This was a pretty good tournament for draft eligible prospects. A lot better than last year I must say. We got some pretty strong performances from most of the globe, though the standouts were expected. I was going to include the 2016 eligible players as well as some of the undrafted guys that caught my eye, but this thing started to get really long. I'll post that in a separate blog later.
I realize I'm late to punch again, but I can only hope that quality will overtake expediency.
I've separated them into some categories to make things a bit more simplified and to curb the inevitable questions.
Top Performances
Connor McDavid - Canada
He's pretty good.
Mikko Rantanen - Finland
Finland was terrible. No two ways about it. The Gold Medal defenders needed a lot of things to go right to be competitive and things didn't click. Julius Honka was underwhelming, Saros forgot how to play and the two forwards expected to lead the attack in Kapanen and Lehkonen were embarrassingly poor. Rantanen stands out as the best of a bad situation, leading Finland with 4 goals while providing a pretty good defensive game. One thing that surprised me was putting him on right wing instead of his natural centre position. Regardless the 6'4 Finn was their best player by far and will likely be a mid-first round selection.
Jack Eichel - America
There was a lot of vitriol thrown his way here on Hockeybuzz, something that happens when Canadians and Americans get into the spirit of the rivalry. Especially since this was a very real Canada vs America tournament between the two top prospects (and supposed generational talents) in the draft. While I was rather annoyed at he and Larkin complaining about how the refs had it out for them against Russia, I can put that aside and see that he had a good tournament. The US Captain was their second best player, but often was the driving force for their entire offense. On a team that critically underachieved on the scoresheet, he was consistently a threat. There were times he tried to do things to much on his own, but sometimes that's what elite talents do when the team needs them. I was impressed for the most part.
Noah Hanifin - America
Hanifin was pretty much what I expected. Smooth skater and extremely smart. The stats don't jump off the page, but this entire American squad seemed to underachieve. I kind of wish they had played him more than Carlo and De Angelo against the Russians, they might have stood a bit more of a chance. If some were expecting the gaudy numbers of Seth Jones from the expected third overall selection, it's not his game. He puts up points well enough, but it's the steady and calm plays that truly define his game. A game with few holes.
Erik Cernak - Slovakia
Who? If you didn't pay much attention to Slovakia then you didn't get to see the best shutdown defenseman in the 2015 draft. Big words I know, but I'm sticking with them. He first got on my radar in the U18's where he was basically the only Slovak who seemed to be able to skate and make a first pass. Then he went on to be a top-4 defender in the U20's at 16 last year. Now he was one of the most impressive pieces of a pure heart and determination story from Slovakia. While guys like Godla and Réway get the attention (and deservedly so), Cernak was a rock when it counted. Mobile, physical and able to make strong subtle plays in his own end on the breakout, I really like his game. Expect no points though...he's not likely to get many. The most interesting thing for me though is that Cernak (should he not make the NHL during this time) will be eligible to play in four WJC's. That's fairly nuts. It's hard to peg where the big defender will go in the draft, but considering the amount of teams that have been burned in the first round on defensive defenders, probably late first at best.
Alexander Dergachyov - Russia
Dergachyov will likely be remembered for the 20 or so second battle with Edmonton's Darnell Nurse behind the Canadian net. That was a great battle for the puck by two big guys. The commentators were incorrect when they said Dergachyov was 19 and had 15lbs on Nurse...other way around lads. Regardless Dergachyov was the only other 2015 eligible (that isn't already undrafted) Russian player and is arguably the top prospect coming out of the KHL/MHL system (Kaprizov is the only threat to that title). The 6'4 centre showed some good speed and some great puck protection and grit. Being born 12 days off the 2014 draft cutoff, he's one of the old hands in the draft and you can see it in the way he plays. A very straight forward game accented with an excellent snap shot and good passing skills around the net. He was one of the best players for Russia against Canada and finished the tournament with a goal and 4 points.
Impressive Performances
Timo Meier - Switzerland
Nikolaj Ehlers' wingman had a strong tournament on a different team, though yet again he had the privilege of playing with some very good players. He had 2 goals and 6 points playing on the third line with prime power play time. I like his willingness to carve into shooting lanes even if he doesn't get a good attempt off he's causing problems. He's a part of the large contingent of European imports taking over the Q's 2015 draft slots and could probably be had in the early second round.
Ivan Provorov - Russia
The WHL knows all about Provorov's offensive gifts and dynamic nature. I don't know if they knew about how he can play a calm and extremely tight defensive game. I was extremely impressed with Provorov. His coach put him in a position that he isn't used to and he thrived. The prime PP time went to Paygin, Valiyev, Rafikov and Yudin. So what is an offensive defender to do? Play excellent defense. He was so smart in his own end and able to grab the puck and skate it to safety. Obviously I wished he had more points and more of an offensive role, but the youngest player on Team Russia is one of the few 17 year old defenders to be chosen by Russia at this tournament in years. Zadorov wasn't even selected when he was 17, that's how much they value experience. Wonder if he slips due to the "Russian Factor."
Zach Werenski- America
Werenski is battling for the title of "second best defenseman in 2015" with a host of candidates. I liked his puck moving abilities and how he doesn't force plays. Mixed with his size and you have the makings of an interesting player. He's also a lot younger and less developed than some of the talent he is stacking up against. I would have liked to see him on the power play more during the tournament to be honest, we didn't get to see much of his shot.
Jonas Siegenthaler - Switzerland
Would you believe me if I told you Siegenthaler was the only non-Canadian in the top-10 in +/-? No...well I'm not sure I believe it myself. On a Swiss team that was porous defensively Siegenthaler stood out as a surprisingly competent gap controller and battler. I really hadn't heard anything about this guy as NLA games are virtually impossible to find streams for...and well I don't really want to watch a stream for a shutdown defenseman. He was big, he was mean and when I looked him up after the Swiss-Czech game I was shocked he was 17. It's a small sample size, but I was very impressed.
Good-Decent Performances
Lawson Crouse - Canada
Crouse was the surprise add to the Canadian squad and Canada sacrificed some skill for some size in doing so. Crouse was solid though and with Gold around everyone's neck I'm sure they don't mind. While some say this has pushed him into the top-5 conversation, I disagree. His size and speed were impressive, as were his hands around the net (really like his wraparound move). Yet it isn't guys like Marner or Strome's fault that Canada had so many highly talented guys who likely should have been in the NHL ahead of them (Reinhart/Domi/Duclair/Lazar). One thing to note, he was terrible in the American game in the exhibition round and while feasting on Denmark and Slovakia in 8-0 blowouts is fine (all three of his points came in those two games), his game just didn't seem to work against the real competition. Regardless Crouse is extremely young and his power forward frame and game will tantalize somebody enough to pick him in the early stages of the first round.
Brandon Carlo - America
I sort of hesitated on whether to put him in Good or Underwhelming, mainly because the game against Russia really stood out as an abysmal performance by Carlo. However he was solid most of the tournament and a go to guy for the Americans. Carlo's size and mobility were easily noticed and he took on a defensive role for the tournament. He's expected to be a shutdown defender at the next level and is often ranked in the mid-first round. I can't help but feel he needs a lot more time to gain strength, because the Russian forecheck overwhelmed him in that game, especially Mamin and Dergachyov.
Jens Lööke - Sweden
Lööke became the only draft eligible Swede to make the squad once expected top-10 selection Oliver Kylington dropped out due to injury before the tournament. The 17 year old sniper finished with 3 goals on the offensively gifted Swedes playing in a sheltered role. The thing that stood out to me was his ability to play both wings, he played on the PP on the left wing to utilize his one-timer and right wing at 5vs5. I like that kind of versatility. All in all he was fine and should be around the late first.
Underwhelming Performances
Pavel Zacha - Czech Republic
Zacha...so frustrating. He brings a lot of good, but he just can't seem to produce. He's big, he's defensively strong, he's aggressive, he has solid speed and hands...but no production. I feel like this is J.T. Miller all over again, a prospect with a solid talent and build for a base, that can't seem to put the numbers to match the talent. The Czech team was a disaster in my opinion and it didn't help that Zacha was just ok. If he doesn't up his production in the OHL I can't see him going in the top-10 unless a team is enamored with him.
Kay Schweri - Switzerland
Schweri has been a surprise this year in the QMJHL. He burst onto the scene and took an early scoring lead that has since shriveled up. Maybe the signs were all there to see as his production domestically wavered, but I couldn't help but hope he would turn it around on a Swiss team with an underrated amount of weapons. To be blunt, he was poor. Very poor. He played small and was rewarded for it with a measly assist. The dynamic skater couldn't make room for himself and became ineffective. For a player often listed as a potential first round selection, this performance, plus his slowing down in the Q should ring warning bells.
Hardly Worth Mentioning Performances
Michael Spacek - Czech Republic
I saw him play at the U18's and he was one of the big reasons why they came away with the Bronze. By all accounts he was playing very well in the Czech Extraliga against men. I'm not sure what I really was to expect, but meh. A lonely assist on a Czech team that just couldn't figure it out. I didn't see much of the speed that made him dangerous in the last tournament and he was soft. Really soft. Not super encouraging to say the least.
Roope Hintz - Finland
I'm being slightly unfair to Hintz, he wasn't really bad, just not memorable. He's highly intelligent in the defensive zone and a face-off wizard. He sure could have done worse (see 90% of Team Finland). He was surprisingly fast for a guy his size and I liked his compete. It's just hard to get excited after that Finnish performance as a whole. Could be a solid pick in the second round.
Thanks for reading.