2011 World Junior Preview / Ice Scoopz Predictions

Here are my 2011 World Junior Predictions, remember this isn't based on the teams overall skill set level but the final standings based on the Group seedings and the tournament format.


1. United States
This was a hard call to make as I am Canadian but the US brings too much to the table this year. The US has 8 returning veterans to the tournament from their gold medal winning squad which will help greatly. The core of the team is impressive with many of their core players playing in higher levels of competition than many of their rivals with Nick Leddy, Jerry D'Amigo, and Kyle Palmieri playing in the AHL while Jeremy Morin was loaned from the roster of the Chicago Blackhawks. The Yanks forwards should be able to play at both ends of the rink. First round draft picks Nick Bjudstad, Charlie Coyle and Emerson Etem should provide an offensive punch while fellow 1st rounder Brock Nelson will bring the jam. The versatility of the American's forwards is the reason I give them the edge to the tournament. Not only are they high flying and offensive they play a solid system and play solid defensively. Speaking of defense, on the defensive side of things the Americans have a deadly backend featuring Derek Forbort, John Merrill, Justin Faulk and Nick Leddy who should be their goto guy this year and be one of their best producers. They have a nice blend of grit and skill which should benifit them greatly. Jack Campbell stole the tournament for the US last year and should provide the same solid goaltending this tournament. There's no reason for a decline in play and should be able to elevate his game for the occasion. If he goes down however the Americans could be in serious trouble with the untested Andy Iles as the backup. The American's have the total package this year and although they don't have the big names as they did in the past the core is solid and many of their players are highly touted prospects in the NHL. There really is no weakness except for the pressure on them to repeat as tournament champions but most likely the home turf advantage and crowd should motivate them to play.
Team MVP = Kyle Palmieri

2. Canada
It was extremely hard for me to rank the Canadians 2nd as I am from Canada but I the US just had a few more ups than my fellow countrymen. The Canadians could easily be the number one team in this tournament as they boast a potent offense and a deadly defense. However I'm not sold on this "lunch pail" blue collar style the coaches have been preaching but to not see Canada in the Gold medal game would be a major shock to almost everyone in the hockey world. It's next to impossible. This new style really doesn't make sense as the Canadians have plenty of offensive talent and skill to go around. Brett Connolly if he recovers from his concussion could be one of those individual talents that carries the red and white squad. Ryan Johansen is considered NHL ready by most and is one of the best two way players in junior hockey. Johansen should be one of the major players on the team. Louis Leblanc, Quinton Howden and Carter Ashton all have offensive capabilities while curtis Hamilton, Marcus Foligno and Zack Kassian should be the official "lunch pail" crew. I'm not sold at all on this style of play but I can see it working well against teams like Sweden and Russia. When it comes to a team thats not afraid to bite back like the States or if they get into a goal for goal game with a team with offensive punch it could be a problem. Their defense will be the focal point and one of their key strong points. Erik Gudbransen, Dylan Olsen and Jared Cowen will be the "rock" of stability on the backend. Gudbransen made the Florida Panther squad but was only sent back to Kingston because of contract issues. how many players in the World Junior Tournament can boast that? If Cowen returns to form, he should be eager to show that he's ready for the show as well. Junior stand out Ryan Ellis will be the teams offensive catalyst from the point and should provide most of the chances coming from the back. You can expect he'll log heavy minutes and provide leadership as the Nations captain. He'll also be joined by Calvin De Haan who is no slouch in ether department. In goal they will have yet another tournament where the duties will be flip flopped and they'll ride the hotter goaltender between Olivier Roy and Mark Visentin. Neither goalies have shown anything above average in the days leading up to the tournament so it's hard to say who will become the number one and if the experiment will be a success. It's always hard on a team and their goalies when no-one knows who the starting goalie will be and a decision is handed down game by game. Team Canada would be number one if it wasn't for the Americans home country advantage, deep roster, Canada's average goaltending, strange choice of style and lack of experience up front. Canada will be in the Gold medal game and will be in it to the end. Canada's defense is just too good for them not to be.
Team MVP = Ryan Ellis

3. Sweden
The Swedes continue to year after year produce high caliber players and provide the world with entertaining World Junior squads, this year should be no different. The Swedes quite possibly have the best goaltender in the tournament in my opinion in Robin Lehner. If not best goalie then second best at worst. The Tres Kronor are coached extremely well and each year they continue to buy into the system. The only knock many can say about Team Sweden is that they cannot play the physical game their neighbors the Finns, and rivals in North America can bring to the table. Future first round draft pick Gabriel Landeskog should help change that this season as he brings a tough and gritty style to Buffalo this year. He's alos the only player other than Lehner to have experienced first hand the North American way so he will feature heavily in this teams drive to a medal. One half of the Klingberg brothers Carl will also be a major factor on Sweden. Anton Lander and the returning veterans will also help give this team some much needed experience. Their defensive core will be their biggest strength this year. The Swedes boast another deep talented defensive core as they seam to keep providing year after year. tough as nails Patrick Nemeth will provide the sandpaper while Tim Erixon and John Klingberg will provide the firepower. Possible top 5 draft pick Adam Larsson will also be present on the backend. As pointed out earlier I truly believe Robin Lehner is the best goalie in the tournament this year. If he can recover from his injuries while playing for the Binghamton Senators he should be able to carry the Swedes even if their offense sputters. In the end the Swedes are a deadly team and should contend for a medal if all goes as planned. The goaltending and defense will be their major strengths and if they can over achieve offensively they could win this tournament.
Team MVP = Robin Lehner

4. Russia
Individual talent and soft play are two of the Russian squads biggest problems. The Russians can't seam to always struggle mainly because many of their players are more concerned about putting up individual stats rather than put the teams stats first. Nikita Filatov's icing the puck trying to score an empty net goal in Ottawa is the perfect example. This year there isn't a superstar on the roster and the Russians have virtually chosen to ignore any of their prospects playing in North America. Stanislav Galiev and Ivan Telegin both were surprisingly left of the roster along with potential first round draft pick Vladislav Namestnikov. Kirill Kabanov and the Russian Federation's politics have kept him out of the lineup once again as well. Although no Malkin's or Ovechkin's are on the radar this year they do have Vladamir Tarasenko and Evgeni Kuznetsov. Tarasenko is highly under rated going into this tournament and is putting up numbers in the KHL playing against men. Many feel he is the most NHL ready among the many young prospects in this tournament. The Russian's won't have trouble putting the puck in the net when they get the chance but the physical play of the States and Canada should freeze their assets when it comes to chances. The backend of the Russian team is better than years before and Dmitri Orlov should be their goto guy once again. In net they have Igor Bobkov who should fare well having played the North American style of play with the London Knights. A big coaching change also should help the Russians with a more youth friendly coach in Valeri Bragin . All in all the Russians have no where to go but up after last years tournament but could find themselves in a similiar position again due to the Russian Federations politics keeping some of their more talented players off the roster. I can't see the Russians missing the medal rounds however.
Team MVP = Vladamir Tarasenko

5. Finland
Not many other people than myself have the Finns this high on the their lists but I feel the Finns have a decent team as well as an anything goes pool in Pool B. The Finns have just as much of a chance as the Germans, Slovaks and the Swiss so anything can happen. Finland is the only outside of North America to be able to play a heavy hitting physical style without sacrificing talent to do so. A major loss to the Suomi was the loss of star player Mikael Granlund but the Finns should be able to muster enough goals from Teemu Pilkkinen's play making and Joel Armia's offense. The Finns strength up front however isn't offense based but instead comes from their gritty play and determination. Their defensive style is also a key attribute and should be able to hold off the weaker competition from out scoring them. Montreal draft pick Jonas Nattinen is a heavy hitting defensive pillar of their squad. Their defense isn't laden with many big names or even a memorable name. Sami Vatanen and Tommi Kivisto will be the main players on the backend. Many have writting off the Fins goaltending but I've seen Joni Ortio in action and am convinced the Flames had a steal in 09. He could be a sleeper goaltender of the tournament ala Jaroslav Janus. The other netminder Sami Aittokallio is decent as well and the pair should split the round robin. The Finns are a long shot for anything but I feel their style of play could put them in the quarter finals over the other members of Group B. Their not the most talented but each member of the team meshes well and everyone of them have play the rugged shut down style play that could at least stall many of the pool rivals. If they can contain the offense and play spectacular defense they could surprise a few and squeak on to the next round.
Team MVP = Teemu Pilkkinen

6. Germany
The Germans find themselves in an easy group and could be the team to go on but it all depends on one man standing on his head and two men carrying the weight of a nation. Phillipp Grubauer will be their star once again and fellow Germans Tom Kuhnhackl and Tobias Rieder will follow suit. The success of the team rides heavily on those 3 individuals which is a lot of pressure but all 3 players should be able to elevate their games for the situation. 7 of the 21 players currently play in the CHL so the Germans should be accustomed to the North american tempo which should fair well for the Germans. On forward the Germans have Windsor Spitfire star Tom Kuhnhackl as he'll be expected to create most of the chances for the black, orange and yellow. Soon to be 2011 first round draft pick Tobias Rieder continues to impress and shouldn't disappoint offensively. Mirko Hofflin should also be another key figure to watch up front. The Germans can produce offense if given the chance but getting those chances will come harder for them than most. The German blueline is fairly weak and not experienced and only Konrad Abeltshauser stands out among the many. The key to the Germans having any success at all will be in one mans hands, Phillip Grubauer. Grubauer will see a lot of puck this tournament and it's a good thing since he's quite capable of standing on his head. If Grubauer falters however so will the rest of the Germans. Their success depends on it.
Team MVP = Phillip Grubauer

7. Czech Republic
I think the Czech Rep have a more skilled team than the Germans but due to the way the pools are setup I feel it would be impossible for the Czech's to advance, however they should beat the remaining competition in the relegation rounds. They have a decent squad but the days of the Czech's being a powerhouse is over and the cycle of life continues. The hockey program is struggling to pump out stars as it did in the past. This years crop is a better than last years however. The Czech will have a decent amount of offense and should have an alright defense but against a high powered offense they'll find trouble. Another worry for the Czechs is in net as neither of their goaltenders are spectacular. The Czech forward core features 8 CHL players so they should be able to take a bit more of the crash and bang style than their peers. The first line should feature the dynamic duo of Jakub Culek and Petr Straka best of friends and line mates for the Rimouski Oceanic. They'll provide most of the offense while Andrej Nestrasil and Martin Frk will fill the secondary role. Chillwack Bruins Roman Horak and Robin Sedlak should round the offense out. On the backend the Czech's took a major hit when star defenseman David Musil went down due to injury. The weight will spread out amongst an average defense corps. Adam Sedlak of the 67's could surprise many. As mentioned above they have a below average tandem in between the pipes. It's tough to even pick a starting goalie amongst Filip Novotny and Marek Mazanec. The tandem will have to put on a pretty impressive performance to contain mainly of the tough opponents in Group A. To make the medal round the Czech are going to have to way over achieve this year, it isn't impossible but likely wont happen. The only way is ff the Russians have a major break down and free fall from contention. The team has to rely on it's group of forwards and not on the defensive side of things because help won't be coming from there.
Team MVP = Jacub Culek

8. Switzerland
Many have high hopes for the Swiss and think they'll crack the top 6 but I'm not so sure. They easily could be one of the top teams in Pool B but I think they have a lot of questions to answer and too much depends on one player. If Nino Niederreiter steps up with his fellow Portland Winterhawk teamate Sven Bartschi they could make the top 6 but it will have to take some magic. The Swiss defense is full of holes, no pun intended and their goaltending is decent but not great. They should struggle against any teams with firepower. The offense consists of two players both Portland Winterhawks Nino Niederreiter who performed some World Junior magic last time around and close friend Sven Bartschi should provide some relief as well. The puck stops there however. The forwards are going to depend on a few lucky bounces and a lot of Christmas miracles. On defense the Swiss have Dominek Schlumpf to rely on. Plymouth Whaler Dario Trutmann could surprise a few watching but there isn't much back up after that. In net the Swiss have Benjamin Conz who should struggle seeing a lot of action. His back-up is HC Davos prospect Remo Giovannini. Overall the Swiss tend to overachieve but this seasons World Juniors they may need a bit more than that with most of the competition evening out after the big 4. Their group is an easy one so it is possible, Nino will have to be at the top of his game as well as every member of the roster for it to happen.
Team MVP = Nino Niederreiter

9. Slovakia
This years tournament won't feature a surging Team Slovakia. The upset of two years ago is still in our memories but most likely won't repeat again in the near future. It'll most likely be a tough tournament for the Slovaks as they lose most of they "miracle" team with Jaroslav Janus and Tomas Tatar out of the picture. The Slovaks still have Richard Panik and a decent forward group but it's still going to be an up hill battle for the team. The offense will be based around Richard Panik, he should get some support from Tomas Jurco and co. Andrej Kudrna has the potential to have a break out tournament and the Slovaks will need that extra spark to make an impact. As for the point, the Slovaks blueline is pretty thin. They'll bank on Martin Marincin being the offensive and defensive force behind the group. 3rd round draft pick Adam Janosik of the Tampa Bay Lightning returns to the squad this year as well and should provide a little help for Marincin. The rest of the defensive core is inexperienced and not likely to pack a punch. The goaltending could be a surprise factor and could be the difference in the Slovaks being relegated or not. Jaraj Holly has North American experience in Calgary with the Hitmen and if he surprises the whole squad may have a chance at overachieving. His backup Dominek Riecicky won't be much help behind him . An overachieving Slovak squad would be a plus but more than likely they'll play to their predicted ranking unless the team rallies and comes together as a unit once again it's possible but not likely.
Team MVP = Richard Panik

10. Norway
Norway is lucky to be in this tournament and their experience should be well about getting World Junior experience. They'll be lucky if they don't get relegated let along make it to the next round. They lack depth and talent at all 3 positions and will struggle even against the bottom feeders in this tournament. Their forwards don't have the offensive capabilities nor the defensive capabilities to compete. Nicholas Weberg should be their best forward and player for the Norwegians. There defense isn't an above average core or even average while the goaltending isn't much better. Team Norway should just be happy to be there this year and build on the qualifying for the tournament and plan for the next.
Team MVP - Nicholas Weberg