Prospect Info: 2020/2021 World Juniors Tournament Thread
- Thread starter Better Call Sal
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DevilsJunkie
Registered User
And of course Moynihan on Team USA while Mercer is on Canada with Holtz on Sweden and Pytlik playing for the Czech team. Hopefully they all acquit themselves well.
R8Devs
1-5-6-12
Foppa2118
Registered User
- Oct 3, 2003
- 52,347
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Thought I'd share this play. Hell of a stretch pass by Mukhamadullin right on the tape to split Byram and Drysdale after they had just jumped over the board for a change. You guys might have something here.
R8Devs
1-5-6-12
Shaq had a pretty good game on the whole but there was one play in particular that really annoyed me. He got a pass when he was behind his own goal line and he had a guy bearing down on him. He could've went D to D behind the net but instead he tried to spin out of it. He ended up getting pinned up against the boards and losing the puck which almost resulted in a chance right in front of the net. So overall he played pretty well but you could definitely see where those very worrisome decision making problems come into play
Better Call Sal
Salnalysis
Here's the Pytlik goal again since it appears the original tweet was removed.
- Feb 5, 2010
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Devils prospect to Devils prospect who doesn't finish on the breakaway. These guys will fit right in.
NJ DevLolz
The Many Saints of Newark
- Sep 30, 2017
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Dach getting hurt and missing time is the exact reason why Hughes staying home was a good thing. If he missed time after not playing for a year, I would be livid
Darkauron
Registered User
Eggtimer
Registered User
I wouldn't be worried one bit about one play or even a couple of plays like this. That is something that can be fixed with coaching and practice. His raw skills and abilities are what I am concerned about right now. He is still very young and D take longer to develop. Him making the wrong choice on a breakout once in awhile is not something to worry about IMO. If he got burnt wide all the time , or cannot change his shooting angle / walk the blueline to get a shot on net , stuff like that to me is something to worry about.
Also, if you look at the better defenders in the league, the top pairing quality guys, they most certainly don't just make the simple play.
They spin away from pressure, they hold on to the puck, they make an extra move at the blue line, because that's how controlled zone exits and zone entries happen. I'm not speaking to this specific play because I haven't seen it, so maybe the right play really was the D to D pass, but in general I'm not annoyed if he gets burned now and then trying to make skill plays.
If it was a one off thing I wouldn't care. So much of what I've heard about him though is that his decision making is just really really bad. It's definitely something that can change but he is certainly a project
Not jumping to any sort of judgement off one game at all but tbh i thought mukhamadullin was a bit of a train wreck at times in last nights game.
Darkauron
Registered User
I thought muk looked great for the kind of player he is. He is very raw, but just oozes skill and you could see it on display.
Feel bad for Dach who wanted to play with the tournament near his hometown. At least initially, the coach put Dawson Mercer to replace Dach on their top line. We'll see how they approach it since they were allowed to dress an extra forward yesterday and Philip Tomasino was the lone healthy scratch. Could see them shifting Jack Quinn back to RW and then promoting somebody like Cole Perfetti to the top line LW.
Couple rough shifts from Mukh yesterday, but I have to remind myself that is is a junior game. Most of these guys are still unrefined.
Couple rough shifts from Mukh yesterday, but I have to remind myself that is is a junior game. Most of these guys are still unrefined.
Eggtimer
Registered User
OK sorry for the dumb question , but why isnt Bahl on team Canada? Over age or simply didn't make the cut?
Darkauron
Registered User
Bahl does not qualify. the player has his 20th birthday in the year of the tournament's ending (2021)
He already turn 20 this year so he doesn't qualify.
Here's my notes on the Devils prospects in the warm-up WJC games. I need to make the disclaimer that many of these players are rusty due to the intermittent action of a disastrous, pandemic-marred 2020. Not every player is going to get up to game action at the same speed.
Patrick Moynihan, RW USA: one of my favorite players in this tournament, but the rust showed a bit. He played a responsible and high-compete defensive game, but was non-existent offensively. I think he'll get better as the tourney wears on and he gets his legs under him, but it's hard to really say much about his opener vs. Finland.
Dawson Mercer, F Canada: his deployment by Canada was unusual to me, he was used as a bit of a "utility-man", flipping between lines and between C and RW. I felt his compete level was impressive, and he displayed very good ability to win possession of the puck in the corners and along the boards. I'd say he was solid overall.
Arseni Gritsyuk, W Russia: Russia had a very conservative offensive strategy to me, and it inhibited top forwards like Amirov and Podkolzin. But Gritsyuk looked quick and had a nice instinct for offensively creating. He had a great breakaway opportunity, but didn't show much finish on the play. I was happy to see him on the Russian 2nd line, and as the most dangerous offensive player on that line.
Shakir Mukhamadullin, D Russia: Wow. Just wow. In a star studded Canada vs. Russia game, I felt he was the best skater on either side. Did he have a couple of brain-lock moments, which he has been criticized for? Sure. But so did Drysdale and Byram. Offensively, he was not just dangerous -- he made about three elite-level stretch passes leading to high-danger scoring opportunities, and was terrific one-on-one defensively. It's really tough to watch tape of that game and deny that he has star, first-pairing upside. He was really terrific -- deployed in both offensive and defensive situations, logging tons of ice time vs. elite competition, and simply excelling.
Jaromir Pytlik, C Czech Republic: Man, did this kid open some eyes. He was absolutely dominant in every area of the game. His offense was better than advertised, and the Slovaks had no answer for him physically or defensively. Pytlik literally was a difference maker every time he hit the ice. He made some very nifty passes in tight, and certainly displayed the upside of a two-way, middle-six power C. I'm very excited to see Pytlik strut his stuff against higher level competition.
In non-Devils notes, my stand-out players were:
Russia: Askarov
Canada: Dach (I hope he's okay, that injury looked bad)
Slovakia: Chromiak
Czech: Svozil
Finland: Niemela
USA: Zegras
I could write a book on how good Askarov and Zegras were. Askarov looks like he can --right now -- step into the NHL and be a top 10 goalie. His athleticism and composure are eye-opening. Zegras is just disgusting. His upside is "best passer on the planet Earth". His creativity with the puck is absolutely rare, and he dominated virtually every shift he played. Tough to find a bright spot for Slovakia but Chromiak was consistently dangerous. Same goes for Finland, but I liked Niemela's game. The Finns are really going to need Lundell to step up -- he had a rough game vs. the Americans. Svozil is a kid I will talk about a lot -- he should be in every top 10 for the 2021 draft, but a lot of draft "experts" still seem to not know who he even is. The kid is an unbelievable talent, clearly Czech's best D despite being the youngest player on that team.
Patrick Moynihan, RW USA: one of my favorite players in this tournament, but the rust showed a bit. He played a responsible and high-compete defensive game, but was non-existent offensively. I think he'll get better as the tourney wears on and he gets his legs under him, but it's hard to really say much about his opener vs. Finland.
Dawson Mercer, F Canada: his deployment by Canada was unusual to me, he was used as a bit of a "utility-man", flipping between lines and between C and RW. I felt his compete level was impressive, and he displayed very good ability to win possession of the puck in the corners and along the boards. I'd say he was solid overall.
Arseni Gritsyuk, W Russia: Russia had a very conservative offensive strategy to me, and it inhibited top forwards like Amirov and Podkolzin. But Gritsyuk looked quick and had a nice instinct for offensively creating. He had a great breakaway opportunity, but didn't show much finish on the play. I was happy to see him on the Russian 2nd line, and as the most dangerous offensive player on that line.
Shakir Mukhamadullin, D Russia: Wow. Just wow. In a star studded Canada vs. Russia game, I felt he was the best skater on either side. Did he have a couple of brain-lock moments, which he has been criticized for? Sure. But so did Drysdale and Byram. Offensively, he was not just dangerous -- he made about three elite-level stretch passes leading to high-danger scoring opportunities, and was terrific one-on-one defensively. It's really tough to watch tape of that game and deny that he has star, first-pairing upside. He was really terrific -- deployed in both offensive and defensive situations, logging tons of ice time vs. elite competition, and simply excelling.
Jaromir Pytlik, C Czech Republic: Man, did this kid open some eyes. He was absolutely dominant in every area of the game. His offense was better than advertised, and the Slovaks had no answer for him physically or defensively. Pytlik literally was a difference maker every time he hit the ice. He made some very nifty passes in tight, and certainly displayed the upside of a two-way, middle-six power C. I'm very excited to see Pytlik strut his stuff against higher level competition.
In non-Devils notes, my stand-out players were:
Russia: Askarov
Canada: Dach (I hope he's okay, that injury looked bad)
Slovakia: Chromiak
Czech: Svozil
Finland: Niemela
USA: Zegras
I could write a book on how good Askarov and Zegras were. Askarov looks like he can --right now -- step into the NHL and be a top 10 goalie. His athleticism and composure are eye-opening. Zegras is just disgusting. His upside is "best passer on the planet Earth". His creativity with the puck is absolutely rare, and he dominated virtually every shift he played. Tough to find a bright spot for Slovakia but Chromiak was consistently dangerous. Same goes for Finland, but I liked Niemela's game. The Finns are really going to need Lundell to step up -- he had a rough game vs. the Americans. Svozil is a kid I will talk about a lot -- he should be in every top 10 for the 2021 draft, but a lot of draft "experts" still seem to not know who he even is. The kid is an unbelievable talent, clearly Czech's best D despite being the youngest player on that team.
I still enjoyed when Tom Gulitti screwed up the eligibility rules for the 2013 WJC. He tweeted something like Sweden didn't invite Adam Larsson to WJC camp and a bunch of people got in a fervor about it. Seemed like everybody ignored the folks who kept pointing out that Larsson wasn't age eligible until Gulitti posted a correction hours later.
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The prospect rankings that come out right after the WJC are always amusing to read. A couple years ago, Jake Oettinger wasn't eligible because he missed the cutoff by two weeks. Ukko Pekka Luukkonen had an okay tournament en route to Gold, but suddenly he was being hailed as a premier goalie prospect. Craig Button had him ranked as the 13th best prospect in the world (and not to bash Button too much, but he did the same after Tyler Parsons won Gold with Team USA). Meanwhile Oettinger was out of sight out of mind for everybody. Just amusing to compare Oettinger and Luukkonen's AHL numbers a year later.
Guadana
Registered User
Great to see you here.
Don't tell people that Shakir is good. So many flaws. Coaches in the national team and in the KHL trust him because he deceives them and threatens their children. He is a terrible person and a bad hockey player.
Haha, it's true that people are inexplicably negative towards Mukhamadullin. His talents are undeniable, and several of them were on display vs. Canada. Two of his stretch passes were just ridiculously spectacular, and he's very strong along the boards and in the crease.
I'm not sure if you caught the Czech game, @Guadana -- but if you did I'd love to hear your take on Pytlik. I was unbelievably impressed with him, maybe the best game I've seen him play.
Guadana
Registered User
I can't say that Mukhamadullin did something unprecedented in the game with Canada. Good positional play, good long-range pass, good defensive play, weak short-pass play, hesitant with the puck under pressure. We've been talk about it all. And he's 18 years old, damn it. Yes, he won't fly into the NHL tomorrow, but he's definitely worth the interest. And he looked much better than most of the defensemen from Canada. He looked significantly better than Guhle. Which Montreal picked earlier.
Unfortunately, I did not have time for the game with the Czech Republic. Game with Canada I watched in the recording. But I finally got free and will be able to carefully watch and analyze games of our prospects.
Pytlik is a very interesting character for me, because for my taste - Devils need the success of prospects-centers. Only the right-d position looks weaker. I will pay attention to the game of the Czech Republic and Sweden.
NJDevs26
Once upon a time...
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He could just as easily get hurt in full-speed NHL games after not playing for almost a year. It was brought up in the schedule thread but it's true, there's gonna be no getting around early-season injuries popping up all over the place with a microwave camp, no preseason and going right into a shortened regular season with all division games.
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