GDT: 2019 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships

Who are you looking forward to the most if they represent their country?

  • Sweden: Philip Broberg, D [2019 Draft]

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • USA: Evan Barratt, C [Blackhawks - 90th overall in 2017]

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    113

Piestany88

Registered User
Sep 29, 2017
2,510
474
Here's the final USA team...

DvHdd-LVAAUGTIE.jpg


As I said before, it looks top heavy to me..
Yeah Canada is going to steamroll that team if they even play.
 

Colorado Avalanche

No Babe pictures
Sponsor
Apr 24, 2004
28,635
8,747
Lieto
I fail to see how the NHL becoming a more skill oriented league is in any way a bad thing. The sport right now is as exciting as it ever was. If you're watching hockey for nasty, dirty hits, fights, suckerpunches, etc. Then you're watching the wrong sport.


That said. This latest interference rule change is over the top because you're essentially getting into a very grey area now of what's deemed interference and what isn't. Then again, it was a grey area before as well.

Spectators love fights. Hockey is physical sport and there's noth8ng better than a big clean hit. Personally I love players like Zadorov. He can make the game much more interesting with one big hit. If you take out all the hits, then you take out all the emotions. It's contact sport at the end.
 

McMetal

Writer of Wrongs
Sep 29, 2015
14,052
11,946
Sort of an upset, but Finland beat Canada yesterday in the final preseason game 5-2. Not that it means anything, but it is sort of shocking considering how many players Finland is losing from the NHL and injury.

Really surprised nobody voted for Ranta in the poll.
I'm not a big fan of the Ranta pick. He seems like a low-IQ player to me and I think that will start to be exposed at the pro level despite all his tools. I expect him to do pretty well at lower levels, but I don't have high hopes for him overall. I went with Bowers because I feel like we really are going to need his style of game at C soon and although it looks like he'll be relegated to a defensive role, I want him to do well considering his slow start at BU.
 

RoyIsALegend

Gross Misconduct
Sponsor
Oct 24, 2008
22,030
28,098
Pretty cool that we have 5 players at the tournament, only two NHL teams have more than with us with 7.

Not sure if the two Russians will get much playing time, though.
 
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UncleRisto

Not Great, Bob!
Jul 7, 2012
30,775
25,614
Finland
Sort of an upset, but Finland beat Canada yesterday in the final preseason game 5-2. Not that it means anything, but it is sort of shocking considering how many players Finland is losing from the NHL and injury.

Really surprised nobody voted for Ranta in the poll.
Sucks that Vesalainen straight up declined, but the Finns have good depth of FEL players in their bottom-6. Those guys who are unknown internationally have played pro all season. We'll see how it goes once the real games start.
 

S E P H

Cloud IX
Mar 5, 2010
30,714
16,242
Toruń, PL
Only Kotkaniemi and Heiskanen from the NHL and Ikonen & Räsänen from injury. Ok, that was four guys, maybe it is quite a lot.
Kotka and Heiskanen would probably be the two best players in this tournament though. Didn't realise they're getting Vaakanainen back.

Sucks that Vesalainen straight up declined, but the Finns have good depth of FEL players in their bottom-6. Those guys who are unknown internationally have played pro all season. We'll see how it goes once the real games start.
Yeah, it's going to be interesting year on that department in terms of do playing against men make any difference whatsoever. USA's team is filled with a ton of NCAA games, Canada's is always CHLers, and teams like Slovakia and Czechia have a ton of players against men.
 

UncleRisto

Not Great, Bob!
Jul 7, 2012
30,775
25,614
Finland
Kotka and Heiskanen would probably be the two best players in this tournament though. Didn't realise they're getting Vaakanainen back.

Yeah, it's going to be interesting year on that department in terms of do playing against men make any difference whatsoever. USA's team is filled with a ton of NCAA games, Canada's is always CHLers, and teams like Slovakia and Czechia have a ton of players against men.
I don't mean to pump up the "playing against men" aspect again, rather, I'm saying that compared to some previous teams, this one seems to have a lot of pro experience throughout. Seems the leagues are getting younger in Europe too, and not just the NHL.

Can't tell if it's a good or a bad thing we're going into the tournament with these expectations, but not medaling will be a giant disappointment here.
 

Avs_19

Registered User
Jun 28, 2007
84,508
32,088


Kovalenko is officially on the team now.

So Ranta isn't on the Finland roster but he could still be on the team? Do these teams just need more time to evaluate?

I'm looking forward to watching the others who we know for sure will be playing. Kaut's up first just over an hour from now and then Bowers in the evening.
 

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