WJC: Players who impresses you at the World Junior Championship?

[Nevins]

1) Connor Bedard is a cut above the rest and will easily be #1 in the next draft 2) Isak Rosen ( Sweden) Very precise shooting 3)Ludvig Janssen(Sweden) Best Swedish defenseman today 4)Sean Behrens(USA). Best American Defenseman Today 5) David Spacek (CZE) complete defenseman 6)Thomas Suchanek( CZE) Won the game for his team against Canada

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[Goldenhands]

Gavin Brindley, I liked hm so far, thats a kid I would target late 1st early second round.

Bedard is a franchise player in the making, thats obvious. Carlsson is elite. Reinbacher had a decent 1st game on a trash Austrian team.

 

[majormajor]

Some players that haven't been mentioned that have had great starts - Lian Bichsel and Stan Svozil.

 

[ViD]

Michkov looked so good, so fast, nearly invisible

 

[BigRangy]

Liked Taibel for SUI. Set up both of the regulation yoals and was really solid in the pretourney game I watched of theirs.

 

[MNRube]

Snuggerud, Korchinski, Sale, Svozil & Spacek stood out.

Among more obvious choices I was impressed with Bedard, Cooley, Jiricek

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Snuggerud just keeps getting better.

 

[SquidNasty]

Impressed:
-Bedard is the easy choice, by far Canada’s most dangerous player and his ability to drag the puck towards himself while releasing is something else.
-Was super impressed by the QMJHL line in pre tournament but the ejection kind of screwed up what they had going.
-Jiricek was unbelievable and the second best player on the ice. Looks like a grizzled NHL vet playing in a junior tournament

Disappointing:
-Shane Wright. During last year’s tournament he was completely invisible. People were calling him invisible tonight but this performance was nothing compared to last year. In the two games he played it felt like I hadn’t even heard his name mentioned once by the commentators.

Tonight he was definitely present and got on the score sheet. His goal was a real nice shot and it’s nice to see him using that dangerous wrister. My concern is that he didn’t look great when carrying the puck in transition and failed to look dangerous at 5 on 5 while being stapled to one of the most talented players in tournament history. Also a little concerned with him having the C. All those rumours about his poor draft interviews don’t help and apparently he wanted nothing to do with the AHL after joining Seattle. These are all rumours of course so don’t take any of it too seriously.

(disclaimer: I’m not a Habs fan hating on him for no reason)

-Brandt Clarke. Brutal in his own zone tonight which is very concerning because that was the main reason why he didn’t make the team last year.

-Entire Finland team. Runners up last tournament and decent talent on the roster. Swiss flat out looked like the better team.

-Didn’t get to catch the US-SWE game but Rosen’s highlights were nasty.

 

[McMozesmadness]

The best performances from day one for me:

Lian Bicshel - He was an absolute tank today. His presence on the ice was noticeable every shift

Team Czechia D - My top three performances could all be from the Czech blueline. Jiricek and Svozil are forces. At this level both are #1D. Jiricek is clearly a step above any player in this tournament in terms of maturity and poise. Spacek was a stud too. Reliable all night. The entire Czech D, and team D. A+

Tomas Suchanek - Never seemed distressed. Big, athletic goalie that makes big saves. I wonder if NHL teams will take a look

 

[ORRFForever]

Bedard.

 

[jonlin]

-Entire Finland team. Runners up last tournament and decent talent on the roster. Swiss flat out looked like the better team.

Not just looked - they were the better team. Our best forward played as the 13th and Kiviharju, who is our best puck-moving D, isnt even activated. It was a total shitshow and coaching is to blame. On top of that, every player on our team tried to play individually and teamplay was nowhere to be seen. If they dont change things fast were not seeing more than groupstage and relegations...

 

[GAGLine]

My totally biased answers are Vaisanen and Chmelar. They both stood out in positive ways.

 

[docbenton]

Svozil was the most standout performer on day 1 for me. So good on both ends of the ice.

Bichsel is being overrated, he was mostly noticeable for being big other taking advantage of Kemell's mistake in OT. Didn't show the skill or agility that some projected he could develop based on his draft year.

Clarke is getting too much hate, really like this player, smartest and most talented defenseman on Canada and should be on the first PP over Zellweger.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Michkov looked so good, so fast, nearly invisible

Michkov is so good they literally banned him and his entire country to let the other teams have a chance

 

[Alexanderthe89]

Can't remember who it was against but Kulich absolutely flew by somebody last night that had multiple steps on him.

 

[57special]

Can't remember who it was against but Kulich absolutely flew by somebody last night that had multiple steps on him.

Clarke. That's one of the raps on him...not the best feet.

I thought Clarke was fascinating. Really good most of the game, but with a few instances of some bad/weak play.

 

[bert]

My totally biased answers are Vaisanen and Chmelar. They both stood out in positive ways.

Vaisanen is a player. Incredible how well he moves and handles the puck for his size. What a pick.

Clarke. That's one of the raps on him...not the best feet.

I thought Clarke was fascinating. Really good most of the game, but with a few instances of some bad/weak play.

Thought he was their best player when they needed to push.

 

[Czechboy]

Little early.lol

But if we're talking about unheralded guys then Chmelar absolutely looked like he belonged with the Czech core guys who have NHL futures (potentially) like Sale, Kulich, Jiricek and Svozil.

Spacek is highly underrated. He ended with 2 points, stopped a Michigan (thank god) and led all D in minutes and this is a good D core. Minnesota has him and Walstedt in the pipe. Slow clap!

I know Spacek will keep it up. Curious about Chmelar. He had a breakaway, a disallowed goal and a real goal against Canada! Unheard of. Dare I say he was the best NCAA player in last night's game?lol

 

[Nevins]

I am very impressed by Filip BYSTEDT. The big 6'4" center has great skating, good hockey IQ and quick hands. The San Jose Sharks have good prospect on their hands.

 

[Nevins]

Oliver Kapanen, captain of Finland and draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens was voted player of the game for his team against Slovakia.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

Zach Dean. That hit was gorgeous.

 

[Czechboy]

Czech Goalie (yes, goalie) Suchanek has 3 points in 5 periods. I'm calling it, he leads the goalies in scoring this tourney!

 

[Chainshot]

Pleased to see Suchanek's success continuing on. He's going to get a contract out of his tournament play this year.

 

[Czechboy]

Get Marcel a goal for his Billet family.

Kulich with a hattrick before I can hit enter... yikes! Sapo again doing the dirty work.

 

[Czechboy]

Jiricek now tied with Suchanek ... 3 pts each