Pre-Game Talk: World Juniors Summer 2022

[RAFI BOMB]

A Nate Leaman team won the World Juniors last year, quite easily, as mentioned. Leaman knows what he's doing. This is the worst group of players the US have had in over a decade, they were expected to be a very weak team compared to normal years. They had 4 1st rounders on the entire team. 4. Sanderson, Beniers and Lucius would have been there, so 3 more at least if they could have taken the guys they wanted.

Even if they took a handful of other players, Boucher wouldn't have been in that group.

According to Chris Peters Boucher is on the bubble for the 2023 team, and wasn't particularly close to this one. I think, and still do, that he is a shoe in, but a guy who is close to the US hockey program wasn't speaking to highly of Boucher on Ottawa radio. Says they will turn to the 04' guys to run the team beacuse the 03' group is so weak comparatively, it will be a team run by young guys.

I listened to the Chris Peters segment and I didn't see him mention much about the U.S. summer evaluation camp. I also checked his twitter and went back to when the evaluation camp took place and didn't see many comments on it. I didn't get the impression that he witnessed the evaluation camp or the scrimmages that they were involved in.

It makes me more hesitant about putting much weight in his assessment of Boucher. His comments seems consistent with looking at the fact he didn't make the team, and his production last season. Maybe on top of that a brief comment from Leaman on who the bubble guys were.

The report from the evaluation camp were that Boucher was having good scrimmages, that he was scoring goals and that he left a positive impression on 2023 WJC coach Rand Pecknold. Maybe Peters saw those scrimmages or maybe he didn't, I would have certainly liked a bit more elaboration as to how Boucher looked in those scrimmages and what he wasn't showing for him to not make the team.

I am purely speculating here but I don't get the impression that he is a Nate Leaman kind of player. I felt that the roster was filled with a lot of, what I would consider, "meh" players. The players likely had decent years from a production standpoint and are okay players overall but for the majority of them, very little standout traits or high end attributes. Particularly with the forwards, I saw a number of players that didn't have high end speed, or physicality, or a high end shot, or playmaking ability or defensive play. As a whole a player might not be high end, but personally I think it is important for nearly every player on a team to have some real standout traits.

I certainly think Boucher could have sparked some energy and momentum for his team in that quarterfinal game. I would have also picked a number of the 04 guys over a good chunk of the players that made this team.

Also for all the hype I heard about Matt Knies, I didn't find his performance to be very impressive. Maybe I will be all alone on this one but I certainly think that Boucher and Ostapchuk are better prospects and will be better power forwards in the long run. Credit on him for having a really solid season in the NCAA and I certainly think he has some good attributes but he is getting a lot of hype. I watched an eliteprospects breakdown on his play from earlier last season and they said "Knies won't be their next throwback power forward, no...he could be something better".

 

[Back in Black]

1/2 hr to gO

 

[BondraTime]

I listened to the Chris Peters segment and I didn't see him mention much about the U.S. summer evaluation camp. I also checked his twitter and went back to when the evaluation camp took place and didn't see many comments on it. I didn't get the impression that he witnessed the evaluation camp or the scrimmages that they were involved in.

It makes me more hesitant about putting much weight in his assessment of Boucher. His comments seems consistent with looking at the fact he didn't make the team, and his production last season. Maybe on top of that a brief comment from Leaman on who the bubble guys were.

The report from the evaluation camp were that Boucher was having good scrimmages, that he was scoring goals and that he left a positive impression on 2023 WJC coach Rand Pecknold. Maybe Peters saw those scrimmages or maybe he didn't, I would have certainly liked a bit more elaboration as to how Boucher looked in those scrimmages and what he wasn't showing for him to not make the team.

I am purely speculating here but I don't get the impression that he is a Nate Leaman kind of player. I felt that the roster was filled with a lot of, what I would consider, "meh" players. The players likely had decent years from a production standpoint and are okay players overall but for the majority of them, very little standout traits or high end attributes. Particularly with the forwards, I saw a number of players that didn't have high end speed, or physicality, or a high end shot, or playmaking ability or defensive play. As a whole a player might not be high end, but personally I think it is important for nearly every player on a team to have some real standout traits.

I certainly think Boucher could have sparked some energy and momentum for his team in that quarterfinal game. I would have also pickedi a number of the 04 guys over a good chunk of the players that made this team.

Also for all the hype I heard about Matt Knies, I didn't find his performance to be very impressive. Maybe I will be all alone on this one but I certainly think that Boucher and Ostapchuk are better prospects and will be better power forwards in the long run. Credit on him for having a really solid season in the NCAA and I certainly think he has some good attributes but he is getting a lot of hype. I watched an eliteprospects breakdown on his play from earlier last season and they said "Knies won't be their next throwback power forward, no...he could be something better".

Boucher never played in the main scrimmages for the Summer team. He wasn’t remotely close for the summer team. He played in the scrimmages without the main crew for that team.

Here are the guys that were auditioning for the Summer team, Boucher was mainly playing with the group of 04’s for the 2023 team, wasn’t even on the radar for this one.


The team was extremely bad, and it’s going to be extremely bad next season. There will be no 19 year olds in prominent roles next year, with the exception of Hughes, Pastujov and Lucius.

Peter’s has the most knowledge on the American prospects, as that’s what his job is. If he’s saying something like that, there’s merit to it. One thing is for sure, Peters would have more knowledge of the evaluation camp than anyone here who only have bits of Twitter fluff to go on.

I think Ostapchuk is definitely a better prospect than Knies as well. I’d take Knies over Boucher though.

 

[DJB]

Greig not in any type of sling so that’s a great sign

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Boucher never played in the main scrimmages for the Summer team. He wasn’t remotely close for the summer team. He played in the scrimmages without the main crew for that team.

Here are the guys that were auditioning for the Summer team, Boucher was mainly playing with the group of 04’s for the 2023 team, wasn’t even on the radar for this one.


The team was extremely bad, and it’s going to be extremely bad next season. There will be no 19 year olds in prominent roles next year, with the exception of Hughes, Pastujov and Lucius.

Peter’s has the most knowledge on the American prospects, as that’s what his job is. If he’s saying something like that, there’s merit to it. One thing is for sure, Peters would have more knowledge of the evaluation camp than anyone here who only have bits of Twitter fluff to go on.

I think Ostapchuk is definitely a better prospect than Knies as well. I’d take Knies over Boucher though.

He took part in this scrimmage and he scored a goal in it.



That included nearly the entire final roster with a few bubble guys. Now according to the national junior evaluation camp schedule, it is listed as "camp scrimmage" that day and not and not the "2022 Team Intra Squad scrimmage". It was however the last camp scrimmage before final cuts to the 2022 team.

I don't know much of the details other than that. The NJEC schedule did separate out the 2022 team practice from the 2023 team practice so Boucher may have been practicing with the 2023 team. With the majority of the 2022 roster returning from the delayed December tournament and with Boucher's production last season, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't giving him a serious look. It quite possibly didn't matter how he performed in camp as he likely wasn't on the short list of players being considered before the camp even started.

I still project that Boucher will be better than Knies but I guess we will see. It is still early in their development so it will be interesting to see how each player progresses. Boucher has the kinds of tools that could allow him to take a big leap but the question will be whether he can put it all together and find consistency with it.

 

[Sweatred]

Nothing wrong with Stutzle’s face off game … kid could still be in the WJC … he will be a beast on the dot.

 

[Nova Stutzlia]

Canada could use a spark right about now.
Can someone say RG?

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Canada could use a spark right about now.
Can someone say RG?

He's definitely the straw that stirs the drink on that roster. He's going to be an excellent addition to our already feisty lineup.

 

[BondraTime]

He took part in this scrimmage and he scored a goal in it.



That included nearly the entire final roster with a few bubble guys. Now according to the national junior evaluation camp schedule, it is listed as "camp scrimmage" that day and not and not the "2022 Team Intra Squad scrimmage". It was however the last camp scrimmage before final cuts to the 2022 team.

I don't know much of the details other than that. The NJEC schedule did separate out the 2022 team practice from the 2023 team practice so Boucher may have been practicing with the 2023 team. With the majority of the 2022 roster returning from the delayed December tournament and with Boucher's production last season, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't giving him a serious look. It quite possibly didn't matter how he performed in camp as he likely wasn't on the short list of players being considered before the camp even started.

I still project that Boucher will be better than Knies but I guess we will see. It is still early in their development so it will be interesting to see how each player progresses. Boucher has the kinds of tools that could allow him to take a big leap but the question will be whether he can put it all together and find consistency with it.

There were 10 forwards not in the first game with the 24 forwards competing for spots. The next game they held out 3 forwards who were shoe ins and injured, and filled them with guys from the remaining 10, who were all 2023 eligible guys who weren’t in contention for a 2022 spot.

They likely weren’t giving him a look, like Peters said, he isn’t ready. He hasn’t been good for the past year, and whatever he may become in the next few years doesn’t really matter for a single tournament.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[Back in Black]

Woo hoo 8pm tomorrow

GOLD!

 

[Jukurit]

Meriläinen backup against Sweden.

 

[milkbag]

Why is Merilainen not starting? Perrrrrkele

 

[Ser Grogu]

Where is Leevi? Is he safe? is he alright?

 

[Sweatred]

I’m sensing a prospect crush …

 

[RAFI BOMB]

There were 10 forwards not in the first game with the 24 forwards competing for spots. The next game they held out 3 forwards who were shoe ins and injured, and filled them with guys from the remaining 10, who were all 2023 eligible guys who weren’t in contention for a 2022 spot.

They likely weren’t giving him a look, like Peters said, he isn’t ready. He hasn’t been good for the past year, and whatever he may become in the next few years doesn’t really matter for a single tournament.

Makes sense. Still a good sign though that he was scoring in the other scrimmages and in this one which included the majority of the 2022 WJC roster. Hopefully he has got some good training in since that evaluation camp ended and prepared himself well for a strong season.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

A team us like a piston engine. Everything is great when all cylinders are firing, but trouble starts when a moving part breaks down. The Sens could have a very good team but if their future crop of players get injured, then the future becomes cloudy. Hopefully Pinto and Grieg make full recoveries or they might get swapped out for non-OEM parts.

Every team gets injuries

 

[danishh]

Grieg is supposed to join the TSN crew in the pre-game tomorrow for an interview.

 

[Back in Black]

12 hours to gO.

 

[starling]

Huh

 

[Cosmix]

Huh

What concerns me though is that every game I have watched it seems that Jarventie is not getting the same ES ice time as the other forwards. Great shot, great passing, very good skating, but not enough jam.

Huh

By the "team" do you mean the coaching staff or the players?

 

[Golden_Jet]

What concerns me though is that every game I have watched it seems that Jarventie is not getting the same ES ice time as the other forwards. Great shot, great passing, very good skating, but not enough jam.


By the "team" do you mean the coaching staff or the players?

Not the players.

 

[SPF6ty9]

Where is Leevi? Is he safe? is he alright?

It seems that in your anger, you benched him.

 

[Cosmix]

It seems that in your anger, you benched him.

Apparently, according to Garrioch, Leevi is returning home to play next season instead of in the OHL. This does not look good for the future. Does anyone know why he is leaving the OHL?

 

[PlayersLtd]

Who are our candidates for 2023 WJHC?

Ostapchuk
Hamara
Boucher
Nordberg
Johansson

Anyone else with a good chance?