So, I finished watching the games of the U17 tournament in Visp yesterday and here are some of my observations. This is going to be a long one.
Let's start with the goalies, the position I know so little about and am terrible at judging. Although maybe I am getting a little better at least I have been trying to educate myself. Still, take this with a grain of salt:
I actually liked both goalies, who played in this tournament. The first two games it was Leon Willerscheid, who I thought tracked the puck fairly well through traffic, had good positioning and made some spectacular saves. He also did really well on breakaways, although he sometimes played too deep in his crease for my liking. Another area I thought he needs to improve, was his recovery. Several times he would end up down on the ice or to the side of his net, and take a long time to get back up while the play continued. Maybe, each time he thought he had the puck?
What he seemed to do really well was playing the puck.
The final game Nico Pertuch was playing in goal. His style looked very different. There was a lot less movement, he looked big, calm and almost stoic. He lacks a bit of quickness and agility/flexibility it seems, but he plays the angles pretty well. I noticed one time where his angle was off, but other than that I thought he did really well in that area. He had fewer “big saves” but made almost no mistakes (a couple of rebounds that were too juicy, but nothing too bad). Unlike Willerscheid he seemed less proficient at playing the puck, but on the other hand his recovery was really quick. It was interesting to watch him move so little and so deliberately most of the time, but when he had to go down to make a save or was drawn out of position he suddenly “exploded” and with a few very quick moves he was back up and in position.
Next up defense:
Most of the defensemen did not really stand out and when they did it was not necessarily in a good way, but because the made a little mistake or got walked. But nobody was really terrible, just at times overmatched. I’ll focus on the three defensemen that stood out to me the most and showed the most promise.
First off, there does not seem to be the next Seider in this group, but for the most part I really liked Paul Mayer, and I saw a few things that reminded me of Max Glötzl and Luca Münzenberger respectively, which is not a bad thing. He has decent size, though he does not play very physical, and plays a fundamentally sound game. He skates well enough, though he would need to improve a bit if he really wants to make it to the next level. There was the odd mistake here and there, but for the most part his decision making stood out in a very good way. Same goes for his outlet passes and his passing in general. He played a very smart and very controlled game and was the best and most consistent defenseman by a fair margin.
Edvin Tropmann also showed a lot of good stuff and some promising skill. I liked his play in the offensive zone better than his play in his own zone, where he was prone to make some mistakes, but not to the point where I would call his defensive game a liability. He needs to improve in this area, but he has the tools to do so. He skates well for his size (though he is not exactly huge), he has good vision and offensive awareness and does well on the break out pass. He plays with a bit of an edge and does not shy away from physical play, the downside of that is it can lead to unnecessary penalties at times, but it should suit him well at the next level and as he gets older, when physical play becomes a bit more acceptable. I also liked what I saw of his shot. However, all of our defensemen shot very little. He is a right shot, but played on the left side. I don’t know if it is the same when he plays for Cologne so he is used to it, or if he had to adjust for this tournament which could explain some of his defensive miscues.
Tropmann’s defensive partner was Alexander Vladelchtchikov, who also plays for Cologne and is also a right shot (I don’t know if they also play together for their home team). You immediately see that Vladelchtchikov lacks size which will likely hold him back. At least for now he is too easily outmuscled and pushed aside. On the plus side he is a very good and fast skater and usually knows where he needs to be on the ice. His transition game is really good as he can pass the puck out of his zone very well, but also carry it up the ice safely and quickly due to his skating ability (agility, speed and acceleration) and stick handling. I often thought he would do well as a forward. He also did well as a power play QB distributing the puck and walking the blue line. Defensively he struggled at times, mostly because of his physical limitations, as mentioned before, but he would also take some unnecessary risks at times which left his teammates exposed when he did not succeed.
Now for the forwards. There are bunch of them that were interesting, but again not really anybody that screamed “the next Stützle, Reichel or Peterka”.
I’ll start with the first guy I noticed, Jonas Fischer. He was exceptional/brilliant/outstanding (pick whichever term you like) against Switzerland. There I thought he may be the next top prospect for Germany. He was skating like the wind, just overpowering his opponents. He also showed good playmaking abilities and did well on the forecheck. Honestly there was nothing not to like about his game in that match. He was a real game changer and drove the play almost every time he stepped on the ice. Unfortunately, he could not replicate that performance against the Slovaks and the Czechs. Don’t get me wrong, he still flashed his skill and had his moments, but it seemed like the opponents had prepared for him and played a much tighter game against him than the Swiss did. They were also more physical against Fischer which he did not seem to like.
Fischer’s linemates also stood out in a good way overall.
Paul Vinzens was more of the line driver in the latter two games and also excelled on the forecheck in every game. He is a good skater, and plays a smart, dynamic game. His vision and playmaking ability are also above average. Some times he was trying to do a little too much, but you could see that from almost all the forwards.
The center of the first line was Julius Sumpf and he played a similar game to Vinzens, though I liked his stick-handling a bit better. Sumpf was strong on the forecheck and also backchecked well. It also stood out for all 3 members of the first line, that there forecheck was well structured and quite tenacious at the same time. Like his linemates Sumpf is a good skater and he also did well defensively for the most part using his stick effectively when defending in his own zone. I am not entirely sure what to make of his shot. It seemed fine and kind of sneaky good at times, but then a little underwhelming a few minutes later. I want to see more of it, before I make a judgment on it.
In the first two games Timo Ruckdäschel played with Kevin Bicker and Linus Brandl (more on them later). Ruckdäschel was a little frustrating to watch, because every now and then he would flash some pretty impressive skill, showing off his stickhandling and puck-protection abilities. He is also a decent enough skater. At times though it seemed that he was playing with a bit of tunnel vision, not utilizing his linemates as well as he could have. There is clearly a decent amount of skill there, but he left me wanting more. Not the greatest performance, but certainly someone to keep an eye on.
Kevin Bicker was very noticeable, mostly in a good way, but also had a couple of blunders, where he just made the wrong decision. He played very aggressive with lots of tenacity on the forecheck and was very good, and very dangerous on the penalty kill. He skates very well and uses his speed and agility to put pressure on the opposing puck carrier and forces turnovers. In the offensive zone he uses quick turns and good stick-handling to create some separation for himself to either find a teammate or go for a shot on goal himself. Like most of the forwards his finishing ability could use some work.
Linus Brandl was one the more physical forwards on the team and played a pretty good 200ft game. He did well on both the forecheck and the backcheck and also handled himself well when he killed penalties. He doesn’t have any stand-out skills, but also not really glaring weakness. I don’t think he will necessarily be “THE” guy on any team, but he is a very useful and valuable player to have on your team. He has enough skill and offense to cause some problems, but enough grit and defensive acumen to help his team on that side of the game as well. I am curious to see how his game will develop. Very interesting player.
Another interesting player is Vadim Schreiner who is a good skater with an intriguing skillset of good stickhandling, agility and creativity. He lacked a little bit of vision or maybe it was just that his execution of his pass attempts was a bit off, but Schreiner did a lot of things right it just always seemed like that final pass from or to him would not connect. With a little more luck, he could have had a couple of points.
And last but certainly not least, Chris Kirschenbauer. He missed the game against Slovakia, but in the two games he played he showed a lot of stuff that is not flashy and does not show up in the boxscore, but is important for the team. His skating (at least with regard to speed and acceleration) seemed a little underwhelming and I think he needs to improve that quite a bit, but he played extremely smart and mature in my opinion. He had his best moments breaking up attacks by the opposing team, winning pucks and starting the transition game. I never saw him out of position or missing his defensive assignments. If his offense develops some more and he can keep up the same level of defensive play and commitment, he could turn into quite the player.
So those are my thoughts based on this small sample size of three games at one tournament.
