Chicago Blackhawks prospect Landon Slaggert selected for Team USA

Final rosters have been announced for the World Junior Championships (WJC) that will be taking place in Edmonton.

The Blackhawks will have multiple players from the organization representing their respective countries. That includes Team USA included one of Chicago’s picks from the 2020 entry draft.

Landon Slaggert has made the cut for Team USA. The 79th pick of the draft will, at the very least, be traveling with the team to participate in the tournament. That’s got to be a bit of good news for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Worth noting, Slaggert’s name appears alongside two top-10 draft picks from 2019, Alexander Turcotte (5th, LAK) and Trevor Zegras (9th, ANA). The image listed is alphabetical, rather than what the lines will look like. Not bad for a third-rounder with less experience! Overall the Team USA roster boasts pretty impressive depth. Maybe not nearly as deep as Canada’s, but it’s still a solid team.

Other players from the Blackhawks are participating in the tournament along with Slaggert. Carter Baum Tweeted out the others on Friday before :

https://twitter.com/CarterBaum/status/1337458884555010049

It would have been nice to see more players dress for the tournament, but having four guys participate in the WJC is a great way to get things started for the upcoming season.

No one should be rushing to judgment about what kind of player Slaggert can be, but it’s good to see him competing for roster spots in high-level competition. Especially when you consider that some of the players in the tournament, such as Kirby Dach, have played at the professional level.  The pandemic forced a lot of activities to shut down, and this will be a great way for players to get themselves back into the action.

The tournament will begin on December 25, 2020, and run until January 5, 2021. Dates have yet to be finalized for the NHL’s 2020-2021 season, and players participating may find themselves returning to their respective teams just before the season opener. Here’s hoping all the players have a great tournament, but especially Chicago’s prospects.