LA Kings’ Simontaival, Helenius selected for Team Finland’s preliminary WJC roster
Ryan Sikes 
Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images
In advance of August’s rescheduled U20 World Juniors Championship, LA Kings prospects Samuel Helenius and Kasper Simontaival have been named to Team Finland’s main roster. Finland named both a top squad and a challenger squad, with the roster that will head to Edmonton finalized later this summer.
Finland has named two rosters for the upcoming U20 national team camp in July: a top squad and a challenger squad. The final team for August's tournament will be selected after the camp. Interestingly, Joel Blomqvist (PIT) is not on either team. #Leijonat #U20fi pic.twitter.com/WzWT864sXo
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) June 22, 2022
Simontaival, 20, was selected in the third round of the 2020 NHL draft. He is looking for his second bid at the U20 WJC roster after scoring four goals and seven points in seven games in 2021. He spent last season with KalPa of Liiga, tallying seven goals and 14 assists after a lower-body injury delayed his team debut.
Helenius, who was taken in the second round of last year’s draft, was off to a red-hot start in the WJC tournament before it was postponed. He had three goals and one assist in only two games. The 6-foot-6 forward spent last season with JYP of Liiga as an alternate captain, accumulating three goals and nine points in 48 games.
After a bronze medal finish in 2021, Team Finland will look to challenge for the gold medal when the tournament restarts in August.
Helenius and Simontaival are the third and fourth Kings prospects named to preliminary WJC rosters after Helge Grans (Sweden) and Brock Faber (USA) were rostered earlier this week.