July is wrapping up, and with the biggest bit of business for the Flyers now behind us, we’re officially deep in what should be the doldrums of the offseason. But for the prospect watchers in the collective fan group, we’re able to stave off summer boredom for just a little while longer. That’s right, the World Junior Summer Showcase is finally upon us, where the national teams will get their first look of their players in real on-ice competition with some of the best players in their age group, and begin their evaluation process to determine who will make up their teams for the 2025 World Junior Championship this winter.
The United States has invited a large group, and as usual, will split into two squads (USA Blue and USA White) which will each face off against each other country’s team. The Flyers have just one American representing them here — Noah Powell — and we’ll see him with the USA Blue squad.
From the pair of European teams, we’ll also see a pair of prospects representing the Flyers, as Jack Berglund will be joining the Swedish team, and Heikki Ruohonen will be joining the Finnish team.
And finally, there’s the Canadian team (and strap in for this one). The Canadian group (which will split for a scrimmage before being pared down to face off against the other teams) will feature five Flyers prospects: forwards Denver Barkey and Jett Luchanko, defensemen Oliver Bonk and Carter Sotheran, and goaltender Carson Bjarnason.
You can find the full rosters here for USA Blue, USA White, Canada, Sweden, and Finland, if you’d like to get the full scope of who all has been invited to take part in this tournament.
The games kick off this afternoon, and will carry on through August 3, coming in something of a round robin format, but won’t carry on into any sort of medal round like the big tournament in December. The schedule for the main tournament in Plymouth is as follows:
Sunday July 28
USA White vs. Finland, 1:00 p.m.
USA Blue vs. Sweden, 4:00 p.m.
Monday July 29
USA Blue vs. Finland, 1:00 p.m
USA White vs. Sweden, 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday July 31
USA vs. Finland, 4:00 p.m.
Friday August 2
Canada vs. Finland, 1:00 p.m.
Sweden vs. USA, 4:00 p.m.
Saturday August3
Sweden vs. Finland, 1:00 p.m.
USA vs. Canada, 4:00 p.m.
Additionally, the Canadians will play their one split squad game in Windsor, Ontario on Tuesday at 7:30, and then another game against the Swedes in Windsor on Wednesday at 7:30, before ultimately heading down to Plymouth to play their pair of games there. The games played at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth will be streamed on USAHockeyTV (which does require a subscription, alas), and streaming information for the games in Windsor is yet to be released.
It’s an exciting week, to be sure, as some of the best young players are back in action and working to make a statement and get their names on the radars of their national team’s management group. But at the same time, it’s useful to remind ourselves not to put too much stock into what we see in this tournament — the lines and usage aren’t set, and while a strong week can go a long way towards elevating their stock, if a player has a bad showing, that doesn’t automatically put them on the outside of making the final roster. It’s all just part of the process.
