2012 - 2013 NHL Draft eligible at the IIHF World Junior Championship

CZECH REPUBLIC

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 9^th, 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 1^st rounders. After the tournament, they still have 3 potential 1^st 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 1^st 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 22^nd.

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.

Prospect ID: #4 ranked Filip Forsberg

Swedish forward Filip Forsberg does have a really great hockey name. However, he is not related to former NHL superstar Peter “Foppa” Forsberg. Already projected to be a top international player for the 2012 NHL Draft last year, Filip has really impressed scouts and analysts and even more on the international level at the Ivan Hlinka tournament during this past August. This is HockeyLobby’s top prospect #4.

 

Born in Östervåla, Sweden, young Forsberg has been playing his entire career in Sweden as he grew up watching and idolizing the same Foppa, who shares his last name. At 6ft1 and 176 lbs, Forsberg completely dominated at every junior level where he competed. In 2008-2009, he played for Leksand J-18 and U-16’s teams, where he recorded 21 and 17 points in respectively 15 and 8 games. The year after, Forsberg spent most of the season with the J-18 swad, recording 21 goals and 16 assists for 37 points in 31 games. Finally, last year in 2010-2011, Forsberg saw a fair number of games in both Leksand 1^st division team and the J-20 squad. Playing at the age of 16, he scored 1 goal in 10 games in the Swedish Elite League, and scored 40 points (21g-19a) in 37 games for the junior club. And as the cherry on his sundae, Forsberg made a lot of impression at the Ivan Hlinka U-18 Memorial Tournament in August, as he helped Sweden to an unbeaten record till the finals, where they’ve lost the gold medal game to a determined team Canada by the count of 4-1. He finished the tourney with 6 points in 6 games. Thus far this year with Leksand in the SEL, Filip Forsberg has 2g-1a-3pts in 11 games.

A combination of size and high octane offensive skills, Filip Forsberg, a left winger, is on route on becoming the best Swedish forward prospect since Washington Capitals Nick Backstrom. His greatest asset as he, himself, would describe it, is his offensive flair. Though he does not possess the same high end speed that Oilers Magnus Paajarvi has, Forsberg does possess a better overall offensive toolset. He is more of a goal scorer than a playmaker, but his hockey IQ is really high. What makes him even more well rounded is his puck protection ability. He uses his body really well to cover the puck and is really strong on his feet as he rarely gets knock off his skates.

HockeyLobby is really high on this young Swedish prospect and when it’s all said and done, although he got selected HC Sibir Novosibirsk in the 2nd round (41st overall) of the KHL Junior Draft, we do think that Forsberg’s name will be call up on the Console Energy Center stage as early as number 4^th overall for the 2012 NHL Entry draft. Not only does he possesses such high offensive upside, but is also a young guy who loves the game and seems to really enjoy playing it. His playing style reminds us a lot of an Ottawa Senators captain and one of Sweden’s best player, Daniel Alfredsson.

Bonus Video: Watch Filip Forsberg on CBC.ca