Buffalo Sabres World Junior Championship Update
The Sabres are sending five prospects to the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships.
The 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships will begin on Dec 26, and five Buffalo Sabres prospects will be among the young men vying for gold. Here'san update on who's playing, and for which countries.
United States
JT Compher has been named to the preliminary roster for the USA. Compher has been playing well for the University of Michigan, with 14 points in 13 games, and his experience on both the U-17 and U-18 teams should serve him well on the U-20 squad this year.
Russia
By this point, you probably know that Mikhail Grigorenko has been loaned to Team Russia for the WJC's, and he joins defenseman Nikita Zadorov in the tournament. Grigorenko will finally get some playing time in a meaningful game, which is certainly more than he can say for his time in Buffalo, and how he performs in the tournament could help determine how the rest of his NHL campaign fares. Zadorov has six points through eight games for the London Knights since he was loaned back to his junior team from Buffalo.
Finland
Rasmus Ristolainen on #u20 leiriryhmässä, mutta pelaa A-maajoukkueen kanssa 19.12. EHT-pelin Prahassa. #leijonat
— Leijonat (@leijonat) December 9, 2013 In case you don't know your Finnish, this basically says Rasmus Ristolainen will be playing for Team Finland.
Sweden
Gustav Possler has been named to Sweden's preliminary roster. Possler is having a nice season for MODO, with eight goals and 14 points in 19 games. He did suffer an injury this year that caused him to miss some time, but now that he's back on the ice, he's all set to help Sweden take on the world.
The World Junior Championship runs from Dec 26 through Jan 5.