreault and Ryan Leonard are broken up. All three are stars when they play together, but they were drafted by different teams, so eventually, they will be playing apart.
What we learned about Finland’s Kasper Halttunen
At this year’s tournament, Kasper Halttunen proved what fans already knew, he’s scary on the power play. Watching the other teams play Finland in the elimination rounds, it was clear that eliminating Halttunen’s one-timer was a top priority for them. The forward was kept off the scoresheet against Team USA and Team Czechia despite playing more than 15 minutes in each game. Still, Halttunen had moments where he was Finland’s best player and he finished the tournament with six points in seven games, a good showing for the 18-year-old.
Following the tournament, Halttunen will return to his team the London Knights and look to add new aspects to his game. While he’s a power play specialist, it will be good to see if he can develop his five-on-five game to bring a bigger scoring threat at even strength.
What we learned about Team Sweden’s Filip Bystedt
For Filip Bystedt, this tournament was about showing that he was still building after taking a massive step forward at last season’s WJC. The forward had a so-so showing in this tournament and didn’t factor into the scoring in the gold medal game. Bystedt finished the tournament with four points in seven games, far worse than his performance in last year’s tournament. He averaged just over two shot on goal per game and finished with a minus-one plus/minus rating.
Overall, it was not the impressive showing that Sharks fans were hoping for, something The Athletic’s Corey Pronman reiterated when he evaluated Bystedt’s play in the tournament.
“After Bystedt was a top player for Sweden in the previous tournament, I thought he was just OK in this year’s event,” wrote Pronman. “He was still an important player for Sweden, as a big, mobile center with skill who was flanking their PP2. I didn’t see a ton of playmaking in his game though, and I thought his overall effort level didn’t meet the level of his teammates like Noah Ostlund and David Edstrom down the middle.”
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler wasn’t effusive in praise for Bystedt either.
“Skated well north-south once he got going but isn’t a very adjustable skater in tight/against coverage. One-timer popped a couple of times. Reach, length, size make him so strong in puck protection at this age,” wrote Wheeler.
What we learned about Swedish defenseman Mattias Havelid
Mattias Havelid played most of the tournament on the top pairing with Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson. Though he didn’t log the same minutes as some of the other top defensemen for Team Sweden, in part because he’s not considered a scorer at the same level as Pettersson, he did get his share of the points. Havelid finished the tournament with six points including one goal. He did his part to contribute to a strong defensive grouping for Team Sweden.
Following the tournament, this is what The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler had to say about Havelid’s play:
“Looked comfortable atop the offensive zone blue line, adjusting his way across the line and feathering passes off of his forehand and backhand. Heady. Shoulder checks,” said Wheeler. “Carrying pucks up ice and creating entries. Didn’t play well against Finland but was otherwise good. I think he can be a little too busy at times, but he’s a good prospect and a top player at this level.”
For both Havelid and Bystedt, the next step should be bringing them to the to San Jose to have them play with the Barracuda. The decision to have them play in Sweden this year seemed sound at the time, but their team Linkoping HC has not done well this season and they have not done well either. It may be time to make a new choice for their development. For Havelid especially, playing at the WJC shows that when playing with top players, he can be a strong defensive force with offensive upside.
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