U16: Four Nations Tournament in Tranås, Sweden (14-16 April)

[theslatcher]

Czechia
Finland
Slovakia
Sweden

Click to read more...

 

[theslatcher]

The big omission for Sweden is obviously Ish Wozniak.

Players to debut on the U16 team: Erik Häggblad, Vilmer Tammilehto(played for Finland U16 earlier this year), Gustav Hillström, & Ivar Stenberg.

William Forsberg too as he had to exit before the last tournament started. Lets hope he's healthy for this one.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

The big omission for Sweden is obviously Ish Wozniak.

Very strange

 

[Garl]

Very strange

Decieded to play for Australia after all?

 

[Erikfromfin]

Finns went 4-0 last tournament. hoping they send best players here.

 

[Sanz4]

Ekberg - Gästrin - Laksonen
Frondell - Novotny - Morin
Klingsell - Sonestedt - Krantz
Bräutigam - Stenberg - Hillström
Tammilehto

Sjöström - Lindgren
Sascha - Annborn
Wahlund - Häggblad

Härenstam

Imo we dont need to send our top forwards every tournament, tbf we could just have sent both Ekberg and Frondell and test new guys!

 

[fan1977]

Hard to understand the coaches choices both last year and this year. Sounds positive that this will be his last as a national team coach.

 

[fan1977]

Looking at the j18 national series after Christmas I think novotny has produced well even on the u16 level. Milton G continues strongly. And of course ekberg has produced well on all levels.

 

[Erikfromfin]

Finns

Goalies:
Kerkola Patrik, KalPa Kuopio
Sammalniemi Jooa, Lukko Rauma

Defenders:
Boelius Lasse, Ässät Pori
Kotajärvi Jesper, Hermes Kokkola
Paju Aaron, TPS Turku
Ruotsalainen Veeti, Kärpät Oulu
Saari Julius, Jokerit Helsinki
Sippola Ossi, K-Vantaa
Tukio Ossi, Ilves Tampere
Uusitalo Erno, K-Espoo

Forwards:
Joki Atte, Tappara Tampere
Kämäräinen Rasmus, Jokerit Helsinki
Mattila Urho, Kärpät Oulu
Mensonen Jasu, Lukko Rauma
Orpana Eetu, Tappara Tampere
Pakarinen Rasmus, KalPa Kuopio
Pietiläinen Onni, KooKoo Kouvola
Rajala Joonas, Tappara Tampere
Somervuori Jere, HIFK Helsinki
Strömberg Benjamin, Jokerit Helsinki
Virtanen Jeremi, TPS Turku
Westergård Max, Lukko Rauma

Head Coach:
Tiilikainen Matti


Would have liked to see Björkenheim, Vanninen, Ervasti and Baggström but good team anyway. Only Boelius Lasse is defender who I dont have good idea about.

 

[Pazucha]

Slovak U16 Roster:
Source HockeySlovakia.sk

Michal ČUNDERLÍK	Barani-HŠMH Banská Bystrica
Michal PLANČÁR (2008)	Barani-HŠMH Banská Bystrica
Lukáš TOMKA	Barani-HŠMH Banská Bystrica
Leonardo Roberto HENRIQUEZ	HC Slovan Bratislava
Patrik RUSZNYÁK	HC Slovan Bratislava
Adam SALOŇ	HC Slovan Bratislava
Marcel KIMÁK	HC Košice
Michal PRÁDEL	Draci Liptovský Mikuláš
Adam NEMEC HFB	Draci Liptovský Mikuláš/MMHK Nitra
Tomáš VAJKO	HC Lučenec/VLCI Žilina-mládež
Matúš LISÝ	HK Nitra
Tomáš CHRENKO HFB	MMHK Nitra
Dominik DANKO	HK ŠKP Poprad
Andreas STRAKA	HK ŠKP Poprad
Alex MIŠIAK	MHKM Skalica
Patrik FÜLÖP	HK Dukla Trenčín
Adam GOLJER (2008)	HK Dukla Trenčín
Martin KALIS	HK Dukla Trenčín
Jakub DUBRAVÍK	VLCI Žilina-mládež
Adam KALMAN	HC Olomouc (ČR)
Michal SVRČEK HFB	Brynäs IF (Švéd.)
Michal ČAPOŠ	SDE HF (Švéd.)

Substitutes on Phone:
Tomáš Grečmal (Barani-HŠMH Banská Bystrica), Roman Taliga, Tomáš Tomaškovič (obaja HC Slovan Bratislava), Jakub Habla (HOBA Bratislava), Ivan Berčík (HK Brezno), Miroslav Svrček (HO Hamikovo Hamuliakovo/HC Petržalka 2010), Timotej Kubizniak, Ricardo Pavlík (obaja HC Košice), Viktor Stas (Draci Liptovský Mikuláš), Sebastián Krajči (MMHK Nitra/MŠHK-mládež Prievidza), Lukáš Knapík, Tomáš Novobilský (obaja HK ŠKP Poprad), Andrej Zuščák (HC Prešov), Dávid Bórik (HK Dukla Trenčín), Dávid Baláž, Mário Kohút (HK Trnava), Patrik Brezáni, Lukáš Hukel, Daniel Necpál (všetci HKM Zvolen), Dávid Olejník, Lukáš Urdák (obaja VLCI Žilina-mládež).

So far, only ice hockey players from the 2007 birth year have been tested. About fifty boys have been on the nomination lists since last summer. For the event in Sweden, the coaches also nominated a pair of 2008-born players, Adam Goljer and Michal Plančár. "We have been monitoring their performance for a long time. Both were among the leaders in their teams. With a view to the future, we wanted to give them space to get a feel for what awaits them," said the head coach of the under-16 team, Ivan Králik, in an interview for hockeyslovakia.sk. Fourteen-year-old defender Goljer played 41 games for the Dukla Trenčín juniors with a record of 5 goals and 17 assists. He dominated in the older boys' league within his age category and even made one start for the junior team. Michal Plančár, a forward who only celebrated his 15th birthday in February, scored 32 points (10+22) in 40 games in the extraliga dorastu.

The remaining part of the nomination consists of players who the coaches selected based on two basic criteria. "Although four boys from the 2007 age group left us for the under-17 team, we tried out about fifty players during the season, which made it easier for us to put together the nomination. We decided based on current performance and how the boys performed during the season on the international stage," added Králik.

The four-nation tournament in Sweden is a big challenge for Slovakian youngsters, especially in terms of quality. They regularly meet the Czechs during the season, but they only had the opportunity to play the Finns once in December and have not yet played against the Swedes. The results from previous events, especially the one in Finland in December, where the under-16 team finished second in tough competition, and the one they won in Latvia in February, promise a challenge for the overall victory in Tranas. "We are very happy about this tournament. The confrontations that await us are not a common occurrence for our youth teams. We need to play tough games so that the boys can see if they are competitive and what they have to work on. These are important matches for them in connection with their prospects for the Under-18 World Championships, which await them in two years," continues Ivan Králik.

In Tranas, his charges will face the Czechs on Thursday, April 13. The next day they will challenge the home team, the Swedes, and on Saturday, April 15, they will complete their participation in the event against the Finns. From a conditioning perspective, it will be a demanding test, but the under-16 representatives are used to it. In December, they played four games in four days, and in February in Latvia, they played three games in three days with shorter intervals. "We don't change the plan. We want to play active hockey based on good skating. Although the boys have just finished the season, as many of them recently competed in the Youth Championships of Slovakia in the junior category, I believe that they will rest during this week and come to the training camp with sufficient energy for the final tournament. We will motivate them primarily by the fact that they don't often play against such opponents and that they can show themselves. I am convinced that we will handle the tournament physically and I believe that we will also achieve a good result," added Ivan Králik.

 

[Antiillafire]

Slovakia beats Czechia 3-2 in the first game of the tournament

 

[Pazucha]

Slovakia beats Czechia 3-2 in the first game of the tournament

Good game, i didnt watch the first period but i really liked Svrcek (10) and Misiak (7) excepted more from Chrenko (9) and Nemec (8) in the second and third.

From Czechia Kucharcik (21) cought my eye but i didnt really pay attention to the Czech Players as much.

 

[Antiillafire]

Good game, i didnt watch the first period but i really liked Svrcek (10) and Misiak (7) excepted more from Chrenko (9) and Nemec (8) in the second and third.

From Czechia Kucharcik (21) cought my eye but i didnt really pay attention to the Czech Players as much.

I have liked Svrcek every time I have seen him. Adam Nemec is a bit of a disappointing player for me, he has lots to work on and I thought he looked kind of lost in the U20 league this year. The 2007 class has some real talent, and this team is without Radivojevic, Misak, Chovan, etc

 

[Wooren]

Good game, i didnt watch the first period but i really liked Svrcek (10) and Misiak (7) excepted more from Chrenko (9) and Nemec (8) in the second and third.

From Czechia Kucharcik (21) cought my eye but i didnt really pay attention to the Czech Players as much.

Agree, Kucharcik was probably the standout in otherwise a rather shallow perfromamce from the Czech team. Svrcek had some dominant shifts, but he needs to grow. Anybody knows the height of his father? lol
As for Nemec, this is the second or third time I have seen him play and I don't really see it.

 

[Goodman68]

Agree, Kucharcik was probably the standout in otherwise a rather shallow perfromamce from the Czech team. Svrcek had some dominant shifts, but he needs to grow. Anybody knows the height of his father? lol
As for Nemec, this is the second or third time I have seen him play and I don't really see it.

Who are we all missing there? Benák, Pavlik. Záhejský..? The game was played at the same time as the U17 team and also the extra league, so I didn't see everything, but from the second period it was quite disappointing.

 

[Wooren]

Who are we all missing there? Benák, Pavlik. Záhejský..? The game was played at the same time as the U17 team and also the extra league, so I didn't see everything, but from the second period it was quite disappointing.

Those three forwards plus defenseman Mikel. And to lesser extent defensemen Mrtka and Holub, though these last two are more of depth pieces at this point.

Czechs were good in the 1st period (or rather, Slovaks were really poor), roles swapped in the 2nd. The 3rd was kind of snoozefest. Close game all things considered.

 

[Pazucha]

SWE 3-1 SVK

Swedes were much bigger and stronger and completely dominated first and second period. Slovaks played better in the third but it wasn't enough.
Best Slovak player was the goalie Henriquez - honorable mention Svrcek.

(Honestly what are you feeding these kids in Sweden they also looked massive in the U17 tournament that was played in the same day)

 

[FHC]

Who are we all missing there? Benák, Pavlik. Záhejský..? The game was played at the same time as the U17 team and also the extra league, so I didn't see everything, but from the second period it was quite disappointing.

Zahejsky is injured. Pavlik is on the U17 national team. Benák is probably also injured, because Tilbach(2006,playes in Plzen) joined the U17 after the final game, Benák didn't.

 

[Preds666]

Not surprised Sweden won the tourney, more surprised they did not score a whole lot more goals in the tournament just based on the amount of A scoring chances they had in all games.

Slovakia and Czechia were a notch below in quality. Also looked a lot slower and smaller than Finland and Sweden.

For Sweden, I finally understand why Viktor Klingsell is so highly touted. Best puck carrier on the team along with Ekberg and maybe Gästrin. Decent release as well.

Thought personal favorite Melvin Novotny had a pretty quiet tournament. Definitely seen him much better.

***
Historically, if we look at some of our best age groups like 90, 91, 96 etc.. it was not like those teams blew out their opponents either at international level. If I recall, most games were pretty even, despite opponents producing 10% of the NHLers those Swedish age groups did.

 

[VictorLustig]

Not surprised Sweden won the tourney, more surprised they did not score a whole lot more goals in the tournament just based on the amount of A scoring chances they had in all games.

Slovakia and Czechia were a notch below in quality. Also looked a lot slower and smaller than Finland and Sweden.

For Sweden, I finally understand why Viktor Klingsell is so highly touted. Best puck carrier on the team along with Ekberg and maybe Gästrin. Decent release as well.

Thought personal favorite Melvin Novotny had a pretty quiet tournament. Definitely seen him much better.

Klingsell has been perhaps the best forward for the Swedish u16 team this season. Really good in every tournament.