Tomas Hertl:
Was a surprising factor in the
Czechs amazing run till they’ve met Andrei Vasilevski and the Russians. Big, poise and has great hands to go
along with a very intriguing skillset. Knows how to protect the puck with his
big frame and seems to always find a way to get to the opposing net. Finished
the tournament on top of his team in scoring with 3g – 2a for 5 pts in 6 games.
Latvia
Zemgus Girgensons:
Although
he finished the tournament with only 2 goals in 6 games with a -6 differential,
Girgensons stood out of this Latvian team that finished 9th, just
ahead of last placed Denmark. Similarly to Hertl, Girgensons knows how to get
his nose to the net. His powerforward reputation in the USHL as captain of the
Dubuque Fighting Saints was proven on international stage. Many times he was
the team’s top player of the game and even during that 14-0 loss against
Kuznetsov and the Russians.
Finland
Ville Pokka:
Maatta
out? No problem, Ville Pokka was able to step up his game and make a name for
himself after the tournament. Very mobile, but more of a punishing defenseman
then Maatta, Pokka played really great throughout the tournament. He finished
the tournament with a very good production of 1g-3a for 4 pts in 7 games with
a positive 3 differential.
Aleksander Barkov Jr:
We couldn’t
have make this review without mentioning the stellar performance of Barkov.
Very hyped as the youngest player of the tournament and already being labelled
as a top 10 for the 2013 draft, he did managed to write his name in the history
of the tournament as the youngest player to score a goal, beating out Sidney
Crosby. He has great poise with the puck and even if he was given more of a
defensive role, he was not shy to
get into the corners and win his battles. Finished the tournament with a
1g-3a-4pts production in 7 games.
Sweden
Sebastian Collberg – Filip Forsberg – Pontus Åberg:
Collberg or
Forsberg...that is the question. Before the start of the tournament, Sweden had
3 potential 1st rounders. After the tournament, they still have 3
potential 1st rounders: Filip Forsberg, Sebastian Collberg and
Pontus Åberg. Out of the three, the only one whose draft stock might drop a
little bit is Åberg since he was force to leave the tournament due to an injury
occurring during the last exhibition game. Although Forsberg is the highest
ranked of the three, it did not stop Collberg to have an excellent tourney,
topping with 4 g-3a for 7 pts in 6 games. On the other hand, Forsberg only
managed to put up 1 assist in those 6 games. Don’t let that number fool you. Forsberg was given more of a
defensive role than he’s used to. He did show flashes of great puck protection
and great skillset. Collberg however, played on a stronger line with Zibanejad
and managed to put up more points. After the tournament, we feel that even
though Forsberg did not lit up with huge numbers, his upside seems very high
and will be more of a complete player than Collberg, who’s offensive flair is
undeniable. As for Åberg, of all those exhibition games he played, he showed
that he is not to leave out in the debate of the best Swedish forward. All
three will certainly hear their names call up on the 1st day of the
draft, in Pittsburgh.
USA
Jacob Trouba:
If there
is one thing positive about team USA’s horrible run at the WJC, is that
defenseman Jacob Trouba has risen in the draft rankings due to his strong play
at both ends of the ice, even when his team played poorly throughout all the
tournament. His strongest asset is that he always seem to be calm and poise
with the puck. Little mistakes did he made, Trouba is a hard nose player and
likes to get physical too. Expect him to be amongst the first defenceman to be
drafted on June 22nd.
Canada
Ryan Murray:
Being the
youngest player on the Canadian roster, Ryan Murray played an overall good
tournament, except for his team loss in the semi finals against the Russians. Unfortunately,
Murray was not only on the ice for Russia’s first 3-4 goals, but the puck
actually did touch him or his skates on all of these goals. Talk about a bad
luck. However, we can’t judge what Ryan Murray has brought for team Canada
throughout not only this tournament, but for all the other ones also: Ivan
Hlinka Memorial Tournament, World Under-18, etc. His performance during the
semi finals shouldn’t make him a sliding prospect, but it shows that other
players are starting to catch up on him. He’s being scouted for a while now,
and is suffering the same faith as Tavares and Couturier.
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