New Jersey Devils Prospects In USA Vs Canada WJC Final

Some New Jersey Devils prospects are in the World Juniors Gold Medal Game.

The New Jersey Devils have a prospect on each side of the World Junior Classic Gold Medal Game. It is one of the greatest rivalries in all of hockey, as the United States of America is going to face off against Canada. These two teams have met in world competition a bunch of times. This makes this rivalry better and better every year. Canada is still the superior hockey country, but the United States has closed the gap big time.

The thing is, this year there is a big gap between Canada and everyone. It is one of the single greatest World Junior teams ever assembled. It rivals some old USA or Canada teams from the mid-2000s that were awesome. The United States has a lot of top talent in the draft lately but Canada was able to ice a better team this year. Of course, each country is missing their top eligible player as the Rangers and Devils wouldn’t let Alexis Lafreniere or Jack Hughes go. Either way, Canada is the heavy favorite going in.

Of course, the Devils’ impact is the most important thing here. They have a player on each team’s fourth line. Dawson Mercer is only on the fourth line because of how good Canada is. He would be on the top line for a lot of other countries but this is where he lies with Canada. He is one great penalty killer which really helps the team out. He is also great at turning defense into an offense that was on full display in the semi-final against Russia.

For Team USA, Patrick Moynihan is New Jersey’s lone representative. Moynihan is less of an impact player than Mercer, but he still has a chance to be a good pro with more development. Moynihan is a former 6th-round pick (2019) by the Devils and is currently playing for Providence College.

This is a great matchup of players who will be looking to make an impression over the next two or three years. It is also a storied hockey rivalry that should be very entertaining. It is a gritty USA team that has to claw its way to victory against the size and skill of Canada. In order for the Americans to win, they would need to stay out of the box and convert on power plays of their own. They also need to be smart as Canada sends four waves of good lines at you.

It is nice to see that one player in the organization will come home with Gold and the other with Silver. Shakir Mukhamadullin, Arseni Gritsyuk, and Team Russia will have their chance at a Bronze earlier in the day against Team Finland. This has been such a wonderful tournament and it is great to see the Devils involved.