The Swedish Ice Hockey Associated named Blackhawks prospect Adam Boqvist to its preliminary roster for the World Junior Championship on Wednesday.
Boqvist, who was selected No. 8 overall in this year’s NHL draft, has seven goals and 21 points in 20 games during his first OHL season with the London Knights. The 6-foot, 181-pound right-handed defenseman has found his touch lately with six goals in his past five games.
If Boqvist does make the team it’ll be his first World Juniors tournament. He was named best defenseman at the under-18 World Juniors last year after leading all blue liners in goals (three) and points (six) as Tre Kronor claimed bronze.
Sweden is looking to move up one spot on the podium from last year’s tournament when they fell to Canada, 3-1, in the gold-medal game. It was the first medal for the Swedes since their three-year medal run from 2012 to 2014, which included winning in 2012 followed by back-to-back silver medal finishes to the United Sates and Finland, respectively.
The 2019 tournament will run from Dec. 26 to Jan. 6 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.
Sweden’s preliminary roster for the World Juniors 2019. pic.twitter.com/XGCd01vIDT
— Uffe Bodin (@UffeBodin) December 5, 2018