OT: All Purpose WJC Thread Pt. II

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Prepare for Max Domi to be very overrated by the media for a long time because of his strong WJC performance. He'll be a very good player, but people right now think he's going to be off the charts amazing.

 

[Bullseyes]

Prepare for Max Domi to be very overrated by the media for a long time because of his strong WJC performance. He'll be a very good player, but people right now think he's going to be off the charts amazing.

Pretty much. People put too much stock into these short tournaments. Domi will be a good player, but I doubt he'll turn out to be THAT good.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Same with Fucale. A mediocre goalie. Everyone was going on about his 0.5 GAA but the only time he had serious opposition he concedes 5. This is Fleury 2.0

 

[offdacrossbar]

just amazing hockey last night. congrats to canada. great team. great talents. they deserved to win as they were the more talented roster. the canadians were deeper and more talented, but the russians showed heart and grit. they just ran out of time.

should not have removed shestyorkin. dumb. kid deserved better. we should have had an entire game of shesty. gonna be a lot of second guessing that coaching decision.

some random thoughts on our 2 best prospects.

duclair is gonna be a stud. has an elite shot thats only going to get better. he's got dangerous hands and may well be the finisher we've been looking for since....well.... not sure, its been so long.

he had a terrific tourney and his whole line was impressive. he's an exciting prospect. 3rd round ?

buchnevich is wayyyyy more than just a pretty face. dude is both setup man and scorer but maybe as impressive, he's physical, has very good puck awareness and high on ice IQ and shows enormous puck confidence. he wants the puck and he wants it when it matters. he's an impressive young man and in no way is he a one dimensional russian enigma. he's a high end offensive kid who can bring the edge as well. all while taking on responsibility for an entire country.

he was shattered at the end. shattered cause it mattered. a lot.

that game shows why international junior hockey is some of the best competition on the planet.

 

[Trxjw]

Buchnevich reminds me more and more of Zherdev each time I see him play. Dynamic offensive talent but looks to pass far too much. Can play with an edge and dominate on one shift, and look completely invisible the next. Leaves a lot to be desired without the puck and in his own end. I know people liken him to Semin all the time, but Semin is always a threat to shoot. Buchnevich loves to pass, and several times last night he passed up chances to shoot by trying to force a pass that wasn't there.

Now, that being said, the upside of this kid is undeniable. If the Rangers can work with him he has the potential to be a very special player. His offensive ability is elite, and all it will take is moderate ability in his own end for him to be a NHL regular. He and Duclair on a line in the next couple seasons could be absolute magic to watch.

 

[Bluenote13]

It was a good tourney, lots of good games and good players. The 2013 draft is turning out to be amazingly deep. And there was a ton of talent missing that are already playing Pro's. If Canada had its full compliment of eligible players they might have blown out every team.

Vlad Gavrikov, Slava Leshchenko(Buch's WJC linemate) are two Russian overagers to think about at the draft. I wouldn't want to draft him with our 2nds but Denis Godla proved he's a legit goalie prospect.

I agree ODC, this tourney is one of hockey's high points every year because these kids play for each other and their country first and foremost.

 

[offdacrossbar]

lashchenko is skilled but slightly undersized. he played well.

gavrikov is an excellent defender. good skater and solid defensively. like him a lot. would look to snag him if he's there in later rounds.

i don't like the zherdev comparison at all. he was supremely skilled for sure but he was mentally fragile and played without a ton of heart. he was moody and brooding and many times seemed easily distracted. don't like to say soft but he wasn't overly aggressive.

buchnevich is an emotional almost cocky guy who's gritty, driven, skilled, smart, confident, fluid, adequately defensively responsible (but needs work) and dangerous. he rarely looks like he's not sure what he's doing. he oozes ice hockey.

buchnevich is far from a perfect player but he's no zherdev. buch might not play in a torts system but in av's skating, puck support, high tempo game, he should flourish. on the pp, with his puck confidence and high end understanding of where to be and where to place pucks, he should earn his nhl paycheck.

if we let him play his game, he's a "get up outa your seat" kid.

 

[Ghost of jas]

I am not going to attempt to spell his name, but I was very impressed by #25 of the Russian team. He and Nurse were having major battles last night.

 

[RangerBoy]

Katie Strang said during an ESPN chat today that some Rangers people believe Buchnevich might be better than Duclair.

 

[Trxjw]

i don't like the zherdev comparison at all. he was supremely skilled for sure but he was mentally fragile and played without a ton of heart. he was moody and brooding and many times seemed easily distracted. don't like to say soft but he wasn't overly aggressive.

buchnevich is an emotional almost cocky guy who's gritty, driven, skilled, smart, confident, fluid, adequately defensively responsible (but needs work) and dangerous. he rarely looks like he's not sure what he's doing. he oozes ice hockey.

buchnevich is far from a perfect player but he's no zherdev. buch might not play in a torts system but in av's skating, puck support, high tempo game, he should flourish. on the pp, with his puck confidence and high end understanding of where to be and where to place pucks, he should earn his nhl paycheck.

if we let him play his game, he's a "get up outa your seat" kid.

I'm not talking about his mental state, simply his on ice play. Buchnevich's game is very close to that of Zherdev. A ultra skilled play making winger who, at times, plays with a chip on his shoulder. His defensive game isn't adequate at all. In fact, it's quite poor. He passed up WAY too many opportunities to shoot in this tournament, but that doesn't mean I think he's a bad player by any stretch.

He's never going to get a chance to "play his game" in any NHL system for any coach unless that game includes being competent without the puck and in his own end. He doesn't have to be a Selke candidate, but he has to be able to play defense. Duclair is immensely talented, and he still saw plenty of bench time because of the mistakes he made defensively. Whenever you say "if we let him play his game" you're admitting there are flaws there, even if you choose to ignore them in the rest of your post.

The good news is he's the most purely gifted offensive talent we have in the system, even more talented than Duclair, and he's having success against men as a 19 year old. The flaws in his game can be fixed if he's willing to put in the effort, and everything I've seen and read tells me he has the mental stamina to do just that. So Zherdev, to me, is an apt comparison for the way he plays his game, but not necessarily for his mental state.

 

[offdacrossbar]

gordie was looking for buch to assume a leadership role for the russian team. he specifically said "character leader" meaning, no repeat of the taunting episode.

he showed both leadership and maturity. he was devastated to lose that game.

he wore a letter and was the offensive go to guy. his scoring numbers, especially goal scoring, were not what was expected but his involvement in everything offense for the russian team showed a kid who welcomes responsibility and shines when he has the puck.

mission accomplished.

 

[Thordic]

Katie Strang said during an ESPN chat today that some Rangers people believe Buchnevich might be better than Duclair.

Not hard to believe, Buch was a force out there. He was noticeable every time he touched the puck.

His play away from the puck needs some work, but his offensive game is very promising.

 

[JohnC]

Buch reminded me of Ovi and Nash a lot this tournament but I can be crazy sometimes

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

gordie was looking for buch to assume a leadership role for the russian team. he specifically said "character leader" meaning, no repeat of the taunting episode.

he showed both leadership and maturity. he was devastated to lose that game.

he wore a letter and was the offensive go to guy. his scoring numbers, especially goal scoring, were not what was expected but his involvement in everything offense for the russian team showed a kid who welcomes responsibility and shines when he has the puck.

mission accomplished.

I don't think he had nearly as strong of a showing at this tournament as you do but I'll say this, he battled his ****ing ass off last night. At the least, he showed that when the chips are down he'll be ready to play and continue to play even when things don't go well from puck drop.

 

[Bluenote13]

I am not going to attempt to spell his name, but I was very impressed by #25 of the Russian team. He and Nurse were having major battles last night.

Alexander Dergachyov, draft eligible 2015.

gordie was looking for buch to assume a leadership role for the russian team. he specifically said "character leader" meaning, no repeat of the taunting episode.

he showed both leadership and maturity. he was devastated to lose that game.

he wore a letter and was the offensive go to guy. his scoring numbers, especially goal scoring, were not what was expected but his involvement in everything offense for the russian team showed a kid who welcomes responsibility and shines when he has the puck.

mission accomplished.

I thought Russia was lucky to survive some undisciplined play all tourney long. And they were taunting Canada in that last game every chance they could get. Not that it refelcts on him poorly but lets not make like they were saints

Buch was a leader, agreed that overall his performance was very good. I thought he over passed the puck at times, kids got a great shot, needs to use it more. Noticed that in the KHL games I watched this season too. He's super talented, I wonder about his head more than his hands.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Alexander Dergachyov, draft eligible 2015.

Where is he expected to go, and is he worth using a 2nd round pick on?

 

[FLYLine27*]

Yea that kid stood out a bit to me, besides the fact that he looked like a monster on the ice with his size.

 

[Trxjw]

Where is he expected to go, and is he worth using a 2nd round pick on?

Since we have two, he could be worth a dice roll. I think he's been hanging around the early 3rd in most projections, but he had a pretty good tourney and might have bumped up his stock. Being highly physical against Canada can only inflate a players value. His skating and work ethic are solid enough that he could make it as an energy guy if the scoring upside never materializes.

Really depends on who is there. It's a forward heavy draft so it's inevitable that a couple higher-ranked guys will slide.

 

[Leetch66]

I guess I am old school...however I like that attribute in a player that shows his emotions after a loss such as Buchnevich did . It is something that the Ranger organization has lacked in many seasons .