WJC Studs/Disappointments

staaled

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Dec 25, 2006
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Kris Russell anyone?

Definitely. Quiet, collected, and defensively responsible, with a hell of an offensive flair. I think he did great, considering he's always knocked on for his size.

That, and he beat the all-time defenceman scoring record!
 

CapsWolverinesUSA

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Jan 3, 2007
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I don't know if 'disappointment' is the right word because my expectations going in weren't that high, but Brian Lee confirmed for me that he is not the player the Sens thought he was when they took him #9 overall. Nothing he does impresses me. He isn't particularly skilled offensively and he takes too many penalties for a guy that really isn't all that physical. More than anything, he just strikes me as a slightly awkward player. I don't know how to explain it better than that, but his game doesn't seem very instinctive to me. Compare him to the other 1st round pick defensemen in the WJC like Johnson, Johnson, Staal, Parent and Bourdon, and it's night and day.
 
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sonnytheman

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Apr 9, 2002
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Ithaca, Mtl
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I saw Canada the most, so I'll do them first:

Studs:

Staal, Toews and Downie were by far the best players on the team

Price played well, though he looked shaky in this game, he still made two HUGE saves (though I felt the 2nd goal was weak)

Letang

Parent

Russell (I can't believe how good this D corps was)

Helm - doesn't lose a single footrace, and makes good strong plays, very very impressed by him

Pyatt was real good as well

Duds:

Cogliano looks dangerous, but didn't supply as much offense as i expected

Marchand - liability on the first line IMO, I was surprised they never took him off it (though he did score a good goal today)

Gagner - I understand that he's 17 and will be better next year, but he just didn't show much at all.


Other teams that I saw:

Studs:


Omark

Backstrom - people say they were disappointed, but he was good when he was on the ice, just wasn't on the ice enough

the Johnsons, both were great in the semi-final after a poor showing against Canada in the round-robin

Kane

Hjalmarsson

Chorney - this guy, IMO, will have the best career among the American defencemen after the Johnsons. A really good choice for captain if you go by his on-ice play

Surprisingly (to me), the Russian D corps, with Buravchikov, Zubarev, Anikeenko and Valentenko, those guys were real good.


Duds:

Bergfors - this guy's in the AHL?

was disappointed in Cherepanov in the final, since so much was said about him

Okposo - everyone said how good he had been, I didn't see any of it, wasn't very good for a guy who is supposed to put the puck in the net

Brian Lee - so far, not justifying being picked 9th overall


that is all so far
 

TK79

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Jul 5, 2002
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Helsinki, Finland
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For the Finns (only saw team Finland games):

studs:

Mikko Lehtonen: I predict he will be the best skater from this team in 5 years. Great size, reach, stick-handling ability and wheels. Future with the Bruins

Perttu Lindgren: Great hockey-sense and playmaking ability. Not sure sure he has the size and grit to play in the NHL though..

Oskar Osala: Great shot, good wheels, grit and overall game. Scored some sweet goals.

duds:

Tuukka Rask: Played well but didn't stand on his head like last year. Probably suffered from unrealistic expectations.

Jesse Joensuu: Didn't produce. Needs a center with playmaking ability, and Komarov wasn't it. Development painfully slow.

Leo Komarov: Tried hard, but doesn't have the skill level or hockey sense needed at the international level. IMO the biggest reason the second line wasn't able to produce.
 

John Agar

The 4th Hanson Bro'
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Feb 27, 2002
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Your right, but...

I'm honestly quite disapointed with Gagner. I know he's younger, but he was awesome in the camp games I saw, and now he's just invisible/making lots of stupid mistakes. Hopefully he's better next year.

He comes from good stock...he'll make the adjustment for next year and will produce.

Will he produce and bounce back to the level of Johnathan Toews though?

I'm not certain he can do it to that extent.
 

CapsWolverinesUSA

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Jan 3, 2007
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was cogliano actually that bad? :confused:

I don't think anyone would say he was "bad", but I think some people had high hopes that he would have the sort of tournament Toews had, and be a breakout star for Team Canada. While he was solid, he was not outstanding. And for some, that was disappointing, which is why he has been mentioned a few times.
 

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