Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
We've now lost in the final of the last three major junior tournaments we've played in.
The good news here is that we are huge favorites in the U18 category this year.
Some potential lines:
Kaliyev-Hughes-Zegras
Boldy-Turcotte-Caufield
Farrell-Smilanic-Rolston
Gildon-Beecher-Caulfield
Moynihan
York-Thrun
Kleven-Warren
Vlasic-Helleson
McCarthy
Knight
Rowe
?
Forward lines are great. That top 6 has six first rounders. Many of those guys should be high first rounders. We have barely seen Hughes, Zegras and Turcotte all in the same lineup this year, so it'll be interesting to see how they split those three up, but the smartest option seems to be putting Hughes with Zegras. I'd put Zegras at center and Hughes at wing, but Hughes is the best player on the team, so thats not happening. The few times those three have all been in the same lineup this year, Zegras on Hughes wing has seemed like a common pairing. Turcotte with Caufield seems to be another pairing that we've seen some of. I'd also throw Boldy on that line. I wouldn't want to put Kaliyev on a line where he might get worse zone starts. Boldy is better equipped for that and Kaliyev is better equipped on the better offensive line.
Rolston and Farrell compliment each other as the third line wingers. We could really do a lot worse than those two as the third line wingers. The role of the 17's forward that gets promoted is probably best suited as the center on this line. Fourth line is a pretty effective checking line, in my opinion. I'd rather have someone like Brink, Bordeleau or Donovan as the 13th forward, but its more likely they give that role to one of the lesser forwards thats already in the program. Brink is unlikely to be available, anyway, as Sioux will qualify for the USHL playoffs.
Defense isn't terrible, but the weakness of the team. There are no good right shots. York-Thrun are the two best defensemen. Do we put them on the same pairing or split them up? I say put them together and give them good zone starts. Let Warren play on the shutdown pairing with Kleven. I think those two could be a decent pairing, if Kleven is capable of playing against older players and getting tough matchups. I'm not sure the rest of the options are great. Vlasic is passable, but not if he has to carry around Helleson or McCarthy, neither of which can properly cover where he struggles.
Goalies will be a big strength. Knight was good last year and should return as the best goalie at the tournament. Rowe might be the next best goalie at the whole tournament, so we have a good back up. I wonder what they'll do for the third goalie role. Last year it was the player who was the back up to DeRidder prior to Knight's promotion. This year the two 18's goalies are the 1 and 2 here. Wolf's WHL team is going to make the playoffs, so he doesn't seem like an option. If the NTDP team doesn't make the USHL playoffs, which they might not, they could promote Commessso last minute.
The good news here is that we are huge favorites in the U18 category this year.
Some potential lines:
Kaliyev-Hughes-Zegras
Boldy-Turcotte-Caufield
Farrell-Smilanic-Rolston
Gildon-Beecher-Caulfield
Moynihan
York-Thrun
Kleven-Warren
Vlasic-Helleson
McCarthy
Knight
Rowe
?
Forward lines are great. That top 6 has six first rounders. Many of those guys should be high first rounders. We have barely seen Hughes, Zegras and Turcotte all in the same lineup this year, so it'll be interesting to see how they split those three up, but the smartest option seems to be putting Hughes with Zegras. I'd put Zegras at center and Hughes at wing, but Hughes is the best player on the team, so thats not happening. The few times those three have all been in the same lineup this year, Zegras on Hughes wing has seemed like a common pairing. Turcotte with Caufield seems to be another pairing that we've seen some of. I'd also throw Boldy on that line. I wouldn't want to put Kaliyev on a line where he might get worse zone starts. Boldy is better equipped for that and Kaliyev is better equipped on the better offensive line.
Rolston and Farrell compliment each other as the third line wingers. We could really do a lot worse than those two as the third line wingers. The role of the 17's forward that gets promoted is probably best suited as the center on this line. Fourth line is a pretty effective checking line, in my opinion. I'd rather have someone like Brink, Bordeleau or Donovan as the 13th forward, but its more likely they give that role to one of the lesser forwards thats already in the program. Brink is unlikely to be available, anyway, as Sioux will qualify for the USHL playoffs.
Defense isn't terrible, but the weakness of the team. There are no good right shots. York-Thrun are the two best defensemen. Do we put them on the same pairing or split them up? I say put them together and give them good zone starts. Let Warren play on the shutdown pairing with Kleven. I think those two could be a decent pairing, if Kleven is capable of playing against older players and getting tough matchups. I'm not sure the rest of the options are great. Vlasic is passable, but not if he has to carry around Helleson or McCarthy, neither of which can properly cover where he struggles.
Goalies will be a big strength. Knight was good last year and should return as the best goalie at the tournament. Rowe might be the next best goalie at the whole tournament, so we have a good back up. I wonder what they'll do for the third goalie role. Last year it was the player who was the back up to DeRidder prior to Knight's promotion. This year the two 18's goalies are the 1 and 2 here. Wolf's WHL team is going to make the playoffs, so he doesn't seem like an option. If the NTDP team doesn't make the USHL playoffs, which they might not, they could promote Commessso last minute.
