Team Canada – Dawson Mercer
Dawson Mercer came into the tournament with the possibility of playing just about anywhere in the Team Canada lineup. This is one of the most talented Canadian lineups to play at the World Juniors, with a player like Quinton Byfield playing on the third line. He was the second-overall pick at the NHL Draft, but that’s how stacked Canada was this year. So, that leaves Mercer playing a similar role as Moynihan despite being a lot more talented.
The Devils’ 18th-overall pick at last year’s draft had a really good tournament at times, but Canada did not call his name in the gold medal game very much. He was only given nine minutes of ice time. This had a lot to do with Canada’s desperation to score a goal. It’s not like Mercer can’t score, but he’s not as reliable as a line with Dylan Cozens, a line with Peyton Krebs, or a line with Cole Perfetti.
Mercer’s upside is still sky high despite the bitter end to the tournament. He had six points in seven games at the tournament. Four of those points did come in a game against Germany where they were shorthanded and Canada scored 16 goals.
Overall, Mercer’s big performance came early in the tournament, but it seemed like he was a product of his lineup. As games got tougher, Canada relied on goal scorers over pace players. Mercer is still an NHL-caliber prospect that should jump straight to Devils camp.