Prospect Info: 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships

[Borderbluesfan]

gold medal is determined in a skills competition

yawn

Sorry, but USA juniors were probably the best team throughout the tournament. Went unbeaten in pool play and beat Canada 3-1 to win their pool. They did start off slow against Canada in a road game but managed to come back and tie the game. Full 20 minute overtime period for both teams to win the game. Both teams had chances in the overtime period. Can't blame the loss of Canada to a skills competition, they had a 2-0 lead at one time, lol!!!

 

[RORbacon]

What a ****ing game.

 

[TheDizee]

Sorry, but USA juniors were probably the best team throughout the tournament. Went unbeaten in pool play and beat Canada 3-1 to win their pool. They did start off slow against Canada in a road game but managed to come back and tie the game. Full 20 minute overtime period for both teams to win the game. Both teams had chances in the overtime period. Can't blame the loss of Canada to a skills competition, they had a 2-0 lead at one time, lol!!!

and yet if they were so good, then theyd have no worries about playing OT until someone scores. again, the gold medal game was determined in a skills competition.

its fun to beat canada but not in stupid gimmicks like the shootout.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Sorry, but USA juniors were probably the best team throughout the tournament. Went unbeaten in pool play and beat Canada 3-1 to win their pool. They did start off slow against Canada in a road game but managed to come back and tie the game. Full 20 minute overtime period for both teams to win the game. Both teams had chances in the overtime period. Can't blame the loss of Canada to a skills competition, they had a 2-0 lead at one time, lol!!!

That still doesn't excuse the fact that such a great game for the world title had to end in the worst way possible.

This isn't a round robin game, this is the gold medal game. Why on God's green Earth should it have to end in a goddamn shootout? It's irrelevant if USA was the best throughout the tournament because they had to win it in a skills competition like he pointed out.

 

[Robb_K]

Lousy way to win a World championship- a shootout. They should keep playing 20 minute periods until someone scores.

Too bad Tage Thompson didn't get to shoot in the shootout.

 

[Borderbluesfan]

and yet if they were so good, then theyd have no worries about playing OT until someone scores. again, the gold medal game was determined in a skills competition.

its fun to beat canada but not in stupid gimmicks like the shootout.

This was still much better than the typical NHL game, played a full overtime period before going to a shootout. Much better than playing a 5 minute 3v3 OT then having a shootout. They gave both teams a full period to try and win the game 5v5.

 

[Borderbluesfan]

That still doesn't excuse the fact that such a great game for the world title had to end in the worst way possible.

This isn't a round robin game, this is the gold medal game. Why on God's green Earth should it have to end in a goddamn shootout? It's irrelevant if USA was the best throughout the tournament because they had to win it in a skills competition like he pointed out.

This isn't the Stanley Cup or a professional league championship. This is closer to a State High School or College Championship in football. Both of which have the equivalents of shootouts to determine their Championship results Should a junior championship keep playing with tired players until one of them is seriously injured and loses their chance to play at a higher level??

 

[TheDizee]

They could get hurt in the first period just as much as a 2nd OT. They know the risks. All this game will have next to it now is a * because it was won in a skills event, not by playing hockey.

Not a fan.

 

[Borderbluesfan]

They could get hurt in the first period just as much as a 2nd OT. They know the risks. All this game will have next to it now is a * because it was won in a skills event, not by playing hockey.

Not a fan.

Dizee, the only fans complaining are Canadians, lol. Canada ran the tournament, lol!! Why are they crying now??? Everyone knew the rules coming in. The rules on deciding the outcome were available for months in advance. No one can complain, they knew what would happen if they didn't win the game during regulation or in the overtime period. Only fans are disappointed by the final result.

 

[EastonBlues22]

I hate the shootout, but I happen to agree with limiting the number of OT periods.

It's a kids tournament. They aren't paid like professional athletes, or generally conditioned like seasoned professionals, either. There should be a defined limit to how long the game can go for their safety, not to mention consistency within the tournament.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

This isn't the Stanley Cup or a professional league championship. This is closer to a State High School or College Championship in football. Both of which have the equivalents of shootouts to determine their Championship results Should a junior championship keep playing with tired players until one of them is seriously injured and loses their chance to play at a higher level??

Are you kidding?

The WORLD Juniors is closer to a State Football game? No. It's the largest competition these kids can play at their age unless they are in professional play. Heck, a lot of these players ARE professional. layers like Samsonov, Nylander, Eriksson-Ek, etc. That alone should show this tournament has more weight than just some State game.

Also, don't use injury as some reason to not play a sudden death. If that's the case, what was the point in going into OT? Why not end with a shootout immediately? Better yet, end it after the second period. I mean we can't let them getting injured right?

A player can get injured eating pancakes, why on Earth should we be so concerned in Gold medal game?

 

[Oberyn]

Lousy way to win a World championship- a shootout. They should keep playing 20 minute periods until someone scores.

Too bad Tage Thompson didn't get to shoot in the shootout.

He didn't play a minute in OT and if i recall he had a previous penalty shot where he got pokechecked. Not a huge surprise he didn't get picked to shoot.

 

[Borderbluesfan]

Are you kidding?

The WORLD Juniors is closer to a State Football game? No. It's the largest competition these kids can play at their age unless they are in professional play. Heck, a lot of these players ARE professional. layers like Samsonov, Nylander, Eriksson-Ek, etc. That alone should show this tournament has more weight than just some State game.

Also, don't use injury as some reason to not play a sudden death. If that's the case, what was the point in going into OT? Why not end with a shootout immediately? Better yet, end it after the second period. I mean we can't let them getting injured right?

A player can get injured eating pancakes, why on Earth should we be so concerned in Gold medal game?

Also read my other post. "Everyone knew the rules coming in. The rules on deciding the outcome were available for months in advance. No one can complain, they knew what would happen if they didn't win the game during regulation or in the overtime period. Only fans are disappointed by the final result."

There was a full 20 minutes of sudden death play. Fans complaining when no one on the teams or none of the coaches are complaining about the result. The rules are what they are, maybe they are meant in the best interests of the players.

 

[sbkbghockey]

This isn't the Stanley Cup or a professional league championship. This is closer to a State High School or College Championship in football. Both of which have the equivalents of shootouts to determine their Championship results Should a junior championship keep playing with tired players until one of them is seriously injured and loses their chance to play at a higher level??

State high school!? I don't usually rip posts but that's honestly one of the dumbest posts I've seen on here.

The World Junior tournament is one of the highest level international hockey competitions outside of the Olympics. These "kids" are most elite U20 players in the World. Some are already pros and the rest play in the highest Jr A leagues in their countries, major Jr in Canada or top NCAA DI schools in the Us. Some have a handful of NHL games played already. They're well-conditioned, elite athletes.

Shootouts are okay in pool play but for medal rounds the Continuous OT is the most logical. Most games only need 20 mins of OT anyway and even tonight it's amazing it got to a SO with some of the quality chances both ways. They could also do a best-of-three series but that would extend the tournament a few days.

 

[Borderbluesfan]

Are you kidding?

The WORLD Juniors is closer to a State Football game? No. It's the largest competition these kids can play at their age unless they are in professional play. Heck, a lot of these players ARE professional. layers like Samsonov, Nylander, Eriksson-Ek, etc. That alone should show this tournament has more weight than just some State game.

Also, don't use injury as some reason to not play a sudden death. If that's the case, what was the point in going into OT? Why not end with a shootout immediately? Better yet, end it after the second period. I mean we can't let them getting injured right?

A player can get injured eating pancakes, why on Earth should we be so concerned in Gold medal game?

Yes, for State High School championship games here in Texas, the players have almost as big chances of moving on to the next level, but I also used the example of College football Championships in the same sentence which you somehow ignored. My point was that at lower levels of competition than the Pro level, there is no reason to risk injury to athletes that aren't making any income for their play. This is an amateur championship, not all that important to these players. If they are skilled they will move on regardless of this game. Rules regarding how the outcome would be decided were given to all of the teams prior to the tournament. No one can complain about the outcome.

 

[Borderbluesfan]

State high school!? I don't usually rip posts but that's honestly one of the dumbest posts I've seen on here.

The World Junior tournament is one of the highest level international hockey competitions outside of the Olympics. These "kids" are most elite U20 players in the World. Some are already pros and the rest play in the highest Jr A leagues in their countries, major Jr in Canada or top NCAA DI schools in the Us. Some have a handful of NHL games played already. They're well-conditioned, elite athletes.

Shootouts are okay in pool play but for medal rounds the Continuous OT is the most logical. Most games only need 20 mins of OT anyway and even tonight it's amazing it got to a SO with some of the quality chances both ways. They could also do a best-of-three series but that would extend the tournament a few days.

Did you not see College Championship?? You don't think the players from Alabama and Clemson aren't any more conditioned or likely to play at the professional level of their sport than WJC kids?? I would argue that many of them are closer to playing at the professional level than anyone in the WJC. Many of them will be playing professional next year.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Also read my other post. "Everyone knew the rules coming in. The rules on deciding the outcome were available for months in advance. No one can complain, they knew what would happen if they didn't win the game during regulation or in the overtime period. Only fans are disappointed by the final result."

There was a full 20 minutes of sudden death play. Fans complaining when no one on the teams or none of the coaches are complaining about the result. The rules are what they are, maybe they are meant in the best interests of the players.

And guess what, the fans enjoyment is the entire reason why hockey is a business. If the fans are disappointed that such a game had to be decided in such a way, they have a right to voice the complaint.

Also, the rules on overtime change year to year. So even if the players and staff knew about the rule change, that doesn't mean the fans did. Talking about how the the players and staff knew about the change is completely irrelevant. And even if it was very apparent, that still doesn't justify having the rule.

 

[Borderbluesfan]

And guess what, the fans enjoyment is the entire reason why hockey is a business. If the fans are disappointed that such a game had to be decided in such a way, they have a right to voice the complaint.

Also, the rules on overtime change year to year. So even if the players and staff knew about the rule change, that doesn't mean the fans did. Talking about how the the players and staff knew about the change is completely irrelevant. And even if it was very apparent, that still doesn't justify having the rule.

Well, as a fan, I wasn't disappointed, lol! So you are only saying that you as a fan was disappointed, while many other fans weren't disappointed. So far all we have is a few fans that were disappointed in the outcome.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Yes, for State High School championship games here in Texas, the players have almost as big chances of moving on to the next level, but I also used the example of College football Championships in the same sentence which you somehow ignored. My point was that at lower levels of competition than the Pro level, there is no reason to risk injury to athletes that aren't making any income for their play. This is an amateur championship, not all that important to these players. If they are skilled they will move on regardless of this game. Rules regarding how the outcome would be decided were given to all of the teams prior to the tournament. No one can complain about the outcome.

Did you not see College Championship?? You don't think the players from Alabama and Clemson aren't any more conditioned or likely to play at the professional level of their sport than WJC kids?? I would argue that many of them are closer to playing at the professional level than anyone in the WJC. Many of them will be playing professional next year.

You are either over exaggerating college football players or severely underrating WJC prospects. A Lot of the guys in the WJC will be professionals next year.

Also, I ignored the whole college championship because no matter where you are from, a high school state game is not as important or big as a college football championship. To somehow say they are of equal importance, or close to, is like suggesting that the Memorial Cup is close to the importance of the BCHL championship.

At this point, I really don't know what you're arguing. Literally all I've said is that the shootout is a terrible way to end the game and the only time I've said anything different is when I have to address your points like that the tournament is't that important, the players safety needs to be a concern, and that the players aren't disappointed in the outcome. Two of those points are completely irrelevant, and player safety is such a blanket statement that it loses credibility. I never once said that a player's future is in danger because they didn't score in OT, or that the game lost all of its entertainment value because of the shootout, or that USA winning is not a good outcome. So again, what are you arguing? Because your points are all over the place with little to no connection in between.

 

[sbkbghockey]

Did you not see College Championship?? You don't think the players from Alabama and Clemson aren't any more conditioned or likely to play at the professional level of their sport than WJC kids?? I would argue that many of them are closer to playing at the professional level than anyone in the WJC. Many of them will be playing professional next year.

WJC players (esp from the top countries) are very similar to DI FBS football players. Actually many WJC players already play pro, so one could argue they're closer or above college football players (but let's not debate that here).

In College Football, the OT is continuous sudden death like NHL playoffs, NCAA Hockey Playoffs, and most other elite levels of postseason hockey.

I think what some of the fans are saying is that Alabama-Clemson isn't going to end by QBs throwing the ball into the big Dr. Pepper Can or other skills competition and something as high level as the WJC shouldn't be determined by a SO. Also, it's not just the WJC- the IIHF uses the same format for Olympics. An Olympic gold medal game could come down to a shootout.

 

[542365]

That game was incredible. World Juniors are like my favorite hockey games to watch. They're so entertaining because the kids are every bit as skilled as most NHLers, but they haven't had the creativity coached out of them yet.

 

[EastonBlues22]

Are you kidding?

The WORLD Juniors is closer to a State Football game? No. It's the largest competition these kids can play at their age unless they are in professional play. Heck, a lot of these players ARE professional. layers like Samsonov, Nylander, Eriksson-Ek, etc. That alone should show this tournament has more weight than just some State game.

Also, don't use injury as some reason to not play a sudden death. If that's the case, what was the point in going into OT? Why not end with a shootout immediately? Better yet, end it after the second period. I mean we can't let them getting injured right?

A player can get injured eating pancakes, why on Earth should we be so concerned in Gold medal game?

Injury rates increase as fatigue increases.

You don't have to take my word for it, as there have been numerous studies done on the subject across a wide range of sports and competitions. Managing fatigue levels is a huge part of competitive sport training nowadays, because there's evidence that it matters...a lot.

One's fatigue level after 80-100+ minutes of play is obviously not the same as one's fatigue level after 0-60 minutes of play. The two can't be equated.

I can't say why the IIHF chose 80 minutes as their standard, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if there were sport specific studies done on the subject...perhaps even commissioned by the IIHF itself. Whatever the reason(s), I'm sure the decision wasn't arbitrary.

None of that might matter to a fan who simply doesn't care if a kid gets hurt or not, but the parties involved and governing body absolutely should care about such things.

 

[simon IC]

Injury rates increase as fatigue increases.

You don't have to take my word for it, as there have been numerous studies done on the subject across a wide range of sports and competitions. Managing fatigue levels is a huge part of competitive sport training nowadays, because there's evidence that it matters...a lot.

One's fatigue level after 80-100+ minutes of play is obviously not the same as one's fatigue level after 0-60 minutes of play. The two can't be equated.

I can't say why the IIHF chose 80 minutes as their standard, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if there were sport specific studies done on the subject...perhaps even commissioned by the IIHF itself. Whatever the reason(s), I'm sure the decision wasn't arbitrary.

None of that might matter to a fan who simply doesn't care if a kid gets hurt or not, but the parties involved and governing body absolutely should care about such things.

Very well stated. Excellent post.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

Anyone else notice our boy Tage Thompson got benched in OT? That's no good.

I think he got kicked off the Roslovic/Bellows line in the 3rd as well.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

McAvoy is a killer prospect

Yep. Most impressive prospect on Team USA by a mile. Well maybe Clayton Keller is near him but McAvoy was just incredible on the back end. I know Boston really wants Shatty but they'll have him in a year or two in McAvoy.