A World Juniors Preview for Canes’ Fans

A complete guide of who to watch, when to watch, and what to expect

By Nick Bass

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! To give myself a small break while also still putting out some form of content, today I will be talking about what I’ve seen from the pre-tournament games at the World Juniors while also giving a preview of what all Canes fans can expect to see from the 3 prospects that are playing.

Bradly Nadeau

When he was invited to Team Canada camp, a lot of prospect people didn’t have Bradly Nadeau making the team. I, personally, thought it would be wise of Team Canada to take the only player that has been playing against pro competition (and playing well against said pro competition). As Matt Somma mentioned, there are only ten 19-year olds playing at the AHL level and Nadeau is second in scoring amongst those players.
Through Canada’s pre-tournament games, Nadeau’s line of himself-Cal Ritchie-Easton Cowan has been Canada’s best and most consistent line, producing goals in every single game. In three games, Nadeau had 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points. Again, his line with Ritchie and Cowan was Canada’s best line and Canes fans can expect Nadeau to be a big time goal scorer for Team Canada.

Felix Unger Sorum

I’ve gotten so used to watching Felix Unger Sorum as a center that it has been kind of weird to see him playing on the wing, but I’m not complaining. There’s a level of confidence that Felix has when he plays on the wing compared to center because he has some level of familiarity with being a winger. Long term, he can stick at center but this tournament should remind people just how talented Unger Sorum truly is. With Chicago, he’s still learning how to effectively play center so the learning curve is evident when playing against guys that are bigger and older than him, while also having that comfortability. With Sweden, he gets to play as a winger which will allow him to flash the skill Canes fans have seen before.
Sweden only played 2 pre-tournament games, but that’s all Felix needed to flash the skills he’s bringing to this tournament. In those 2 games, Unger Sorum had 2 goals and 1 assist for 3 points. His line with David Edstrom and Otto Stenberg has been Team Sweden’s best and most consistent line when producing offense. Felix Unger Sorum is going to be called upon to be one of Sweden’s best players and I believe he will be a top point scorer in this tournament.

Oskar Vuollet

Oskar Vuollet is an interesting player. As a 19-year old, he’s already played 40 games at the SHL level and his offense has proven to be effective at times. It’s dried up in recent games but Vuollet’s production, along with his strong showings at the Five Nations tournaments, earned him this opportunity.
Again, Sweden only played 2 pre-tournament games but Vuollet still managed 2 assists. It’s important to note that both of those assists game against Germany in an 11-1 blowout instead of the 4-2 loss against Canada. Vuollet has been inserted into the top 6 as the 2nd line LW and looked decent. He’s also been getting power play time, where he has shown his ability to move the puck at a really strong rate.
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It’s nice that the prospects that the Hurricanes do have representing them this tournament are all in higher roles, which goes to show how strong they’ve drafted in recent years. Bradly Nadeau is a late first round pick that got selected over multiple more recent and higher drafted players. Felix Unger Sorum was a second round pick and Oskar Vuollet was a 5th round pick in the most recent draft. Canes fans should be excited to watch these prospects, I know for a fact I am. Most games will be on NHL Network and myself and Matt will do our best to give analysis and highlights on each of the prospects.

Team Canada Schedule:
12/26 vs Finland (7:30 PM EST)
12/27 vs Latvia (7:30 PM EST)
12/29 vs Germany (7:30 PM EST)
12/31 vs USA (8:00 PM EST)
Team Sweden Schedule:
12/26 vs Slovakia (Noon EST)
12/27 vs Kazakhstan (5 PM EST)
12/29 vs Switzerland (Noon EST)
12/31 vs Czech Republic (5 PM EST)