Thanks in part to the Thrashers top 2006 pick being born early among his draft cohort and already playing in the NHL (Bryan Little) along with a very small 2007 draft class of just four players, there won't be much for Thrasher fans to root for at the 2008 World Junior Championships.
Two forwards will try out. Riley Holzapfel, a 2006 pick out of the WHL, was named to Team Canada's camp today, but he's probably not going to make the roster. Niklas Lucenius, a 2007 pick, will try out for Finland, but again, isn't expected to make it. He played for the U-18 team last year. The tournament will be held in the Czech Republic later this month. If GM Don Waddell doesn't make the trip, it will be the first he's missed.
You can still watch and root on Team USA of course. We're at the end of the Jeff Frazee days in goal -- thankfully in my opinion. We have 300 million people in this country and we couldn't find a better goaltender than him? Really? I've heard Josh Unice (CHI) has the inside track this year.
Speaking of whom while staying on the topic of Thrasher prospects, 2006 draft pick Alex Kangas has been seeing some decent time for the University of Minnesota for a freshman (5 games) and is putting up better numbers than the junior Frazee. Kangas has a .912 save percentage to Frazee's .896. I wouldn't be surprised to see him steal the job outright. It's ripe for the taking.
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