The World Juniors, often heralded as hockey’s premier tournament for showcasing the most talented junior-aged players in the sport, has become a unique staple to many hardcore hockey fans’ year-end viewing habits. The tournament, traditionally beginning on Boxing Day, has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in each of the last two years.
The 2021 tournament, won by the United States, was held in an ‘NHL-style’ bubble in Edmonton, Alberta to help prevent any pandemic-related disruptions. Although some players from various countries were unable to participate due to positive tests or contract tracing in the days leading up to the tournament, no games were ultimately canceled or postponed.
The 2022 tournament’s original program did not go as smoothly. Following concerns over COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, the pre-tournament exhibition schedule was delayed and reduced. While the first few games proceeded on schedule, three round-robin games were ultimately ruled as forfeits due to positive cases within one of the competing teams. After playing roughly half of the preliminary round, the tournament was canceled and then ultimately rescheduled to August 2022.
The Sharks will be represented by Thomas Bordeleau at the upcoming World Junior Championship this week, for Team USA. Bordeleau will also serve as an alternate captain at the tournament.
Bordeleau, 20, will make his World Juniors debut in the tournament after missing each of the last two tournaments due to the pandemic. He was ruled out of the 2021 tournament after his roommate tested positive for COVID-19 and was unable to participate in the originally scheduled 2022 tournament as he himself tested positive in December.
It won’t be Bordeleau’s first time representing the United States on the IIHF’s biggest stage, with the center being named to the United States’ 2022 World Championship roster this past May. Sharks General Manager Mike Grier was on the selection committee for that team while Sharks Head Coach David Quinn served as the team’s head coach. Listed as the youngest forward and second youngest player on the team, Bordeleau collected a pair of goals in eight games. The center will look to build off that experience and a strong end-of-season stint with the Sharks where he earned five assists in his first eight NHL games.
All of Team USA’s games will be broadcast on NHL Network. Tournament play will begin on August 9th and conclude with medal games on August 20th.
The IIHF will hold two World Junior Championship tournaments within four months of each other, with the 2023 World Juniors slated to run from December 26, 2022 to January 5, 2023. Mason Beaupit and Benjamin Gaudreau were named to Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team summer camp. roster to compete for a spot in this winter’s tournament.
.