U18: Ivan Hlinka Memorial - Team Switzerland

[Czechboy]

The Czech team is better than usual on paper IMO. Our D seems solid. We have some promising forwards. Not a gold threat to Canada but it is a stronger squad than usual. Lots of 'names' that may get drafted.

 

[Kuracmugger]

I have watched the game as well and can confirm most of those observations. Reber was by far the best Swiss player. He displayed some fantastic vision, hands and skating at times and much of the offense ran through him. Other than him though, a lot of the other skaters didn't play up to their full potential. You already mentioned Muggli who was unusually sloppy today. Ustinkov wasn't bad, but not as dominant as he should be against his peers and as he was often times at the U17 level. On a more positive note, I really liked Kimi Körblers two way game and motor. Niklas Blessing made a lot of defensive mistakes and unforced turnovers though. That needs to get better in the coming games.

As far as the Czechs are concerned, I am not super familiar with them either. But they have a bunch of really good prospects in Jecho, Bednak, Titlbach and especially the defenceman Jiricek. So I don't think this is a weak team at all.

Agree on your take on Ustinkov he should be better than just „good“ in games like these he had an assist but that was mostly Reber‘s work though. I wasn’t to impressed by Blessing too, i personally would pair him with another player than Geisser they are our only defenders that seem big on the ice i can’t confirm tho since some players don’t have their height on EP. How did you like Neuenschwander would rather have him as the starter or Kirsch?

 

[Kuracmugger]

The Czech team is better than usual on paper IMO. Our D seems solid. We have some promising forwards. Not a gold threat to Canada but it is a stronger squad than usual. Lots of 'names' that may get drafted.

So seems like you have a similar year than us we also have some interesting names this year. I was impressed by adam Jecho who had 4 points if i am not mistaken.

 

[Czechboy]

So seems like you have a similar year than us we also have some interesting names this year. I was impressed by adam Jecho who had 4 points if i am not mistaken.

He polarizes the Czech fans.lol.

He's always playing a division of two up... So he looks weaker IMO. Curious how he does here facing his actual peers. Most of us think 2nd or 3rd rounder but I have no problem with him moving his draft rankings up!

 

[Kuracmugger]

He polarizes the Czech fans.lol.

He's always playing a division of two up... So he looks weaker IMO. Curious how he does here facing his actual peers. Most of us think 2nd or 3rd rounder but I have no problem with him moving his draft rankings up!

I see, I see was great today tho. The Hlinka will probably show how good he is against his peers when he faces the top 5 there…

 

[pgfan66]

Idk how strong this czech team is this year compared to other years but they look good.

As far as the Czechs are concerned, I am not super familiar with them either. But they have a bunch of really good prospects in Jecho, Bednak, Titlbach and especially the defenceman Jiricek. So I don't think this is a weak team at all.

Czechia isn't as talented offensively as past years but the defensive group might be the best of all time. Jiricek and Svozil are about as good as their brothers, Galvas is a high-end offensive talent, and Fibigr brings dynamic offensive ability too, although he was only the 7th D today. I don't think Skok is anything special but he played a lot of minutes at the pro level last year already. Benak is easily the most talented forward but he's an 07. Of the 06, I only really like Jecho and Kos and even they aren't locks to be high-ish draft picks or anything. I don't really like Titlbach.

 

[Goodman68]

Czechia isn't as talented offensively as past years but the defensive group might be the best of all time. Jiricek and Svozil are about as good as their brothers, Galvas is a high-end offensive talent, and Fibigr brings dynamic offensive ability too, although he was only the 7th D today. I don't think Skok is anything special but he played a lot of minutes at the pro level last year already. Benak is easily the most talented forward but he's an 07. Of the 06, I only really like Jecho and Kos and even they aren't locks to be high-ish draft picks or anything. I don't really like Titlbach.

Did you see today's match? How did Galvas play?

 

[pgfan66]

Did you see today's match? How did Galvas play?

He showed the usual flashes but I didn't think he took over the game and dominated or anything, but the same holds true for most players. I think it's important to remember that this is in large parts the same teams that played as the U17 in April, except with a couple months off. So while the Hlinka will really put them in the spotlight for the first time, they're pretty much still U17 players and therefore have a super important developmental year still ahead of them. What I'm trying to get at: Galvas, Jiricek, Svozil, Jecho, Titlbach, Reber, Ustinkov and others all showed flashes – but none of them are really consistent yet and there were tons of errors and chaos in all their games.

 

[Kuracmugger]

We got the win today and Reber was the best player again today for me. I was also impressed by the goalie Phileas lachat. Ustinkov played okey but had some mistakes. And i didn’t really like Meier again, slow sometimes and had some positioning mistakes and threw the puck away again sometimes. Ponzetto was alright but he needs to shoot the pucke more he tried to pass back between the legs once when in alone on the goalkeeper that was a bit ridiculous. And we missed a lot of good opportunities+ got lucky on the 2:1. Leon Muggli scored but missed an open net right after but played alright overall.

 

[Speyer]

We got the win today and Reber was the best player again today for me. I was also impressed by the goalie Phileas lachat. Ustinkov played okey but had some mistakes. And i didn’t really like Meier again, slow sometimes and had some positioning mistakes and threw the puck away again sometimes. Ponzetto was alright but he needs to shoot the pucke more he tried to pass back between the legs once when in alone on the goalkeeper that was a bit ridiculous. And we missed a lot of good opportunities+ got lucky on the 2:1. Leon Muggli scored but missed an open net right after but played alright overall.

Good observations. I thought Meier had some good plays too along with the positioning mistakes too though. I really liked the team effort today. The penalty kill looked very good at times. However I hope that at the actual tournament they will take less (unnecessary) penalties than today. This seems like a chronic issue in all our junior national teams lately. If your talent level is already behind most top and mid tier nations, there should be all the more focus on discipline. The only reason we still won the game was the goaltender Lachat though. I have never seen him play before but he was absolutely lights out yesterday. If this game was any indication of his day to day ability then the goalie position should be absolutely no worry for this birth year.

 

[Hinterland]

Good observations. I thought Meier had some good plays too along with the positioning mistakes too though. I really liked the team effort today. The penalty kill looked very good at times. However I hope that at the actual tournament they will take less (unnecessary) penalties than today. This seems like a chronic issue in all our junior national teams lately. If your talent level is already behind most top and mid tier nations, there should be all the more focus on discipline. The only reason we still won the game was the goaltender Lachat though. I have never seen him play before but he was absolutely lights out yesterday. If this game was any indication of his day to day ability then the goalie position should be absolutely no worry for this birth year.

Yeah, wish the spread was a bit better. 04 has zero capable goalies, 05 has just Huet. 06 has at least 6 goalies better than Huet. If I had anything to say inside the SIHF, I wouldn't even bother selecting those 04 goalies anymore. There are more than enough quality underagers available to fill the roster spots and the underagers are already better than the 04 goalies anyway.

 

[Speyer]

Yeah, wish the spread was a bit better. 04 has zero capable goalies, 05 has just Huet. 06 has at least 6 goalies better than Huet. If I had anything to say inside the SIHF, I wouldn't even bother selecting those 04 goalies anymore. There are more than enough quality underagers available to fill the roster spots and the underagers are already better than the 04 goalies anyway.

Yeah the wealth isn't exactly spread out in that department. It will be interesting to see if 07 and 08 will be subpar years for goaltending or if there will be at least one good prospect again. NT games this summer should be a good indicator for that.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Yeah, wish the spread was a bit better. 04 has zero capable goalies, 05 has just Huet. 06 has at least 6 goalies better than Huet. If I had anything to say inside the SIHF, I wouldn't even bother selecting those 04 goalies anymore. There are more than enough quality underagers available to fill the roster spots and the underagers are already better than the 04 goalies anyway.

Atleast one 06 keeper should be selected to the wjc IMO along with Huet and maybe Beglieri if he improves in the OHL. Experience might be a factor with the underager goalies

 

[pgfan66]

I must say that despite all the hype this Swiss 06 group is getting, I only really see 2 draft prospects right now and that's Ustinkov and Reber (excluding goalies because goalies are voodoo). Of course a lot can change and I definitely agree that this group is above average for Swiss standards. But I'd still be surprised if 3+ Swiss skaters were drafted next year.

 

[Hinterland]

I must say that despite all the hype this Swiss 06 group is getting, I only really see 2 draft prospects right now and that's Ustinkov and Reber (excluding goalies because goalies are voodoo). Of course a lot can change and I definitely agree that this group is above average for Swiss standards. But I'd still be surprised if 3+ Swiss skaters were drafted next year.

Well, remember the 06 group is special because of its depth, not because there are many bluechip prospects.

Also, I wouldn't overrate these games. These are exhibition games directly after offseason and in the middle of a prep camp. Also, I haven't been able to watch a lot of the action but if they played the way they were listed in the lineups the coaches were (hopefully) experimenting. Robin Antenen was a regular and top6 Center in the U20 elite league last season. Not even Jamiro Reber got regular top6 ice time with the U20 elites. Antenen is good at faceoffs and extremely reliable against the puck. Yet still he was listed as a winger in all three games. There's no way he's not gonna play Center in meaningful international games. Him and Reber are the ideal 1-2 C punch. Reliable shutdown Center and highly skilled playmaking Center. If Antenen plays winger in a meaningful international game, Schöb deserves to get fired asap. The 06 group is very deep but Reber and Antenen were the only ones getting regular ice time as Centers in Switzerlands top junior league. Moving them to the wing is cool as an experiment to give others looks but bonkers if it actually matters.

I also think that Ustinkov probably has to play his off side for the defense to work. There are a few more interesting righty defenders in the 06 age group but I don't think playing a forward (Geisser) on his off side on defense is a particularly good idea.


So again, if they played as listed in the lineup cards then I think the Swiss coaches were experimenting more so than actually trying to win all three games. Winning one out of three vs a strong opponent is fine anyway.

Re the draft I totally agree Ustinkov is the only blue chip skater prospect. Even Jamiro Reber as a small guy is, despite the skill he has, probably not gonna get drafted if he doesn't have a good season. Among goalies, with the hype he's getting, I think Kirsch is almost a lock to go. The rest of the 2024 eligible 06 kids are gonna need good draft seasons. If they play good seasons, half of the team could get drafted in the mid to later rounds. If they don't, Kirsch and Ustinkov could well be the only ones to go.

Gotta remember some of the most promising players on the roster are 2025 eligible though.

 

[pgfan66]

Well, remember the 06 group is special because of its depth, not because there are many bluechip prospects.

Re the draft I totally agree Ustinkov is the only blue chip skater prospect. Even Jamiro Reber as a small guy is, despite the skill he has, probably not gonna get drafted if he doesn't have a good season. Among goalies, with the hype he's getting, I think Kirsch is almost a lock to go. The rest of the 2024 eligible 06 kids are gonna need good draft seasons. If they play good seasons, half of the team could get drafted in the mid to later rounds. If they don't, Kirsch and Ustinkov could well be the only ones to go.

Re. the quoted parts, I guess we don't really disagree then. I just wouldn't say half of them could get drafted if they play good seasons. Because that statement applies to literally every prospect in the world and I don't like these guys' chances of playing draft-worthy seasons any more than others'.

Btw, Antenen actually did play on the right wing.

 

[Hinterland]

Re. the quoted parts, I guess we don't really disagree then. I just wouldn't say half of them could get drafted if they play good seasons. Because that statement applies to literally every prospect in the world and I don't like these guys' chances of playing draft-worthy seasons any more than others'.

I disagree. Not every prospect in the world is as good as these guys and this is the deepest group in seemengly forever, maybe the deepest group we ever had. Those guys have every chance of getting drafted in the mid to later rounds. This is the first time I say this about a Swiss age group. Doesn't mean it's gonna happen but there's a real chance this age group will set a highscore for Swiss players getting drafted. Again, I fully agree Ustinkov is the only bluechip prospect but the 06 group is crazy good and deep. I don't recall seeing anything like this in Switzerland. Especially the goalie depth is insane.

 

[Wooren]

Watched all three U18 CZEvSUI games, didn't pay much attention to the Swiss though, so take my post with a grain of salt.
My thoughts are that Ustinkov is legit, he caught my attention in every single game. Not sure he has very high NHL upside, but I would have him as high as the 2nd round. Reber is fun to watch, but unless he grows, I am thinking more of mid-rounds for him. Curious how he does in Sweden, but at 5'10", he would need to dominate to be a top 100 prospect. And then of course the goalies looked good, all seem to have fine physical tools too, so there is likely at least a draft pick in there as well. The rest of the team looked solid, some good skill here and there. Wouldn't surprise me if one or two players took the next step and became also legit NHL prospects throughout the season, but since I didn't focus on the Swiss squad, I can't really give any names here.

 

[Hinterland]

Watched all three U18 CZEvSUI games, didn't pay much attention to the Swiss though, so take my post with a grain of salt.
My thoughts are that Ustinkov is legit, he caught my attention in every single game. Not sure he has very high NHL upside, but I would have him as high as the 2nd round. Reber is fun to watch, but unless he grows, I am thinking more of mid-rounds for him. Curious how he does in Sweden, but at 5'10", he would need to dominate to be a top 100 prospect. And then of course the goalies looked good, all seem to have fine physical tools too, so there is likely at least a draft pick in there as well. The rest of the team looked solid, some good skill here and there. Wouldn't surprise me if one or two players took the next step and became also legit NHL prospects throughout the season, but since I didn't focus on the Swiss squad, I can't really give any names here.

Yeah, we always used to have good goalies but we've had little to no useful goalies for years now so having ~ six in one year is nice but a better spread would have been even nicer.

I agree Ustinkov is the lone bluechip prospect. I'm not even sure Reber is a lock to get drafted. His chances are certainly very good but with his lack of size, if his Sweden adventure doesn't go well I'm not sure NHL teams are gonna be forgiving enough to look past that.

I think Kirsch is a near lock though. I heard he's scouted heavily already and these days, NHL teams are crazy for big and athletic goalies. As for the other goalies, we'll have to see. Of course the biggest fish (Neuenschwander) isn't eligible until 2025.

 

[Hinterland]

Atleast one 06 keeper should be selected to the wjc IMO along with Huet and maybe Beglieri if he improves in the OHL. Experience might be a factor with the underager goalies

What's Beglieri's ceiling? Best case scenario in your view? SL starter? NL backup? Even that's unlikely in my view. Possible but unlikely. Is it worth selecting goalies with little to no upside when you have a wealth of highly talented goalies available? I don't know. I'm also not sure if Beglieri is still better than the 06 guys. I doubt it. More experienced maybe but that's why you have to play the kids. For them to get experience.

 

[kudla]

Well, remember the 06 group is special because of its depth, not because there are many bluechip prospects.

This swiss birth year reminds me of the swiss 2000. Great depth, but absent top talent. Maybe they are hiding in Ustinkov and Reber even though I would not bet my life savings on it

 

[Hinterland]

This swiss birth year reminds me of the swiss 2000. Great depth, but absent top talent. Maybe they are hiding in Ustinkov and Reber even though I would not bet my life savings on it

Really? I don't recall 2000 having exceptional depth. Two very good goalies but skaterwise it was nothing special. We got three NHLers out of the group but in terms of depth I'd say it was an average group at best. Certainly nothing like the 06 kids.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Well, remember the 06 group is special because of its depth, not because there are many bluechip prospects.

Also, I wouldn't overrate these games. These are exhibition games directly after offseason and in the middle of a prep camp. Also, I haven't been able to watch a lot of the action but if they played the way they were listed in the lineups the coaches were (hopefully) experimenting. Robin Antenen was a regular and top6 Center in the U20 elite league last season. Not even Jamiro Reber got regular top6 ice time with the U20 elites. Antenen is good at faceoffs and extremely reliable against the puck. Yet still he was listed as a winger in all three games. There's no way he's not gonna play Center in meaningful international games. Him and Reber are the ideal 1-2 C punch. Reliable shutdown Center and highly skilled playmaking Center. If Antenen plays winger in a meaningful international game, Schöb deserves to get fired asap. The 06 group is very deep but Reber and Antenen were the only ones getting regular ice time as Centers in Switzerlands top junior league. Moving them to the wing is cool as an experiment to give others looks but bonkers if it actually matters.

I also think that Ustinkov probably has to play his off side for the defense to work. There are a few more interesting righty defenders in the 06 age group but I don't think playing a forward (Geisser) on his off side on defense is a particularly good idea.


So again, if they played as listed in the lineup cards then I think the Swiss coaches were experimenting more so than actually trying to win all three games. Winning one out of three vs a strong opponent is fine anyway.

Re the draft I totally agree Ustinkov is the only blue chip skater prospect. Even Jamiro Reber as a small guy is, despite the skill he has, probably not gonna get drafted if he doesn't have a good season. Among goalies, with the hype he's getting, I think Kirsch is almost a lock to go. The rest of the 2024 eligible 06 kids are gonna need good draft seasons. If they play good seasons, half of the team could get drafted in the mid to later rounds. If they don't, Kirsch and Ustinkov could well be the only ones to go.

Gotta remember some of the most promising players on the roster are 2025 eligible though.

Who’s 2025 eligible?

 

[Kuracmugger]

What's Beglieri's ceiling? Best case scenario in your view? SL starter? NL backup? Even that's unlikely in my view. Possible but unlikely. Is it worth selecting goalies with little to no upside when you have a wealth of highly talented goalies available? I don't know. I'm also not sure if Beglieri is still better than the 06 guys. I doubt it. More experienced maybe but that's why you have to play the kids. For them to get experience.

I agree on Beglieri, i would probably go with 2 06s and an 05 or 04 if Beglieri or Huet have a great season they should get a roster spot, this doesn’t mean he will play all games or any games in the tournament though.

 

[Kuracmugger]

I must say that despite all the hype this Swiss 06 group is getting, I only really see 2 draft prospects right now and that's Ustinkov and Reber (excluding goalies because goalies are voodoo). Of course a lot can change and I definitely agree that this group is above average for Swiss standards. But I'd still be surprised if 3+ Swiss skaters were drafted next year.

I think Muggli has good chances too he played well in the u18 championship and in these three games he didn’t look bad for me. However i think he needs to play somewhere else than the u20 elit to get drafted. Plus there’s still the possibility that an overager skater gets drafted who was overlooked this year to make it 3+ skaters.