USA Hockey trimmed their National Junior Team Selection Camp in Lake Placid today by 12 as they prepare to take on Sweden, Finland and Canada before camp ends on Saturday. All games will be streamed live on FastHockey.com
The updated roster can be found
here.
Tournament vs. Camp
If you ask anyone from USA Hockey, this is called an evaluation camp for a reason. For the first few days involving split squad scrimmages against each other, Sweden and Finalnd, players are being evaluated as the powers that be figure out the skill sets they have to work with in order to put a potentially championship team together. Today, the coaches were able to implement some systems - especially on special teams - in their first official practice as they prepare for the final three games of the camp. They want to win those games, but their purpose is to evaluate and allow the players to put their best foot forward and leave a good impression on the decision makers.
For everyone else here in Lake Placid, this is a tournament without an official winner. I spoke to Swedish captain, Alex Wennberg, and he said, "Camp ended on Saturday. This is now a tournament and we are here to win."
For Sweden, with few exceptions, this is the team they will have in Malmo and they've been here in Lake Placid for a week prior for practices and team bonding exercises including a spirited round of golf at a local course. Their off ice chemistry is very apparent and translates onto the ice which is why this is more than just an evaluation camp. They want to have the mental advantage when they play for keeps on home ice. Right now they're 2-0 having beat USA White and USA Blue and will face the combined squad tomorrow before playing Canada on Thursday and Finland on Saturday.
Second Chances
While there are three returning players from last year's championship team - Jon Gillies, Riley Barber and Pat Sieloff - plus Ryan Hartman who isn't here as he recovers from an injury, there are a handful of players that just missed the cut and they are now aware of just how badly they want to be on this team and represent USA Hockey at the World Junior Championship.
For Matt Grzelcyk, who traveled with the team to Ufa and was sent home soon after the tournament started, Brady Skjei, who was cut just before the team headed to Europe, and Thomas DiPauli, Anthony Stolarz and Nic Kerdiles who were at the camp last year, this is a second chance and boy are they taking advantage of it. There is a stark difference between what they could bring to the team last year and what they're bringing to the table this year. With the exception of Stolarz, they're all penciled in on my Malmo roster.
Grzelcyk is absolutely dominating the larger ice surface and acts like a fourth forward while still being defensively responsible. Skjei is bringing that big body presence, calm composure and great transition passing. DiPauli is still the over-aggressive pitbull in the corners that he was when I first noticed him at the National Team Development Program two years ago, but he has since gained the strength to bring that part of his game into the slot as well, not to mention he's a shot blocking machine on the penalty kill. Kerdiles is a smooth skater with good vision who can make plays in tight spaces and shows a lot of confidence with the puck. The only reason I'm leaving Stolarz off the penciled in list is because with Gillies as the early leader for the starting goalie, USA Hockey typically likes to go with an 18-year-old as a back up to prep them for the following year, but there are always exceptions to the rule, including last year when they brought Garrett Sparks along for the ride as an emergency goalie.
If you're doing the math at home, that means three spots on the blueline are already spoken for, as well as four up front.
Penchant for Penalties
I feel like a broken record because I talk about this every year it seems...Team USA is taking way too many penalties and it has come back to haunt them in all three of their losses so far. Team White took a 2-2 lead into the final five minutes of play against Sweden, but proceeded to take three penalties and lost 4-2. Team Blue gave up several power play goals to Finland including one just 25 seconds into overtime that cost them the game as they lost 6-5 and then gave up three more power play goals to Sweden on Monday in Team USA's third loss of the week. Fortunately, Team White pulled it together for a 5-1 win over Finland, but it's their penchant for penalties that prompted head coach Don Lucia to spend nearly 40 minutes of today's practice focusing on special teams and preaching discipline.
If there's one positive way to look at it, majority of the penalties were because they were playing so aggressive and not because they were being lazy and trying to cheat their way back into the play. As i like to say, it's easier to tame a stallion than it is to motivate a plow-horse. Team USA just needs to channel that energy for good and not evil and they should be good to go as they've been playing great five-on-five.
Standouts
Outside of the players mentioned above some standouts for me have been:
Will Butcher - Solid puck moving defenseman with a great shot
Danny O'Regan - So sly...I actually thought he'd earn an invite to selection camp last year after a great start at BU, but he's earned this opportunity and is proving his worth this year.
JT Compher - He plays a lot like Dipauli and you already know I like guys who play like BAMFs. This guy gives it his all on every shift.
Michael McCarron - For a big guy, he's a great skater. Plus, he's got really good hands and some slick moves, especially in the crease. He is big enough to plow his way right to the crease and has the hands to do something with the opportunity. Win-Win.
Right now, I'm loving the line of McCarron, Shore and Cammarota (sometimes, Stepan mixes in instead of Shore) and Barber, O'Regan and Kerdiles. My only concern is with Cammarata. He's got a lot of shimmy to his shake, but fizzles out at the end. He's a great playmaker and super creative, but can't always finish the deal when he gets too much time. That said, he's able to use that shimmy and shake to make a play and advance the puck or use it to recover from a broken play that almost always makes you take notice. It's almost like he has too many moves to pull from and, when he has too much time to think about it, he can't make a decision and falls flat, but when he can just react and do, he's golden.
That's all for now. Team USA plays Sweden tomorrow at 4:15 ET after Canada plays Finland at 1ET, both games lives streamed on FastHockey.com
I've posted some pics from my twitter and instagram feeds below for your viewing pleasure.
Julie
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