WJC: 2018 Team USA Roster Talk

67Cup

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So Greenway was a late addition but survived the cuts? Interesting for us Leaf fans. Does anyone have any comments on his play or on Woll? Thanks in advance.
 

montreal

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So Greenway was a late addition but survived the cuts? Interesting for us Leaf fans. Does anyone have any comments on his play or on Woll? Thanks in advance.

I thought Woll played well, it was a good game for both goalies in Woll and Hart (until they lifted him) I know nothing about Woll so it was my first time seeing him and I was mainly focused on the 2 Hab prospects but I thought he made some big saves and was one of the better players for Team USA.
 

William H Bonney

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So Greenway was a late addition but survived the cuts? Interesting for us Leaf fans. Does anyone have any comments on his play or on Woll? Thanks in advance.

Says more about Gildon/Knoepke and their chances right now than it does about Greenway. I'm sure the staff just wants to see more of JD's games, and felt they saw enough of Gildon/Knoepke.
 

William H Bonney

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Some general thoughts so far on the summer camp noting that I haven't seen all the games:

  • Unsurprisingly, but it's pretty clear the coaches have the Mittelstadt - Brown - Yamamoto line penciled in already.
  • Barring Clayton Keller's unexpected availability :)popcorn:), it's still to be determined on who's going to step up and be the next wave of go-to guys up front for offense.
  • My main focus for the last two games will mostly be on the forwards and who's ready to step up and stake their claim to a role on the team. Frederic and Norris are particular focal points as I don't think either has shown well thus far for two guys that should be in the running for the final roster.
  • Quinn Hughes is playing himself into a big role on this team. He's been one of the most impressive guys at camp so far. He still over-handles the puck at times, but he's capable of having a very good tournament.
  • I'm pleasantly surprised by the d-men group so far. Lindgren & Fox are locks. Beyond Hughes, I've liked the steady play of Peeke and Martin, and Anderson and Samberg have shown flashes. There's also Krys as well who's been out with an injury. It would be nice if they can come out of this camp with a core group of 5 or so players to start. Greenway's the only d-man that looks clearly in over his head, especially today.
  • First time seeing Max Gerlach and I've been pleasantly surprised. I can see him filling a role similar to Tanner Laczynski last year, albeit as a winger instead.
 
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Sens of Anarchy

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Some general thoughts so far on the summer camp noting that I haven't seen all the games:

  • Unsurprisingly, but it's pretty clear the coaches have the Mittelstadt - Brown - Yamamoto line penciled in already.
  • Barring Clayton Keller's unexpected availability :):popcorn::), it's still to be determined on who's going to step up and be the next wave of go-to guys up front for offense.
  • My main focus for the last two games will mostly be on the forwards and who's ready to step up and stake their claim to a role on the team. Frederic and Norris are particular focal points as I don't think either has shown well thus far for two guys that should be in the running for the final roster.
  • Quinn Hughes is playing himself into a big role on this team. He's been one of the most impressive guys at camp so far. He still over-handles the puck at times, but he's capable of having a very good tournament.
  • I'm pleasantly surprised by the d-men group so far. Lindgren & Fox were the locks, and there's still a long way to go. Beyond Hughes, I've liked the steady play of Peeke and Martin, and Anderson and Samberg have shown flashes. There's also Krys as well who's been out with an injury. It would be nice if they can come out of this camp with a core group of 5 or so players to start. Greenway's the only d-man that looks clearly in over his head, especially today.
  • First time seeing Max Gerlach and I've been pleasantly surprised. I can see him filling a role similar to Tanner Laczynski last year, albeit as a winger instead.

Poehling didn't play today. I was not able to see him other than highlights where he made a couple really nice plays... Any word on him.. I thought he'd be a good 2nd line C type. Tufte looked ok to me today as did Patrick Harper.
 

Scorcho

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Some general thoughts so far on the summer camp noting that I haven't seen all the games:

  • Unsurprisingly, but it's pretty clear the coaches have the Mittelstadt - Brown - Yamamoto line penciled in already.
  • Barring Clayton Keller's unexpected availability :)popcorn:), it's still to be determined on who's going to step up and be the next wave of go-to guys up front for offense.
  • My main focus for the last two games will mostly be on the forwards and who's ready to step up and stake their claim to a role on the team. Frederic and Norris are particular focal points as I don't think either has shown well thus far for two guys that should be in the running for the final roster.
  • Quinn Hughes is playing himself into a big role on this team. He's been one of the most impressive guys at camp so far. He still over-handles the puck at times, but he's capable of having a very good tournament.
  • I'm pleasantly surprised by the d-men group so far. Lindgren & Fox are locks. Beyond Hughes, I've liked the steady play of Peeke and Martin, and Anderson and Samberg have shown flashes. There's also Krys as well who's been out with an injury. It would be nice if they can come out of this camp with a core group of 5 or so players to start. Greenway's the only d-man that looks clearly in over his head, especially today.
  • First time seeing Max Gerlach and I've been pleasantly surprised. I can see him filling a role similar to Tanner Laczynski last year, albeit as a winger instead.

Has Brown really improved his play that much? everytime i watched early on this year he looked underwhelming
 

wings5

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Has Brown really improved his play that much? everytime i watched early on this year he looked underwhelming

Hard to say but he always looks like a different player when playing with Mittelstadt and Yamamoto, they played together in the u18s and he looked great there too. Don't know whats up with him in Windsor.
 

Joe Zanussi

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Just watched the game for the first time paying attention (kids were unruly yesterday...lost the whole flow). My thoughts:

Like everyone else, I think Hughes was impressive. I'm scared to death of his decision-making but you cant keep his skill off the team.

I thought Kemp played really well. Badini too.

I thought Martin should've been in the team last year (but I learned to love Cecconi...he was great). He looked good again yesterday.

I didnt think Frederic was great yesterday but, in my mind, he's our 2C. I thought that based on his season w Wisconsin. He also threw a REALLY sweet pass to Gerlach in the first, and we all know he has the physical/defensive game to warrant a Top 6 spot. I think in the end, he's our Kunin.

Bellows impressed me. I was so unimpressed by him last year. Great to see him play well.
 

William H Bonney

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Poehling didn't play today. I was not able to see him other than highlights where he made a couple really nice plays... Any word on him.. I thought he'd be a good 2nd line C type. Tufte looked ok to me today as did Patrick Harper.

I haven't seen the whole camp, but Poehling hasn't looked out of place in what I've seen. I doubt he's in line for a premium role at this point, but he's in competition for a bottom 6 role.

Has Brown really improved his play that much? everytime i watched early on this year he looked underwhelming

He's looked good with Mittelstadt and Yamamoto. With Brown, I worry about his skating on the big ice and his consistency, but he's too talented to leave home, especially given the consistency of that line and the lack of high-end skill up front.
 

William H Bonney

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I didnt think Frederic was great yesterday but, in my mind, he's our 2C. I thought that based on his season w Wisconsin. He also threw a REALLY sweet pass to Gerlach in the first, and we all know he has the physical/defensive game to warrant a Top 6 spot. I think in the end, he's our Kunin.

He's having another unimpressive game thus far. It's still a long way to go, but he needs to play a lot better if he wants to get the 2C role, let alone play well in it. Most surprising is how weak on his skates he's looked the last couple of games given his size and strength. Norris hasn't impressed either. Right now, Poehling's playing like he wants that 2C role.
 
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Sens of Anarchy

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Just watched the game for the first time paying attention (kids were unruly yesterday...lost the whole flow). My thoughts:

Like everyone else, I think Hughes was impressive. I'm scared to death of his decision-making but you cant keep his skill off the team.

I thought Kemp played really well. Badini too.

I thought Martin should've been in the team last year (but I learned to love Cecconi...he was great). He looked good again yesterday.

I didnt think Frederic was great yesterday but, in my mind, he's our 2C. I thought that based on his season w Wisconsin. He also threw a REALLY sweet pass to Gerlach in the first, and we all know he has the physical/defensive game to warrant a Top 6 spot. I think in the end, he's our Kunin.

Bellows impressed me. I was so unimpressed by him last year. Great to see him play well.

At this point I would put Poehling there at @2C. He looks like a player. Smart... good playmaker. Frederic has looked more like a 3C than a 2C
 

William H Bonney

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Overall, a pretty successful WJSS for Team USA. A number of players stepped up and cemented their roles on the squad. If I had to pick a team using just the players at this camp (or those out injured) this would be my team right now:


Forwards (x13):

Casey Mittelstadt - Logan Brown - Kailer Yamamoto
Brady Tkachuk - Ryan Poehling - Joey Anderson
Patrick Harper - Trent Frederic - Riley Tufte
Max Jones - Jack Badini - William Lockwood
Kieffer Bellows

Defense (x7):

Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
Quinn Hughes - Luke Martin
Chad Krys - Andrew Peeke
Dylan Samberg

Goalies (x3):

Joseph Woll
Jake Oettinger
Keith Petruzelli

Notes:
  • I wouldn't read too much into it, but none of the players scratched for the closing game in last year's WJSS ended up making the team. Only three of the players (Brown, Fischer, Boeser) that played in the game ended up being left off the team, and Fischer wasn't released by Arizona and Boeser was injured.
  • I think Motzko and company are really comfortable with the Brown/Poehling lines. I would surprised if they didn't have those two full lines targeted to at least start the tournament.
  • Back in January, I thought Harper was the most likely returnee to miss out on the team, but I think Bellows is now most in jeopardy of being left off. He had a poor tournament last year outside of his 2 goals in the GMG, and he didn't show well here either. Harper had a good WJSS and has more natural skill.
  • Of the forwards I left off, I liked Gerlach the best. I think he showed that he can contribute to this team, and I wouldn't be surprised if he made it. It's hard to know where Jones/Lockwood fit in since Jones missed the first few days off camp and was injured in his first game, and Lockwood only practiced.
  • On defense, I think you have to be pretty thrilled with how the group showed, especially without Lindgren. Fox was fantastic here, Hughes stepped up and showed he's ready, and most of the guys showed they could contribute at this level. Greenway and Day are the only d-men I don't think should really be under any consideration for the team based on their performances here.
  • I added Samberg as my #7, but I would have been comfortable with a number of others as well. I think Samberg offers the best versatility (and size), but you could make strong arguments for Farrance, M. Anderson, and Kemp as well.
  • It was nice to see a few '99s play really well here and make their cases for the team. Tkachuk, Poehling, and Hughes were the standout '99s, but guys like Samberg, M. Anderson, Farrance, and Kemp played well too.
  • Biggest disappointments of camp for me were Frederic and Norris. Frederic is big and strong and coming off a fantastic freshmen season, but he didn't play like it here. I thought he played his best game tonight, but he should have been battling for a top 6 role and instead looks like a bottom 6 guy for this team. Norris just didn't show at all. It's probably a year early for him at this level, but I was hopeful he could be a potential bottom 6 guy this year.
  • Right now, the only guys that were at the camp at the end that I don't think should be under any consideration for the final team: Greenway, Day, Cockerill, Dhooghe, and St Cyr.
  • Woll/Oettinger still appear to be on track to split games to start the tournament, and the first goalie to take control will get the net going forward.
 
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Sens of Anarchy

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Good summary William... I should add that regarding "Only three of the players (Brown, Fischer, Boeser) that played in the game ended up being left off the team, and Fischer wasn't released by Arizona and Boeser was injured. " Brown was just back from a lengthy injury as well. I don't think he had even played for Windsor again before the mini camp tryouts.
I agree Frederic played better today but Poehling outplayed him. I liked Poehling's game.
I thought the Brown line was off today.

The D and Goaltending are strong. One of the 99 Ds could sneak in there with a good start to their seasons.
 

William H Bonney

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Good summary William... I should add that regarding "Only three of the players (Brown, Fischer, Boeser) that played in the game ended up being left off the team, and Fischer wasn't released by Arizona and Boeser was injured. " Brown was just back from a lengthy injury as well. I don't think he had even played for Windsor again before the mini camp tryouts.
I agree Frederic played better today but Poehling outplayed him. I liked Poehling's game.
I thought the Brown line was off today.

The D and Goaltending are strong. One of the 99 Ds could sneak in there with a good start to their seasons.

Yep, you're right. When Brown was cut, a lot of us assumed he was still injured and/or too out of game shape to play. Folks were surprised when he went back to Windsor and played, but I'm sure it was a contributing factor.

I think we'll probably end up with 2 '99 d-men on the team.

I think on D you have to consider Fox, Lindgren, Hughes, and Martin as the locks right now. If that's the case, there's three spots left.

Krys is the real wildcard to me. Made the team as a 17 year old but didn't play, and was cut last year amid a disappointing season overall. It sounds like the coaches liked what they saw from him in his short stint at this camp.

I like Peeke and I think he would fill a role very similar to Cecconi, which this staff values. Kemp could play a similar role as well, but I think Peeke's the better player.

Farrance put up stats here, but I think the stats would overstate his overall play here. He played well enough to make the team, but he's probably battling a guy like Krys right now and it's hard to know where Krys stands at this point.

Samberg is intriguing. He's big and versatile and he played better here than my #7 role would indicate, but I still want to see how he plays for Minnesota Duluth this season as the WJCs are a big jump from Minnesota high school hockey. If he makes the team, I wouldn't be surprised to see him play a bigger role than expected though, similar to another unheralded guy (Will Borgen) when he showed up to the summer camp 2 years ago.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

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Bellows-Harper-Anderson
Mittelstadt-Brown-Yamamoto
Jones-Frederic-Tkachuk
Gettinger-Poehling-Tufte
Lockwood

Lindgren-Fox
Hughes-Peeke
Samberg-Krys
Farrance

Oettinger
Woll
Petruzelli
 

Joe Zanussi

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Great writeups. Thank you. I havent seen yesterdays game yet so its good to get the info
 

ps241

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Pleasant surprise to see Samberg in the mix. Very athletic kid.
 

clevelandcane

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Loved watching yesterday. The one thing that stuck out to me was the difference between Parsons last year at the camp vs. Woll.

Parsons was lights out. Woll was underwhelming.
 

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