Dustin Wolf (USA) and Yan Kuznetsov (Russia) named to World Junior teams

On the heels of a pair of Calgary Flames picks making Team Canada on Friday, two more prospects punched their tickets to the 2021 World Juniors. Goalie Dustin Wolf made Team USA, while defender Yan Kuznetsov was named to the Russian roster.

Wolf, 19, was on Team USA a year ago as backup to Florida prospect Spencer Knight – a gig he’ll take again. Wolf previously also played for his country at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He was Calgary’s seventh round pick in 2019.

Kuznetsov, 18, heads to his first World Juniors for Russia, where he’ll be a regular part of their defensive group. He’s previously represented Russia at the World Under-17s and World Junior-A Championship, and he’ll be eligible for the World Juniors next winter. He was the Flames’ second round pick in 2020.

All-told, the Flames had 12 players eligible for the World Juniors based on age:

Pelletier, Zary, Wolf and Kuznetsov were the only four invited to camps and all made the final rosters, which is pretty impressive. Kerins, Poirier and Kuznetsov remain eligible for next year’s tournament as well.

The World Juniors begin on Christmas Day in Edmonton.