WJC Prospects

[HomersWorld]

Hicketts looked solid. Saarijarvi is legit though.

I've got big hopes for Saarijarvi, but I haven't been able to see him play a full game. Any thoughts on his game translating to the NHL?

 

[ChadS]

FWIW, Saarijärvi is listed at 178/75 or 5'10/165 in the WJC documents. Others are pretty much the same as eliteprospects etc.

http://www.worldjunior2016.com/en/statistics/#iihf-documents-pdf

 

[RayMoonDoh]

Missed the third, Denmark came back to win 2-1. JVP had 18 saves on 20 shots.

Hard to judge because there was so little offense in this game, but he looked big and seemed to move well and square himself effectively.

 

[FireBird71]

I've got big hopes for Saarijarvi, but I haven't been able to see him play a full game. Any thoughts on his game translating to the NHL?

He'll need another year in Flnt and 2 in Grand Rapids to help work on his defense and add some weight but he'll be a future power play QB. Since he was a former forward, I love his offensive skills. Just need to be patient

 

[TheMule93]

Here's hoping for a miracle growth spurt from Saarijarvi. If he was like 6'0, 200 lb (at least) he would be legit 1D material

There's like a .069% chance that happens though...

 

[Claypool]

Here's hoping for a miracle growth spurt from Saarijarvi. If he was like 6'0, 200 lb (at least) he would be legit 1D material

There's like a .069% chance that happens though...

If you want to watch a good, young defenseman check out Robbie Russo in Grand Rapids. He's been a beast so far this season.

 

[TheMule93]

If you want to watch a good, young defenseman check out Robbie Russo in Grand Rapids. He's been a beast so far this season.

I understand he's been amazing in GR. Just looked him up... He is 6'0, I always thought he was smaller for some reason.

 

[Classicnamesup]

Holmstrom will have a tough time vs the US with the teammates he has lost.

Hickett's gets a chance at an easier game, needs to redeem himself

 

[joe89]

Ehn is an even better skater than I remember. Too bad he shows precious little upside with the puck.

 

[gretskidoo]

Ehn is an even better skater than I remember. Too bad he shows precious little upside with the puck.

He looks like he'll be a defensive bottom 6er at the NHL level. Which isn't too bad if he can add some physical play to his already good speed.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I worry that Holmstrom lacks the two qualities most important for offensive players these days: skating and puckhandling/puck protection. And if you don't have those two, there's a third you need: size. But he doesn't have any of those. It's going to be a rough road for him in North America, I think.

 

[joe89]

I worry that Holmstrom lacks the two qualities most important for offensive players these days: skating and puck protection. And if you don't have those two, there's a third you need: size. But he doesn't have any of those. It's going to be a rough road for him in North America, I think.

Puck protection is usually his strength but he's quite simply having a rough day the office so far. Puck's bouncing off his blade all the time.

Ehn one of the better Swedes, certainly getting to play a lot with all the penalties.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Puck protection is usually his strength but he's quite simply having a rough day the office so far. Puck's bouncing off his blade all the time.

Ehn one of the better Swedes, certainly getting to play a lot with all the penalties.

Agreed. Ehn's speed/size combination is intriguing. Not much offense there, but he seems like he could be a very good role player.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Svechnikov is definitely big, physical, and skilled. But a lot like Holmstrom, he's not fast enough yet. With some more acceleration, he would be a monster.

 

[Classicnamesup]

Really wasn't impressed by Holmstrom at all today, disappointing. Will keep a lookout for Ehn vs CAN

 

[ChadS]

Ehn showed flashes of solid offensive upside in SuperElit last season and Allsvenskan this year. I think it's more about getting regular ice time in an offensive role, which hasn't been the case lately. He's pretty much always in a defense-first role and takes that role to heart, resulting in little offense. He will probably need a few more years in Sweden and hopefully manages to rise up in the lineup. Allsvenskan would have been a better place for him to get more of an offensive role this year, but apparently Karlskoga wasn't the right place for him.

Holmström wasn't great today. His skating was exposed quite badly against a fast team like USA. Really needs to work on that, otherwise it'll be tough to compete in the NHL. I think it may be worse than Pulkkinen's at the same age.

 

[TheMule93]

Wasn't overly impressed with Saarijarvi, Holmstrom, or Svechnikov today.

This tournament had been a disappointment for our prospect so far imo.

 

[Tatar]

Wasn't overly impressed with Saarijarvi, Holmstrom, or Svechnikov today.

This tournament had been a disappointment for our prospect so far imo.

Agreed. So far my top 6 has been:

1) Holmstrom - has been visible during his TOI. Has taken on a grinder roll for Sweden

2) Van Pottleberghe - Played well when he replaced Descloux. Will be interesting to see how he does if he starts against Canada

3) Hicketts - Playing big minutes for Canada, but struggling offensively. Had a brutal own-goal tip-in against USA, but has been really solid defensively, even knocking down players 4-6 inches taller then him

4) Saarijarvi - Has put up no points and has made numerous defensive errors, really struggling against bigger opponents as evident today against Russia

5) Ehn - Only reason i'm not putting him last on this list is because i occasionally hear his name during play. Has been mostly invisible, though he's buried on a stacked Swedish team

6) Svechnikov - Has been totally invisible. Shows no defensive back check, and for being touted as a hightly offensive winger, has two shots on net through 2 games.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Agreed. So far my top 6 has been:

1) Holmstrom - has been visible during his TOI. Has taken on a grinder roll for Sweden

2) Van Pottleberghe - Played well when he replaced Descloux. Will be interesting to see how he does if he starts against Canada

3) Hicketts - Playing big minutes for Canada, but struggling offensively. Had a brutal own-goal tip-in against USA, but has been really solid defensively, even knocking down players 4-6 inches taller then him

4) Saarijarvi - Has put up no points and has made numerous defensive errors, really struggling against bigger opponents as evident today against Russia

5) Ehn - Only reason i'm not putting him last on this list is because i occasionally hear his name during play. Has been mostly invisible, though he's buried on a stacked Swedish team

6) Svechnikov - Has been totally invisible. Shows no defensive back check, and for being touted as a hightly offensive winger, has two shots on net through 2 games.

I disagree on some of these.

1) This is essentially right. Sweden matched his line up against the Matthews line, and he managed not to get scored on. Could have been worse.

2) Didn't see.

3) Agreed. He's looked pretty good. His offense still doesn't wow me, but he's very solid and always competes really hard.

4) I thought he was good in Finland's first game, but he (with the rest of his team) had a hard time against Russia. Overall, he's moved the puck well and has shown very good decisionmaking on the offensive end of things. Defensively he's not super impressive, but I didn't think he was that bad. Just average.

5) I was impressed by Ehn today. He played a lot of minutes on the PK (the US had like 20 minutes on the powerplay), and he stood up to the test. Tall, fast, defensively solid. Hard to tell if there's more there.

6) He wasn't awful, but he REALLY doesn't seem to work in that system. I've actually heard before that Svechnikov is not a very good international player for Russia, and that made sense based on what I saw today. His line had relatively little chemistry and didn't get much done, ES or PP. I will say that he was physical. He loves to finish his checks.

I'm starting to wonder if Svechnikov might have made the mistake of getting too big this summer. He's an impressive physical specimen who hits very hard, but he's not an impressive skater anymore. If you watch some of his draft highlights, he looks quite fast.

 

[SpookyTsuki]

Lol not even 2 minutes in and svech got a penalty

He is part of da goon squad

 

[mindfly]

How big is svechnikov now then?

 

[SpookyTsuki]

I know they are playing belarus but why can't power plays look like the one on the first Russia goal all the time

 

[ChadS]

I think Svech got an assist on that 3rd goal.

Edit. Nope, re-directed in front by Kamenev.

 

[lilidk]

Svechnikov is definitely big, physical, and skilled. But a lot like Holmstrom, he's not fast enough yet. With some more acceleration, he would be a monster.

You can say the same about Mantha , we have plenty of skills , not enough speed . Hockey changing to more speed , we need to draft little bit different

 

[SirloinUB]

I guess the one thing we can say about Saarijarvi & Svechnikov is that they are playing as 18 year olds playing in a "19 year olds tournament" but they seem to be having a underwheleming tournament.