Hockey Canada announced this week that they have selected the 25 players for their final roster for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), representing six provinces and boasting an impressive 12 first-round NHL draft picks who made the team. Among those players chosen to wear the maple leaf to the tournament being held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, is 2021 first-overall pick and Buffalo Sabres prospect Owen Power, the six-foot-five, 214 lb. 19-year-old currently tearing it up in his sophomore season at the University of Michigan in NCAA college hockey. He brings skill, speed, and enormous physical presence to Canada’s blue line, and he’s sure to be one of the stars of the tournament.
Power Helping Michigan Dominate the NCAA
Power is currently playing in his sophomore college hockey season at the University of Michigan, and has found a way already to surpass every marker he set for himself last season, in a big way. In his freshman season, he scored three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 26 games, and has already blown past that mark – by a lot. Through just 18 games this season, he is tied for eighth in scoring in the NCAA with three goals, 20 assists, and 23 points, on pace to score among the top players in the entire NCAA by season’s end.
The University at Michigan currently sits at first place in the Big Ten East, a couple of games comfortably ahead of the next best team, Ohio State University. As a first-overall draft pick in the NHL, Power is showing why he was taken where he was, and is giving Sabres fans a look at what kind of skill he can bring to the NHL when he eventually makes the jump from the NCAA to professional hockey. And given the way things are going for him at the college level, that might be sooner than later.
Power Helped Canada Win Gold at World Championship
Power is no stranger to representing his country on the international stage, seeing as he just helped Canada win their first gold medal at the World Championship since 2016 with his play in the 2021 IIHF World Championship this past summer, where he scored three points in 10 games and by the end of the tournament was skating over 20 minutes a night. Power has spent this season playing with teammates like Matty Beniers, Kent Johnson, Luke Hughes, and more, so he’ll hold his own (and then some) when it comes time to hit the ice for the WJC.
“I think the goal for every year when you’re playing for Team Canada is to win a gold medal,” said Power on his selection to the final 25-player roster after being named on Sunday. Canada last won the tournament in 2020, and will undoubtedly be favorites to win gold again this year. (From ‘Canada announces roster for IIHF World Junior Championship’ NHL.com, 12/13/2021)
Power is one of 22 players who is making his first appearance in the World Juniors, with forward Cole Perfetti, defenseman Kaiden Guhle, and goalie Dylan Garand being the only three returning players from Canada’s 2021 WJC roster. They lost 2-0 to the United States last year in the championship game, capturing the silver medal but falling just short of what every Canadian fan has come to expect in the World Juniors: gold.
Sabres Getting Another Glimpse of Future Star
The 2022 WJC will begin on Dec. 26 and will conclude on Jan. 5, and will be played between arenas in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta. Canada is a part of Group A, in a group with Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria, all of which will provide good competition in the preliminary round of the tournament and will serve as a good measuring stick of just how good this year’s Canada team really is. They won’t see the United States in their group since they’re in Group B, along with Russia, Slovakia and Sweden. They could see them in the quarterfinals, however.
When the preliminary round concludes, the top four teams in each group will play in the quarterfinals on Jan. 2, followed by the semifinals on Jan. 4 and the championship game and third place game on Jan. 5, both of which will be played in Edmonton. Sabres management and fans are sure to be tuning in live and from afar to watch their top prospect skate against the best young players in the world, and it’s sure to make for another exciting World Juniors tournament.
All the 2022 World Junior Championship Team Information:
Austria – Team Preview – Roster
Canada – Team Preview – Roster
Czech Republic – Team Preview – Roster
Finland – Team Preview – Roster
Germany – Team Preview – Roster
Russia – Team Preview – Roster
Slovakia – Team Preview – Roster
Sweden – Team Preview – Roster
United States – Team Preview – Roster
All Your THW 2022 World Junior Championship Coverage