U18: 2024 WJC18 Switzerland roster talk

[Hinterland]

Lol@Sweden taking a penalty while on a 5vs3. That certainly helped after the made up call vs Tarchini and the stupid penalty Johnson took.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Some very unnecessary penalties again…

 

[Hinterland]

Some very unnecessary penalties again…

Yeah. The Tarchini one was made up I guess. I didn't see a "hooking" at all. The Johnson and mainly the Antenen penalty though were rather dumb. Thankfully, Sweden took an even dumber one on their 5vs3...

 

[Kuracmugger]

Yeah. The Tarchini one was made up I guess. I didn't see a "hooking" at all. The Johnson and mainly the Antenen penalty though were rather dumb. Thankfully, Sweden took an even dumber one on their 5vs3...

Agree the tarchini one was rather harsh but the other ones are penalties and very avoidable but sweden doesn‘t seem to be much smarter than us as you said

We should be up 2:1 switzerland played a lot better in the 2nd but we can‘t score again.

Interesting all zug powerplay unit but i guess you can do that when half the team plays for zug.

 

[jonas2244]

So Sweden really has 0 shots in 10 minutes of the 2nd period?

 

[Speyer]

I really wish I could watch but my Boss is working me to death lately. At least I am with you guys in spirit..

 

[jonas2244]

Two very bad PPs.

 

[jonas2244]

Hm, didn't look like an unstoppable shot.

But as always, if you don't use your PPs you're getting punished against the big guns.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Going into the third tied was so avoidable it could easily be 4:1,5:1 or 3:1 but we just can‘t score it seems. Antenen or Wey could have both scored 1 or 2 but they play well.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Swiss pull an upset in a QF

 

[Hinterland]

I missed the 2nd period but watched the highlights...how is Kirsch still in this game? He sucks.

 

[Kuracmugger]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Swiss pull an upset in a QF

Will be hard without muggli tough…

 

[Hinterland]

Will be hard without muggli tough…

...and a leaking Kirsch...

 

[Kuracmugger]

...and a leaking Kirsch...

I don‘t think he‘s that bad he played well against kazakhstan and for the most part against czechia. Outside of the goals he was alright today

 

[jonas2244]

What a chance for Reber in that PP. If you want to upset in the Quarters you need to score on such chances.

 

[Hinterland]

I don‘t think he‘s that bad he played well against kazakhstan and for the most part against czechia. Outside of the goals he was alright today

He let in three soft ones vs Canada and two soft ones today. That's five goals given away just like that. Not good enough. His rebound control is awful as well.

Also, I love Jamiro Reber but he's the exact opposite of a goal scorer. On that PP he was looking at an empty net but instead of shooting he waited for Harenstam to move back into position. Great player...I just wish he had some kind of a goal scorer's instinct.

What a chance for Reber in that PP. If you want to upset in the Quarters you need to score on such chances.

It's beyond me why he hesitated so long there. He was staring at an empty net. Puzzling.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Let‘s be honest we should haave easily won this game we gifted it to sweden

He let in three soft ones vs Canada and two soft ones today. That's five goals given away just like that. Not good enough. His rebound control is awful as well.

Also, I love Jamiro Reber but he's the exact opposite of a goal scorer. On that PP he was looking at an empty net but instead of shooting he waited for Harenstam to move back into position. Great player...I just wish he had some kind of a goal scorer's instinct.



It's beyond me why he hesitated so long there. He was staring at an empty net. Puzzling.

I didn‘t see the game against canada but the third one today was pretty soft too…

 

[Hinterland]

Let‘s be honest we should haave easily won this game we gifted it to sweden


I didn‘t see the game against canada but the third one today was pretty soft too…

Three soft ones vs Canada, three soft ones today. Not good enough, sorry. Just not acceptable.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Aside from the loss i really liked Gian Meier i don‘t know if he‘s a draft prospect but he‘s had a nice tournament so far

 

[Hinterland]

Well. Unfortunately the results were underwhelming but they played even games vs Czechia, Canada and Sweden, dominated Kazakhstan. We've never seen this from any Swiss team at WJC's. They did this minus the injured Giger, Guignard and Domenichelli and partly also minus Muggli and Grossniklaus. They did while icing the corpses of Reber, Körbler and especially Ponzetto as well. That's basically all top skaters of this 06 group either injured or banged up badly. Plus they probably lost Forget today as well leaving Ustinkov as the lone healthy top skater.

I think with better goaltending more wins would have been possible. We always knew scoring was gonna be a problem, especially with so many health issues upfront. Goaltending has been disappointing though. Three great goalie prospects on this team and the only goalie that played shit the bed badly. Talk about digging yourself a hole. Who's gonna start in the quarterfinal? Kirsch just shit the bed two games in a row but Lachat only played two periods split over two games while Neuenschwander didn't play at all.

That's probably also a result of Schöb's inexperience. You can tell he never coached at this level. I get that he was leaning on Kirsch after he outplayed the other two in exhibitions but if you have three good goalies then you have to give ice time to at least two goalies, especially if things aren't going well for your starter.

Schöb's lines and TOI distribution didn't always make sense either. There's no excuse for not sending Ponzetto home, playing his corpse instead. There's also no excuse for playing Forget at Center on a team with too many Centers.

It's all very unfortunate but it is what it is. I still liked their play from what I saw.

 

[Hinterland]

Aside from the loss i really liked Gian Meier i don‘t know if he‘s a draft prospect but he‘s had a nice tournament so far

Definitely. From a Swiss point of view he's the one positive surprise.

I believe he was considered a huge talent a couple of years ago...then slowly but surely seemed to lose ground.

He's definitely helping his draft stock this tournament though. I'm not even just talking about his offensive output but he seems to have added weight and he's physically imposing, too. I like his stick work as well. Of course his reach does help a lot in that regard. He's been hands down the best Swiss defensemen both offensively and defensively. Big, smooth skating righty defensemen with offensive potential don't grow on trees. I'd be surprised if he goes undrafted after this tournament.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Definitely. From a Swiss point of view he's the one positive surprise.

I believe he was considered a huge talent a couple of years ago...then slowly but surely seemed to lose ground.

He's definitely helping his draft stock this tournament though. I'm not even just talking about his offensive output but he seems to have added weight and he's physically imposing, too. I like his stick work as well. Of course his reach does help a lot in that regard. He's been hands down the best Swiss defensemen both offensively and defensively. Big, smooth skating righty defensemen with offensive potential don't grow on trees. I'd be surprised if he goes undrafted after this tournament.

I see him as a potential late round round pick too but i am not surprised if he goes undrafted with the trend of swiss players getting drafted in the last years. But as you said his skill set is interesting with that size reach and offense aswell i believe he has 2 goals already as a D. However Ustinkov has been rock solid aswell so maybe he‘s the best D but i agree Meier could be. The thing with Ustinkov is he never has games where he completely stand out or really wows however he seemingly always plays well.

 

[Hinterland]

I see him as a potential late round round pick too but i am not surprised if he goes undrafted with the trend of swiss players getting drafted in the last years. But as you said his skill set is interesting with that size reach and offense aswell i believe he has 2 goals already as a D. However Ustinkov has been rock solid aswell so maybe he‘s the best D but i agree Meier could be. The thing with Ustinkov is he never has games where he completely stand out or really wows however he seemingly always plays well.

I have seen some soft defense from both Muggli and Ustinkov. They also didn't have the same offensive impact as Meier. I liked Ustinkov at the WJC20 but not so much in this tournament. Both Ustinkov and Muggli were expected to be not just solid but dominant in this tournament. I haven't really seen it unfortunately.

Meier was ranked by Central Scouting. I'd say he was a fringe candidate at best ahead of this tournament. He displayed a lot of potential though against top competition in this tournament. That should help his draft stock. And again, big righty defensemen with smooth skating and offensive upside don't grow on trees. There's only so many of them. At this point he's a lottery ticket at best but I expect at least one team to take that chance. He's been impressive, outplaying both Muggli and Ustinkov in all areas of the game.

 

[Kuracmugger]

I have seen some soft defense from both Muggli and Ustinkov. They also didn't have the same offensive impact as Meier. I liked Ustinkov at the WJC20 but not so much in this tournament. Both Ustinkov and Muggli were expected to be not just solid but dominant in this tournament. I haven't really seen it unfortunately.

Meier was ranked by Central Scouting. I'd say he was a fringe candidate at best ahead of this tournament. He displayed a lot of potential though against top competition in this tournament. That should help his draft stock.

Yes he definitely helped his draft stock a lot he impressed! Yeah Ustinkov was better at the wjc20 but i wouldn‘t say he played bad just pretty medicore for his standards.

 

[Manster]

I liked Meier so far in this tournament, only guy to step up in the past games. For the draft he positioned himself into a late round.
Muggli has great talent and can adapt really quick to any level. However, he broke down under the expectations on him: first time in years he is not the underager in a team, all eyes and pressure were on him and he had to take responsibility. That is not a situation he is used to: overmotivated and naive rush resulted in getting hammered in the NZ. For a guy who was carefully and thoughtfully introduced to the NL like no Junior ever before I expected more. Overall: not there yet but definitely the most promising D.
Ustinkov has most skills of all Ds! However, he played mediocre so far and that is a joke for a calibre like him. He needs to figure out that the game at top level is played differently than in Junior League or SL. Unfortunately he is also lazy and he has not yet realized what it is all about. Compared to Muggli he is still a kid.
Reber is a good player. Healthy and rested he can create something offensively. He can be egoistic and strive for the goal, which is a strength. At the same time it makes it hard for the line mates to read his game and support him. Too small for a early draft.
Another name that used to pop up in this team was Antenen. Where was he so far?! Given the trust and the TOI in the league this year he was given, he is a disappointment at this tournament.
Kirsch was not having his best tournament so far. A lot of great saves but he also let in some questionable goals. Nevertheless, I still see him as #1 goalie in this tournament. Mentally strong he can handle any unfortunate situation.