Official 2023 World Junior Championship Thread

[LegionOfDoom91]

Group A:
- Canada
- Sweden
- Czechia
- Germany
- Austria

Group B:
- United States
- Finland
- Switzerland
- Slovakia
- Latvia

IIHF - Home 2023 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

IIHF - Home 2023 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

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[Captain Dave Poulin]

A few weeks where we can pretend we have a future.

 

[Rebels57]

A few weeks where we can pretend we have a future.

Do the Flyers even have any participants?

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Do the Flyers even have any participants?

I doubt it. Who are they going to send, f***ing Tommy Tutonealla?

EDIT: I forgot about Qatar Gauthier.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Zanetti is playing for Switzerland. Yay.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Do the Flyers even have any participants?

Just looking like Cutter Gauthier (USA) & Brian Zanetti (Switzerland).

 

[FLYguy3911]

It a shame Hextall picked all busts and ruined the franchise but it was nice when this team had the most prospects at this tournament under his watch.

 

[BigToe]

It a shame Hextall picked all busts and ruined the franchise but it was nice when this team had the most prospects at this tournament under his watch.

Feels like a century ago

 

[FLYguy3911]

Feels like a century ago

were you in diapers?

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Feels like a century ago

Feels bad, Toe. F***ing Hextall.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Sounds like Gauthier will be on the wing lol.

 

[BigToe]

Sounds like Gauthier will be on the wing lol.

If we don’t get Hutson-Casey I’m gonna be angry. Not a fan of that middle six either.

Edit: nvm that guy tweeted it out weird. The second line is fine.

 

[deadhead]

It a shame Hextall picked all busts and ruined the franchise but it was nice when this team had the most prospects at this tournament under his watch.

Which simply tells you that having the most prospects in this tournament is highly overrated.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

It’s still a good threshold to conclude the player is passing barriers at those lower levels. How many good NHLer’s never played in the WJC’s before?

 

[deadhead]

It’s still a good threshold to conclude the player is passing barriers at those lower levels. How many good NHLer’s never played in the WJC’s before?

It's a short series against "kids," while it's nice, I'd say CHL playoffs are probably just as informative - players who have great PO series probably succeed as often as players who have great WJC runs. WJC is more of a "free for all" b/c you're playing all star teams that aren't as cohesive.

Same way AHL playoffs are a notch above the regular season (and a good reason to spend on your AHL team).

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

It’s not about performance as you can look back & see mixed bags on that front with current NHLers. It’s simply being considered good enough to make the team. Take out guys who made the NHL in their D+1 &/or D+2. How many success stories of guys eligible in their post drafts years & not in the NHL that were passed up by their countries went on to have success in the NHL?

The best I can think of off the top of my head is Kyle Connor (which was a really controversial decision at the time) & Tyler Toffoli. USA Hockey ended up taking Connor to the WC’s later that year which in a way in an admission of a mistake. Both guys were prolific scorers at the NCAA & OHL levels those last year of eligibility years.

Other than that you’re mostly looking at goalies who probably make up most of your notable outliers.

Here’s all the players in their last year of eligibility for this tournament this year that are property of the Flyers:

- Samu Tuomaala
- Brian Zanetti
- Ty Murchinson
- Ethan Sampson
- Owen McLaughlin
- Alex Bump
- Alexis Gendron

Most of those guys weren’t even good enough to make the short lists for their countries. Toumaala & Sampson played some exhibition games with their countries before getting cut from the final roster. Murchinson, McLaughlin, Bump, & Gendron were never under any type of consideration by their countries. That leaves you Zanetti who’s not good & plays for a small country.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Alexei Kolosov

Too old for this year's tournament as an '02 but he played last year's 1A tournament which would have gotten Belarus promoted to the top level this year if not for the war.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Too old for this year's tournament as an '02 but he played last year's 1A tournament which would have gotten Belarus promoted to the top level this year if not for the war.

So it gets even worse then.

Another point is the Flyers have drafted a good bit of older & more physically mature players in those years. A good bit of late birthdays & re-entries mixed in with some guys who had NHL size or close to on draft day. Where are you really expecting these big noticeable leaps in development to come from?

Maybe a guy like McLaughlin? He’s not having a bad year but look at his UND teammate in Jackson Blake who played in the USHL last year as an 18-19 old too.

 

[FLYguy3911]

McLaughlin was tracking to possibly crack the roster as he was coming off of a good USHL season and got invited to the summer camp but obviously there were better options given the start to his college career. Murchison was at the camp also but probably more of a token USNTDP invite. He’s not very good. Bump is older and a year behind essentially just playing full time in the USHL this year. Not even making a real impact on the WJAC team.

 

[deadhead]

It’s not about performance as you can look back & see mixed bags on that front with current NHLers. It’s simply being considered good enough to make the team. Take out guys who made the NHL in their D+1 &/or D+2. How many success stories of guys eligible in their post drafts years & not in the NHL that were passed up by their countries went on to have success in the NHL?

The best I can think of off the top of my head is Kyle Connor (which was a really controversial decision at the time) & Tyler Toffoli. USA Hockey ended up taking Connor to the WC’s later that year which in a way in an admission of a mistake. Both guys were prolific scorers at the NCAA & OHL levels those last year of eligibility years.

Other than that you’re mostly looking at goalies who probably make up most of your notable outliers.

Here’s all the players in their last year of eligibility for this tournament this year that are property of the Flyers:



Most of those guys weren’t even good enough to make the short lists for their countries. Toumaala & Sampson played some exhibition games with their countries before getting cut from the final roster. Murchinson, McLaughlin, Bump, & Gendron were never under any type of consideration by their countries. That leaves you Zanetti who’s not good & plays for a small country.

- Samu Tuomaala 2nd rd
- Brian Zanetti 4th rd
- Ty Murchinson 5th rd
- Ethan Sampson 6th rd
- Owen McLaughlin 7th rd
- Alex Bump 5th rd
- Alexis Gendron 7th rd

 

[CutOnDime97]

It’s not about performance as you can look back & see mixed bags on that front with current NHLers. It’s simply being considered good enough to make the team. Take out guys who made the NHL in their D+1 &/or D+2. How many success stories of guys eligible in their post drafts years & not in the NHL that were passed up by their countries went on to have success in the NHL?

The best I can think of off the top of my head is Kyle Connor (which was a really controversial decision at the time) & Tyler Toffoli. USA Hockey ended up taking Connor to the WC’s later that year which in a way in an admission of a mistake. Both guys were prolific scorers at the NCAA & OHL levels those last year of eligibility years.

Other than that you’re mostly looking at goalies who probably make up most of your notable outliers.

Wasn't Debrincat passed up? Was also a controversial decision IIRC.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

- Lindblom 5th RD
- Fazleev 6th RD

- Sandstrom 3rd RD
- Voroboyev 4th RD
- Kase 6th RD
- Myers UD

- Hart 2nd RD
- Hogberg 5th RD
- Laczynski 6th RD
- Bernhardt 7th RD
- Zamula UD

- Sushko 4th RD
- Cates 5th RD

- Ginning 2nd RD
- St. Ivany 4th RD
- Ersson 5th RD

So essentially all the Flyers best hits outside of round one under Hextall played in the WJC’s at some point. Most of them played their last year of age eligibility for the tournament. The best two to not play were NAK & Allison.

Wasn't Debrincat passed up? Was also a controversial decision IIRC.

He made it the year before but was left off the next & his final year of eligibility.

 

[Magua]

How many good NHLer’s never played in the WJC’s before?

Looking at the Flyers: Hayes, Atkinson, Braun, Deslauriers, MacEwen, Allison, Lycksell, Seeler, Brown. You're talking plugs and late bloomers/late rounders and more plugs. Looking at the 2012 WJC roster, I can't believe Hayes didn't get a spot as a former 1st, even though he didn't light it up until his junior year -- that roster was hot garbage. I do think today WJC rosters skew younger and more talented; you still get your dusters for "fit," but it's more of a meritocracy than 5-10 years ago.

 

[FLYguy3911]

In Hayes' defense, USA Hockey was even more political than it is today. I believe he stood up the USNTDP to play prep hockey back home.

The real kicker is Finland didn't even want Ristolainen at their Olympic camp last year.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Probably helps that not really many top USA players play high school/prep hockey in their draft years anymore. So you probably get a better sense of where they’re at in their development against better competition whether it be with the US Program, USHL, or CHL.

Seems like USA Hockey has taken some in recent years though. Obviously Jay O’Brien but Jackson LaCombe & Scott Morrow are some recent examples even if all these guys just played towards the bottom of the lineup. So I’d imagine a guy like Hayes profile would make it now a days even if it wasn’t in a high role.