If you're a hockey prospects kind of person, this is truly the most wonderful time of the year. The IIHF World Junior Championships kicked off on Boxing Day with four games featuring all four elite hockey nations (the US, Canada, Russia and Sweden), and all kinds of rosy-cheeked phenoms will get a chance to strut their stuff. As the tournament progresses, I'll provide updates on both the kids who have already been drafted (92 players participating in the tournament have already been selected by NHL clubs, with the Winnipeg Jets leading the pack by having six of their prospects rostered) and those who are still draft-eligible.
Day one's action featured two near-upsets that the favorite has to salvage in a shootout, a semi-blowout by a hockey superpower and a statement game by another superpower trying to end a gold medal drought on home ice.
Russia 3, Denmark 2 (SO)
The plucky Danes send out what is arguably the best two-way line in the entire tournament, with Mads Eller centering Nik Ehlers (WPG, 1st rd 2014) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (CLM, 3rd rd 2013). Bjorkstrand, who looked dangerous all game, sent the club out to a 2-0 first period lead with a goal and an assist, both on the power play. The second and third periods saw both goalies, Denmark's Georg Sorensen and Russia's Ilya Sorokin (NYI, 3rd rd 2014), trade huge stops as constant Russian pressure was broken up by occasional Danish counter-attacks, but while Sorokin was able to prevent his club from falling behind 4-0 or even 5-0, a couple of fluky bounces got past Sorensen to knot the score. Sorokin then shut the door in the shootout, and the Russians escaped with two points.
Top prospect performers:
The Blue Jackets appear to have gotten a third round steal with Bjorkstrand. His offensive game includes the speed and elusiveness necessary to survive in the NHL as an undersized forward, along with strong puck skills and a laser for a shot. He's also a feisty checker and penalty killer, and should quickly step into a bottom six role, at worst, with the Jackets over the next couple of seasons.
While the Russian team looked dangerous skating forward, none of their big name forwards such as Nik Goldobin (SJ, 1st rd 2014) or Ivan Barbashev (STL, 2nd rd 2014) really put their stamp on the game and the defense was soft and scrambly, which left Sorokin holding the bag. He only made 22 saves, but half of them seemed to be legit scoring chances.
Top undrafted performers:
At the other end of the ice, Sorensen faced 37 shots and looked completely unflappable. He lacks NHL size, which caused him to go undrafted last year, but he's quicksilver sliding from post to post, played his angles well and showed exceptional rebound control for a kid his age, rarely giving the Russians a second chance. If the 19-year-old has some kind of late growth spurt, he's going to attract a lot of interest in North America, but otherwise he'll probably have a nice career in Europe.
The other unheralded Dane that jumped out at me was Kristian Jensen, an 18-year-old forward who's currently the property of Lulea in the SHL. The whole team played a great defensive game, blocking shots with abandon, but Jensen almost always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. There's still time for his offense to come around, but he looks like he's got the size and skill to someday be an asset on an NHL checking line at least.
USA 2, Finland 1 (SO)
Both teams seemed a bit tight and nervous, and despite the drama of the score it was a fairly lackluster contest. The American dynamic duo of Jack Eichel and Sonny Milano (CLM, 1st rd 2014) showed flashes of their elite skill, but Finnish star Kasperi Kapanen (PIT, 1st rd 2014) was mostly held in check. Finland was a long shot to defend last year's gold medal anyway, but if Kapanen can't make an impact they'll struggle to even play in a medal game.
Top prospect performers:
He didn't have a lot of really tough saves to make, but Thatcher Demko (VAN, 2nd rd 2014) came through for the US when it mattered. He's got NHL size and is solid positionally, but the most impressive thing he showed Friday was his ability to make adjustments. The Finnish book on Demko appeared to be to go glove side, but after he got beat on the first shootout attempt he then sealed the win with two big glove saves.
Top undrafted performers:
Likely 2015 number two pick Eichel was all over the ice, setting up the US's regulation goal with a nifty play from behind the net and then kicking off the shootout with a no-doubter. His vision and explosiveness were on full display, and every time he touched the puck it felt like a scoring chance was imminent. He's clicking with Milano on the US top line, and that duo's success will probably determine how far the Americans get in the tourney.
Sweden 5, Czech Republic 2
Sweden jumped out to an early lead, but the Czechs clawed back to a 2-2 tie in the second period which lasted all of about 30 seconds before the Swedes scored again and then pulled away in the third. Jakub Vrana (WAS, 1st rd 2014) scored both Czech goals, the first on a breakaway after a horrible turnover by Robert Hagg (PHI, 2nd rd 2013). Yes, a Flyers' blue line prospect is prone to giving away the puck. He'll fit right in on their NHL roster. Adrian Kempe (LA, 1st rd 2014) potted two for the Tre Kronor.
Top prospect performers:
Playing on his future home ice, William Nylander (TOR, 1st rd 2014) was far and away the best player in the game. He needs to work on his defensive game, which is an odd thing to say about a Swedish prospect, but he continually gave the Czechs fits with his elite speed, hands and vision, and his second period goal proved to be the game-winner. The Leafs finally have a player who should be able to keep up with Phil Kessel, and the two speedsters could be giving opposing defensemen nightmares in the near future.
While the Czechs were never really in this game, the duo of Vrana and Ondrej Kase (ANA, 7th 2014) looked consistently dangerous. Vrana is a pure sniper with wheels and a quick trigger who looked every inch a first round pick, while Kase doesn't have any one standout asset but does everything pretty well. The scouting report on Kase says he's undersized, but he's not a waterbug and is just skinny rather than short, and he's already bulking up from his draft weight. Given his slick offensive package off the wing, the Ducks got an absolute steal with this one.
Top undrafted prospects:
The fact that Jens Looke was able to get himself noticed on a Sweden team loaded with older players and first round draft picks speaks very well for his future. He played hard and smart in all three zones, showing good speed, hands and a strong compete level, and while he's a winger and not a center, the comp that came to mind was Alexander Wennberg.
Canada 8, Slovakia 0
Holy shneikies. The scary part is, the score might not have done justice to how thoroughly Canada dominated this game. The Canucks had seven different goal scorers, none of them Conor McDavid or Sam Reinhart, and they outshot the Slovaks 34-12. On a night when the Russians barely scraped by Denmark and the Swedes didn't pull away from the Czechs until the third period, Canada served notice that they intend to be this year's bullies. Robby Fabbri (STL, 1st rd 2014) led the onslaught with two goals and two assists, Nic Petan (WPG, 2nd rd 2013) added a goal and two assists, and five other players had multi-point nights.
Top prospect performers:
The duo of Anthony Duclair (NYR, 3rd rd 2013) and Max Domi (ARI, 1st rd 2013) anchored Canada's most impressive line and had a goal and an assist each (Reinhart, the third member of the unit, picked up two assists). Both are stereotypically Canadian forwards, playing hard in all three zones while flashing plenty of skill when they get even a small patch of open ice. It wouldn't be at all surprising if they ended up being the highest-scoring line of the tournament.
Madison Bowey (WAS, 2nd rd 2013) was also strong off the Canadian blue line, showing a calm, impressive, physical two-way game that will serve him well in the NHL.
Top undrafted performers:
While McDavid didn't get on the score sheet he did show plenty of skill, dominating a shift almost single-handedly in the first period and getting robbed by Slovakia goalie David Okolicany's toe late in the third. In between he also blocked a shot with his shoulder, which gave Canada a momentary scare, but he stayed in the game. McDavid has everything you could want in a number one center and a first overall pick, and he's going to make some NHL club very happy in June.