2024 World Junior Championship: Top 10 undrafted standouts

Credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff

It was an excellent week of action at the 2024 World Junior Championship, but the meaningful games are about to start.

The quarterfinals kick off Tuesday, with four teams looking to move on to Thursday’s medal round. It’s been a good showcase for many of the NHL’s top-drafted prospects, such as Adam Gajan, Jimmy Snuggerud and Frank Nazar. A few 2024 NHL Draft eligibles have stood out, too, including Macklin Celebrini, Zeev Buium and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård.

But every year, it’s always just as interesting to follow the undrafted prospects trying to make a name for themselves. Canada’s Thomas Milic was one of the prime examples last year, going to Winnipeg after being passed over twice. This tournament can be a second chance for teenagers who might have developed late, overcome injury, or just truly left everything on the line in one of the biggest showcase events of the year.

And there’s been plenty of high-quality undrafted talents this time around. Here’s a look at 10 players who could get a second – or even third – look at the draft table this upcoming June in Vegas:

Mathis Rousseau, G (Canada)

After a shaky pre-tournament, Rousseau commanded the net throughout the round-robin and looked good doing it. He played his best game against Sweden, and was a big reason why Canada shut down the Finns. At 5-foot-11, Rousseau’s size could be a factor here. There’s such a minimal difference between his size and 6-foot-0, but teams have typically stayed away from guys at this size. But if you look at Rousseau’s body of work in Sweden and Halifax in the QMJHL, you’re watching a goalie who never gives up on any play.

Owen Allard, LW (Canada)

Allard turned heads in training camp, with scouts considering him a lock to be drafted in 2024 as a third-year eligible. He spent most of last year due to injuries, but he has turned that into motivation to become a valuable defensive forward. Allard played all situations for Canada, including the power play and the penalty kill and even scored a pair of goals in the first two games. Despite not getting a lot of ice time in a depth role, Allard has consistently been one of the hardest-working players on this Canadian team.

Hugo Hävelid, G (Sweden)

Man, if he wasn’t 5-foot-10, he would have been drafted already. Hävelid had a pair of shutouts to kick off his tournament, building upon an already impressive U-20 national team campaign dating back to the World Junior Summer Showcase. He has always found ways to stand out at the junior national team level, having helped the Swedes win gold at the U-18s in 2022 after outdueling American starter Trey Augustine. But that lack of size isn’t going to help his chances of being the NHL, with Juuse Saros’ play being the exception, not the rule.

Jere Lassila, C (Finland)

Lassila capped of the preliminary round with five points, trailing just Kasper Halttunen on Finland. He was especially close in front of the net, and was most dangerous as a setup man. He only had seven shots in the preliminary round, but he made them count, scoring twice and generating rebounds that led to goals. Lassila is a good skater with good acceleration and he has a solid shot, but I just wish he’d use it more often.

Jesse Pulkkinen, LHD (Finland)

I wasn’t too familiar with Pulkkinen’s game before the tournament, but Finnish scouts were really high on him. He played heavy minutes and had two points to show for, but his rushes and play reads were among the bets on the Finns. He left for the WJC on a good little run with JYP’s Liiga team after recently making his debut, so it’ll be interesting to see how he grows as a player the rest of the year – and whether scouts liked him enough in Sweden.

Tommi Mannisto, LW (Finland)

I hope someone picks up Mannisto because few players worked as hard as he did during the preliminary round. The quick-skating, puck-chasing winger from Michigan State University scored the first goal that Sweden allowed all tournament, his second in four games. But it’s not the offense that excites me, because that’s not his game. It’s how he never, ever gives up on a play, bringing a nice physical touch to every shift.

Peter Repčík, C (Slovakia)

Repčík had six points at the tournament last year and he has the same after four preliminary round games. Known for his quick hands around the net, allowing him to score and easily set guys up, Repčík handled first-line center duties and was arguably more important than Dalibor Dvorsky. Now twice undrafted, I felt like his game appeared more well-rounded this year compared to what we saw in 2023.

Viliam Kmec, D (Slovakia)

Kmec was one of the Slovaks that received expanded duties with Simon Nemec sticking with the New Jersey Devils. Kmec had three points his first three games while averaging 22 minutes a night, becoming one of the team’s most important players. The 19-year-old has good size at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, and is having a career-best offensive year with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. If he makes the NHL, though, he’ll be used more for his physicality because his skating and hockey sense might cause him issues.

Louis Fullemann, D (Switzerland)

He’s out for the rest of the tournament with an injury, which is too bad. Scouts I talked to seemed really impressed with Louis Fullemann, who was one of the few who consistently gave a solid effort each night for the Swiss. He’s small at 5-foot-10, but he plays with a solid edge and had a two-point effort against the United States. He also had a pair of assists in the two pre-tournament games. His experience playing against men in the NL seemed to shine through at points because he looked mature and composed.

Petter Vesterheim, C (Norway)

Norway will need Vesterheim to be a standout during the relegation game, but I fully expect it. The 19-year-old had just an OK season with Mora last year in the Allvsenskan, and his numbers aren’t anything to fall in love with either this year. But his effort with Norway at the WJC has been fantastic, killing penalties, winning key draws, generating chances on the power play, etc. He’s got a grinders mindset that makes him a potential fourth-liner, but I’m not sure he has the pure offensive skillset that’ll allow him to really go too far. We’ll see if a team’s willing to take a chance on a player who can do a little bit of everything.

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