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: #5 Ryan Murray

Captain Canada: Ryan Smyth? Not really. Yet, another Ryan… Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. Amazing what he has accomplished thus far in his young career. Only 17 years of age, Ryan has captained two times team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament respectively in 2010 and 2011, bringing home the Gold medal twice. He’s was also given the “C” at his second appearance at the World Under-18 Championship, where team Canada failed to medaled.

Borned September 27^th, 1993, in White City, Saskatchewan, Ryan Murray’s late birthday kept him from being draft eligible for the NHL 2011 Entry Draft, where he would have been easily be a top 10 pick. Surprisingly, even though he was the youngest prospect at Team Canada’s training camp for the WJCs last year, he managed to be amongst the last cuts.

Drafted 9^th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft in 2008 by the Silvertips, Ryan Murray put up 27 points in 52 games as a 16 years old rookie and almost double those numbers in his sophomore season with 46 points in 70 games. After winning the Everett Silvertips Rookie of the Year award, he earned the “Assistant” title, helping along his captain at that time, Landon Ferraro (Detroit’s 2^nd round pick in 2009). Last summer, before the start of the 2011 season, Ryan Murray was finally named the Silvertips Captain.

For such a decorated player, Murray plays a very simple and efficient game. His greatest asset is his smooth skating along with his puck moving ability. Who does it reminds us from? Team Canada at the Vancouver Olympics of course, Scott Niedermayer. Like I’ve said, Ryan Murrai reminds us a lot of Scott Niedermayer, but we do not want to put any pressure on the young Murray, as Scott himself is certainly of the most decorated Canadian hockey player in the Nation’s history. If we had to compare him to a current NHLer, and maybe less decorated than Scott, Hockey Lobby likes the comparison with Anaheim own Scott Niedermayer’s replacement, future American Olympian, Cam Fowler.

Unfortunately, Ryan Murray was limited to only 10 games thus far this season with the Everett Silvertips, scoring 6 points in those games, as he is recovering from a high ankle sprain that has been keeping him from playing for about 6 weeks already. Because of that same injury, he was forced to skip the 2011 Subway Superseries, giving Edmonton Oil Kings Griffin Reinhart the opportunity to play against the Russians. Therefore, Ryan Murray remains a top prospect for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, and we hope a good recovery for him.

Coming up next on HockeyLobby, our new mock draft, Pre-World Junior Championships edition. Since many top prospect are suffering from injuries, it has given the chance for other prospects to shine, and our most improved prospect for this special Mock Draft Edition is Ottawa 67’s defenseman, Cody Ceci. Check back soon to see where Cody is predicted to go!