No I’m not dead! Huzzah. I’ve been busy as a beaver this past month and I really had little to no time to watch any hockey for the Coyotes…or much of any type to be honest. Therefor I really didn’t want to write disingenuously about things I hadn’t seen just to keep up hits and appearances, I find that type of thing beneath me…yes, beneath me, I know how droll. Well as I told Eric who is the right hand enforcer on this site, it might be prudent to find a new Coyotes writer for the fulltime to keep the small, but fairly rapid fanbase appeased in a way I can’t provide at the moment. As such I would like to formally welcome James Tanner the new Coyotes writer and wish him the best of luck. Now you might wonder, ok so what am I doing now? Well with the lack of the Cuddle Huddle and a few others that talked prospects, I’m primarily going to be doing that. Anybody who reads in the off-season or during the WJC’s knows I love prospects and international hockey. So that’s enough about me and my first second world problems.
Very soon we will see the pond hockey extravaganza with more excuses than Rob Ford in the form of the World Junior Championships. It’s always a fun affair filled with talent, surprises and these past few years Canadians sharpening their pitchforks and looking hungrily at every goalie they can find. This is just a brief overview of the games and where each team is and who to watch out for in terms of primarily draft eligible guys.
Canada (Fourth Place)
Expected to finish in a medal position, nobody really knows because we haven’t seen the goalies play enough to blame them for every mistake anybody makes ever.
Roster
GOALTENDERS: Zachary Fucale, Halifax, QMJHL (Montreal); Jake Paterson, Saginaw, OHL (Detroit)
DEFENSEMEN: Chris Bigras, Owen Sound, OHL (Colorado); Matt Dumba, Minnesota; Aaron Ekblad, Barrie, OHL (2014 draft eligible); Joshua Morrissey, Prince Albert, WHL (Winnipeg); Adam Pelech, Erie, OHL (N.Y. Islanders); Derrick Pouliot, Portland, WHL (Pittsburgh); Griffin Reinhart, Edmonton, WHL (N.Y. Islanders)
FORWARDS: Josh Anderson, London, OHL (Columbus); Jonathan Drouin, Halifax, QMJHL (Tampa Bay); Frederik Gauthier, Rimouski, QMJHL (Toronto); Bo Horvat, London, OHL (Vancouver); Charles Hudon, Chicoutimi, QMJHL (Montreal); Scott Laughton, Oshawa, OHL (Philadelphia); Curtis Lazar, Edmonton, WHL (Ottawa); Taylor Leier, Portland, WHL (Philadelphia); Anthony Mantha, Val-d'Or, QMJHL (Detroit); Connor McDavid, Erie, OHL (2015 draft eligible); Nicolas Petan, Portland, WHL (Winnipeg); Sam Reinhart, Kootenay, WHL (2014 draft eligible); Kerby Rychel, Windsor, OHL (Columbus)
Excuses (eligible players not available) – Sean Monahan (Calgary) and Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Morgan Rielly (Toronto).
Obviously having any of or all three of these players on Canada would make a huge difference especially as Monahan and MacKinnon both seem poised to make a serious run at the Calder with Hertl injured and how Rielly has shown he’s very close to being NHL ready after a little bit of tweaking in his defensive game and strength.
Players you had a tantrum over not being selected – Darnell Nurse (Edmonton), Max Domi (Phoenix), Samuel Morin (Philadelphia), Matt Finn (Toronto), à‰mile Poirier (Calgary) and Dillon Heatherington (Columbus).
Now of these five that I’ve picked really only Nurse and Domi have people frothing at the bit. Nurse has been arguably the best defenseman in the OHL this year and his absence is very odd considering his increase in offensive production while keeping his defensive prowess that attracted teams to him in the first place. Now they had their pick of the top-5 defensemen in the OHL and decided to bring three of them leaving off Nurse and Finn. Personally I would have taken Nurse over Bigras or Reinhart, especially with the latter being suspended to start the tournament even over Pelech though I understand they want the physical game changing Pelech brings. Domi for me is the lesser of a problem in terms of being kept off.
He like another high draft pick from the London Knight’s still needs to mature (in case you were wondering it was Kadri). About one week after being cut by the Coyotes he make a stupid retaliatory elbow trying to take the head off of Brock McGinn for a legal check. He’s had some trouble keeping his anger under control this season and no doubt that is why he is off. All this aside if Canada does not win Gold expect a never-ending discussion about how they should have brought one or all of these guys.
Draft Eligibles – Sam Reinhart (2014), Aaron Ekblad (2014), Connor McDavid (2015).
I don’t really remember the time Canada brought both expected first overall selections from the same draft, and the early favourite for the next year’s draft as well. It’s fairly nuts. Considering how they used MacKinnon in a checking role last time while using Drouin in the top-6 because of the differences in their game styles, I wonder if we see a similar move playing Reinhart on the bottom lines and putting McDavid in the heaviest offensive positions due to his ridiculous game breaking skill. McDavid-Laughton-Drouin sounds nice. Ekblad will have his chance to solidify his chance at being the first defenseman to go first overall since Erik Johnson if he can continue his strong two-way play.
Sweden (Silver)
The reigning Silver Medal winners are the favourites to win it this time in my opinion, especially after being bolstered by two high-end players lent by their respective NHL squads. The only problems they will face are that they have no real star on defense, a problem they faced last tournament when their three headed monster went down at the same time (Brodin, Lindholm, Klefbom).
Roster
Oscar Dansk (G) Marcus Högberg (G) Jonas Johansson (G) Linus Arnesson (D) Luke Bengtsson (D) Ludwig Bystrom (D) Christian Djoos (D) Robert Hà¤gg (D) Arvid Lundberg (D) Robin Norell (D) Gustav Olofsson (D) Jesper Pettersson (D) André Burakovsky (LW / RW) Sebastian Collberg (RW / LW) Jacob de la Rose (C / W) Edwin Hedberg (LW / RW) Andreas Johnson (LW) Erik Karlsson (LW / RW) Anton Karlsson (RW / LW) Elias Lindholm (C / RW) Ludvig Nilsson (C / LW) Filip Sandberg (C / RW) Oskar Sundqvist (C / RW) Nick Sorensen (RW) Lucas Wallmark (C / RW) Alexander Wennberg (C / W) Filip Forsberg (LW)
As you can see there are two major additions to this club, Filip Forsberg has been lent back to Sweden as has Elias Lindholm from Carolina.
Excuses – Hampus Lindholm (Anaheim)
Not quite as luxurious as the excuse pile for Canada, but still Lindholm has been excellent in the NHL plying his two-way game and being near the top for +/- with 20. He would be one of the best defensemen in the tournament and really give legitimacy to a solid but unspectacular group of Swedish defenders. As such the team will need to sink or swim on the play of Philadelphia's Hà¤gg, Minnesota's Olofsson and Undrafted Bengtsson.
Players you had a tantrum over not being selected - Gustav Possler (Buffalo), Anton Cederholm (Vancouver), Ludwig Byström (Dallas), Calle Andersson (Rangers) and Rasmus Andersson (2015).
Once again these lack of selections aren't terribly sad unlike the Canadian one where we see multiple first rounders and "top" prospects find themselves out of the loop. However there are some really good players here. Possler was the surprise of the season other than Toronto's Andreas Johnson as both late round picks exploded offensively in the Elitserien. Possler was injured about a month back and while he is scheduled to return, they weren't willing to risk it especially with Forsberg and Lindholm back.
Cederholm the physical shutdown defenseman has had a very solid transition to the NA game in the WHL. Not surprised he missed the call as he is in another league other than Sweden and isn't a potential superstar (Landeskog, Burakovsky etc.).
The Andersson brothers have both been very good in the Allsvenskan and I expected they might take Rasmus with his game breaking two-way play, but alas the 17 year old might still be too young for them to trust.
Draft Eligibles - Anton Karlsson (2014), Lucas Wallmark (2014 - undrafted 2013) and Jonas Johansson
Anton Karlsson is an expected first round selection in this draft, likely to be in the mid-late. He has been exceptional for Sweden internationally and has proven himself to be a gritty leader with a never stop motor. While his numbers aren't exactly mind blowing, it's the other factors to his game that got him on the squad, he's a guy that can easily play both in the bottom-6 or top given the chance.
Lucas Wallmark is an interesting guy, went undrafted last year despite being 10 days from the cutoff between 2013-2014, yet nobody took a chance on the slick winger despite an excellent season in the Allsvenskan and a strong performance at the U18's, well he's back and ready to get drafted. The 18 has been over a PPG in the Allsvenskan after being loaned by his Elitserien squad and a lot of people think he could be an early second round steal.
Lastly Jonas Johansson one of the oldest guys in the draft being born the day after the 2013/2014 cutoff. The 6'4 lanky goalie was one of the better goalies in last years U18 tournament and has been very strong in the SuperElit, probably going to be in the 3rd+ round.
Russia (Bronze)
Personally I think they will have a tough fight for a medal and unlike most years this team will rely entirely on their defense and goaltending to bore the opponents into ritual suicide. They lack a game breaker for the first time in…well years. Their defense is extremely underappreciated and will be tough to beat as a unit playing behind the beast that is Zadorov. Add to that Vasilevski going for his third U20 tourneys and even better than he was before…and he was an MVP the last two. They are once again one of the oldest teams fielded.
Roster
Ivan Nalimov (G) Igor Ustinsky (G) Andrei Vasilevski (G) Alexei Bereglazov (D) Vladislav Gavrikov (D) Ilya Lyubushkin (D) Kirill Maslov (D) Andrei A. Mironov (D) Rushan Rafikov (D) Nikita Tryamkin (D) Valeri Vasilyev (D) Nikita Zadorov (D) Alexander Barabanov (RW) Ivan Barbashev (LW) Pavel Buchnevich (W/C) Georgi Busarov (C) Eduard Gimatov (F) Denis Gorbunov (C) Vadim Khlopotov (LW) Vyacheslav Osnovin (C) Nikolai Skladnichenko (C) Anton Slepyshev (LW) Kirill Voronin (F) Bogdan Yakimov (C) Damir Zhafyarov (LW) Valentin Zykov (LW/RW)
Excuses - Valeri Nichushkin (Dallas) and Mikhail Grigorenko (Buffalo)
Yes so obviously Nichushkin who has been enjoying a nice mix of being sheltered then playing with the monsters known as Benn and Seguin is going nowhere at this point. He will be missed obviously and I’m sure the Russians really hoped he would be back and at the centre of their attack. Now the more interesting player is Grigorenko, it’s hard to believe but he’s still 19 and eligible for this tournament, yet nobody knows what the bloody hell is going on with him and his situation. He’s been on AHL conditioning stints, benched and rumours flying of being sent back to the Remparts. Not sure if he will be there in some last minute capacity, but he’s eligible and would be a major boost.
Players you had a tantrum over not being selected – Nikolay Goldobin (2014), Nikita Scherbak (2014) and Yevgeni Svechnikov (2015)
Every year I come away slightly confused and frustrated with Russia’s love of picking older players from their own system over players who are much better and have an actual NHL future. Such is life and much the same this time around. Nikolay Goldobin is one of the best goal scorers in the OHL and in the entire 2014 draft, the slick sniper has 25 goals and 59 points in 35 games this season for Sarnia (4th for goals and 5th for points) and is expected to be a first round selection.
Nikita Scherbak is a heavy threat for WHL and CHL Rookie of the Year and has climbed the draft rankings like a madman from obscurity to potential top-2 round selection. He leads the Saskatoon Blades in goals and points with 20 and 48 in 35 games. He’s only 3 and 2 points away from expected top-5 picks Leon Draisaitl and Sam Reinhart in the WHL…ya totally couldn’t use that kind of skill right Varnakov?
I expected this one and am not surprised, just wanted to talk about him. Svechnikov is another early favourite for a top-5 selection in 2015, the talented sniper has generational scoring talent and…well you know, he has to work on everything else. I’ll be very interested to see if he goes to the QMJHL and Cape Breton who drafted him in the CHL Import draft next season.
Draft Eligibles - Ivan Barbashev (2014)
While the only other two potential first round Russians are missing from the squad, they did end up bringing Ivan Barbashev who has been on the radar a lot longer than the other two. The skilled winger that was expected to be a top-10 pick but will more likely be in the 11-25 range has had a small injury issue which has forced him to miss ten games this season and has seen him fall out of favour a little. He still has 13 goals and 37 points in 29 games for the offense starved Wildcats. Hope they give him ice-time, he’s very good and he hustles more than you would expect in his own end for a Russian skill winger.
USA (Gold)
The USA won gold and had an excellent mix of top-notch defending, elite goaltending and excellent scorers interspersed with tough wingers. This year’s team is not the same and has a few major holes that they didn’t have last season, primarily on defense and on forward where they are missing that real “superstar… player unless Barber or maybe Kerdiles surprises. In goal they are stacked yet again. The expected starter Jon Gillies might be the best NCAA goalie these past two seasons despite his age. Stolarz is a hulking 6’6 specimen who has been excellent for the London Knights, and lastly Demko who is the top ranked goalie in the 2014 draft. They should fight for Bronze in my opinion, though anything can happen.
Roster
Thatcher Demko (G) Jon Gillies (G) Anthony Stolarz (G) Will Butcher (D) Connor Carrick (D) Matt Grzelcyk (D) Ian McCoshen (D) Steve Santini (D) Brady Skjei (D) Riley Barber (RW) Andrew Copp (C) Thomas DiPauli (C/LW) Jack Eichel (C) Adam Erne (LW/RW) Hudson Fasching (RW) Ryan Hartman (LW/RW) Nicolas Kerdiles (C/LW) Stefan Matteau (LW) Tyler Motte (C/LW) Danny O'Regan (C/LW) Quentin Shore (C)
Excuses – Alex Galchenyuk (Montreal), Seth Jones (Nashville), Jacob Trouba (Winnipeg)
Yes Galchenyuk is available…enough said.
Now there is some serious power lost. What could be argued as the best defenders available for this tournament, losing both Jones and Trouba is a nasty loss for the Gold winners. Their defense is still decent, but lacking these two it is hardly a major strength at this point. They’ll have to lean on Santini their best defender; McCoshen who while raw has the ability to change a game with a big hit or a big shot and Connor Carrick.
Players you had a tantrum over not being selected – Henrik Samuelsson (Phoenix), JT Compher (Buffalo) and Michael McCarron (Montreal)
Another year another cut. Samuelsson has had no respect from the US selection group despite having his fine choice of being Swedish or American yet choosing the latter. I guess they don’t like that he is prone to throwing cheap shots when frustrated, and yet that doesn’t explain why they brought Matteau who is known for doing that and quitting on his own team halfway through a game and demanding a trade…oh well.
Didn’t have a tantrum because he is injured and is in no condition to make the tournament, but I’m sure USA fans are pissed. He is one of the most skilled forwards they can ice and before his injury had been tearing up the NCAA tying for the lead of the University of Michigan with 14 points in 14 games (highest PPG by an U19 player).
I had a tantrum over this because he would have been great at tearing them down from the inside out. The 25th overall pick in 2013 has had a disastrous fit in the OHL. The 6’5 power forward has only 5 goals and 13 points in 33 games for the Knights and really needs to get his head on straight for next year before the Bust Birds come tweeting.
Draft Eligibles - Jack Eichel (2015) and Thatcher Demko (2014)
Eichel is for the most part the usual guy people have actually having a chance to push McDavid off his throne for 1st overall in 2015 and the United States hope for another first overall selection to come out of their system. He already has 13 goals, 9 assists and 22 points in 10 games in the USHL which are the kind of numbers people put up in their draft year and go in the top-5, let alone doing it a full year ahead of schedule. He also plays a bit of a power game and has the potential to be a franchise centre.
As mentioned before Demko is the top ranked goalie in the 2014 draft and will likely not see any action. However he has been very good in the NCAA despite his age…which I believe is the youngest in the entire league. Despite some unremarkable play on the international stage, he’s still a very bright prospect and one of the new generation coming out of Southern California.
So there is the roundup of the four major contenders. If you want me to do Finland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, just ask and I’ll do it as quickly as possible. Thanks for reading mates, be careful of that ice in Southern Ontario boys.