2023 World Juniors: Non-Canadian players to watch
The biggest question asked ahead of the World Juniors tends to be ‘who can beat Canada?’
For nine other nations, the hope is that it’s them.
And recent history certainly favours them; no team has won back-to-back gold medals since 2009 when Canada’s run of five straight gold medals ended in 2010 at the hands of the USA.
The USA, along with Finland and Sweden, will offer the stiffest competition for gold. In fact, coupled with Canada, one of those four nations have won the last 11 events.
However, the storylines don’t stop there: can Latvia repeat its shock performance at the 2022 World Juniors when they reached the quarterfinals? Can Czechia throw a wrench into things once again after they knocked out the USA and finished fourth, their best finish since 2018? How do Slovakia rebound after a disappointing 2022 tournament?
Furthermore, the relegation round returns this year after it was ditched for the 2022 tournament and thus will create additional interest.
While Canada is loaded with CHL talent — 18 players alongside three recent alumnus — internationally, there is no shortage of quality players on display.
Czechia once again leads the way with 12 CHL players while Austria, Germany, Latvia, Switzerland, Slovakia and the USA all have CHL representation.
With that in mind, here are five non-Canadian CHL players to keep an eye on in Halifax and Moncton.
Attilio Biasca — Switzerland (Halifax/QMJHL)
Biasca burst onto the scene over the summer where his four goals were tied for the fourth most at the tournament.
The Swiss native had tallied just 14 points in 39 games the season prior with Halifax but recorded six points in just five games in Edmonton to lead his side to a quarterfinal berth.
Attilio Biasca sends 🇨🇭 to the quarterfinals! #WorldJuniors | @HFXMooseheads pic.twitter.com/dBuhj4mIsr
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) August 15, 2022
Named Mooseheads captain before the start of the 2022-23 season, Biasca has 27 points (nine goals) in 28 games. However, with Switzerland based in Moncton, the newest Swiss captain will have to wait and see if he gets an opportunity to play in his home rink.
Tyler Boucher — USA (Ottawa/OHL)
One of just two CHL players on the American roster (Saginaw’s Andrew Oke is the other), Boucher is expected to bring a physical edge to the tournament.
While Boucher may have to pick his spots more at the international level, the 67’s forward certainly won’t shy away from being a physical force for a USA side that failed to medal in 2022.
The Ottawa Senators prospect will also see power play time as a net presence, a role he is use to with the 67’s where he’s scored three times on the man advantage.
Boucher isn’t necessarily known for his offensive game, but with Ottawa this season he has tallied 15 points (nine goals) in 17 games.
Samuel Honzek — Slovakia (Vancouver/WHL)
It goes without saying but Honzek’s rookie WHL season has been sensational thus far.
With 43 points, Honzek sits second in CHL rookie scoring. He was recently named to the 2023 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, that’ll be played at the Giants home rink, and earned a ‘Grade A’ rating by NHL Central Scouting earlier in the season.
He’ll be hoping for a better showing at his second World Juniors however; he was held pointless in four games as Slovakia failed to advance out of the round-robin in Edmonton.
Matyas Sapovaliv — Czechia (Saginaw/OHL)
By Sapovaliv’s expectations, it’s safe to say his 2022 tournament was quieter than he expected. Yes, Czechia made the bronze medal game but the Vegas Golden Knights prospect registered just two goals in seven games.
As one of numerous returnees, Czechia will be seeking to medal. Sapovaliv himself has had a strong start to the OHL season as he’s played at a point-per-game pace over 30 contests this year where he’s scored 11 times.
Matyas Sapovaliv sneaks one through! 👀#WorldJuniors | @SpiritHockey pic.twitter.com/BZTOuKsurM
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) August 18, 2022
Stanislav Svozil — Czechia (Regina/WHL)
Another returnee, Svozil averaged 19:51 and had a goal and four points in six games as Czechia finished fourth in Edmonton.
This time, Svozil rides into the tournament on the back of a very strong first half of the season. The Pats d-man has 32 assists this year already, one more than he achieved a season ago in a staggering 31 fewer games.
Twenty-three of those helpers have come on the power play while his 37 points from the blue line are the third most among WHL d-men.