Post by NJDevilsGM on Dec 27, 2023 10:34:52 GMT -5
Newark, NJ - The New Jersey Devils are proud to announce four of their prospects have been selected to attend the 2024 U-20 World Junior Championships, which dropped the puck yesterday on the ten day tournament.
Four players drafted by the Devils will be attending the event on three different national teams, headlined by Will Smith, the fifth overall pick in last years NsHL Entry Draft.
"We're excited to see how all four fare under the pressure that can come with representing your homeland. It'll be an exciting time for all four, I'm sure," said Devils General Manager Trent Allen.
Smith will be one of the key forwards for Team USA. Currently in his first year with Boston College in Hockey East, Smith has eight goals and 23 points in 17 games after a dominating year with the U.S. National Development Team in 2022-2023.
The only other forward who is a Devils prospect at the tournament in Zeb Forsfjall, who is representing Sweden. Forsfjall was selected last year as well, 122th overall. This year in Sweden, Forsfjall has played 24 games with Skelleftea AIK, in the Swedish Hockey League, managing a pair of goals in Sweden's top men's league.
Sweden is the lone team with two Devils prospects on the same squad, as Forsfjall will be joined by blueliner Mattias Havelid, the 59th overall pick in the 2022 NsHL Entry Draft. In his second full season in the Swedish Hockey League, Havelid has picked up one goal and eight points in 26 games as his offensive game rounds into shape.
The final prospect is Ty Nelson, a blueliner for Team Canada, the two-time defending U-20 WJC defending champions. Nelson, picked up just two spots after Havelid in 2022, is having another fine offensive season with the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League, mustering 12 goals and 31 points in 28 games.
It is the first tournament for all four players.
"It's a great time for all teams in the NsHL as we get a snapshot of some of the future players and stars of the league going head-to-head," said Allen.