Of course, given that it is a North American league, Canada and the United States lead the way. All players from both teams have been drafted with the exception of underagers not yet eligible.

In Canada’s case, that means Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, and Connor McDavid are still to have their NHL futures decided while two Americans, Jack Eichel and third goalie Thatcher Demko, are in the same position.

Sweden leads the European nations by a wide margin. Some 17 players have already been drafted. Indeed, the only Swedes not drafted are third goalie Jonas Johansson, defencemen Jesper Pettersson and Lukas Bengtsson, and forwards Anton Karlsson and Lucas Wallmark.

Finland has ten draftees and Russia eight while the Czechs and Slovaks both have three. Switzerland has two and Norway has one. Germany is the only team which doesn’t have any NHL drafted players on its roster.

From the NHL perspective, Columbus, Montreal, and Nashville lead the way. These teams each have six draftees competing in Malmö. At the other end, St. Louis Blues scouts are carrying an empty clipboard as the team has nary a single prospect at this year’s U20.

Philadelphia and Washington have five and three teams have four—Chicago, Tampa Bay, and Winnipeg. Recent Stanley Cup champions are not well represented here. Boston has three future stars while Detroit and Pittsburgh have two each.

Europeans drafted in NHL competing at 2014 U20

CZE: 3
Marek Langhamer, PHX
Radek Faksa, DAL
Jan Kostalek, WPG