NHL Notebook: Bruins prospects prepare for World Junior Championship

In a special Christmas edition of NHL Sunday Notes, we focus solely on the upcoming World Junior Championship and the Boston Bruins prospects playing in the annual tournament. It's an outstanding tournament that showcases some of the best talent in the game. This year’s event will be held Dec. 26 to Jan. 6 in Buffalo, N.Y.

Patrice Bergeron won a gold medal for Team Canada at the 2004-05 WJC and he ranks that experience as a close second to winning the Stanley Cup in 2011. Most of the elite players in the NHL participated in the WJC for their respective countries and their accomplishments in that tournament served as a benchmark for their pro careers.

Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson all enjoyed tremendous success at the WJC and this season’s class of Bruins prospects have a chance to make their mark. Ryan Lindgren, Trent Frederic and Jeremy Swayman will represent Team USA and will try to defend the title. Urho Vaakanainen and Joona Koppanen will play for Finland and Oskar Steen will represent Team Sweden.

“It’s a great tournament,” said Bruins executive director of player personnel John Ferguson. “The quality of play for those players against their peers in the world and playing on the national team is a great honor. It’s a great proving ground, a great testing ground, so if a kid has a chance to play in that it’s a great experience for his development. It’s great for us as evaluators because it’s such a high level of play.”

Here's a look at the Bruins' prospects in this tournament:

Trent Frederic

This is Frederic’s second year playing for Team USA at this tournament. The Bruins selected him in the first round (29^th overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He’s having a tremendous freshman season at the University of Wisconsin with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 21 games.

Scouting report: He’s strong in the middle. Has the ability to go to the net. Has good hands and plays a hard, two-way game.

Ryan Lindgren

Lindgren is also playing in his second WJC. Boston selected him in the second round (49^th overall) in 2016. He has two goals and two assists for four points in 20 games at the University of Minnesota this season.

Scouting report: He’s very mobile. A tough defender. Playing at a high level at Minnesota.

Jeremy Swayman

Swayman has surprised a lot of people with his play at the University of Maine this season and it’s a huge accomplishment for him to earn a spot on Team USA’s roster. Boston selected him in the fourth round (111^th overall) in last June’s draft. He’s 7-3-1 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in 12 games for Maine.

Scouting report: Calm in net. A positive sign that he’s having a strong season. Needs to work on his rebound control.

Joona Koppanen

The Bruins selected Koppanen in the fifth round (No. 135^th overall) in 2016.

Scouting report: Smart two-way center with a long reach. Plays a smart, defensive-oriented game. A good matchup player and good on the penalty kill.

Urho Vaakanainen

Vaakanainen was selected in the first round (No. 18 overall) in 2017.

Scouting report: Type of player who has the ability to log a lot of minutes. Strong skater and mobile. Smart player and positionally sound. Good hockey sense and vision. Top player in all situations. Needs more offense to his game. Good puck ability. Solid at taking away time and space. Good first pass and solid at starting the transition game.

Oskar Steen

Steen was elected in the sixth round (No. 165^th overall) in 2016.

Scouting report: Not having a strong pro season in the SHL, so getting back to playing against players his age will be good for him. Big center who skates well. Really good details in his game. Strong on the penalty kill. Solid on faceoffs. Not a high-end offensive player. Good bottom-six player.

As far as the players on Team USA, McAvoy has first-hand experience as their teammate from last season’s gold-medal winning tournament. Here’s what he had to say about these prospects:

“Lindy was obviously there last year and was a huge part of our team,” McAvoy said. “He played great for us. He played some stellar D. He’s a great defensive player. He really thinks that side of the game well. He kills penalties great, he ends rushes, he’s a physical guy and can break pucks out really good, so he was huge for us. It’s hard to say we go as far as we did without him.”

Lindgren missed the gold medal game last year because he was sick.

“But he got us to where we wanted to go and we had to finish the job,” McAvoy said. “He was great for us and he’ll do fine (this season). He’ll be a big leader on the team. He’s a great character guy.”

McAvoy on Frederic: “Freddy is a great player. He’s explosive. He can skate. He can shoot. He thinks the game well and is a good two-way center and you can never have enough of those guys on a team. I think he’ll have a great tournament. I believe in him.”

Bergeron has said numerous times that winning gold at the WJC was one of the most memorable moments of his career. McAvoy agrees.

“Oh, man. It’s unbelievable,” he said. “You really can’t put into words when we won it last year. It was just crazy, a crazy experience. It was a dream.”

McAvoy remembers watching John Carlson score in overtime as Team USA beat Canada in the 2010 WJC

“I felt like I was part of that, felt like I was there and to be in a situation (last winter) to win that tournament, I remember I didn’t sleep the night before that Canada game and couldn’t believe we were one game away from a gold medal. We did everything we had to do to win it all. It was crazy and what a whirlwind in 48 hours from the semifinal to the finals – two shootouts – I swear it cut some years off my life. It was unbelievable and a great group to be part of with so many good guys.”

The WJC is some of the best hockey you'll watch all season. It's also a great opportunity to see the next class of Bruins prospects set the foundation for their pro careers.