World Championship: Prospect Addamo makes impact with France

Forward Justin Addamo made his presence known in his first game of this year's World Championship in Czechia on Tuesday.

Addamo, a 25-year-old Robert Morris product, is a second-year pro who has split the last two seasons between Wheeling and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. After captaining the Nailers this season, he joined France in the World Championship following the Nailers' elimination from the second round of the playoffs.

This is the second World Championship for Addamo, who grew up in Clermont-Ferrand before moving to North America to play junior hockey when he was 18. Addamo made his World Championship debut for France last season, scoring two goals in seven games.

It didn't even take him 12 minutes to match his goal output from last year in this year's tournament.

Addamo scored two goals in France's 4-2 win over Poland. He opened the scoring 8:47 into the game, carrying the puck up the right wing and finishing on his backhand:

Three minutes later, he went to the net front and tipped in a shot:

France added a pair of power play goals in the second period. Addamo didn't get a point on either, but he was certainly a factor. He had his massive, 6-foot-6 250-pound frame parked in front of Poland's net for the screen both times:

That's par for the course for Addamo, after what he showed in the Penguins' system his first two seasons.

"I honestly see him as an NHL prospect," coach Derek Army said last season. "You can't teach 6 foot 6, 250 pounds. He looks like he should be a tight end. He can't be moved around the net."

Addamo finished the win with two shots on goal and a plus-2 rating in 9:18 on France's fourth line.

Addamo, who can play center and wing, played 42 games for Wheeling as a rookie in 2022-23, scoring 21 goals and 12 assists. He earned 14 games in the AHL that year, scoring five goals. This year he scored 13 goals and 21 assists in 35 games for Wheeling, and earned 21 games up with Wilkes-Barre, scoring two goals and two assists. He finished second in scoring for Wheeling in the playoffs with four goals and seven assists in nine games.

Addamo is a free agent this summer -- he was on an AHL contract last year, and most AHL contracts are just for a year. It would be nice to see him continue to get more AHL time, and see if he can continue to develop and turn into a real, regular contributor at that level. Like Army said, you can't teach his size. He brings a real element that the Penguins could use in their system.

MORE FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DAY 5

• Latvia shut out Kazakhstan, 2-0. Penguins forward prospect Raivis Ansons was scoreless and a plus-1 in 4:17 on Latvia's fourth line.

• Canada beat Austria, 7-6, in overtime. Canada led 6-1 after two periods, and Austria scored five goals in the third period to force overtime. John Tavares scored just 15 seconds into the extra frame to avoid a complete disaster of a collapse for Canada.

Canada shook up its lines entering Tuesday's game. Michael Bunting had been playing with Nick Paul and Connor Bedard on the fourth line. Bedard and Paul were bumped up to the second line, Bunting stayed on the fourth line rotating with Jared McCann, Andrew Mangiapane and Dylan Cozens. Bunting's lone point in the win was this primary assist on Canada's fourth goal by McCann:

Bunting, McCann and Mangiapane all tied for the team lead in shots on goal with five each. Bunting had an even plus/minus in 16:43.

• Thimo Nickl played his first game of the tournament for Austria in the loss. Nickl, 22, is a defenseman whose rights were acquired by the Penguins last spring in the prospect swap that sent Judd Caulfield to Anaheim. The Penguins signed Nickl to an AHL contract and he spent the full year in Wheeling, scoring two goals and 19 assists in 66 regular-season games and no points in nine playoff games. He joined Austria for the tournament following the Nailers' elimination from the playoffs and debuted on Austria's top defense pairing.

Nickl had one primary assist in the loss, and it came during the third-period rally:

Nickl finished with no shots and a minus-1 rating in 15:20. 

Nickl has already signed with an Austrian team for next season, so he won't be re-signed.

• There are four games on the schedule for Wednesday, but only one with a Penguins tie -- Germany plays Ansons' Latvian squad at 10:20 a.m. Eastern.