S1 World Juniors Write Up

[Press Reporter]

Heading into the Elimination Round, here’s a few words on every team, and some of the Draft Eligible Prospects. Astute scouts are paying attention, looking for any advantage heading into the 2022 Draft, and FA Frenzy 22






Canada

Disappointing showing so far. Dipietro has lost his starting job to Ruccia, with Skinner backing up for the medal round. Guenther (8pts) and Krebs (9pts) both with strong showings. Ratcliffe and Entwistle have brought a physical presence, hitting anything that moves. Comes down to lackluster goaltending. Ruccia could make a case for being drafted this upcoming offseason with a strong performance in the elimination round


Finland

Winning their Pool with great performances up and down the roster. Even with Lundell/Vesalainen leading this squad in points, you must talk about Joakim Kemell. Ranked 31st OA heading into the tournament. He has been nothing short of brilliant. 7 G 4 A, there’s no doubt about this guy being a 1 RD selection anymore. Thomson has been a steadying presence on the blueline, and Honka is looking to garner some interest as FA this offseason after a making a big impact. Luukkonen has lost his starting job to Annunen, another FA to watch



World


Not expected to make much noise, Team World has surprised a couple teams. The German Line of Bokk/Reichel/Peterka has been very solid. Musorov may have opened some eyes with 3 G 4 A. Fimis has also done well in a limited showing, but probably about what was expected. Parik has been the story of this team though, with a .925 SV% and 3 Wins through 5 GP. An argument could be made for goalie of the tournament, so far. Without him, this would’ve been a very rough outing for this team



North America


In the same boat as the World Team, only there were MUCH higher expectations going in. Nazar scored more G (9) than almost the entire team put together. He is currently leading the tournament. Scorers like this are not common. I’m gonna say no way Nazar is still around at pick 15 with this kinda play.



Russia


Surprisingly, it’s been the performance from the D that have stood out the most. Alexeyev/Semykin, and Nikishin/Kuznetsov with contributions coming from points, hits and takeaways. Nikolayev’s play has been inspired with 7 pts and 19 hits. While being called upon to kill penalties and win important faceoffs. Yurov, although he hasn’t found the back of the net yet, has brought a big physical game, tied for the lead in hits 34. Tarasov has currently lost his starting position, and will be the 3rd option for the elimination round. Opting for a Miftakhov/Zadorozhny tandem. Zad is an over-ager in the upcoming draft, and I’m sure someone will take a flyer on him after putting up .952 sv% in 3 GP



SLOVAKIA / CZECH

The big surprise of the tournament. Huge showings up and down the lineup. Slafkovsky has been dominate in all areas, scoring at a 1.2 points a game a pace. He’s looking like a top 5 pick (top 3?) Right there with him is Nemec with 8 pts on the backend. Okuliar will be looking for a job this summer ( 2 G 7 A). No team has had better goaltending. But still not without their own controversy, with Dostal .915% being given rest in favor of Elias .952%
/Hlavaj .923% heading into the elimination round



Sweden

Another team with deep contributions. Rosen leads team in G with 6. 4 players with 10 pts (Wahlstrom,Eklund,Olausson, and Gustafsson)
Gustafsson is also tied for lead in hits 34. Forsmark and Salomonsson have also seen their draft stock rise. Sanderson .875% has lost his starting position, and will sit the remainder of the tournament after a poor showing. Havelid .909% / Wallstedt .892% take the reins



USA

Unlike the Canadian team, who has seemed to get better as the tournament has progressed, USA ends the Round Robin with a bit of a thud. Homer continues to get shelled, facing over 30 shots a game. Lucius leads this team in G/PTS/HITS 5/8/32. Boucher has shown himself to be a premier passer, 7 A. Borgesi is looking like he could be one of the better OFD available in the upcoming draft, with 3-4. Brink with only 1 G, Colangelo with only 1 point playing with Lucius on that top line. Makes you wonder if the coach might try Pastujov/Svejkovsky in an attempt to generate more