It’s no surprise that the New Jersey Devils don’t have a ton of players preparing for the World Juniors. Tom Fitzgerald didn’t do a good enough job drafting players for years. Now, they are looking at Alexander Command to represent Sweden, but that might be it.
The Devils took two second-round picks from Team USA, Ben Kevan and Conrad Fondrk, and third-round pick Mason Moe are all fighting for a chance to represent their country at the 2027 World Junior Championships. This year it takes place in Edmonton and Red Deer, making it a much easier ask for college players to take part in the tournament.
Moe and Fondrk are currently taking part in the World Juniors Summer Showcase. It’s a collection of the best young players trying to make a good impression on their national coaches.
So far this tournament, Moe has been given six games to show he’s a worthy option for the actual team coming together later in the year, but he hasn’t recorded a point. He’s usually playing fourth-line center, so it’s not terribly surprising he hasn’t scored, but it also isn’t helping his case to make the roster.
Conrad Fondrk has a long road to the World Junior Championship
Fondrk, on the other hand, has not been given that chance. The Boston University product hasn’t played in one game with the USA crest on his jersey.
It’s clear that Fondrk isn’t in good graces with Team USA. To their credit, he did not have a good season last year. If he were in this year’s draft, he probably would be a late-round pick. Even when it comes to the showcase, Fondrk was added to the roster very late in the process.
Still, the World Juniors are not out of his reach, but he needs to work like crazy at BU this season. He wasn’t even highly regarded there by head coach Jay Pandolfo. When he was healthy, which wasn’t a lot last season, he struggled to get into the lineup.
This season, that has to change. Fondrk has to earn a spot in the BU lineup, and he really has to show he’s worthy of a top-six spot. The Terriers upgraded the roster, so it is going to be hard to make noise, but that’s what training camp is for.
Fondrk could still make it to the World Juniors, but he has a ton of work to do. It won’t be easy, but this is step one of getting back in the good graces of the Devils prospect pool. The Devils prospects have fallen off, yet Fondrk might be worse off than most. A run to the World Juniors would really help us have confidence in him again.
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