5 reasons Flyers fans should watch the World Juniors

Christmas and the holiday season mostly are associated with things like family, faith, and gifts. But in the hockey world, it means the arrival of one event: the World Junior Championships.

Showcasing the top under-20 hockey players in the world, the tournament begins Monday in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick. NHL front offices and talent evaluators circle this event on their calendars, as it provides an opportunity to check the progress of previously drafted players, and, even more importantly, to get a look at the top prospects in the upcoming draft.

» READ MORE: Ranking the Flyers’ top 10 prospects: Where does Cutter Gauthier fit?

While the World Juniors might be a bigger deal in Canada than in the United States, there still are plenty of reasons to care, particularly for a team in rebuilding mode like the Flyers. Here are five reasons Flyers fans should be paying attention to the action north of the border over the next few weeks:

While the World Juniors always are a must-watch event, this year there is more anticipation than ever because of the participation of Canada’s Connor Bedard. Widely regarded as a generational prospect, maybe the best since Connor McDavid, the hype around Bedard is real.

The Regina Pats star, who was granted exceptional status for the WHL in 2020 as a 15-year-old, has lived up to that “exceptional” label, putting up 51 goals and 100 points in 62 games last season as a 16-year-old, and leading the WHL with 27 goals and 64 points in just 28 games so far this season. An elite goal scorer who possesses a release that rivals any of the top snipers in the NHL, the 5-foot-10 forward boasts the best hands in this year’s draft, tremendous quickness and hockey IQ, and an uncanny ability to shift gears. Bedard, who plays center in junior, is projected to play wing for Canada on a line with Shane Wright (the No. 4 overall pick by Seattle last year) and Brennan Othmann (No. 16 by the New York Rangers in 2021).

NHL teams have been actively tanking to set themselves up over the last year (or even longer in some cases) to best position themselves for a chance to land Bedard via the draft lottery. Currently, the Flyers have the sixth-best odds (7.5%) at landing the No. 1 overall pick and subsequently Bedard, according to Tankathon. In desperate need of a franchise building block, the Flyers would be best served by trading some veterans and bottoming out for the remaining 60% of the year to increase their odds of landing the prodigy. Watching him over the next few weeks just might convince them to be more proactive in this regard.

In two or three years, the Flyers hope to look back at the 2022 NHL draft and the pick of Cutter Gauthier as a turning point in their rebuild. The No. 5 overall pick possesses NHL size (6-foot-2, 193 pounds) and boasts an elite shot. But this is where opinions on Gauthier diverged during the draft process. Some scouts and teams viewed Gauthier as a player with huge upside because of his terrific tools and the idea that he could grow into a center, while others pegged him as a winger long-term and no more than a middle-six player. The Flyers are banking on the former.

So far as a freshman center at Boston College, Gauthier has shown he can drive offense from the middle of the ice, leading Boston College with 10 goals and 16 points in 13 games. At this tournament, he likely slide will back to the wing for Team USA to play alongside his former U.S. National Team Development Program teammate and center Logan Cooley. Position aside, he will be counted on to be a leader and a major offensive force for a United States team that expects to compete for a gold medal.

After a promising first NHL rookie camp and a strong start to his college career, the World Juniors will offer the Flyers brass and fan base a chance to measure Gauthier against the best players at his age group from around the world. Given the team’s current state, the focus is now on the future, and no single player is as important to that as Gauthier. Flyers fans’ first chance to get a look at the promising power forward comes Monday when Gauthier and Team USA take on Latvia.

While only one team ultimately will land Bedard, there are plenty of other high-caliber prospects in the 2023 class, including a few who will be on display this month at the World Juniors. That list is headed by University of Michigan center Adam Fantilli, who will represent Canada.

While Bedard is a lock to go No. 1, many view Fantilli as an elite prospect and a player who would go No. 1 in many drafts. A big, powerful center, Fantilli is considered the best skater in this class and perfectly blends speed and power into one lethal package. A monster in transition, he projects to be a No. 1 center at the next level and would be one heck of a consolation prize for a team that misses on Bedard. As a freshman at Michigan, Fantilli ranks third in the nation in scoring with 26 points in 16 games.

Sweden’s Leo Carlsson is another player expected to be a top-five pick who is worth watching. A 6-foot-3 winger with a scoring touch, Carlsson moves well for his size and has been a consistent contributor for Orebro in the Swedish Hockey League while competing against grown men. Carlsson’s stock continues to rise, and he could be in play when the Flyers are on the clock next June.

Czech playmaker Eduard Sale and Slovak center Dalibor Dvorský are high-end offensive players expected to be selected in the top 10. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Russian star Matvei Michkov, who based solely on ability is considered an A-level prospect with NHL star potential, will not be present, as Russia is banned from the tournament because of their invasion of Ukraine.

The Philadelphia area is no stranger to producing future pros in basketball and football, but when it comes to hockey, there are not many to point to besides Johnny Gaudreau and Tony DeAngelo. That could be changing, as three players with ties to the area will be representing Team USA this year in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Forward Tyler Boucher, the son of former Flyers goalie Brian Boucher, headlines the group. Boucher, who was drafted No. 10 overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2021, grew up in Haddonfield, and played for various Flyers Elite AAA teams during his dad’s spells with the team. He even spent one year playing at St. Joe’s Prep before transferring to hockey powerhouse Avon Old Farms.

Sam Lipkin and Kenny Connors round out the trio of U.S. stars with local connections. Lipkin, a seventh-round pick by the Arizona Coyotes in 2021, grew up in Philly. Now a freshman at Quinnipiac, Lipkin played two seasons at La Salle College Prep and also starred for the Jr. Flyers 16U AAA team in 2019. On that same AAA team was Connors, who is from Glen Mills and played a year-plus at Malvern Prep. Currently a freshman at the University of Massachusetts, Connors was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 draft by the Los Angeles Kings.

Seeing three players developed in Philadelphia get drafted and subsequently make a select squad like Team USA is certainly a good sign for the growth of hockey in the region.

While watching Gauthier will be the big draw for Flyers fans, he is not the only member of the organization participating in the tournament. That is because Swiss defenseman Brian Zanetti will take part in his second World Juniors in a matter of months.

A 2021 fourth-round pick, Zanetti has played the past two seasons for the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Drafted as a bit of a project, the 6-foot-3, 192-pound Zanetti has turned some heads in the Flyers organization with his competitiveness and ability to defend. This tourney will present a big test for him, as Zanetti will be tasked with trying to slow down the top players from Canada and the United States in Group A.

Zanetti continues to progress nicely, and it will be interesting to see how he performs individually for a Swiss team that will likely be outmatched against some of the tournament favorites.

» READ MORE: Flyers prospect profile: Scouting defenseman Brian Zanetti of the Peterborough Petes