SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers announced today the five prospects who have been named to rosters to compete in the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship from Tuesday, Aug. 9 to Saturday, Aug. 20 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.
Panthers prospects participating in the World Junior Championship:
- Defenseman Ludvig Jansson — Sweden
- Forward Jakub Kos – Czechia
- Defenseman Kasper Puutio – Finland
- Forward Mackie Samoskevich – USA
- Forward Sandis Vilmanis – Latvia
Jansson, 18, skated in 47 games with Södertälje SK of HockeyAllsvenskan in 2021-22, posting five points (2-3-5), which ranked seventh among under-20 defensemen in the league. Over two seasons with Södertälje (2020-21 to 2021-22), Jansson compiled seven points (3-4-7).
Selected by Florida in the fourth round (125th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, the 6-foot, 176-pound native of Stockholm, Sweden appeared in three international games with Sweden’s U20 team in 2021-22, producing one goal.
Kos, 19, skated in 17 Liiga games with Ilves in 2021-22, recording three points (1-2-3). He also appeared in 20 games with KOOVEE of in Finland’s second league, Mestis, posting 16 points (3-13-16), and four games with Ilves’ U20 club, logging five points (1-4-5).
The 6-foot-2, 174-pound native of Kurim, Czechia amassed 41 points (10-31-41) over 69 games with Ilves U20 from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
Selected by Florida in the sixth round (184th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Kos represented Czechia at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship, producing two points (1-1-2) over five games.
Puutio, 20, skated in 51 Liiga games with KalPa in 2021-22, producing 10 points (5-5-10), the fifth-most among under-20 Liiga blueliners. He also posted 11 points (3-8-11) over 10 postseason games with KalPa’s U20 team, helping them capture a SM-sarja U20 championship.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound native of Vaasa, Finland has produced 13 points (7-6-13) over 80 career Liiga games with KalPa (2021-22) and Kärpät (2020-21). During the 2019-20 season, Puutio skated in 56 Western Hockey League (WHL) games between the Swift Current Broncos and Everett Silvertips, compiling 28 points (5-23-28).
Selected by Florida in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Puutio previously helped Finland capture bronze at the 2021 WJC, and he represented his home country at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and 2018 U17 World Hockey Challenge.
Samoskevich, 19, produced 29 points (10-19-29) over 40 NCAA games in his first season with the University of Michigan in 2021-22, helping the team reach the Frozen Four semifinals.
Prior to his collegiate career, 5-foot-11, 191-pound native of Newtown, Conn., appeared in 36 games with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2020-21, recording 37 points (13-24-37), and he produced 10 points (1-9-10) over eight postseason games to help the Steel capture a Clark Cup championship.
Selected by Florida in the first round (24th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Samoskevich previously represented the United States at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Vilmanis, 18, played in 40 games with Lulea HF’s U20 team in 2021-22, where he tied for the club lead with 18 goals and ranked third with 32 points (18-14-32).
Selected by Florida in the fifth round (157th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, the 6-foot-1, 192-pound native of Riga, Latvia skated in four games with Latvia at the 2022 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship, where he posted three points (1-2-3) and served as an assistant captain. He also appeared in five games with Latvia at the 2022 IIHF U20 D1A World Junior Championship, registering five points (2-1-3) and helping the country to a runner-up finish.
Coverage of select live games will be available for Panthers fans to view on NHL Network. See the complete broadcast schedule here.
Florida Panthers 2022-23 Territory Memberships are available now. Join Panthers Territory to get presale access to the 2023 NHL All-Star game at FLA Live Arena plus other exclusive benefits. Call 954-835-PUCK or visit FloridaPanthers.com/TerritoryMemberships for more information.
-PANTHERS-
