GDT: WJC, Jan 2: US vs. Latvia, 5:00 p.m. local, 11:00 a.m. EST

[Juxtaposer]

Smith will turn pro I’m guessing. He was drafted too high to go back to school and I think he’s ready. The other two will be the team leaders along with Eiserman and Hagens from the 06s.

As a Sharks fan, I think Smith will most likely be at the WJC next year. Sharks have no reason to rush him and he’s not physically ready for the pros.

 

[sigx15]

As a Sharks fan, I think Smith will most likely be at the WJC next year. Sharks have no reason to rush him and he’s not physically ready for the pros.

I think another year in school would be good for Smith. He's the prototypical kid who could use another 5-10lbs of muscle before he makes the jump

 

[Pieck]

The Locmelis monster

 

[Pieck]

Latvia's path trough the tournament has been weird. Three unimpressive games (SWE, CAN, FIN), zero goals, little resistance. Then, suddenly, the game vs. Germany, a team which had been looking really good before: 6-2 win. Today they are heading towards another clear loss, again giving little resistance. Was this their plan? To focus on the game vs. Germany to avoid the relegation game, and nothing more? That would kind of suck, especially considering the guys are juniors who should be extra enthusiastic about the game.

I’d say Latvia tried to win today, it was much different from the round Robin losses. Had some good moments but ultimately USA is obviously better

 

[Juxtaposer]

I think another year in school would be good for Smith. He's the prototypical kid who could use another 5-10lbs of muscle before he makes the jump

Agreed. His conditioning seems abysmally and he could definitely use more strength.

 

[Namejs]

Yes, it was always apparent the US simply had a much more stacked team. I was just expecting a bit more from the Latvia players, especially guys like D.Locmelis, Fenenko and a few others, because I consider them talented guys who can make very good careers in professional hockey. But this apparently wasn't their tournament. Still I see a big potential especially in Locmelis, was impressed by his performance at the men's WCH the last spring.

Locmelis is scoring at a PPG rate on a team that is scoring 1.6 goals a game. What exactly did you expect of him?

Fenenko has a neutral +/- on a team that has a -21 goal differential and he's playing 30 minutes a game.

 

[TLEH]

I'm a Will Smith fan. Thought he should have went 4. I expected more from this tournament from him. Thought he's been just okay.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I'm a Will Smith fan. Thought he should have went 4. I expected more from this tournament from him. Thought he's been just okay.

Apparently, had Fantilli gone 2 to the Ducks, the Blue Jackets were prepared to take Smith ahead of Carlsson, and then Trotz was prepared to trade 15, a 2nd, Askarov, and possibly more to move to 4 to take Carlsson.

And yes, Smith has just been fine in this tournament. But watching his film predraft, he never seemed like a dominant, take over the game type. Leonard has more of that in him, at least from a physical presence & using that to take over.

 

[BigBadBoar]

Locmelis is scoring at a PPG rate on a team that is scoring 1.6 goals a game. What exactly did you expect of him?

Fenenko has a neutral +/- on a team that has a -21 goal differential and he's playing 30 minutes a game.

It is not so much about numbers. When I was watching them, I was often thinking "he could have made a better play here". That is nothing against these players, rather the opposite: I see both as future NHL players, and good ones.

 

[miscs75]

Guessing it will be 7-2 States. Gauthier with a big game, Brindley does normal Brindley things, and Hutson has a great game. Hoping to see Smith look better throughout, he's mildly underwhelming at times.

Interesting choice of final score

 

[Mattb124]

I'd be a little surprised if he does turn pro, mainly because I don't think SJ will be in any rush to bring him on.

And he really does not seem to be physically ready to compete against men. I would be surprised if he goes pro next year.

 

[heynowbababooey]

Any idea who the US plays in the semifinal?

 

[MTU34]

Any idea who the US plays in the semifinal?

If the Swedes win it’ll be Finland. If the Swiss win its them

So basically it’ll be Finland

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Guessing it will be 7-2 States. Gauthier with a big game, Brindley does normal Brindley things, and Hutson has a great game. Hoping to see Smith look better throughout, he's mildly underwhelming at times.

Good guess, just swap Perreault with Gauthier.

 

[hypereconomist]

It really did look like Latvia was only playing not to get blown out by the US instead of genuinely trying to win. Not a bad effort overall though. The outcome could have easily been 5-2 without a softie or two like the one that flipped over Rolovs' pad.

Is a reach to say that Latvia would play more aggressive offense if they have more depth? I didn't realize it until looking at the game sheet afterward, but they only rolled five defensemen and three forward lines the entire game. Why not play Uljanskis? His underlying stats in the Swedish J20 league are good for a 17 year old.

And good on Stradnieks for making the most of his 2:00 of ice time and setting up the screen for Locmelis' first goal.

 

[Namejs]

It really did look like Latvia was only playing not to get blown out by the US instead of genuinely trying to win. Not a bad effort overall though. The outcome could have easily been 5-2 without a softie or two like the one that flipped over Rolovs' pad.

Is a reach to say that Latvia would play more aggressive offense if they have more depth? I didn't realize it until looking at the game sheet afterward, but they only rolled five defensemen and three forward lines the entire game. Why not play Uljanskis? His underlying stats in the Swedish J20 league are good for a 17 year old.

And good on Stradnieks for making the most of his 2:00 of ice time and setting up the screen for Locmelis' first goal.

Yeah, no.

You clearly did not watch the other Latvia games.

Uljanskis is good at moving the puck, but he has been prone to making positional mistakes defensively. He has to improve defensively in order to make it at the next level. They scored on Uljanskis in the first 20 seconds of him being on the ice. Same with Mots, a 1 minute shift and he got scored on.

They simply could not keep up and were benched, which was the only right decision to make.

Uljanskis will be a good player, but it's way early for him to be a difference maker.

 

[PanniniClaus]

I’d say Latvia tried to win today, it was much different from the round Robin losses. Had some good moments but ultimately USA is obviously better

Agreed - I wanted them to play hockey and I thought they gave a pretty good account of themselves.