Prospect Info: World Juniors Thread

[LegionOfDoom91]

Guess we know this was voted on by the Canadian media. Niemela wasn't even the best defenseman on his team.

The tweeter was a voter. He said it had to be handed in after the first period of the gold medal game.

 

[Flybynite]

york is a f***ing beauty.

Future Flyers C

 

[Jettany]

Future Flyers C

Watched some but not all of the games. Should York have gotten either best defenseman or a nod for the all-star team? I never go on the main boards, but skimmed them quickly, no one mentioned him at all. Some named Sanderson as being the best American defenseman. But none considered any for the best/all-star dman.

 

[deadhead]

York is kinda funny, nothing really stands out, not that fast, not that big, not that physical, just very cool and efficient.
I can't see him as a #1 D-guy, just doesn't have the skill to dominate, but a very valuable top 4 guy who can pair with someone more talented athletically but not as smart and keep them under control.

Brink surprised me, much more physical than I expected and much more responsible defensively, Denver coaching?
But he wasn't as skilled offensively as I expected, has a nose for the puck but didn't seem to finish plays, maybe he just needs a playmaking center who can set him up. He's certainly fearless and held his own in the dirty areas.

Caufield has been overhyped but he is talented, another one of those undersized skill guys who's going to be a liability defensively and may disappear in the playoffs when the refs allow more physical play and the windows shrink. He's quick, agile, quick shot, but I don't see enough skill to compensate for lack of size, when you're getting rag dolled at the WJC, good luck in the NHL.

 

[OzFlyers]

So did Flyers prospects win the most gold medals?

 

[Redpath]

You know the trade forum has mellowed on here when there aren’t any active “Trevor Zegras to Toronto” trade proposal threads. I kinda miss it

 

[1865]

So does anyone have a quick rundown of how our boys did? In the UK it's very hard to watch the WJC tournament.

 

[Jtown]

York is kinda funny, nothing really stands out, not that fast, not that big, not that physical, just very cool and efficient.
I can't see him as a #1 D-guy, just doesn't have the skill to dominate, but a very valuable top 4 guy who can pair with someone more talented athletically but not as smart and keep them under control.

Brink surprised me, much more physical than I expected and much more responsible defensively, Denver coaching?
But he wasn't as skilled offensively as I expected, has a nose for the puck but didn't seem to finish plays, maybe he just needs a playmaking center who can set him up. He's certainly fearless and held his own in the dirty areas.

Caufield has been overhyped but he is talented, another one of those undersized skill guys who's going to be a liability defensively and may disappear in the playoffs when the refs allow more physical play and the windows shrink. He's quick, agile, quick shot, but I don't see enough skill to compensate for lack of size, when you're getting rag dolled at the WJC, good luck in the NHL.

york is very low key, and honestly our defense could use a dose of that. A guy who isn't trying to rush the puck up the ice single handedly or play hero puck. Just a guy who consistently make the best decisions on the ice and makes everyone on the ice better.

 

[mdm815]

York looked smooth as butter; super poised. You can’t teach calm, call me crazy but he sorta gave me the same vibe as Timonen. You don’t notice them all that much but you’re a little calmer when they’re out there.

 

[David St Hubbins]

"There's a Star Man
Frothing at the mouth
He'd kiss Cole on the lips
But then he'd rather go down south"

This is you, isn't it?

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

This is you, isn't it?

No, I have a soul.

 

[FLYguy3911]

His conservativeness got the better of him at times. Went 'glass and out' a bit too many times in the tournament when he had a chance to make a pass or carry the puck. He's just so wired to not hold on to pucks. But that plays into his mistake free game and he was solid as he always is. I guess everyone was blaming him for the goals in the Finland game, but he's excellent defensively and honestly more impactful on that side of the puck no matter how many times he gets labeled as an "offensive defenseman".

Hopefully someone gets in his ear that it's ok to play with the puck and make mistakes from time to time. I'd hate to see those great hands go to waste.

 

[deadhead]

His conservativeness got the better of him at times. Went 'glass and out' a bit too many times in the tournament when he had a chance to make a pass or carry the puck. He's just so wired to not hold on to pucks. But that plays into his mistake free game and he was solid as he always is. I guess everyone was blaming him for the goals in the Finland game, but he's excellent defensively and honestly more impactful on that side of the puck no matter how many times he gets labeled as an "offensive defenseman".

Hopefully someone gets in his ear that it's ok to play with the puck and make mistakes from time to time. I'd hate to see those great hands go to waste.

I think there are more defense first players who improved their offense over time than offense first players who learned to play defense.
Spurgeon is a good example.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

I think there are more defense first players who improved their offense over time than offense first players who learned to play defense.

I don't know if that's true or not, because I haven't looked into it and I won't, but that's completely counterintuitive, and I can't imagine that's true.

 

[Appleyard]

So does anyone have a quick rundown of how our boys did? In the UK it's very hard to watch the WJC tournament.

York: In the group stage I thought he was best Dman in tourney. "Meh" in QF and Semi... but had a good Final. Might not have been Dman of the tournament but was top ~4 or so. Moved the puck well overall, was very poised on the PP and allowed the US PP1 to really prosper. Solid defensively throughout.

Brink: Great tournament. Was relentless on forecheck, caused havoc for every Dman he played against. in the crease more than the opposition goalie. Fantastic in his own zone as well. Also showed some real IQ and skill. One of the US's best 4 forwards. Skating was not an issue.

Andrae: Mixed bag. Solid overall and was underplayed vs how much probably should have been given Swedish blue-line composition. Made some glaring mistakes, mainly being too aggressive... but also transitioned the puck really well (best rates of any Dman not on Canada), and showed some nice OZ poise at times with puck on his stick. Biggest positive for me was that his skating vs best his age has to offer was no real issue.

 

[deadhead]

I don't know if that's true or not, because I haven't looked into it and I won't, but that's completely counterintuitive, and I can't imagine that's true.

Actually it's not counter-intuitive at all.
Ignore players who play defense b/c they don't have any offensive skills. They are what they are.

There are some players who've focused on defense (Rubtsov) at the expense of their offense in their development years.
For them, when they hit the NHL, defense is second nature (think Couts) and buys time to improve their skills and confidence on offense.

On the other hand, depending on the CHL/College/SHL team, highly skilled offensive players are often permitted to glide on defense and if they score enough, are never held accountable - getting these players to play good defense in the NHL is often like pulling teeth (Patrick Kane).

 

[youthoftoday]

2 good boys.

Can't wait to re-visit this in the future when York is captain and he's passing the Cup to Brink.

 

[deadhead]

Brink: Great tournament. Was relentless on forecheck, caused havoc for every Dman he played against. in the crease more than the opposition goalie. Fantastic in his own zone as well. Also showed some real IQ and skill. One of the US's best 4 forwards. Skating was not an issue.
.

Here's my issue watching Brink. Brink played like a 6'2 210 power forward. Problem is that style will be hard to translate to the NHL due to his size. While he's stronger and stouter than I expected, and is young enough to fill out a bit more (won't turn 20 until July), he's never going to be "full sized." His skating was decent, but he lacks the burst and speed of your typical undersized scorer (just compare him to Caufield). So that raises the spectre of the dreaded "tweener" at the next level, not big enough to play power hockey, not fast/quick enough to create enough space to do his thang.

Now he's got the vision, IQ and toughness to compensate, but it won't surprise me if he spends 3 years in college and a year in the AHL because he'll have a smaller margin for error at the NHL level and will need to refine his game. Not sure if he's a top six talent.

 

[Appleyard]

Here's my issue watching Brink. Brink played like a 6'2 210 power forward. Problem is that style will be hard to translate to the NHL due to his size. While he's stronger and stouter than I expected, and is young enough to fill out a bit more (won't turn 20 until July), he's never going to be "full sized." His skating was decent, but he lacks the burst and speed of your typical undersized scorer (just compare him to Caufield). So that raises the spectre of the dreaded "tweener" at the next level, not big enough to play power hockey, not fast/quick enough to create enough space to do his thang.

Now he's got the vision, IQ and toughness to compensate, but it won't surprise me if he spends 3 years in college and a year in the AHL because he'll have a smaller margin for error at the NHL level and will need to refine his game. Not sure if he's a top six talent.

His agility is high end though... in tight spaces people have hell controlling him.

 

[Appleyard]

Smohl slow bois can get the job done. I believe haha.

 

[orangey]

In the last 9 years it’s essentially rotated between Canada, USA, & Finland for gold.

Canada - 2015, 2018, & 2020
USA - 2013, 2017, & 2021
Finland - 2014, 2016, & 2019

Good thing we don't have a Finish scout.

 

[Appleyard]

Good thing we don't have a Finish scout.

We do!

Mr. Sami Sandell!

I hope he wears his Golden Helmet when on scouting assignments. I would.

 

[deadhead]

His agility is high end though... in tight spaces people have hell controlling him.

But he also struggled to finish plays in tight spaces, which tells me that's the next step in his development.
If only you could combine TK's speed with Brink's IQ and agility.

I'm not dissing the kid, but he didn't look as good the last three games on offense as he did against weaker competition.
Now part of the problem was his linemates weren't as skilled as the guys on the first two lines, but they weren't chopped liver either.
But I think part of the problem is the difference between just getting the puck on net quickly and getting an accurate shot off in tight spaces. And that should come with experience.

 

[dingbathero]

Great game by USA.

That team photo at the end with the trash can and the Canada logo on it tho. Classless. I don't care what stupid excuse was used after the fact regarding the thought process behind it. Brutal call to do that.

 

[TB87]

I don’t much stock in player performance at the WJC. It’s cool if they play well and it’s okay if they play poorly. It’s 6-7 games tops. That’s a SSS.


York was fine. Brink was good. Andrae was decent.

Them’s my takeaways.