Your Country's Best Under 21 Team

[AustonsNostrils]

I think the worm is turning. The US and Finns are gaining ground and fast on Canada. Of course it takes time for one generation of players to replace the existing. But I'll take Eichel, Mathews and Larkin over McDavid, Monahan etc.

Click to read more...

 

[KidLine93]

I think the worm is turning. The US and Finns are gaining ground and fast on Canada. Of course it takes time for one generation of players to replace the existing. But I'll take Eichel, Mathews and Larkin over McDavid, Monahan etc.

McDavid, Mackinnon, Ekblad, Drouin, Monahan, Dubois, Reinhart, Bennett


Canada still has the elite guys at the top and has depth at the U-21 level

But yes the other countries are really producing some top end talent recently

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

US will be bigger rival for Finns than Canada. McDavid alone can't take on Laine-Barkov-Puljujärvi.

 

[BB88]

I was thinking few days ago what a great job Finland has done in
recent years,
2013-

Laine-Barkov-Pulju
Vesalainen- Aho- Rantanen
Lehkonen-Nattinen- Tolvanen
Saarela- Borgstrom- Björkqvist
Kuokkanen

Juolevi- (Ristolainen)
Vaakanainen- Honka
Niemelainen- Valimaki
Saarijarvi

Husso
Saros.

Seems like (potentially) quality everywhere.

 

[JackSlater]

US will be bigger rival for Finns than Canada. McDavid alone can't take on Laine-Barkov-Puljujärvi.

I just can't wait to see who can knock Finland off the top of the mountain. Finland's hockey supremacy surely can't go unchallenged forever... can it?

 

[FiLe]

Why U21? Feels like an arbitrary cutoff point.

And if it's U21, Finnish fans shouldn't mention players born past '96, like Barkov - who would be by that definition overage.

 

[BB88]

Why U21? Feels like an arbitrary cutoff point.

And if it's U21, Finnish fans shouldn't mention players born past '96, like Barkov - who would be by that definition overage.

Today Barkov is 20y.

Monahan is mentioned on the 1st post who turns 22 this year.

 

[tade]

Czech Republic U21

Vrana (20) - Zacha (19) - Pastrnak (20)
D.Kubalik (20) - Chlapik (19) - Spacek (20)
Zadina (16) - Mandat (20) - Necas (17)
Stransky (18) - Soustal (19) - Karabacek (20)
Smejkal (19)

Masin (20) - Hronek (18)
Zboril (19) - Pyrochta (20)
Scotka (20) - Hajek (18)
Sklenicka (19)

Vanecek (21)
Vladar (18)
Stezka (19)

Bad.

 

[JFG]

I just can't wait to see who can knock Finland off the top of the mountain. Finland's hockey supremacy surely can't go unchallenged forever... can it?

They first have to reach the top to be able to be knocked down from it.

 

[jj cale]

I just can't wait to see who can knock Finland off the top of the mountain. Finland's hockey supremacy surely can't go unchallenged forever... can it?

Nah, they are the greatest, don't you know their prospects are the best ever in history?

Can't see them being challenged for at least 30 years.

We all need to bow down now at the foot of the altar of Finnish hockey.

 

[jj cale]

They first have to reach the top to be able to be knocked down from it.

No ****!!

Man, there sure is a lot of fans around here that have given golds to Finland they have not even won yet.

It's becoming a little out of hand.

 

[JackSlater]

They first have to reach the top to be able to be knocked down from it.

Of course. I wasn't serious. Finland has a very, very far way to go to be considered the top team at the highest level.

 

[BB88]

Of course. I wasn't serious. Finland has a very, very far way to go to be considered the top team at the highest level.

Yep, lot of work and good luck is needed.

But it's great to think that one day we could be fighting for Olympic gold or World Cup title.

 

[Snowsii]

Yep, lot of work and good luck is needed.

But it's great to think that one day we could be fighting for Olympic gold or World Cup title.

We wont never have Canada's or Sweden's depth, when talking best on best teams.. But i dont think anyone would count us out, when talking about medals.. Our team(s) have shown, to be more than just invidual players

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

We wont never have Canada's or Sweden's depth, when talking best on best teams.. But i dont think anyone would count us out, when talking about medals.. Our team(s) have shown, to be more than just invidual players

A couple more players like Laine and Barkov and some D men on the backend and Finland is already a gold medal contender.

 

[JackSlater]

We wont never have Canada's or Sweden's depth, when talking best on best teams.. But i dont think anyone would count us out, when talking about medals.. Our team(s) have shown, to be more than just invidual players

I am interested to see if Finnish teams continue to perform better than their talent would indicate once the talent level goes up substantially. I do believe that Finland is now producing more talent than ever before, quite easily in fact, but I'm not sure that performance is going to improve as dramatically. It will be interesting to see.

 

[FiLe]

I am interested to see if Finnish teams continue to perform better than their talent would indicate once the talent level goes up substantially.

That seems doubtful. After all, for it to be true, Finland would have to pretty much win every tournament where we ice an equal or better roster than other top contenders.

 

[jj cale]

Yep, lot of work and good luck is needed.

But it's great to think that one day we could be fighting for Olympic gold or World Cup title.

You already have been fighting for olympic gold and a world cup title.

 

[JackSlater]

That seems doubtful. After all, for it to be true, Finland would have to pretty much win every tournament where we ice an equal or better roster than other top contenders.

I agree. There are diminishing returns to adding better players. I think that Finland will be more dangerous, but not as much as the talent increase would indicate.

 

[FiLe]

I agree. There are diminishing returns to adding better players. I think that Finland will be more dangerous, but not as much as the talent increase would indicate.

To look at it from another angle, it's also interesting that whenever Finland has managed to ice a group that somewhat holds its own on paper, we've finished reasonably high. Finns are not known to be chokers either. When we lose, we lose to a better opponent.

So I guess the most logical conclusion would be that even if Finland doesn't quite win every tournament there is, our guys will become even more of a mainstay on the podium. Whether it's the place on the middle or one of the lower stands remains the open question preceding every tournament.

 

[Voodoozz]

Czech Republic U21

Vrana (20) - Zacha (19) - Pastrnak (20)
D.Kubalik (20) - Chlapik (19) - Spacek (20)
Zadina (16) - Mandat (20) - Necas (17)
Stransky (18) - Soustal (19) - Karabacek (20)
Smejkal (19)

Masin (20) - Hronek (18)
Zboril (19) - Pyrochta (20)
Scotka (20) - Hajek (18)
Sklenicka (19)

Vanecek (21)
Vladar (18)
Stezka (19)

Bad.

Nice list.
I think M. Indrák should be there aswell, he seems to be a better hockey player than Kubalík to me as a Plzen fan.
28 in 52 last year + 8 (5 goals) in 11 in playoffs.
I expect him to have a breakout year this season.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

USA under 21

Kyle Connor --- Jack Eichel --- Brock Boeser
Mathew Tkachuk --- Auston Mathews --- Colin White
Clayton Keller --- Dylan Larkin --- Luke Kunin
Sonny Milano --- Logan Brown --- Nick Schmaltz

Noah Hanifin ------ Seth Jones
Zach Werenski ------ Charlie McAvoy
Anthony DeAngelo ------ Brandon Mountour


Thatcher Demko
Alex Nedeljkovic

Many other forwards whom others might like better - Justin Bailey would be there for me but I'm a Roch/Buff fan and saw him play about 60 games last season. Dvorak, Bellows, Macinnis, Tuch, Schmaltz, Roslovic, Compher, Fasching, Rychel, Donato ...........

 

[AustonsNostrils]

Canada no doubt still has more depth, just go up to Canada, there's a rink in every small town and in every neighborhood of bigger cities. But even that is closing as the US registration rates are now close to Canada's.

But give me Eichel, Mathews and Larkin down the middle, a top 4 D of Jones, Hanifin, Werenski and McAvoy with Demko in net I'm not afraid of anything Canada can put together around McDavid.

 

[BB88]

You already have been fighting for olympic gold and a world cup title.

Didn't win, and we had Selanne, S.Koivu, prime M.Koivu, Timonen, Salo still leading the way.
For a moment the future after them didn't look that bright.

 

[jj cale]

Didn't win, and we had Selanne, S.Koivu, prime M.Koivu, Timonen, Salo still leading the way.
For a moment the future after them didn't look that bright.

Didn't win but came awfully close both times.

One day the worm will turn, it just has to.