Toronto Maple Leafs: Every Current Player's World Junior History

While not every single member of the Toronto Maple Leafs has played in this prestigious tournament, most of them have.

And it's always fun year after year watching your favorite Toronto Maple Leafs prospects represent their country in the World Juniors.

This year will be especially great because Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan have both made Team Canada.

With that being said, let's take a trip down memory lane and look at these past WJC performances.

Let's start with the forwards.

 Every Current Toronto Maple Leafs Player's World Junior History

All stats via nhl.com  and eliteprospects.

Forwards

Auston Matthews

Before becoming an NHL superstar, Auston Matthews represented Team USA twice at the WJC, in 2015 and 2016.

In 2015 as a 17-year-old, Matthews recorded 1 goal and 2 assists in 5 games as Team USA bowed out in the quarterfinals. However, in 2016, Matthews showed why he deserved to go #1 overall the following June.

In the 2016 tournament, Auston Matthews recorded 7 goals and 4 assists in 7 games, being named to the tournament all-star team and helping Team USA win a bronze medal. The Leafs forward was also eligible to play in the 2017 tournament but was too busy during his Calder-winning NHL season to participate.

John Tavares

Perhaps one of the most famous World Junior players in Canadian history, John Tavares finished his WJC career with 2 gold medals, a top forward award, and an MVP.

In his 2008 debut, he recorded 4 goals and an assist en route to a gold-medal victory over Team Sweden. But in 2009, however, he had a tournament for the ages.

Tavares had 8 goals and 15 points in just 6 games, leading Team Canada to a record-setting 5th gold medal in a row, and winning the aforementioned MVP award.

Mitch Marner

Mitch Marner was a late cut for the 2015 edition of the tournament, as Team Canada opted to take Leafs legend Frederick Gauthier instead. But Marner earned a spot in 2016, and by far was one of Canada's best players.

While Team Canada ended up with a disappointing 6th-place finish, Marner did more than his part, scoring 4 goals and 6 points in 5 games.

William Nylander

William Nylander represented the "Tre Kronor" twice at the World Juniors, starting in 2015, where he had a very strong 10 points in 7 games.

Nylander looked to continue his strong performance into the 2016 tournament, but unfortunately, it got cut short due to an injury in the opening game.

Max Domi

Max Domi only played at one World Juniors, but oh boy was he electric to watch.

Representing Team Canada in the 2015 tournament, Domi scored 5 goals and 10 points en route to a dominating gold-medal-winning effort from the Canadians.

Domi was named the tournament's top forward for his efforts.

Matthew Knies

Knies represents one of the more recent appearances at the World Juniors for Toronto Maple Leafs prospects, representing Team USA in 2022, notching 3 assists in 5 games.

His American squad unfortunately bowed out in the quarterfinals in an upset loss to Team Czechia.

Timothy Liljegren

Liljegren won a silver medal with Team Sweden in the 2018 tournament. He was slated to play in the 2019 tournament as well but unfortunately had to miss due to injury.

Conor Timmins

Timmins won a gold medal with Team Canada in the 2018 World Juniors, playing a pivotal role in the victory.

He is best known for his assist on the eventual gold-medal-winning goal by Tyler Steenbergen.

Jake McCabe

Jake McCabe was a star at the 2013 World Juniors, scoring 6 points in 7 games en route to a gold medal.

Not only did he captain the Americans to their second gold medal in 4 years, but he was also named to the tournament all-star team.

William Lagesson

Lagesson represented Team Sweden at the 2015 and 2016 tournaments. Both of these teams disappointed, however, finishing in 4th place at both events.

John Klingberg

John Klingberg represented Team Sweden in 2011 and 2012, winning a gold medal in the latter year. The Swedes have yet to win a gold medal since that 2012 tournament, and that is their only victory since 1981.

Joseph Woll

Current Leafs starter Joseph Woll won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2017 tournament as backup to Tyler Parsons.

Woll returned for the 2018 tournament, splitting starts with Dallas Stars netminder Jake Oettinger. The States earned a bronze medal that year.

Ilya Samsonov

Samsonov represented Team Russia twice at the World Juniors, in 2016 and 2017. After earning a silver medal in 2016 as the backup, Samsonov won another one in 2017, this time being a bronze. He also earned a spot on the tournament all-star team in 2017.

Martin Jones

Last but not least, Martin Jones played in the 2010 World Juniors, playing the role of backup for Team Canada.

While his playing time was limited, he did earn playing time in the gold medal game, coming in relief of starter Jake Allen.

Jones stopped every shot he faced in the latter part of the third period and the opening minutes of overtime before Team USA's John Carlson buried the OT winner.

Conclusion

In short, the Leafs have had quite a number of players represent their countries at the World Juniors over the years, with many walking away with numerous pieces of hardware.

The Toronto Maple Leafs look to continue to have strong WJC performances this year and in years to come.