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U18: Team USA 2023 U18 Championship

I wonder if the Finns still thinks it's a good idea to talk shit to the opposing goalie and bench each time they score? Always good when the team who is doing that loses.

This team needed to add defensemen. A guy like Strathmann isn't available but he would he'd be the #1 guy on this team. McCarthy or Mania should have been under consideration, too.

Augustine wasn't bad but he wasn't good, either. We'll see if he can quell the concerns in the rest of the tournament but the pattern continues of him not playing well in the bigger games. His rebound control was poor and he was off his angles a lot. To be fair he did make some pretty nice saves, too.
 
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I believe that Eiserman will not only break Caufield's NTDP single-season and all time scoring record, but also the U18 Worlds record. Of course, there are still six left for Caufield and Ovechkin's record, but the fact that there is even talk about the possibility of an underager is pretty cool.
 
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Cole Hutson is also closing on Cam York's single season record. Overtook his big bro today.
 
SanDogBrewin said:


Passing has been fun to watch..
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Kind of wild that we should see (barring stupidity from BC or the WJC coaches) that line together for at least another season + major tournament. Too early to project if any of them go pro after their freshmen seasons but not crazy to think they could be a line for 4 seasons before they start to go their own ways. The most enjoyable line I've seen during my time watching the NTDP.
 
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Eiserman is trying to get that record too much. Should just play smarter game and goals will come. Minnetian is one of the most interesting player in this team. There is some things which make him look like a first rounder but his game just lacks that last touch. Who knows, maybe 2-3 years in a big role with BC is going to make him a steal. Should rack more points.
 
What a weird hockey game. Almost 40 minutes without penalties and it feels like Czech coach created a game plan that they just don't lose big. Hard to win playing like that. I would like to see more simple plays to the net but I understand that pointless to take risks when Czechs can't create anything.
 
Eiserman has been so bad and selfish today. US coaching is so bad in every international tournament. Never can't make any changes when opponent forces it.
 
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So is it Slovaks now or what?

EDIT: Slovakia it is. I hope that Slovakia comes to play more than Czechs did.
 
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That was a boring game. Czechia basically played 6 goalies in a hope and a prayer. They did well to keep it close but they also made it a terrible game to watch.

Hard to read much into a game like that but the team didn't play very well. Too many players started getting selfish or gripping their sticks too tight trying to be the guy to break it open.

Probably would have been a different game if Perreault didn't heel the easy one timer on a wide open net on the opening shift. That would have been demoralizing for the Czechs given their strategic shift to just park all 5 guys in front of the net. And it would have depressurized the team early that they weren't scoring despite having the puck the entire time.
 
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This entire u18 team is so impressive. One kid I hadn't read much about but was super impressive today was Buium. Kid played his ass off.

And of course Hutson is a pure joy with the puck

Great D group as well.
 
What a smart penalty from Eiserman when Slovaks was just on the ground. He has been very weak in the past two games and unfortunately Celebrini has passed him as a favourite for first overall.

After that penalty it wasn't pretty to watch. Hutson broke Cam York's season points record today. Pretty impressive during the U17 season.

Augustine made some good stops and has been solid all tournament.

I want to see a complete last period with a good attitude. Now we again see how coaching staff are able to respond when team is not playing how they should.
 
A bit silly to be negative after 7-1 victory but I would be positively surprised if they are going to beat Sweden or Canada.

I feel that often these NTDP U18 squads lacks some character. There were lot of sloppy plays and pointless scrums when you are up in the semifinal. As an example, Perreault gave multiple times puck away because he just couldn't make that simple smart play.

Often it has been a story that better organized and more disciplined team is going to beat us in the final even our skillset is more superior.
 
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A very uneven performance. The team went to shit after they went up 5-0 and got into a ton of bad habits that will doom them in the gold medal game if they don't clean it up.

The coaches should light up the players after today's game about the scoring record obsession, which I think is the cause of a lot of the negative stuff. And if a player is chasing a record more than anything else, tell them they're going to sit until they let it go.

Perreault was a mess today. When folks wonder why the scouts are split on him a bit despite all the points, it's performances like that.

Eiserman is trying way too hard to break the goal record. I was glad the coaches finally said something to him after he took that big hit in the 2nd. He was more like himself after that whereas in the 4 1/2 periods before that, he had tunnel vision. It shouldn't take that long to get him recalibrated. But NTDP coaches often just let the players do whatever.

Hagens is playing frustrated. He was a puck hog today and it was not like him at all. I get it, he wanted to pot a couple to really get going, but today was not the style that normally makes him so successful.

I generally worry the team is too confident. It's showing in a few ways. Guys chasing records. Some of the defensemen (i.e., Schulz, Fortescue, etc.) playing like they think they're Hutson. The way they let up in games.
 
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It's a different thing to let guys play and be creative in the NTDP compared to tournament play. I don't mean you should play scared or not to be creative in the Worlds but rather you need to learn when you can do it and when you need to play humble game for the TEAM. Too often coaches lack when they need to prepare team to the Worlds. Skill gets you to the certain point but you need to be able to clean it up if you want to win gold.

Can't agree more about the record chasing. Eiserman has been hit this the most. It has completely ruined his game.
 
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SK94 said:
It's a different thing to let guys play and be creative in the NTDP compared to tournament play. Too often coaches lack when they need to prepare team to the Worlds. Skill gets you to the certain point but you need to be able to clean it up if you want to win gold.
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It's part of the problem with the NTDP approach. The coach spends 2 seasons with the vast majority of the IIHF U18 team and it makes them reluctant to change things up. Often the NTDP coaches take a long season approach to the tournaments because that's what they're used to.
 
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IIHF changes their crease rule from the fly. This should obviously be goal but it is crazy how many times it has been ruled against us in IIHF games in the past.
 
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