STUDS
Brayden Schenn - Canada - The younger brother of Luke Schenn has shown some serious offensive potential this tournament. I've been impressed with Schenn, I have to say he's even surprised me as I didn't expect him to be putting up phenomenal numbers. 12 points (6 - 6) in 3 games is hard to ignore. Although he does play on one of the two major contenders his US counterparts have put up only a quarter of the points he has.
Ryan Ellis - Canada - Ryan Ellis was expected to be one of Canada's top performers going in and he has not disappointed so far. The prototypical powerplay quarterback and offensive catalyst for the Canucks. His hockey sense is tremendous and clearly see's the play breaking down before the puck has even left his stick. There were major concerns about his play in his own end but I can see a drastic defensive improvement from the last time around as he no longer looks like an out of place forward on the backend.
Erik Gudbranson - Canada - The Orleans native has shown why the Florida Panthers tried so hard to try and sign him to their main roster. The big blueliner has the total package and has looked like Team Canada's best defenseman so far. Clearly capable of shutting down a top line or putting up numbers from the back end. Gudbranson is tied for the tournament lead with Brayden Schenn an impressive +8. He's also managed to rank 3rd in tournament scoring with 5 points in 3 games as he looks to be the most NHL ready of all this years tournaments participants.
Joonas Nattinen - Finland - The big Finn wasn't on many teams radars before the tournament began but the Montreal prospect steamrolled his way with a surging Team Finland. Nattinen has the size and physical abilities the Canadiens have dreamed about for years. Has unusual hitting abilities for a European born player as seen with his hit on Brock Nelson of the US who isn't shy himself of physical play. Not only can he hit with 3 goals in 3 games he's shown a little offensive upside as well. A major reason why the Finns have muscled their way into the next round.
Joni Ortio - Finland - The Calgary Flames may have a steal on their hands with Ortio. I've caught several glimpses of Ortio overseas and he's looked stellar. He has shown he has nerves of steal and stole the extra point away from the US and almost the win before he had a tough break with an untimely weak goal. Apart from the weak goal Ortio has played well for his club in all 3 games and currently boasts the best save percentage (94.59%) among goalies who have played more than one game this tournament. The Finnish goaltender factor is still producing.
Vladimir Tarasenko - Russia - Tarasenko makes the stud list because every Russian game I've watched so far this year in Buffalo he's been the only player that had me on the dge of my seat everytime he had the puck. He's truly an offensive talent that with some brief North American seasoning could be NHL ready soon. The Russians don't seam to have any jump or the ability create any chances till Tarasenko or his line gets into the play. His 1 point isn't good enough to put him in the top 23 point scorers but his numbers do not do his play justice. Great vision and has incredible hands, my only knock on Tarasenko to date is that he needs to shoot first pass later as his linemates have failed to capitalize on the presents he's given them.
Robin Lehner - Sweden - Although the Swedish net minder has only played one game so far splitting the first two games with partner Fredrik Petersson Wenzel, Lehner has impressed. Lehner appears to be the real deal as he shut down and shut out the high flying Russians. He didn't seam phased or even pestered by any of the Russians attacks and looked to be in full form despite lingering injury concerns. It's still early yet to declare Lehner the goalie of the tournament as he will face an even bigger test when he suits up against the Canadians on Friday afternoon.
Anton Lander - Sweden - Lander has dazzled hockey fans so far with the Swedes and appears to be yet another piece of the Edmonton oiler puzzle. Terrific offensive abilities along with a responsible defensive side. His +4 is among the highest ratings for the Swedes and currently has 3 points (1- 2) in 2 games. We'll have to wait a see if Lander will be able to produce against much tougher competition however.
DUDS
Phillip Grubauer - Germany - Grubauer was expected to be the back bone of the German squad but hasn't played up to his potential. The Kingston goalie has struggled to be a dominate force and has struggled to keep his team in games where they should be easily leading. Several soft and untimely goals have taken the sails out of his squad when a big save was need to spark his helpless team. Although the blame isn't sorely on Grubauer, he will be needed to improve his play otherwise Germany could find themselves relegated out of the tournament.
Nino Niederreiter - Switzerland - Yes I know it's only been 2 games in but I've expected a lot more from a player who barely got cut from an NHL roster. Mind you it was the New York Islanders but Nino was expected to be the drive and the offense behind his Swiss teamates. With 2 points in 2 games it's barely the magic many were expecting. There's still plenty of time left but if he doesn't turn it up against the Slovaks he and his countrymen could find themselves playing for only their dignity instead of playing for a medal.
Zach Kassian - Canada - Kassian is another big player this tournament I've expected big things out of but hasn't shown me much to impress. Kassian was being counted on to produce and make space on the top line but has seamed more like a hindrance to his line mates. Although he has 1 point in 2 games I expected him to be a driving force behind Canada's "lunch pail" squad. Bad penalty after bad penalty and almost blowing the game for the Canadians against the Russians with a lazy needless penalty. He's one of only 2 minus players on a high scoring Team Canada.
4 comments:
Nice post Scoopz, good to hear about some non-Canadians for a change, TSN doesn’t really do the other countries justice. That being said, I still feel the Canadian side will produce the most quality players and give a better glimpse of which way the balance of power in the NHL shifts in the not so distant future.
Bang on about Schenn, the guy has speed and finish, something that cannot be taught. Surprised we didn’t see more of him during his extended stay in LA. Perhaps the gap between NHL and junior is amplified in the bigger and more physical Western Conference. One thing I did notice though (And Pierre Maguire FTR), was that he seems very comfortable on the wing. Perhaps his speed and scoring touch would be put to better use if he was moved there permanently. With Kopitar and hopefully Loktionov down the middle, Los Angeles can afford to move him to one of their sides. I suppose it depends on Schenn’s ability to develop into a scorer, or if he is brought up in more Mike Fisher-esque role.
As good as Tarasenko looks, I’m still happy with Murray’s trade at the draft last June. Sure he looks good, but are you telling me David Rundblad wouldn’t be the dominant Swede defenceman if he was born a few months later? Come on, Tim Erixon gets top line minutes and he is barely noticeable back there. Too bad the cutoff date for the World Juniors is different than that of the draft, or Rundblad could play with the rest of his 2009 draft class. I say he’d be in the First Team all-star discussion with Ellis.
Still being an obvious homer, Robin Lehner looks really good. His coach was beaming following his shutout win, boasting that his goaltender was technically perfect with his angles and that his play stood out from the rest of the team. Very interested in how the Canada-Sweden team turns out. Lehner is more than capable of stealing it. I’m very optimistic for Ottawa’s future with a sound goaltender in the system, for once.
Nino isn’t dominating the tourney, big surprise. He isn’t even the best player on Portland, being bumped to the second line this year. Ryan Johansen has been very impressive to me thus far. I was intrigued at the draft of a huge, offensively gifted centreman and was not at all surprised to see him jump to number 4 overall. Now I’m convinced Columbus has finally found the centreman Rick Nash has been waiting all these years for. Johansen creates space with his size and speed and has the vision to find teammates anywhere on the ice. He can also play in traffic in front of the opposition net. The only thing missing from his game is the finish. After 3 games he “only” has 4 points to show for all his efforts, but could easily have doubled that number if he worked on getting his shot away sooner and had some more luck with the bounces. The point is, he gets the chances for a reason, and Columbus will covet his abilities soon. Don’t expect him to be at this tournament next year.
CA
Sorry, posted with line breaks.
Nice post Scoopz, good to hear about some non-Canadians for a change, TSN doesn’t really do the other countries justice. That being said, I still feel the Canadian side will produce the most quality players and give a better glimpse of which way the balance of power in the NHL shifts in the not so distant future.
Bang on about Schenn, the guy has speed and finish, something that cannot be taught. Surprised we didn’t see more of him during his extended stay in LA. Perhaps the gap between NHL and junior is amplified in the bigger and more physical Western Conference. One thing I did notice though (And Pierre Maguire FTR), was that he seems very comfortable on the wing. Perhaps his speed and scoring touch would be put to better use if he was moved there permanently. With Kopitar and hopefully Loktionov down the middle, Los Angeles can afford to move him to one of their sides. I suppose it depends on Schenn’s ability to develop into a scorer, or if he is brought up in more of a Mike Fisher-esque role.
As good as Tarasenko looks, I’m still happy with Murray’s trade at the draft last June. Sure he looks good, but are you telling me David Rundblad wouldn’t be the dominant Swede defenceman if he was born a few months later? Come on, Tim Erixon gets top line minutes and he is barely noticeable back there. Too bad the cutoff date for the World Juniors is different than that of the draft, or Rundblad could play with the rest of his 2009 draft class. I say he’d be in the First Team all-star discussion with Ellis.
Still being an obvious homer, Robin Lehner looks really good. His coach was beaming following his shutout win, boasting that his goaltender was technically perfect with his angles and that his play stood out from the rest of the team. Very interested in how the Canada-Sweden team turns out. Lehner is more than capable of stealing it. I’m very optimistic for Ottawa’s future with a sound goaltender in the system, for once.
Nino isn’t dominating the tourney, big surprise. He isn’t even the best player on Portland, being bumped to the second line this year. Ryan Johansen has been very impressive to me thus far. I was intrigued at the draft of a huge, offensively gifted centreman and was not at all surprised to see him jump to number 4 overall. Now I’m convinced Columbus has finally found the centreman Rick Nash has been waiting all these years for. Johansen creates space with his size and speed and has the vision to find teammates anywhere on the ice. He can also play in traffic in front of the opposition net. The only thing missing from his game is the finish. After 3 games he “only” has 4 points to show for all his efforts, but could easily have doubled that number if he worked on getting his shot away sooner and had some more luck with the bounces. The point is, he gets the chances for a reason, and Columbus will covet his abilities soon. Don’t expect him to be at this tournament next year.
CA
Scoopz,
Honourable mention to Couturier, Canada's only undrafted player. The kid has looked very good, showing why he's a strong candidate to go first overall next June.
- Jalen
I will say one thing about Zach Kassian - he would be a tough guy to play against even if hes not scoring right now.
He has character, maybe a hot-head, but he runs the table, kind of like Steve Downie.
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