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

[DKQ]

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.

I agree with the Konecny assessment. To me he plays like Mackinnon with less natural talent; still the same tenaciousness and ability to make plays at lightning speed, but without the super-elite skating and wicked shot that make Mackinnon a first overall pick in the NHL. I'd peg Konecny as a likely top-15 pick as it stands.

 

[Daneurism]

I think Pacific could have been in that tier with Ontario if they had Barzal. Oh well.

I think the americans are ahead of the pack. They match the talent of Ontario but with the added benefit of having played together all year.

 

[arsmaster*]

I agree with the Konecny assessment. To me he plays like Mackinnon with less natural talent; still the same tenaciousness and ability to make plays at lightning speed, but without the super-elite skating and wicked shot that make Mackinnon a first overall pick in the NHL. I'd peg Konecny as a likely top-15 pick as it stands.

Wouldn't mind reuniting him with his cousin.

-------

A couple nice shoot out goals in the Sweden-Quebec game. Hard to see where Nic Roy went with his back hand shot (that he missed) as he had the goalie dead to rights.

Excited to watch some of these tomorrow if I can stomach it.

 

[Daneurism]

It'll be interesting to see how they reformat this tournament...As is, I think the americans are too strong and there's too large of a gulf between them and teams such as Atlantic and Germany(Although, if they kept the same format next year, Atlantic may be a medal contender).

I think Atlantic and Quebec should be consolidated into one team. Maybe even put together the two western canadian teams(Although pacific does just fine with the talent they have).

At the very least, combine the Q regions, add a non USNTDP american team,

 

[Alberta tough]

It'll be interesting to see how they reformat this tournament...As is, I think the americans are too strong and there's too large of a gulf between them and teams such as Atlantic and Germany(Although, if they kept the same format next year, Atlantic may be a medal contender).

I think Atlantic and Quebec should be consolidated into one team. Maybe even put together the two western canadian teams(Although pacific does just fine with the talent they have).

At the very least, combine the Q regions, add a non USNTDP american team,

They will be bring 100 players to a summer camp. They will then monitor them up to the time the 3 teams need to be picked. You will see kids from all over the country on each team.

 

[Juxtaposer]

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

Gonna be such a great game.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

It'll be interesting to see how they reformat this tournament...As is, I think the americans are too strong and there's too large of a gulf between them and teams such as Atlantic and Germany(Although, if they kept the same format next year, Atlantic may be a medal contender).

I think Atlantic and Quebec should be consolidated into one team. Maybe even put together the two western canadian teams(Although pacific does just fine with the talent they have).

At the very least, combine the Q regions, add a non USNTDP american team,

Didn't they already say they're reformatting it so Canada simply sends 3 teams of the best players available (Team Black, Team Red, Team White)?

I'm in Atlantic Canada and like seeing local players playing in these tournaments but watching them get killed every year isn't worth a damn to anyone and I'm glad they finally decided to alter the current set up. Especially when you have a quality player or two and they're stuck trying to carry their entire team of Jr. A & Major Midget players (MacKinnon a couple years back, now Noel)

 

[hab 4ever]

Far stronger game by team Québec against a strong Sweden team. Still possible to advance to medal round if Pacific beats Czech Republic in regulation, Sweden beats Pacific (regulation or not) and Québec beats West in regulation. Many ifs and a bit of stretch but certainly not impossible at this point.

 

[wishywashy19]

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

The Usa have turned this into a whole new level.
Canada cannot compete with fiive teams.i am from atlantic and it looks like midget atlantic kids playing junior kids from USA
Some one said , well who Stands out?
The answer is ,this is a team , they are well structured and well defined and well coached,
I am going to say this until it hurts. The USA has defined a way to win.
Pick the kids when they are 15 and let it ride.
Wow, what a novel idea!!!
Yes,for those that are wondering,Hanifin is good, white is good , kirvan is good.
My first thought was ontario will give them a game.
USA have too much depth.
Thank god,the format change for Canada.
Congrats Usa. Very nice team .

 

[orangeandblack]

The Usa have turned this into a whole new level.
Canada cannot compete with fiive teams.i am from atlantic and it looks like midget atlantic kids playing junior kids from USA
Some one said , well who Stands out?
The answer is ,this is a team , they are well structured and well defined and well coached,
I am going to say this until it hurts. The USA has defined a way to win.
Pick the kids when they are 15 and let it ride.
Wow, what a novel idea!!!
Yes,for those that are wondering,Hanifin is good, white is good , kirvan is good.
My first thought was ontario will give them a game.
USA have too much depth.
Thank god,the format change for Canada.
Congrats Usa. Very nice team .

This is the first year the US got pretty much all the top kids from the age group (besides Askew and Texeira) and you see what happens. They are a machine, its the first U17 team that could legitimately overpower USHL teams. That being said, I think the US is entering almost a golden age of player talent, starting with the 96s (although you could make the case with the 94s Jones, Trouba, Gally).

THe 97s could have 5-6 first rounders in 2015 (Hanifin, Werenski, White, Greenway, Bracco, Warren, Boka, Yan etc), and another 2-3 (Kirwan, Matthews, Tkachuk, McAvoy) in 2016. The 98s and 99s are just as good. Even two US trained players on Ontario are the cream of the crop in the 98 age group, Day and Chychrun.

Im hoping Chychrun and Krys end up playing for the US. You should see some real high end talent coming from the US starting with this coming draft.

 

[wishywashy19]

This is the first year the US got pretty much all the top kids from the age group (besides Askew and Texeira) and you see what happens. They are a machine, its the first U17 team that could legitimately overpower USHL teams. That being said, I think the US is entering almost a golden age of player talent, starting with the 96s (although you could make the case with the 94s Jones, Trouba, Gally).

THe 97s could have 5-6 first rounders in 2015 (Hanifin, Werenski, White, Greenway, Bracco, Warren, Boka, Yan etc), and another 2-3 (Kirwan, Matthews, Tkachuk, McAvoy) in 2016. The 98s and 99s are just as good. Even two US trained players on Ontario are the cream of the crop in the 98 age group, Day and Chychrun.

Im hoping Chychrun and Krys end up playing for the US. You should see some real high end talent coming from the US starting with this coming draft.

Good observations. .
They are very formidable.
In this part of Canada we don't often see such young talent.
We have one player that matches the talent level of the USA team
Why would Krys not play for Usa.
Anyway, for us,it used to be the Russians as the barometer for hockey power.
The swedes and USA have moved up because they have figured out that individuals playing in team trained environment is the way forward .
We here will never ever be able to do that. The training and business associated is to develop Pro players . Winning youth tournaments is a concept our amateur brass knows what has to be done but we are maxed out with pulling players from hundreds of teams to be competitive in the new age of hockey.
It is actually very fortunate that we do as well as we do.
I noticed last night that the first line with white and kirvan and defence Hanifin play as first power play unit. That unit will be together next year or the following year in theWJC.
We can't figure out who the starting goalie is or keep players rotating as the 13th forward because we are scrambling to figure it all out .
Time for drink

 

[cagney]

We won't know how good the US team is until they play Ontario. The games against Germany and Atlantic are irrelevant and I don't think this Russian team is as good as the teams they've sent the last few years. One thing they're really going to have to be better about is discipline as they've taken so many stupid penalties during the tournament thus far. Ontario will make them pay if they continue to do so.

Hanifin's a great talent but he hasn't been flawless thus far in the tournament IMO. He's been caught out of position and been beaten to the outside here and there which shouldn't really happen given his mobility and hockey sense. I'm probably just nitpicking given that I want to hold him to the highest of standards but I hope the best is yet to come for him in the tournament.

Auston Matthews has been a bit of a revelation for me. He's from a somewhat obscure program out in Arizona, hasn't participated in US summer festivals and was injured most of the year but he seems to be one of the better pro prospects on the team. He's great along the boards, an excellent shooter/finisher and has been a major physical presence with a number of huge open ice hits. His skating seems a bit average but there's a lot to like in his game.

Colin White has been really good. He's a great skater, can really finish and works hard in all three zones. He, Bracco and Kirwan may be the best line I've seen the US ice at this tournament over the last number of years.

A player I've been really impressed with who hasn't been mentioned is Casey Fitzgerald. He's got excellent mobility and can really handle the puck. Obviously his size is not ideal for the pro game but he'll likely be an important player for US junior teams in the future and should be an awesome college player.

All this said, the real game to evaluate the US and it's players will be against Ontario. Looking forward to it.

 

[czechcanadian]

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

Dont forget #22 David Kase. Probably the best player they have. Already has 4 goals for them. Hes definetly a player to watch.

This team is also missing like 5 of their best players. Not sure why. I guess some to injury and others stayed playing in their clubs. too bad

 

[Czechexpert]

Dont forget #22 David Kase. Probably the best player they have. Already has 4 goals for them. Hes definetly a player to watch.

This team is also missing like 5 of their best players. Not sure why. I guess some to injury and others stayed playing in their clubs. too bad

Kase is good here but the best long term prospects on Czech team are Vladar, Hajek and Stransky(brother of Matej Stransky) IMO.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Dont forget #22 David Kase. Probably the best player they have. Already has 4 goals for them. Hes definetly a player to watch.

This team is also missing like 5 of their best players. Not sure why. I guess some to injury and others stayed playing in their clubs. too bad

I didn't forget him, he didn't impress me. He scored a goal off a nice stretch pass by Hajek but still didn't do anything that made me think he was close to their "best player"

 

[canuck2010]

Im hoping Chychrun and Krys end up playing for the US. You should see some real high end talent coming from the US starting with this coming draft.[/QUOTE]

It's so gawd damn annoying having sons of Canadian NHL players play for the USA.

 

[Czechexpert]

I didn't forget him, he didn't impress me. He scored a goal off a nice stretch pass by Hajek but still didn't do anything that made me think he was close to their "best player"

I always thought that David Kase(97´) will be better than his brother Ondrej(plays for Czech at World juniors) but have changed my opinion during this season. Don´t like his skating much, undersized and fairly strong, doesn´t look like he will grow up significantly.

 

[czechcanadian]

I didn't forget him, he didn't impress me. He scored a goal off a nice stretch pass by Hajek but still didn't do anything that made me think he was close to their "best player"

Hmmm, Ok. Interesting. Thanks

 

[sigx15]

Colin White reminds me a lot of Patrice Bergeron.

I've heard Zach Parise comparisons as well.

 

[cagney]

Russia is taking it to Ontario right now, leading 4-1 in the second. They look much better than they did against the US.

 

[czechcanadian]

Czechs got screwed on the schedule. Only team without a break day during preliminaries. Playing Canada Pacific right now in their 5th game in 5 days. While pacific had yesterday off. Awesome.

 

[New User Name]

Czechs got screwed on the schedule. Only team without a break day during preliminaries. Playing Canada Pacific right now in their 5th game in 5 days. While pacific had yesterday off. Awesome.

Not 5 games but 4 games in 4 days...Germany has the same schedule.

With 10 teams and 5 days to play, and 4 games per day, 2 teams are going to have to play 4 in 4. They need to change it to 6 days.

 

[joe89]

Not 5 games but 4 games in 4 days...Germany has the same schedule.

With 10 teams and 5 days to play, 2 teams are going to have to play 4 in 4. They need to change it to 6 days.

Yeah, they could just make it a Sunday final. Although kids are full of energy it's a bit too tight.

 

[New User Name]

Yeah, they could just make it a Sunday final. Although kids are full of energy it's a bit too tight.

On the other hand both the Czech Republic and Germany get tomorrow off, which could work in their favour.

I sense HC can't win here. People will complain that a team plays 4 Preliminary games in a row. But if HC had 2 of the Canadian teams play 4 in a row and a day off before the playoffs, some would say they're giving the Canadian teams an advantage. Can't win situation.

 

[New User Name]

What a horrible second period by Ontario.