GDT: 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship

[TheDaysOf 04]

There are no Lightning prospects in the tournament this year. There are however some names to look out for that could be possible 2022 draft targets for us since we have a 1st round pick this year (for the moment). Here's a few:

- Marco Kasper
17 year old (turns 18 in April), 6'1" center for Austria. He played for Austria's WJC team last year as a 16 year old. Kasper has 4 goals, 6 points in 24 games for Rogle in the SHL this season. He also played 10 games for them last season when Simon Ryfors was there. Craig Button's November rankings have him 29th.

- Arseni Koromyslov
18 year old, 6'3" lefty dman for Russia. He plays with Maxim Groshev for St. Petersburg's program and has split the season between the MHL, VHL, and KHL clubs. Craig Button has him ranked 22nd.

- Filip Mesar
5'10" forward for Slovakia. Turns 18 on January 3rd. He's played the past 2 seasons for HK Poprad at the mens level in Slovakia. He has 5 goals, 9 points in 20 games this season. Craig Button and McKeen's Hockey have him ranked 20th. Sam Cosentino has him ranked higher at 14 on Sportsnet.

- Lian Bichsel
17 year old (turns 18 in May), 6'5" lefty dman for Switzerland. He was the captain for the Swiss at the Hlinka tournament. He's played 12 games this year for Leksand in the SHL and played 4 games last season for Biel in the top tier of the Swiss League. Sam Costentino has him ranked 30th.

- Jiri Kulich
17 year old (turns 18 in April), 6ft center for the Czechs. He was the captain and team scoring leader for them back in August at the Hlinka tournament. He has 7 goals, 11 points in 30 games this season playing for Karlovy Vary in the top league of the Czech Republic. Craig Button has him 35th in his rankings.

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[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[Felonious Python]

The U-20 isn't a great tournament to find undrafted players, outside a few future top picks. Days pretty much named everybody.

TB doesn't have any picks in the 2-4th rounds currently, but Vladimir Grudinin is ranked around 60.

Teams by number of first time draft eligibles: (bold = top prospect)
6 Slovakia (Sykora, Petrovsky, Elias, Slafkovsky, Nemec, Mesar)
5 Austria (Rohrer, Auer, Kasper, Tschurnig, Erne)
4 Russia (Michkov, Yurov, Grudinin, Koromylslov)
3 Czechia (Moravec, Jiricek, Kulich)
2 Finland (Kemell, Lambert)
2 USA (Cooley, Silverstein)
2 Switzerland (Bichsel, Streule)
1 Canada (Wright)
1 Germany (Klein)
0 Sweden

Russia-Slovakia play on the 29th at 4:30 et

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Point21]

Huge blow to the Czechs

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

3 goals in 2 games for the super prospect Matvei Michkov who just turned 17 only 3 weeks ago.

 

[Point21]

3 goals in 2 games for the super prospect Matvei Michkov who just turned 17 only 3 weeks ago.

the things i would do to see Michkov line up next to Point and Kucherov

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

I was able to go back and watch the Germany-Czechia game from yesterday. Here are a few thoughts on some eligible players.

Jiri Kulich - Had a solid game. Fast skater, has some nice offensive abilities. Didn't really do anything bad, but because of his late 1st/2nd round rankings I was kinda hoping to see a little more. He didn't always stand out, which brings me to Ivan Ivan.

Ivan Ivan - There are players who you look for and players who find you. That's Ivan Ivan who just stood out on his own. Ivan, a 5'11" center is 19 years old, and was passed over in the 2021 draft. I would think that mostly has to with a so-so 2020 rookie campaign in the QMJHL and then only playing a few games last season back home. He returned to Cape Breton in the QMJHL this season and has 18 goals and 30 points in 29 games. But during the game, good pker, has some skills, skates well, there's a lot to like. He created a 2-0 on the pk, and then had another breakaway himself on a different penalty kill. He kinda fits the mold of that competitive, hard working, sub 6 foot forward the Lightning like.

Alexander Blank - He's 19 but turns 20 in February, making him one of the older players here. He scored both goals for the Germans including an end to end rush for the game winner in OT. He's played 73 games at the senior level of the DEL the past 3 seasons. He has 3 goals, 10 points in 28 games this season.




Maks Szuber - Another guy who has been passed over in the draft. Szuber is an interesting 19 year old though. 6'3" dman who really loves to rush the puck. He's played 22+ minutes in their first game against Finland, and 24+ minutes against the Czechs. He plays on the top pair with Edmonton draft pick Luca Munzenberger. The best way to describe him is he plays like a 4th forward more than a dman. Not that great of a backwards skater, not that great in his own end, causes some turnovers, but he loves to join the rush and carry the puck up ice. Had a number of times where he went coast to coast. He deked around a few players too showing off his puck handling ability. He caught my eye a lot.

Florian Elias - Captain for Germany and probably their most high profile player on the team. Was passed over in the draft after putting up 4 goals and 9 points in last years WJC next to Stutzle and JJ Peterka. He was also the 2021 DEL rookie of the year. Problem is he's 5'8" and does not possess pull away speed. The skill is evident, even if it doesn't translate this tournament into points with the lack of other skill guys on the team. Can he be another 5'9" Nikita Gusev or 5'10" ABB type pick up?

Florian Bugl - Last but not least, the best player of the game, Germany's goalie: Bugl. He was incredible. He made 39 of 40 saves for the Germans and the only 1 that got past him was a puck that went off his own dman's skate. He's also 19 and turns 20 in the spring and only 6 feet tall. Germany started Quapp, one of the few NHL drafted guys on the team, in the first game against Finland. Now they have a choice to make for the next game against Canada.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

He might be as good as Taylor Raddysh

 

[JoVel]

So this tournament is a bit of a joke isn't it.

 

[Felonious Python]

So this tournament is a bit of a joke isn't it.

The games have been pretty much as competitive as normal, just with these cancelations. If they start messing with the elimination games, then yeah, it'll be a joke.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Sucks for all these kids who are trying to live a dream. Some of them really need a tournament like this against some of the best 18 and 19 year olds in the world to raise their draft stock or professional profile.

The only big relief here is that Bedard and Michkov are still young and will be back here next year once again. And when that happens it will be a gigantic story in the hockey world to see the 2 play each other head to head.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[LightningStrikes]

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Felonious Python]

Leaman is the US U-20's head coach.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Right before they got a chance at Team Canada too. They're a hockey country on the come up and I'm sure some might roll their eyes at them being "disappointed" they didn't face Canada, but I'm sure they were looking forward to proving themselves on this stage.

This just feels too late if it takes place after the draft. If they're going to have it, do what's in the best interest of the kids, not the iihf.

I do remember Russia and Canada doing a 4 game series (Canada-Russia Challenge) in August 2012 with their U-20 teams to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 72 series. Vasilevskiy and Nesterov were on Russia's national junior team at the time. They did 2 games in Halifax and 2 in Yaroslavl. I'm not sure if something like this is planned again for the 50th, but if so, rescheduling the wjc for the summer would make things difficult, not to mention how all countries hold evaluation camps in the off season as they look towards 2023.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[JoVel]

I don't quite understand... was there no plan B by the IIHF here? Or even worse, was immediately cancelling games and eventually the whole thing the plan B? Just a horribly ran tournament that's for sure.

 

[LightningStrikes]

So apparently there was a random wedding taking place in the same hotel where teams were staying - probably not a good idea huh.

 

[Felonious Python]

Right before they got a chance at Team Canada too. They're a hockey country on the come up and I'm sure some might roll their eyes at them being "disappointed" they didn't face Canada, but I'm sure they were looking forward to proving themselves on this stage.

This just feels too late if it takes place after the draft. If they're going to have it, do what's in the best interest of the kids, not the iihf.

I do remember Russia and Canada doing a 4 game series (Canada-Russia Challenge) in August 2012 with their U-20 teams to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 72 series. Vasilevskiy and Nesterov were on Russia's national junior team at the time. They did 2 games in Halifax and 2 in Yaroslavl. I'm not sure if something like this is planned again for the 50th, but if so, rescheduling the wjc for the summer would make things difficult, not to mention how all countries hold evaluation camps in the off season as they look towards 2023.

The Memorial Cup (which I'd think would probably get canceled again) ends June 13th. They're already selling tickets for it.

The draft is July 7-8.

Ottawa(Kanata) and Quebec City are interesting if they can't stay in Edmonton & Red Deer. The Sens actually play in the suburbs, so there's maybe less chance of catching something. Winnipeg might work, since it doesn't even have an airport, but the Jets would probably be good enough to still be playing.
List of indoor arenas in Canada - Wikipedia

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

The IIHF has been in contact with organizers, participating teams and their national associations to potentially play the recently cancelled events later this year and is working with the foreseen or if necessary potential other host countries as well as the teams to find dates for these events.

“Although there is still work to be done to secure hosts and dates, the majority of participating teams and organizers have expressed interest and willingness to participate in rescheduled events during the summer of 2022. Further meetings will be held this month to determine next steps for each of the cancelled tournaments,” said IIHF President Luc Tardif.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[Felonious Python]