U17: 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge — Nov. 2-8

[Woodhouse]

Is there another U17 thread? no updates here? whats going on

You're in the right spot. The Team Pacific thread that expanded into other team talk and scoutman1's summary post were merged into this inclusive thread. However, the schedule, results and webcasts are indexed HERE.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Is there another U17 thread? no updates here? whats going on

Kind of a boring day.

The Quebec vs. Czech game was so insanely bad. I didn't think I could watch a game with that many QMJHL players and not be impressed by any of them (Booth is the exception). There doesn't seem to be 1 natural center on Team Quebec because none of them seem to know how to play the position properly. It was simply painful and I spent way too much time trying to watch Team Quebec Booth kept Quebec in the game for 2 periods and early in the third some horrible breakdowns by Quebec led to easy goals by the Czechs. From the sounds of things, Game 1 was similar for Quebec.

The Czech players that impressed me were #3 Libor Hajek (D), #9 Filip Chlapik (F), #18 Filip Suchy (F), #23 Simon Stransky (F). I'd have to watch them a couple more times to really get a feel for the type of player they are. Hajek is a 98 born D-man and had a filthy stretch pass which sent a teammate in for a breakaway goal.


The Atlantic/Ontario game was kind of predictable as well. Atlantic has only 1 line and it's made up of a NSMMHL player, a QMJHL player, and a Jr. A player (Balmas-Noel-Tower). The thing that most impressed me with Balmas was that his game from midget held up against quality players. He reads the play so well & has such great anticipation that he forces so many turnovers in the neutral & defensive zone. He was playing on the wing while Noel was playing center so he looked a little lost at times defensively because he's definitely a natural center.

I liked Cam Lee's skating & puck moving ability but he's just not strong enough for Team Ontario. Going the college route will definitely be beneficial for him. Deschenes seemed to chase hits when he shouldn't and seemed to poke at the puck when he should take the body. He also has a tendency to look at the puck rather than the man.

I don't want to say too much about too many guys because frankly the games were bad lol

 

[JackSlater]

I'm not that impressed with Ontario, and Konecny in particular. Day seems to stand out the most on that team, mainly because he moves around so effectively. Also, Quebec looked atrocious against Czech Republic earlier. Couldn't establish possession in the offensive zone to save their lives, and their defencemen were beaten constantly. I've seen Jeremy Roy look good in the Q, but he looked terrible today to me.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

How have Strome and Konecny looked?

 

[3 Minute Minor]

I'm not that impressed with Ontario, and Konecny in particular. Day seems to stand out the most on that team, mainly because he moves around so effectively. Also, Quebec looked atrocious against Czech Republic earlier. Couldn't establish possession in the offensive zone to save their lives, and their defencemen were beaten constantly. I've seen Jeremy Roy look good in the Q, but he looked terrible today to me.

The footage I saw of Konecny & the couple games I saw recordings of didn't make me think he was deserving of the praise he got & going #1 in the OHL but I like what I've seen live. He's the fastest guy on the ice and he can make plays at top speed. He tends to try to do too much with too little so I understand why you might not be impressed but when he does keep it simple, he's the best player on the ice.

 

[hab 4ever]

Team Québec played an absolutely terrible game. It was shocking tbh.

I don't remember seeing as bad a power-play as the one they had in the third period.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

How have Strome and Konecny looked?

Strome messes with my head. He seems like he's just floating around going through the motions if you focus solely on him but then out of nowhere he's creating a scoring chance by making a beautiful pass, throwing the puck on net, or driving the net for a rebound.

 

[JackSlater]

The footage I saw of Konecny & the couple games I saw recordings of didn't make me think he was deserving of the praise he got & going #1 in the OHL but I like what I've seen live. He's the fastest guy on the ice and he can make plays at top speed. He tends to try to do too much with too little so I understand why you might not be impressed but when he does keep it simple, he's the best player on the ice.

Yeah, Strome looks better in terms of finishing or making the killer pass, though Konecny is better in terms of possession from what I've seen. I would like to see them together outside of limited PP time, just for curiosity sake. Day seems like the guy I would have wanted with a #1 pick, particularly since he is guaranteed to play in junior for three years at least. He has his own weaknesses though, which are pretty well documented.

 

[sigx15]

i drove up today and caught the Russia vs USA game in Port Hawksbury then caught the game in North Sydney with Quebec vs Pacific

here are some guys who caught my eye:

Russia vs USA:

Noah Hanifin - This guy i can not say enough will be right up with McDavid and Eichel, great skater, great puck rushing, scored a great goal on the rush, excellent vision and passing all game, great smarts, this guy got it down at both ends of the ice and was dominant.

Colin White - Had some great scoring chances, scored a decent goal, always buzzing in the offensive end, very smart, moved well with and without the puck, strong, this guy is very smart, does all the things right and is just down right great on the ice.

Jeremy Bracco - Excellent skating, very good puck handling, was buzzing in the offensive zone, made a mockery of Russia skating around them twice lol.

Auston Matthews - This guy was my first time watching play and i was very very impressed, the guy is fast, strong, goes to the net, excellent puck handler at high speed, great puck protection, excellent shooter and dished the puck well, he is going to be a major major talent for 2016 NHL draft.

guys i did not get a good read on in the game Tkachuk, Greenway, Werenski

Scoutman1, how did Kirwan look in this game? Know he dominated against Germany but was more curious to see how he looked against Russia. Not draft eligible until 2016, so he gets a little less talk than the other guys but know he plays a lot of minutes and up there on scoring for the U17 team.

 

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Strome messes with my head. He seems like he's just floating around going through the motions if you focus solely on him but then out of nowhere he's creating a scoring chance by making a beautiful pass, throwing the puck on net, or driving the net for a rebound.

Glad im not the only one

 

[AmericanDream]

Scoutman1, how did Kirwan look in this game? Know he dominated against Germany but was more curious to see how he looked against Russia. Not draft eligible until 2016, so he gets a little less talk than the other guys but know he plays a lot of minutes and up there on scoring for the U17 team.

Kirwan is another beast in the making. Him and Matthews are going to be very high picks in 2016 if they can just continue to slightly improve every year. Kirwan is almost 6'3 215 already at 16 years old and has skill to boot. Hopefully he doesn't turn into another Jason Bonsignore, but the skillset is there.

The only worry is since he has been this big for this long has he really had to work hard to outplay his competition? It seems in some cases when players are this big and gifted early on they take things for granted and just assume they are going to roll over their opponents every night no matter their level of play.

Hopefully Kirwan realizes that once he starts playing older players on a more consistent level that it isn't a given anymore and you have to work hard each and every night for what you get.

That is why I love guys like Kane and Gaudreau as they have had to battle their entire lives for what they have. They became students of the game and positioning and learned when and how to attack. Guys like Kirwan are just used to skating through people with no thought at such a young age. I hope he works his tail off and takes nothing for granted because he could be a great one.

 

[wishywashy19]

Kind of a boring day.

The Quebec vs. Czech game was so insanely bad. I didn't think I could watch a game with that many QMJHL players and not be impressed by any of them (Booth is the exception). There doesn't seem to be 1 natural center on Team Quebec because none of them seem to know how to play the position properly. It was simply painful and I spent way too much time trying to watch Team Quebec Booth kept Quebec in the game for 2 periods and early in the third some horrible breakdowns by Quebec led to easy goals by the Czechs. From the sounds of things, Game 1 was similar for Quebec.

The Czech players that impressed me were #3 Libor Hajek (D), #9 Filip Chlapik (F), #18 Filip Suchy (F), #23 Simon Stransky (F). I'd have to watch them a couple more times to really get a feel for the type of player they are. Hajek is a 98 born D-man and had a filthy stretch pass which sent a teammate in for a breakaway goal.


The Atlantic/Ontario game was kind of predictable as well. Atlantic has only 1 line and it's made up of a NSMMHL player, a QMJHL player, and a Jr. A player (Balmas-Noel-Tower). The thing that most impressed me with Balmas was that his game from midget held up against quality players. He reads the play so well & has such great anticipation that he forces so many turnovers in the neutral & defensive zone. He was playing on the wing while Noel was playing center so he looked a little lost at times defensively because he's definitely a natural center.

I liked Cam Lee's skating & puck moving ability but he's just not strong enough for Team Ontario. Going the college route will definitely be beneficial for him. Deschenes seemed to chase hits when he shouldn't and seemed to poke at the puck when he should take the body. He also has a tendency to look at the puck rather than the man.

I don't want to say too much about too many guys because frankly the games were bad lol

I am going to jump on board.
quebec were awful. I was major league disappointed in the talent or maybe the heartless way they played.
I was not impressed with one player and really disappointed in both Roy's.
big number 10 better hit the gym.
Worst passing and receiving team I have witnessed so far.
A real disaster.
Your posts Tilander have been accurate.
balmas best game so far.
I like Noel a lot.
They only wanted respect and they got it.
I hope Crouse is ok.looked a shoulder or collar bone injury to me. I think he has impressed me the most because I read so much on the other 3-4 names.
I love Konecy and chychurn and the goalie who I believe is Timpano.

Ontario and USA should be a Cracker Jack.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Ontario and USA should be a Cracker Jack.

Can't wait for that game, easily the best match up in the tournament.

 

[AmericanDream]

Can't wait for that game, easily the best match up in the tournament.

keep an eye on Kirwan and Colin Wilson if you can, I want to see how they individually do against a tougher team like Ontario.

Thanks.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

keep an eye on Kirwan and Colin Wilson if you can, I want to see how they individually do against a tougher team like Ontario.

Thanks.

I won't make any promises There will be so many players on both sides that will deserve attention. Hopefully they meet again in the finals though

 

[Juxtaposer]

How can anyone not be impressed with Konecny? I don't see a flaw in his game outside of size and maybe hanging on to the puck too long on the PP.

I'll echo those who are confounded by Strome. He's hard to describe and I don't know what to think.

 

[William H Bonney]

Colin White reminds me a lot of Patrice Bergeron.

 

[PanniniClaus]

I am sure the scouts are checking out all the over sized players on the Russian team but there was only one player catching the eye in Port Hawkesbury today and that was Artur Tyanulin, #13. He was involved in virtually everything they did from start to finish and was the best player on the ice by a mile.

Someone on the booze selected #18 Denis Alekseev as player of the game. Happy New year.

 

[arsmaster*]

Figures the day I can actually watch some games closely they're duds.

I can't watch blowouts at this level, and that's what USA is doing to Atlantic. It's hard to even get reads on guys with the large gulf in talent/cohesion.

Hoping Sweden/Quebec is a better 3rd period.

 

[Garyboy]

Boy oh boy is Bracco a treat to watch. I love how he constantly angles his skates outwards while he glides on his outside edges in order to get a better look at all the options available to him in the offensive zone. He's such a crafty player with tremendous creativity and puck patience.

 

[orangeandblack]

Boy oh boy is Bracco a treat to watch. I love how he constantly angles his skates outwards while he glides on his outside edges in order to get a better look at all the options available to him in the offensive zone. He's such a crafty player with tremendous creativity and puck patience.

John Gaudreau 2.0

 

[Garyboy]

John Gaudreau 2.0

Good call. They play such a romantic brand of hockey.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Since we're throwing around comparisons... Is #44 Luke Kessel or Luke Kirwan?

 

[ecemleafs]

is the usa that much better this year than anyone else? theyve got a GD of +25 in 3 games.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

is the usa that much better this year than anyone else? theyve got a GD of +25 in 3 games.

USA and Ontario are well ahead of the rest for sure. They play each other on Thursday.