So for the Canucks prospects at the WJC, a recap:
Johan Sundstrom - Finished with 5 points in 6 games, patrolling the first line with Johan Larsson and Max Friberg. Overall his performance was up and down. Had some very good games, and a couple of clutch plays, but at times seemed behind the play. Skating is an issue, but hands, size, work ethic and defensive play were impressive. Wore an A throughout as well.
Joakim Nordstrom - A pleasant surprise, finished with 4 goals and 5 points, including a big game winner. Centered what was I assume the third line, and was probably the key defensive forward for the Swedes. Again, wore and A and was part of the leadership core of the Swedes. Not quite as big or skilled as Sundstrom, but was quite effective. Maybe tried to wind up a few too many rushes, but looks like a player.
Jeremy Boyce-Rotevall - Still undrafted in the NHL, he slowly earned more playing time over the tournament. His best and most noticeable effort easily came in the Gold Medal Game, where he was all over the ice at times. Good skater and a hard worker, but doesn't show the skill I hoped he had when I drafted him.
JT Miller - I thought he was one of the best and most consistent American players. Was primarily the third line centre, but chipped in 4 points, threw several big hits (ask Scott Harrington) and seemed consistently involved in the play. The only forward eligible to return next year, could easily get the C if he's not in the NHL. I'm more sold on him as a first round talent than I was when I drafted him, and this tournament has at times done the opposite with players (eg. convinced me to trade Jim O'Brien).
Gregory Hofmann - Disappointing tournament with the Swiss, only picking up 2 points after being more productive last year. Always a hard worker and an outstanding (and max effort) skater, I thought he played out of control too much. Had some great shifts, and looked best when replacing Sven Bartschi on the first line, but I was hoping for more. Has a lot of the same issues as Mika Zibanejad, but as a poor man's version. Some great hands, great skating and a good shot, but not great at creating offence for others, and caught between being a centre and a winger.
And a couple of random thoughts:
- The Swedes were all over the place, and epitomized why the WJC is a fun tournament to watch, because you see teams coming together game to game. It's almost impossible to reconcile the Swedish club that needed extra time to beat Finland and Switzerland, with the one that beat Canada in the preliminary round and which dominated the Russians through 40 last night. Even more interesting, nobody on the Swedes really stepped up and started taking over the game, IMO. While Friberg finished a lot of plays, he wasn't a game-breaking talent, and nor were Larsson and Zibanejad. While Larsson was consistently noticeable, he didn't score a goal and was not in on most of the big plays. They were able to roll multiple lines and many players contributed, quite the opposite of the Russians where it was kind of Kuznetsov, Yakupov and Gusev, then everybody else in my mind. If you clocked possession time, Kuznetsov might have the puck on his stick more in individual shifts than Zibanejad would have in an entire period, if not entire game.
- The Americans weren't as bad as their finish suggests I think. They didn't play terribly against the Finns or Czechs, and likely would have easily beat the Finns in a 3 or 5 game series. Their defence was pretty unreliable, but goaltending was ok, and other than Saad and Etem, most of their forwards played quite well. Maybe some players like Zucker were trying to do too much, or were out of their element, but that's the nature of the tournament. Nothing to worry about there.
- The Swiss probably deserved better. They really can skate with the best teams, and that's why with a great individual talent (eg. Nino) and/or some elite goaltending, they can be competitive with almost anybody. Will never compete with Canada or the US physically, but can at times match up against the other European clubs on a technical level. Just a lack of skill and finish.
- The success of the Czechs (even if they didn't medal or anything) was overall a great thing to see. It's a program that's struggled of late, but they played a very good team game and Mrazek was outstanding. Hopefully they can build from this.