who as been the best defenseman overall in the WJC

[shaner8989]

Staal
Emelin
E. Johnson
Teemu Laasko was awesome for Finland 3 Goals and a plus 4 on a weak team.
Smid was good too from what i saw

 

[Steveorama]

I will say this...the Canadian D has been the biggest surprise of this tournament.
5 eighteen year-olds, none of them heralded as the "next Phaneuf" by any stretch, but they have been as air-tight a defense as I have seen at this tourney.
Bourdon, Staal, Barker, Parent, Russell and Letang should all take a huge bow.
They have been terrific in every game.
We'll need them to have their best game in the final.

 

[supermoon]

Staal has been good, but I would say Borudon and Parent have played better in the tournament.

I agree. I think Staal has been very good. But I don't think he's even the best defensemen on that pairing.

 

[triggrman]

I'm excited as a Predators fan to hear how well Parent is playing. I can't wait to see our blueline in 5 years with Hamhuis-Suter-Weber-Parent-Klein-etc.... A very good blueline in the making.

 

[Mr. Hab]

Well, I'll go with the 5 I'd take on the Habs anyday...:

Erik Johnson
Alexei Emelin
Jack Johnson
Marc Staal
Luc Bourdon

 

[Corto]

Both Johnsons , Staal and Emelin.

Lyamin's been pretty good too, IMO.

 

[insider]

I know I've mentioned this before, but the Swiss defensemen, especially Diaz and Blum. 2 goals against the US, 4 against Canada? Not bad.

No Swiss defenseman was below -4, with one at 0. That's amazing.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I will say this...the Canadian D has been the biggest surprise of this tournament.
5 eighteen year-olds, none of them heralded as the "next Phaneuf" by any stretch, but they have been as air-tight a defense as I have seen at this tourney.
Bourdon, Staal, Barker, Parent, Russell and Letang should all take a huge bow.
They have been terrific in every game.
We'll need them to have their best game in the final.

You make a great point that I would like to apply to the Canadian team in general. No one on this team was really "heralded," but full marks to the Canadian management, and Brent Sutter in particular for getting the team to gel and play well as a unit. The U.S. could learn a thing or two.

 

[Dj]

Based only on the games that I saw over the tv: the Johnsons, Yemelin, Staal and Laaske (if Iam correct with the Finn's name). No ranking to this 5. But they looked impressive. I would probably name Bodrov, too.

 

[CH Wizard]

Emelin.

 

[Steveorama]

You make a great point that I would like to apply to the Canadian team in general. No one on this team was really "heralded," but full marks to the Canadian management, and Brent Sutter in particular for getting the team to gel and play well as a unit. The U.S. could learn a thing or two.

Agreed.
It is very difficult to take a team of teenage all-stars and make them a TEAM in a few weeks. But Sutter has done a remarkable job having everybody pulling on the rope.
The Sutter legend continues to grow.

 

[triggrman]

Staal
Emelin
E. Johnson
Teemu Laasko was awesome for Finland 3 Goals and a plus 4 on a weak team.
Smid was good too from what i saw

Laasko is another Predators prospect.

Anyone think he has NHL potential? NHL.com has a pretty good article on him. I haven't seen him play, it's nice to see another Predators blueliner getting hype though.

Suter, Hamhuis, Weber, Parent, Klein, Laasko....

 

[Pete Rock]

My pick? Jack Johnson all the way. I'd say he's been playing 25-30 minutes a game and has been a force at both ends of the ice in every which way.

Jumping in late on a couple of things:

1st chance I've really had to get a good look at Letang. He hasn't been nearly as good as some people have talked about him. He's been physically overmatched at times defensively (the Finnish games are good examples) and has fumbled the puck on a number of occasions. Rarely saw his "booming" shot, his playmaking was nothing special, and his skating was simply average in comparison to most. I think that Bourdon made him look really good, and we'll see the ramifications of it after the WJC's end with Bourdon off to Moncton.

Staal has been very good, but not as good as either Johnson. He hasn't done anything jaw-droppingly awesome, but at least he hasn't done anything jaw-droppingly stupid, which he's had a knack for in the past. I think that playing with Parent has certainly allowed him a little bit of lee-way and thus a little bit of confidence.

 

[Panopticon]

Teemu Laasko was awesome for Finland 3 Goals and a plus 4 on a weak team.

Make that plus 7 with no negative contributions...

BTW, it's Laakso.