It may be August, but there was some hockey being played this week in Windsor, Ontario. Not by established, professional players, mind you, but NHL prospects from all over the world. We're talking about the World Junior Summer Showcase, which is an opportunity for young players to make their case that they should make their country's national team for the World Junior Championship. That tournament will take place in Edmonton and Red Deer at the end of December/early January.
The St. Louis Blues have had a few hit-and-miss draft picks in recent years. That trend continued with a surprise selection at the 2026 draft, though several Blues prospects are still well-regarded in the scouting communities. Today, The Athletic's team of scouts projected the rosters for this year's WJC, and three Blues players made the cut to represent their country.
Tynan Lawrence - Team Canada
This one should be obvious: Tynan Lawrence was a high draft pick just a couple of months ago and projects to be a solid contributor for Team Canada. The interesting part, however, is that he's expected to play wing; Caleb Desnoyers (if healthy) and Caleb Malhotra are expected to play down the middle in the top six for Canada.
Don't sweat the change in position, though: it's pretty common for players drafted as centers to play on the wing in these sorts of tournaments--look no further than the 2026 Winter Olympics roster for Team Canada to see how many NHL centers ended up on the wings on the way to a silver medal.
Milton Gastrin & Love Harenstam - Team Sweden
The Blues will have two representatives on Team Sweden: Love Harenstam, drafted in the sixth round in 2025, and Milton Gastrin (also selected in 2025), who joined the organization as part of the Jordan Kyrou trade with the Washington Capitals. Harenstam, in particular, has been making something of a name for himself as one of the better junior-level goalies out there.
Sweden won the gold medal at last year's tournament and has a strong enough roster to repeat. While Harenstam and Gastrin are both probably another year or two away from turning pro in North America, dealing in an international tournament would bode well for their continued development.
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