GDT: 2013 World Junior Championships

[MRandall25]

Just read that Forsberg made the tournament all star team.....hopefully we don't regret not drafting him years from now...

Are we going to hear this every single time he does anything?

[JoseCuervo]

From the games I saw, I came away pretty happy that the pens didn't draft Forsberg.

[Lesky]

Congratulations to USA.

Only bitter moment was the 1-1 goal which was a gift and turned the game around!

[czwalga]

From the games I saw, I came away pretty happy that the pens didn't draft Forsberg.

He was on the ice more than his skates.

[mikey287]

From the games I saw, I came away pretty happy that the pens didn't draft Forsberg.

He was on the ice more than his skates.

Excellent observation, iffy balance, not very strong on his skates - that was in my notes for sure as the tournament went on. Things that aren't picked up by the arbitrary number to the left of his name on some list. How does a player that isn't very strong with board play, balance or strength on skates help a cycling offense? It's a tunnel vision question because Forsberg can bring good amount to the table, I don't want to shortchange him, but when you're sitting in a room and you're talking about what's valuable to an organization and these little things are discussed, you find a player like Forsberg or like Teravainen sliding down your list...especially if you believe you can get better value later on...Derick Pouliot's skating and transition ability won't be there in 2nd round, the 4th round...Filip Forsberg's skills may well be there in the 2nd round (Blugers) or the 4th round (Marcantuoni).

[meecrofilm]

That's a very poor choice in my opinion. I would have taken Karlsson and Arvidsson over him for sure on just the Swedish team...would have put him in the Rakell, Collberg area...McCabe on the All-Tourney team, also a bit of a surprise, solid throughout but wasn't head and shoulders above all others really I didn't feel. Probably would have went with Yarullin from Russia, but McCabe isn't as much of a head scratcher as Forsberg is...

Agreed. Forsberg really didn't do anything the whole tournament aside from a decent game against Russia.

[tfrizz]

Just looked back through Canada's rosters over the years and it confirmed my suspicion... they haven't had solid, let alone standout, goaltending since the combo of Steve Mason + Jonathan Bernier in the 2008 tournament.

What was a big strength for Canada in the 90s and early 00s has become a GLARING weakness.

[pressure=9Pa]

Congratulations to USA.

Only bitter moment was the 1-1 goal which was a gift and turned the game around!

There were a handful of plays that could have turned it either way, as in most good hockey games. Hitting two posts earlier in the game was frustrating, but then a softer one went in later. SWE might be the favorite next year on home ice, and a win in 2014 would be a very impressive 3 year run.

[meecrofilm]

When was the last home team to win gold,? I think it messes with the kids' heads more than anything.

[pittsports87]

When was the last home team to win gold,? I think it messes with the kids' heads more than anything.

Out of the last 10 years: Canada in 2006 and 2009. During that time Canada hosted 4, US hosted 2, Russia, Czech Republic, Finland, and Sweden have all hosted one.

US finished bronze once while hosting in that time and didn't get a medal the other time. Russia got the Bronze this year when they hosted. Czech didn't get a medal when they hosted. Finland got the bronze and Sweden didn't medal. Canada got 2 golds, a silver, and bronze while they hosted in the last 10 years.

[mikey287]

Spam: my WJC all-star teams and player recaps. Spoiler: a tiny bit Pens related. http://thehockeywriters.com/2013-wjcs-i ... nd-losers/

[tfrizz]

Spam: my WJC all-star teams and player recaps. Spoiler: a tiny bit Pens related. http://thehockeywriters.com/2013-wjcs-i ... nd-losers/

Team Underwhelming... an excellent touch.

Spott really screwed the team by playing favourites and taking Murphy (who plays for Spott in Kitchener) for the 7th defenseman when better options were available. Kid's the definition of "defensive liability".

[mikey287]

Thanks for looking there, tfrizz. Yeah, I've tried to be a Murphy apologist in the past because of his major potential. But, it's getting real tough. Being paired with Morgan Rielly wasn't a help either. I got the feeling that every time one of them went to do something (retrieve, switch, whatever) they kind of looked cautiously at each other trying to figure it out. "Ok, he's doing this...right? Yeah...so, I'll go over here and do this...but then..." it just seemed like they were both so scared of screwing up because they knew they didn't belong together that they just out right sucked...it was a troubling pairing for Canada.

[tfrizz]

I hadn't seen Subban play much, but knowing he was a 1st round pick of the Bruins' I had expected more from him. I feel like he's going to be another in the line of 1st round goalie busts like Jake Allen and Chet Pickard. Not a fan of his play in nets, but definitely potential to grow and develop.


On the Binnington side of things, that had to be a tough spot for him. Virtually no game action for more than a week then thrown in to start the bronze medal game against a very skilled Russian team fighting for a medal on their home ice. I don't know if any team in the tournament would've beat them in that game.

[mikey287]

Nail on the head. Though, I'm not ready to give up on Subban (just very, very raw) or Jake Allen for that matter. But, yeah, could you think of a tougher spot for Jordan Binnington to play? I thought Ronnberg (Swedish coach) put Niklas Lundstrom in a tough spot when he threw him into a shootout of a game he didn't play (Joel Lassinatti played) but Binnington - ice cold into a medal game against the Russians on their home rink...heaven forbid, that's about as tough as it gets.

Your boy Jaskin was impressive, maybe the best Czech player!

[tfrizz]

I didn't get to see any of the Czech games, but the Wildcats were tweeting a lot of his highlights. Certainly seems like he was... and he lead the team in both goals (3) and points (6). I'm sure they can't wait for him to get back in Moncton - he quickly became a fan favourite aside from being an impact player for them.

[pressure=9Pa]

Spam: my WJC all-star teams and player recaps. Spoiler: a tiny bit Pens related. http://thehockeywriters.com/2013-wjcs-i ... nd-losers/

I'm a little late to it, but nicely done.

[mikey287]

Thanks for checking it out.

[André]

Great piece mikey287. And what a lovely site. Hadn't seen the new (?) design. Great stuff with the fantasy guides and all. The piece on top ten potential breakouts was nice.

And with that I'm back. Time for some hockey on this side of the pond as well. About time.

[canaan]

mentioning the layout for that site, the mobile version is nice as well.

[mikey287]

Bout time Andre, where you been? Swedish Division 3 Hockey message boards? And thank you, thanks for reading. Congrats on the silver, well earned given the circumstances surrounding the team!