The New Jersey Devils made the hard decision to send Alex Holtz to the World Junior Championship. It was the right decision, as Holtz needed a spark to get him through his first full season in North America. He had struggled in the NHL, and he was going through the motions in the AHL. Giving him something to work towards after the disaster that was his World Juniors performance last season (relative to his expectations) was a great do-over in his career.
This makes the IIHF’s decision to pause the World Junior Championships that much more devastating for Holtz and the other Devils prospects in the tournament. This was a huge year for Devils prospects, as four players were playing a very prominent role in their country’s rush for gold.
Holtz will never get this chance again. Either will Shakir Mukhamadullin, who was the only positive thing going on Team Russia’s blueline. He was showing off his offensive skills while trying to show the Russian decision makers were right to leave some of the North American players home for the tournament. He was the guy in this tournament for Russia, aside from goalie Yaroslav Askarov.
Team USA was supposed to be the coming-out party for Luke Hughes. The defenseman was going to get a huge chance to prove he was worth the fourth-overall pick. The Americans were looking to repeat as champs for the first time in the history of the tournament. Now, that dream will have to wait another year.
Jakub Malek was looking for some rope when he was playing in net against Team Canada. That’s not surprising, as Czechia was quite overwhelmed by the hosts of the tournament. He still got a chance to be the starter for his country.
The Devils prospects were set to have very important roles for their teams. We saw what those roles could do. Dawson Mercer had a great tournament for Team Canada last year, and he rode that momentum all the way to making the NHL.
Holtz and Mukhamadullin are now without chances to represent their countries. Hughes will get another chance next year, and he will likely be the top player in the tournament that year. He has a real chance to get tournament MVP. However, that dream is dead for Holtz and Mukhamadullin.
It will be interesting to see what is next for Holtz. Will he dominate the AHL before making it to the NHL? Either way, this is a sad day for hockey. The tournament was really fun so far, and now the Devils prospects have to move forward without it.