World Juniors Day 6 Primer: Lekkerimäki, Jurmo, Truscott all in action

All three Vancouver Canucks prospects participating at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship will take the ice on Sunday as the preliminary round nears its conclusion.

Team Finland defenceman and Canucks 2020 third-round pick Joni Jurmo will be in action this morning (11:00 a.m. PT) against the struggling Team Slovakia. The Finns have won both their games thus far, although one of those victories came in overtime.

Then, after Team Czechia and Team Latvia drop the puck in the afternoon, the main event for Canucks fans will take place this evening at 7:00 p.m. PT.

Team USA vs. Team Sweden looks like a fantastic match-up on paper, with both teams looking to maintain their undefeated records in the group stage.

For Canucks fans, it means top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki and the Swedes will do battle against defenceman Jacob Truscott and the Americans in primetime.

Lekkerimäki, selected No. 15 overall by the Canucks in 2022, has been a little quieter than expected thus far, with just one assist in two games at the tournament. Truscott, a 2020 fifth-round pick, is still searching for his first World Junior point.

Jurmo has an identical stat-line to Lekkerimäki through his first two games at the World Juniors. Who will be the first Canucks prospect to score a goal at the tournament? Only time will tell.

We’ll have more from Day 6 of the World Juniors later today.