U19: Five Nations Tournament in Kloten, Switzerland (6-9 February)

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Switzerland:


Goalies (2): Elijah Neuenschwander (Fribourg-Gottéron), Diego Simeoni (EHC Biel-Bienne)

Defensemen (7): Nic Balestra (EV Zug), Timo Bünzli (GCK/ZSC Lions), Aris Häfliger (HC Ambri Piotta), Yanik Lichtensteiger (HC Davos), Noam Micheletti (EHC Biel-Bienne), Nils Rhyn (SC Bern), Eric Schneller (Rögle BK / SWE)

Forwards (13): Jan Dorthe (Västerås IK / SWE), Janis Embacher (SCRJ Lakers), Alain Graf (SC Bern), Rico Gredig (HC Davos), Kimo Gruber (GCK/ZSC Lions), Noam Holzer (Fribourg-Gottéron), Andro Kaderli (Leksands IF / SWE), Guillaume Kaser (EHC Biel-Bienne), Colin Lindemann (Leksands IF / SWE), Endo Meier (GCK/ZSC Lions), Levin Moser (SC Bern), Gioele Pedrazzini (HC Lugano), Matteo Wagner (AIK / SWE)


Perhaps a bit of a surprise that they decided to put the youngest of the very talented 06 goalies on the U19 team. Elijah Neuenschwander is a late birthday and not even eligible for the upcoming NHL draft. He's clearly better than any Swiss 05 goalie though, especially in the absence of Ewan Huet. The rest of the team is all 05 born. It's a pretty weak team though. 05 not the deepest of years for Switzerland, especially with the two best players not available. Rafael Meier is still injured, Léo Braillard is with WHL Lethbridge.
 
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Speyer

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Switzerland:


Goalies (2): Elijah Neuenschwander (Fribourg-Gottéron), Diego Simeoni (EHC Biel-Bienne)

Defensemen (7): Nic Balestra (EV Zug), Timo Bünzli (GCK/ZSC Lions), Aris Häfliger (HC Ambri Piotta), Yanik Lichtensteiger (HC Davos), Noam Micheletti (EHC Biel-Bienne), Nils Rhyn (SC Bern), Eric Schneller (Rögle BK / SWE)

Forwards (13): Jan Dorthe (Västerås IK / SWE), Janis Embacher (SCRJ Lakers), Alain Graf (SC Bern), Rico Gredig (HC Davos), Kimo Gruber (GCK/ZSC Lions), Noam Holzer (Fribourg-Gottéron), Andro Kaderli (Leksands IF / SWE), Guillaume Kaser (EHC Biel-Bienne), Colin Lindemann (Leksands IF / SWE), Endo Meier (GCK/ZSC Lions), Levin Moser (SC Bern), Gioele Pedrazzini (HC Lugano), Matteo Wagner (AIK / SWE)


Perhaps a bit of a surprise that they decided to put the youngest of the very talented 06 goalies on the U19 team. Elijah Neuenschwander is a late birthday and not even eligible for the upcoming NHL draft. He's clearly better than any Swiss 05 goalie though, especially in the absence of Ewan Huet. The rest of the team is all 05 born. It's a pretty weak team though. 05 not the deepest of years for Switzerland, especially with the two best players not available. Rafael Meier is still injured, Léo Braillard is with WHL Lethbridge.

Well, they need to spread out the 06 goalies if they want to give them all ice time. And even then there are talented guys for whom there is just no place for right now. I am not sure if Neuenschwanders selection means that the feds are actually higher on him than on Kirsch/Lachat right now though. It will definitely be interesting to see who will get the starting spot on this years U18's. Its probably still up for grabs right now.

I also agree with you on the 05 class in general. Definitely a very pedestrian age group with Braillard as the only above average prospect for our standards. I also sort of like R. Meiers development curve and skill set but its still disappointing overall. It might even be our worst birth year since 2001 and is probably worse than the following groups as well. To bad Gruber in particular couldn't live up to expectations. He looked promising as a very young prospect in Klotens junior teams but seems to have stagnated pretty hard in the last two or three years. I don't think many of those guys should even make next years WJC team. Schneller, Bünzli, Braillard, Meier and Gredig are the only locks in my book. Lindemann and Dorthe could be considered as well.
 
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Maverick41

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This is the current roster for the German U19, but there may still be changes before the tournament.
But there are no changes I can see, that could turn this into a competitive team against the kind of competition they will face.
The goalies will likely be very busy.

Pos.#NameFirst NameDOBTeam
GK31HümerLeon18.03.2005Düsseldorfer EG/ESC Moskitos Essen
GK1PertuchNico29.07.2005ERC Ingolstadt/Ravensburg Tower Stars
GK30SalmikKeanu28.07.2005ESV Kaufbeuren/EV Lindau
DF26BoseckerLars Lion18.09.2005Red Bull Hockey Juniors/AUT
DF8HomannHenry12.12.2005EV Landshut/Passau Black Hawks
DF4KukukMoritz27.04.2005Düsseldorfer EG
DF15KühnhauserKilian29.02.2005Starbulls Rosenheim/EC Peiting
DF5MayerPaul25.09.2005Adler Mannheim/JA Mannheim/Bietigheim Steelers
DF22PeukertJakob27.11.2005ESV Kaufbeuren/EV Füssen
DF9SeidelPhilipp06.01.2005Düsseldorfer EG/ESC Moskitos Essen
DF7VladelchtchikovAlexander08.01.2005Kölner EC/EV Duisburg
FW14BickerKevin29.01.2005Löwen Frankfurt
FW23BrandlLinus01.04.2005Straubing Tigers/EV Landshut
FW17FocksNiclas01.09.2005Krefeld Pinguine/Krefelder EV81/ESC Moskitos Essen
FW29KopietzLukas Benedikt18.06.2005Kölner EC
FW19MünzenbergerMarco02.09.2005Kölner EC
FW28RiekeRobin03.05.2005Düsseldorfer EG
FW10RuckdäschelTimo01.04.2005Grizzlys Wolfsburg/Hannover Indians
FW18SamanskiNoah12.05.2005Red Bull Hockey Juniors/AUT
FW25ScheibengraberLuis20.02.2005EV Landshut/Passau Black Hawks
FW27SchillingChristian18.04.2005ERC Ingolstadt/Bayreuth Tigers
FW12SchreinerVadim25.08.2005Red Bull Hockey Juniors/AUT
FW13TripckeHannu16.09.2005Eisbären Juniors Berlin
FW24VinzenzPaul21.09.2005Red Bull Hockey Juniors/AUT
 

Czechboy

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Most the good players are gone.lol

Not expecting too much out of this squad.. happy to see Perez and Badinka in the nomination! Felcman, Stancl and Holinka are encouraging too. Still, B or C squad to my eye which is good to get other guys a look!
 

JJTT

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Finland

Goalies:
30 Kuivila Jimi, Ilves Tampere
31 Vedenpää Visa, Kärpät Oulu

Defense:
2 Inhala Joose, Kiekko-Espoo
3 Junkkari Jimi, Pelicans Lahti
4 Kiukas Peetu, SaiPa Lappeenranta
5 Korkola Niko, Tappara Tampere
6 Nissilä Niko, Kärpät Oulu
7 Paganus Topias, TPS Turku
8 Peltonen Janne, Kärpät Oulu
9 Prihti Eero, Ässät Pori

Forwards:
10 Alasiurua Arttu, Kärpät Oulu
11 Eskola Lauri, Ässät Pori
12 Huttu Elias, JYP Jyväskylä
13 Hynninen Topias, Jukurit Mikkeli
14 Jansson Elias, Kärpät Oulu
15 Järventie Emil, KooVee Tampere
16 Kiiskinen Jesse, Pelicans Lahti
17 Kuusla Emil, Jokerit Helsinki
18 Lehtosaari Valtteri, JYP Jyväskylä
19 Levänen Eetu, Lukko Rauma
20 Lind Onni, Jokerit Helsinki
21 Mikkonen Dani, Tappara Tampere
22 Rautiainen Benjamin, Tappara Tampere


Clear b team
 

Steve Kournianos

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Swedes were outclassed but they rallied to make it 3-1 and 4-2 until that high stick led to three power-play goals against. Zether, Rautiainen, Jansson, Svensson, Vuollet, Lind among the standouts. Noel Fransen had issues and made bad decisions, especially on the PP.

Swedes had the far younger lineup. Think they had six or seven 18-year-olds to only one or two for Finland.
 

Speyer

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If someone has seen the Switzerland-Sweden game I would love to know how the Swiss Goaltender Neuenschwander looked.
 

Hinterland

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If someone has seen the Switzerland-Sweden game I would love to know how the Swiss Goaltender Neuenschwander looked.




Didn't have time to watch it yet but red+ has all the games of this tournament plus all the games involving Swiss national junior teams of the other tournaments during the IIHF break. You can watch them live or as vod. For free. May be geo blocked. I haven't checked yet.
 
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Hinterland

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So this assessment may be slightly unfair because firstly I watched the game during work and secondly, i was just a one cam with barely any zoom and the cam sometimes not even following play. Still, I was kinda disappointed. Based on shot totals I expected a Neuenschwander show. However, I didn't see any difficult stops from him at all. Sweden may have had the puck all the time but Switzerland actually had at least the same amount of high danger chances. Sweden was cycling in the offensive zone all game long, sometimes for entire shifts just to still only get low danger shots off. When they did get high danger chances they failed to get quality shots off, sometimes even missed the net completely. They may still win the game if it wasn't for Noel Fransén. Was on the ice and directly responsible for all three Swiss goals and most other Swiss chances. His horrible giveaway led to a Swiss breakaway and the 1st goal against. On the 2nd he was soft on defense, failed to get the puck away. On the 3rd he stepped up in the offensive zone and failed to get to the puck first. With his goalie pulled that was automatically another goal against. The dude played like this all game long...and he played over 20mins. If that's his standard then he better not get drafted. I have hardly ever seen a single player fall off like that in a hockey game.

Didn't mean to take away anything from Neuenschwander though. He was still very solid under a heavy workload. Hardly ever able to relax because play was mostly in the Swiss zone. He looked incredibly focused and calm, tracking the puck very well despite it moving from side to side behind his net a lot. Barely moving at all but always in perfect position to make a save. Impressive, especially considering he's an 06 late birthday with all other players on the ice being 05 borns.
 
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Speyer

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So this assessment may be slightly unfair because firstly I watched the game during work and secondly, i was just a one cam with barely any zoom and the cam sometimes not even following play. Still, I was kinda disappointed. Based on shot totals I expected a Neuenschwander show. However, I didn't see any difficult stops from him at all. Sweden may have had the puck all the time but Switzerland actually had at least the same amount of high danger chances. Sweden was cycling in the offensive zone all game long, sometimes for entire shifts just to still only get low danger shots off. When they did get high danger chances they failed to get quality shots off, sometimes even missed the net completely. They may still win the game if it wasn't for Noel Fransén. Was on the ice and directly responsible for all three Swiss goals and most other Swiss chances. His horrible giveaway led to a Swiss breakaway and the 1st goal against. On the 2nd he was soft on defense, failed to get the puck away. On the 3rd he stepped up in the offensive zone and failed to get to the puck first. With his goalie pulled that was automatically another goal against. The dude played like this all game long...and he played over 20mins. If that's his standard then he better not get drafted. I have hardly ever seen a single player fall off like that in a hockey game.

Didn't mean to take away anything from Neuenschwander though. He was still very solid under a heavy workload. Hardly ever able to relax because play was mostly in the Swiss zone. He looked incredibly focused and calm, tracking the puck very well despite it moving from side to side behind his net a lot. Barely moving at all but always in perfect position to make a save. Impressive, especially considering he's an 06 late birthday with all other players on the ice being 05 borns.

Thanks for the summary as I probably wont have the time to watch the game myself. Even though it was a weaker swedish team its still good to hear Neuenschwander did well overall.
 

Hinterland

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Neuenschwander starting again. Good. Hopefully he'll get a 3rd one as well. We all know Simeoni sucks. Doesn't need more starts.
 

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So far very similar to the Sweden game. Finland dictating play but not able to really test Neuenschwander who's making it look easy again. Switzerland up by 1 after 1.
 

Hinterland

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1-1 after 2. Finland with some better chances in the 2nd but Neuenschwander stopped them all...just to let in one from down town. Dunno. Was a good shot top corner but it wasn't even a chance...just a shot from distance. Far from unstoppable but he just missed it I guess.
 

Hinterland

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Switzerland wins 2-1. Not much to do for Neuenschwander in the 3rd. Switzerland actually kinda controlled play in the 3rd. Neuenschwander gave up one very juicy rebound though which easily could have led to a goal for Finland. Overall another very good performance for Neuenschwander. I still think he should have on the WJC20 team. He's good enough. The same goes for Jan Dorthe btw...as I repeatedly said in the WJC20 thread. Rock solid and gritty two way Center shutting down opposition effectively and leading scorer for Switzerland this tournament with 4 points as well. Scored both goals today. Would have come in handy at the WJC20.

PS: I was kinda laughing when Roost said he thinks that Dorthe has a chance to get drafted. Only now I realized that he's actually a late birthday, so 2024 will be his first year of eligibility. Still don't think he's gonna get drafted but based on that it's certainly not impossible.
 
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Hinterland

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Seems that way, any particular reason he wasn't on the U20 World Junior team? His profile would suggest he should have been.
I don't know. From what I saw he hasn't been particularly good today though. Had some of the better chances for Finland but never came close to scoring, sometimes even missed the net.
 

Speyer

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PS: I was kinda laughing when Roost said he thinks that Dorthe has a chance to get drafted. Only now I realized that he's actually a late birthday, so 2024 will be his first year of eligibility. Still don't think he's gonna get drafted but based on that it's certainly not impossible.
Zero chance Dorthe gets drafted. He is a late born forward that put up around 0.5 ppg in the Swedish U20 league this season. Then he has some pro games under his belt but didn't score a single point in any of them. He also has no outstanding tournament performances on the international stage to his name either. Sure he was solid at last years WJC U18 but he was outdone by Reber in that tournament who was almost a year younger. And even Reber is not a complete lock to be drafted this year either if you look at his assessment by Central Scouting. As a late born 05 player he also won't any chance to further his draft stock at this years U18's. Thats just not a resumee that will get you drafted. I think Roost just had to throw out a couple of names for content in the article you are referring to. I doubt even he thinks Dorthe has a realistic chance of getting picked. I mean he is part of Central Scouting Europe and they never added Dorthe on any of their lists this year. The only 05 born player with any chance of being drafted right now is Braillard. And even he is far from a lock coming of a very pedestrian WJC.
 

Hinterland

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Zero chance Dorthe gets drafted. He is a late born forward that put up around 0.5 ppg in the Swedish U20 league this season. Then he has some pro games under his belt but didn't score a single point in any of them. He also has no outstanding tournament performances on the international stage to his name either. Sure he was solid at last years WJC U18 but he was outdone by Reber in that tournament who was almost a year younger. And even Reber is not a complete lock to be drafted this year either if you look at his assessment by Central Scouting. As a late born 05 player he also won't any chance to further his draft stock at this years U18's. Thats just not a resumee that will get you drafted. I think Roost just had to throw out a couple of names for content in the article you are referring to. I doubt even he thinks Dorthe has a realistic chance of getting picked. I mean he is part of Central Scouting Europe and they never added Dorthe on any of their lists this year. The only 05 born player with any chance of being drafted right now is Braillard. And even he is far from a lock coming of a very pedestrian WJC.
Dorthe was on the Central Scouting preliminary list, Reber was not.
Look, I agree with you. It's highly unlikely. I just think that, given it's his first year of eligibility it's not completelely impossible. Takes only one team. Players with worse stats did get drafted. And Dorthe does provide a lot more than scoring.

Btw: Simeoni starting today. Boo. I don't get it. Why split starts just for the sake of it?
 

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