2014-2015 All Purpose World Junior Championship Thread PART 3

[VanJack]

Maybe I'm just turning into a cranky old man, but I'm getting tired of reading on the WJC forums how this year's team was so amazing and as good as the 2005 roster. Yes, they did very well, but I thought the competition this year was really weak all round. The Finns and Swiss are usually much more competitive and the Czechs shot themselves in the foot with team selection. The US hugely underperformed and I thought the Swedes actually outperformed the roster they brought...which I considered weak. The Russians were the only other team I didn't consider underperforming (other than the underdogs obviously).

I dunno...thoughts?

Bang on from my perspective...this might have been the weakest WJC in terms of team talent, in recent memory. If the Canadians couldn't win this tournament on the smaller ice in N.A., then they weren't ever going to break their gold medal drought....but that never stops the TSN hype machine, or even causes it to pause once and awhile.

 

[deckercky]

Maybe what I am more looking for is a goaltender that is selected by team canada that is considered to be an elite goaltender with insane numbers from his junior league and then proves it in the WJHC. A goaltender so good that there is no question who will be starting the big games for canada. Not the average goaltenders like Fucale who almost fell apart vs. Russia with a 5-1 lead.

Isn't that what Fleury was twice....then fell apart in the finals both times?

 

[DL44]

So i was bouncing back and forth from the the Hitmen game on RSN and NFL playoffs... and i returned late in the 3rd period to 'Virtanen hasn't returned to the game after a few trips down the hall'... then they mentioned his shoulder... soooo..

concerning, may be nothing, maybe precautionary... but does anyone have an update?

 

[arsmaster*]

So i was bouncing back and forth from the the Hitmen game on RSN and NFL playoffs... and i returned late in the 3rd period to 'Virtanen hasn't returned to the game after a few trips down the hall'... then they mentioned his shoulder... soooo..

concerning, may be nothing, maybe precautionary... but does anyone have an update?

It's being discussed in the prospects thread. Nobody has a real update, other than the sore shoulder was not the one that was surgically repaired.