Several Calgary Flames have played at the World Juniors (and one does this year)
By Ryan Pike
6 months agoThe 2024 edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship tournament kicks off in Gothenburg, Sweden on Boxing Day, with the first games of the round robin beginning at 4 a.m. MT. The Calgary Flames will be represented by a single prospect at this year’s event, but a whole lot of the club’s current roster has made appearances in the past.
Here’s a look at the present, and past, of the Flames at the World Juniors.
This year’s tournament
2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek will represent Slovakia (and the Flames) at this year’s event.
Slovakia plays four games in the round robin:
- Dec. 26: Czechia (4 a.m. MT)
- Dec. 27: Switzerland (4 a.m. MT)
- Dec. 29: Norway (4 a.m. MT)
- Dec. 31: United States (4 a.m. MT)
(The medal round begins on Jan. 2 and culminates with the gold medal game on Jan. 5.)
Last five tournaments
Over the past five tournaments, the Flames have seen 10 players represent the club at the World Juniors:
- 2023: Topi Rönni (Finland), William Strömgren (Sweden)
- 2022 (both winter and summer): Matt Coronato (United States)
- 2021: Connor Zary & Jakob Pelletier (Canada, winning silver), Dustin Wolf (United States, winning gold), Yan Kuznetsov (Russia)
- 2020: Dustin Wolf (United States)
- 2019: Adam Ruzicka, Martin Pospisil & Milos Roman (Slovakia), Filip Sveningsson (Sweden)
The 2021 event was held in a bubble in Edmonton. Canada’s goaltending coach, Jason LaBarbera, drove from Edmonton to Calgary for Flames training camp following the event to assume his role as Flames goalie coach. His passenger? Dustin Wolf, wearing his gold medal for the three-hour drive south.
No Flames prospect has won a medal since that tournament, though.
Current Flames at past World Juniors
The Flames currently have 22 players on their active roster and another three on their injury reserve list. Of those 25 players, 14 have played in at least one World Junior tournament:
- G Jacob Markstrom – Sweden – 2009 (silver) & 2010 (bronze)
- G Dan Vladar – Czechia – 2015, 2016 & 2017
- D Noah Hanifin – United States – 2015
- D Oliver Kylington – Sweden – 2017
- F Mikael Backlund – Sweden – 2008 (silver) & 2009 (silver)
- F Nazem Kadri – Canada – 2010 (silver)
- F Jonathan Huberdeau – Canada – 2012 (bronze) & 2013 (silver)
- F Elias Lindholm – Sweden – 2013 (silver) & 2014 (silver)
- F Yegor Sharangovich – Belarus – 2016, 2017 (Div1A) & 2018
- F Dillon Dube – Canada – 2017 (silver) & 2018 (gold)
- F Adam Ruzicka – Slovakia – 2017, 2018 & 2019
- F Martin Pospisil – Slovakia – 2019
- F Connor Zary – Canada – 2021 (silver)
- F Jakob Pelletier – Canada – 2021 (silver)
We’ll have continuing coverage of Samuel Honzek’s progression with Slovakia throughout this year’s World Junior tournament.
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