WJC: All-Star & MVP

[Monaakko]

Honestly, there wasn't really any one player that stood out in a noticeable way. Goaltending was good across the board, scoring for forwards was very even and not particularly high compared to previous years. Also the quality of the defences was higher than usual although apart from Romanov it wasn't reflected in unusually big offensive numbers.

 

[Kipper933]

If MVP is the most valueable player for the team, it was either Kurashev (SUI) or the Finnish goalie.

Yeah, most valuable to team was probably Kurashev, but hard to vote for a MVP on the 4th place team.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

MVP should be someone from team Finland, having a loser as the MVP is completely nonsensical.

I don't think referees are eligible to receive the MVP award.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Not going to say Poehling does or doesn't deserve MVP....but he is the weakest MVP for this tournament in as long as I can remember. Basically had one dominate period.

 

[FinPanda]

Luukkonen should've been the MVP.

 

[Mogo]

Except when that time his team trailed by 4 goals and he put it on his back
.. right?

Are you also aware that he lead he tournament in points? I guess that doesnt count?

I mean take away his four points game and hes still PPG.

Think you need thicker glasses

 

[VictorLustig]

Brännström had a good start to the tournament but ended up trying too hard, just like last year. Definitely doesn't deserve to be on the all-star team IMO.

 

[BlitzSnipe]

Slepets was amazing for Russia

He's a very promising player, too bad he couldn't come up with some goals vs. the US, he had several chances. He has the talent and determination to become an excellent player on the interntional stage.

 

[Macch]

Strange tournament.

I don’t think any player really stood out.

Wasn’t wowed by anyone.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Strange tournament.

I don’t think any player really stood out.

Wasn’t wowed by anyone.

Romanov's 8 points and +12 doesn't look bad, considering, he was 18 (almost 19, of course, but he's still eligible for the next WJC).

 

[chaosrevolver]

As a Habs fan, I would have given MVP to Luukkonen. Romanov would have been a strong candidate if they had gotten to the Gold Medal Game I think. Still happy with the tournament for Poehling and I think he did better than a lot of us expected. Ylonen, Primeau also has strong tournaments.

 

[Prins Filip]

All the best players were from the group that started in Vancouver. I wonder if any of the IIHF directorate members cared to watch any of the games held in Victoria. Especially when three biggest countries and chairman’s beloved Switzerland all played in Vancouver.

 

[Mrb1p]

Alright Mea culpa I didn't check the last game stats before saying that.

I also agree with the sentiment that Poehling is one of the weakest MVPs in recent history, but to say he was bad is a huge stretch. Tikhonov is probably the worst one in recent memory.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Call me a homer but I'd take Sandin's performance over Brannstrom. I preferred his overall game

 

[Dominance]

The easiest way to reduce the amount of losing team getting MVPs would be if ballots would include two options for the award:

MVP if USA wins
MVP if Finland wins

Holy shit, this is so obviously the correct path to take that it hurts.

 

[Mrb1p]

Strange tournament.

I don’t think any player really stood out.

Wasn’t wowed by anyone.

Yeah, every star player played a rough tournament IMO. Hughes brother didn't produce, Glass got kicked out early, Tolvanen did nothing in the WJC once again, Kakko was a bit underwhelming production wise, Necas and Zadina were poopie, Suzuki didn't get many opportunities, Sweden had no forward talent (Lundestrom maybe ?)

The best individual efforts were by Poehling, Romanov, every damn goalie in the tournament, Denisenko... I guess Frost was producing enough but didn't get to do it either.

Hopefully next year is better with Romanov, Lafrnière, Hayton, Smith, Denisenko, Farabee, Lundell, Wahlstrom, Podkolzin, Morozov, Marchenko, Pekar, Lauko, Jenik, etc. Theres a lot of players coming back that will most likely be stars on the offense, especially Podkolzin, Lafreniere, Denisenko and the americans. Add to that guys like Cozens, Dach, Wise, Holtz, Raymond, etc..

It's going to be filled with talent.

 

[Mrb1p]

Call me a homer but I'd take Sandin's performance over Brannstrom. I preferred his overall game

Boqvist looked better than both, imo.

 

[Statsy]

I actually thought it was a down year for star power before the tournament even started. I think the final results confirm that fact. Just think about the fact that the top guy drafted in the majority of the WJC pools was an underager... and then he got hurt and missed half the tourney.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Boqvist looked better than both, imo.

really? he looked 3rd best to me