Carolina Hurricanes prospect Jake Bean wins WJC gold with Team Canada

Hurricanes’ top pick in 2016 joins select group of winners on team

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

By Peter Koutroumpis

editor@trianglesportsnet.com

RALEIGH, N.C. – Carolina Hurricanes prospect defenseman Jake Bean earned a gold medal with Team Canada as it beat Sweden 3-1 at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC) played at Key Bank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. on Friday.

Bean, the Hurricanes’ first pick (13th overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry draft, finished the tournament with three points, all assists, in seven games to go along with a plus-2 rating and 12 shots on goal.

Playing in his second WJC tournament, the six-foot-one-inch, left-handed defenseman helped Canada net goals in a 7-2 semifinal win over the Czech Republic, round-robin win over Denmark (8-0) and  4-3 shootout loss to the U.S. in the tournament’s featured outdoor game played at New Era Field

Currently playing with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL), Bean became the Hurricanes’ seventh gold medal winner in WJC competition over the past 10 years.

Bean’s gold medal win joined current roster and system players Sebastian Aho (Finland 2016), Teuvo Teravainen (Finland 2014), Victor Rask (Sweden 2012), Joakim Nordstrom (Sweden 2012), and Aleksi Saarela (Finland 2016) as WJC champions.

Additionally, the Calgary, Alberta native joined former Hurricanes forward Zach Boychuk, also an Albertan, as holding the designation of winning WJC gold for Team Canada as Carolina first-round draft picks over the past decade.

Boychuk, Carolina’s top pick (14th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, won World Junior gold with Canada in 2008 and 2009.

Peter Koutroumpis: 401-323-8960, @pksport