Meet the Five Golden Knights Prospects Who Will Play at World Juniors 2022

The annual IIHF World Junior Championship is set to run this year from December 26th to January 5th. The Vegas Golden Knights have five prospects going to represent both the Golden Knights and their countries. The names of these prospects are Zach Dean, Lukas Cormier, Jakub Demek, Jakub Brabenec, and Jesper Vikman.

All of the players attending World Juniors that are in the Golden Knights system were drafted in the past two years by Kelly McCrimmon and the Golden Knights.

With the Golden Knights in win-now mode for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in franchise history, many picks and prospects have been traded away in trades. Nick Suzuki, Erik Brannstrom, and Peyton Kreps were all significant prospects in the Golden Knights organization but were shipped out to bring in players like Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, and Jack Eichel.

However, the Golden Knights still have a good prospect pool to pick from. We saw early on in the season how important it was to the Golden Knights to get contributions out of young players like Paul Cotter, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Jake Leschyshyn. 

Zach Dean- Canada

Perhaps the most flashy player on this list, Zach Dean was a 2021 first-round pick by the Golden Knights. He is a playmaking centerman who has a knack for his ability to pass the puck. This season he is playing with Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL and has four goals and nine points in nine games played. The 18-year old recently just signed his entry-level contract with the Golden Knights last week.

Lukas Cormier- Canada

Also on Team Canada, Lukas Cormier is an offensively gifted defenseman that was drafted by the Golden Knights in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Level Draft. With the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL, Cormier has 13 goals and 23 assists in 26 games played. His five game-winning goals are tied for the lead in the entire QMJHL.

Jakub Demek- Slovakia

Demek is an 18-year-old winger that was drafted in 2021 in the fourth round 128th overall. At 6-foot-4 and 196-pounds, Demek is no slouch is currently scoring at 1.16 points per game pace with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. He has eleven goals and eighteen assists in 25 games played.

Jakub Brabenec- Czech Republic

Another 18-year old Jakub, Brabenec was drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Level Draft 102nd overall. The center with the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL has nine goals and twenty assists in 26 games played this season.

Jesper Vikman- Sweden

The only goalie to appear for the Golden Knights at World Juniors, Vikman was a fifth-round selection by the Golden Knights in 2020. The 19-year old is playing this season with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL and in sixteen games played has a 3.12 GAA and .921% save percentage.

Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, William Karlsson, Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, and Evgenii Dadonov have all won Gold Medals at the World Juniors in years prior.

With Nicolas Hauge being the only player on the Golden Knights roster that was initially drafted by the team, the team is in need of more prospects. For these five Golden Knights prospects- as Shiv Palpatine once said, “We will watch your career with great interest.”