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Meltzer's Musings: Canada and USA Ousted at Worlds, Sleepers in System |
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WORLDS: CANADA OUSTED IN QUARTERFINALS
Team Canada suffered a third period collapse and lost 3-2 to Finland in the medal round quarterfinals of the 2014 IIHF World Championships in Minsk, Belarus. The Canadians took a 2-1 lead into the third period before the Finns rallied for a pair of unanswered goals.
Finland struck first in the game, on a first period power play goal by Olli Palola (the top goal scorer in the SM-Liiga this season). Canada came back to score twice in the middle period.
At 5:41 of the second period, Ottawa Senators forward Kyle Turris finished off a feed from the Flyers' Matt Read to tie the game. Turris started the counterattack with a nice play at the defensive blueline and then finished it off at the other end. At 12:08, Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele ripped a shot past goaltender Pekka Rinne (36 saves on 38 shots) to forge a lead for Canada.
In the third period, Finland tied the game just 28 seconds after the opening faceoff. Juuso Hietanen fired an unscreened side angle shot from just over the blueline that was misplayed by goaltender Ben Scrivens. The shot leaked through the goaltender and into the net on the long side. KHL forward Jori Lehterä, who assisted on all three Finnish goals in the game, earned a helper along with Petri Kontiola.
The game remained tied at 2-2 until there was 3:08 remaining in regulation. Canada paid dearly for a turnover on the wall at the defensive blueline. Moments later, Iiro Pakarinen took a pass from Lehterä and rifled it through Scrivens' five-hole on another seemingly stoppable shot for the goaltender.
As is typically the case for Team Finland, the Lions played a tough and physical two-way team game and competed hard throughout the match. Scrivens and Canada let an eminently winnable game slip away in the third period but the Finns earned full marks for their victorious effort.
Read, who skated 12:15 of ice time in the quarterfinals, finished the tournament with four points (two goals, two assists) and a plus-two rating. He averaged 16:14 of ice time per game. Read frequently saw ice time on Canada's top penalty killing unit.
Flyers center Brayden Schenn skated 15:48 against Finland. He had three shots on goal but his best scoring chance was a power play shot attempt from the slot that beat Rinne cleanly but ticked off the goal post and stayed out of the net. Schenn was on the ice as Canada attempted a desperation rally in the final minute. He lost a one-on-battle behind the net that resulted moments later in a Finnish clearing attempt that just cleared the blueline ahead of Jason Garrison's attempted keep and was brought back in offside.
Schenn, who centered a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Alex Burrows for much of the tournament after playing with Read as a linemate at the start of the tournament opening upset loss to France, finished a generally effective tournament with three goals and one assist. He averaged 15:40 of ice time per game.
In yesterday's game, Schenn won 11 of 20 faceoffs. His most important faceoff was a clean defensive zone draw win against Olli Jokinen in the third period. The draw came immediately after Canada had been hemmed in its own zone and was fortunate to get a stoppage.
Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn skated 17:05 of ice time yesterday and averaged 20:01 for the tournament. He did not record a point but was credited with nine shots for the tourney and three in the quarterfinal game.
Coburn was on the ice for both of Finland's goals in the third period, although neither was his fault. He finished the game and the tourney at minus-two. Coburn had some ups and downs early in the preliminary round, but got better as the tourney moved along.
With their victory over Canada, Finland advances to the semifinals to play the Czech Republic. Yesterday, the Czechs built a 4-1 lead over Team USA and then barely held on late to emerge with a 4-3 win. Former Flyers right winger Jaromir Jagr assisted on the game-winning goal for the Czechs. Team USA was coached by former Flyers coach Peter Laviolette and featured local product Johnny Gaudreau (10 points in seven games).
Flyers restricted free agent defenseman Erik Gustafsson, who recently signed a contract to play in the KHL next season with Avangard Omsk, is still playing in the tournament. Defending gold medalist Sweden squeaked out a 3-2 win over Belarus. Tre Kronor will play Russia in the other semifinal game with the winner playing either Finland or the Czech Republic for the gold.
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THREE SLEEPERS IN FLYERS FARM SYSTEM
The Philadelphia Flyers' farm system is not exactly teeming with depth, although things have begun to get better. A trio of promising young defensemen (Samuel Morin, Shayne Gostisbehere and Robert Hägg), along with forwards Scott Laughton and Taylor Leier and goaltender Anthony Stolarz lead the crop that has come into the organization since 2012.
Jason Akeson improved his chances at an NHL roster spot next season with his play at the tail end of the regular season and during the Flyers' first-round playoff series with the New York Rangers. He is a skilled player with the puck who has to score to have a regular NHL role. That is not the easiest thing to do, but some multi-year minor league scoring standouts have managed the feat.
Beyond the aforementioned players, there is not much in the way of prospects with the upside to become top-nine forwards, top-four defensemen or a potential future starting NHL goaltender. However, it is too early to give up on the likes of Nick Cousins or Petr Straka to step up after tough AHL rookie seasons and the organization is also high on Mark Alt's potential to become an NHL top-six defenseman in the relatively near future.
Tye McGinn is a restricted free agent this summer. The organization wants to see the power forward regain the level of grit he showed prior to suffering an eye injury in an NHL fight last season. If he can do that, he can re-emerge as more than a short-term callup candidate.
Danish defenseman Oliver Lauridsen, who has now played three full pro seasons and is 25 years old, has reached the now-or-never stage of his candidacy for an NHL job. He figures to get a look as a candidate for the Flyers' seventh defenseman spot next season. Brandon Manning remains a fringe NHL roster candidate, while Matt Konan will look to rebound from an injury-plagued second pro season.
Goaltender Cal Heeter has become a solid AHL starting goaltender but did not look ready for NHL backup duties during a late-season and early playoff stint with the big club. He will split chores with pro rookie Stolarz next season. I would not be surprised if the Flyers select a goaltender or two at some point in the upcoming NHL Draft but most goaltenders take anywhere from four to six years (and many take even longer) from their Draft-eligible year to emerge as serious candidates for NHL roles.
Apart from the pool of players that have already been mentioned, there are also three less talked about prospects in the system who may have the upside to play at the NHL at some point.
Brandon Alderson: The 22-year-old quietly put together a solid season for Terry Murray's Phantoms and was one of the Black Aces for the Flyers during the playoffs. He is a hard-working player in all zones and has the type of size that generally appeals to the organization. It would not be out of the question for him to compete for checking line role on the big club at some point.
Reece Willcox: The Cornell defenseman is never mentioned among the Flyers' better defense prospects but he has a lot of things going for him as a potential future NHL candidate. He has size, mobility, a good first pass and good defensive positioning and stick savvy. Willcox will never be a big point producer so he does not jump on a stat sheet but the 20-year-old is very much an up-and-comer in the organization. If he continues to develop at a similar pace to his first two collegiate seasons, I would think he is a solid candidate to be signed to an entry-level contract at the end of next season and forgo his senior year of NCAA eligibility.
Valeri Vasiliev: The Flyers organization made a decision this spring that Vasilev is not ready yet for an entry-level contract in North America. They were probably right, although Vasiliev played in the World Junior Championships for Russia and has been a regular in the KHL for the last season and a half. Shoulder injuries have set his development back a bit. He signed with a new KHL team and it may still be awhile before he plays heavy minutes. Nevertheless, Vasiliev plays an aggressive game along the lines of Montreal's Alexei Emelin and still has the upside to emerge as an NHL candidate in the next few years.
Lastly, it is also possible that Michael Parks could be signed to an entry-level deal after his senior year at the University of North Dakota. He had a solid bounceback junior season after an injury-riddled sophomore campaign. Generally speaking, however, if an NHL team really feels a player has significant pro upside, they try to get him signed before his final year of NCAA eligibility. Parks, at 22, is a good collegiate player but does not seem to project as an NHL candidate.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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