Team USA’s World Junior Roster Has Some Chicago Blackhawks to Watch

The World Junior Championship is set for later this month, so different teams are finally getting their roster set. Team USA’s preliminary roster features three Chicago Blackhawks prospects.

Team USA will begin to practice in Michigan this coming week as they gear up their preparation for the World Junior Championship in Edmonton towards the end of the month. The roster for camp includes Blackhawks prospects  Alex Vlasic, Drew Commesso, and Landon Slaggert.

Vlasic was drafted in the second round of 2019 to the Chicago Blackhawks. The ‘Hawks defensemen will have an opportunity to prove himself and separate himself from the other defensemen in Chicago’s system.

Slaggert is Chicago’s third-round pick from the 2020 NHL draft a few months ago. The young forward has already started this current season at the University of Notre Dame and has one assist in four games this season with the Irish.

Chicago’s second-round pick and hopeful goalie for the future, Drew Commesso, will also get a shot during camp throughout the coming weeks. Commesso will be competing with Spencer Knight and Dustin Wolf in net, both of who were members of the 2020 U.S. National Junior Team.

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All three of these prospects will gain a lot of experience competing in this tournament or just the camp, depending on how things work out. Kirby Dach is currently playing with Team Canada during training camp, and he has been showing some pretty impressive moves throughout their practices.

While Dach is on a different level than these three players as he already has NHL experience, Vlasic Comesso and Slaggert will benefit from this opportunity, and so will Dach. So many Blackhawks prospects are playing hockey right now, either potentially for the World Juniors or overseas on loan.

The fact that these young players are still on the ice is a great thing for the ‘Hawks. While the older veterans in Chicago might be able to step back into a season in December or January, the young players definitely need to be on the ice as much as possible to keep improving their games.

I know I will be watching the Championship later this month, and I am excited to watch some competitive hockey again!