Post-Game Talk: World Junior Championships 2020 in the Czech Republic: Canada Wins 2020 Gold

[Lil Bert]

Lafrenniere is similar to Matt Tkatchuk.. but way more filthy

 

[WingsMJN2965]

I'm excited to watch Germany. Have not known where to rank Stutzle because I have not seen him play enough. This tournament should help me get a feel for him, excited to watch him and Seider play.

Will be nice to watch Veleno and McIsaac have a big role for Canada. Having 2 prospects on the top line for Canada is usually a good sign. This tournament should help me decide the #3 prospect. Good chance to compare Raymond, Askarov, Drysdale, and Stutzle. Currently I'm not sure who I like best of that group. I am expecting a big tournament from Raymond.

Seems to me Germany may be the new underrated territory. Draisaitl is now at worst arguable #1 with Pastrnak. Seider was heavily underscouted and thus ranked in the middle of the first.

Maybe Stutzle is the next. Some have him Top 5 and others not even in the top 10.

 

[Go Wings]

Lafrenniere is similar to Matt Tkatchuk.. but way more filthy

He literally does not play anything like Tkachuk.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

Would never happen but....

How high would mantha,AA and our 2nd(32) move us in the draft? Top 5? Could mantha alone get top 10? If so I’d do that and draft Drysdale

In 2 years

Laf-Veleno-Zadina
Bertuzzi- Larkin - Fabbri
Bergren-Ras-Svech

drysdale-Seider
Mcissac-Hronek
Chowlowski-Dekeyser

still need a goalie

Drysdale is a RD.

Wouldn't be a bad thing if we didn't need so many other things, but a RD is about the last thing we need, with Seider and Hronek.

 

[Henkka]

He literally does not play anything like Tkachuk.

What an assist-show Lafreniere did put on the table. I'm really impressed.

I don't know who to compare him. Datsyuk with 1.5x speed (offensively) ?

Maybe he is one of a kind.

Damn I'm pissed that the lottery chance is only 18.5% after Byfield & Raymond no-shows.

 

[ChadS]

Where do youn find time on ice?

On the regular game stats page here: IIHF - Game Centre 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship
Or the official document page here: 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship

 

[Henkka]

Partially CAN-USA

 

[Henkka]

https://www.iihf.com/pdf/422/ihm422b04_77a_3_0

Veleno quite good on the shot chart...

...it was all-Lafreniere feeding him.

 

[lhsgolf19]

Seider Captain of Germany

 

[HisNoodliness]

What an assist-show Lafreniere did put on the table. I'm really impressed.

I don't know who to compare him. Datsyuk with 1.5x speed (offensively) ?

Maybe he is one of a kind.

Damn I'm pissed that the lottery chance is only 18.5% after Byfield & Raymond no-shows.

Personally I think of him as a Crosby Vincent Lecavalier hybrid. Extremely hard to knock off the puck, great passing with 360° awareness, grinds out the play on the half-wall and net well, quick hands to make subtle dangles through traffic, and a diverse effective shooting array. He's such a diverse offensive force that finding one guy is tough. Usually elite players have one truly elite skill and I don't see that as much from Lafreniere. He's just great at everything but not exceptional at any one thing (maybe how hard he is on the puck).

 

[ArmChairGM89]

Personally I think of him as a Crosby Vincent Lecavalier hybrid. Extremely hard to knock off the puck, great passing with 360° awareness, grinds out the play on the half-wall and net well, quick hands to make subtle dangles through traffic, and a diverse effective shooting array. He's such a diverse offensive force that finding one guy is tough. Usually elite players have one truly elite skill and I don't see that as much from Lafreniere. He's just great at everything but not exceptional at any one thing (maybe how hard he is on the puck).

I think his “exceptional” skills are vision and IQ

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I have zero knocks on Lafreniere's performance yesterday. I thought he was great. If only he was a more realistic option for the Wings.
I am glad the game lived up to its billing.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

I have zero knocks on Lafreniere's performance yesterday. I thought he was great. If only he was a more realistic option for the Wings.
I am glad the game lived up to its billing.

I sure am ****ing glad I'll get to see Alexis Lafreniere in an Oilers' sweater next year.

 

[Lampedampe]

So Laf looked great, how did Byfield look?

Was impressed by Berggren yesterday, he does what he always does, creates space with his deceptive skating and hands in the offensive zone and then pass it to an open attacker. He probably created a 3-4 good scoring chances, he didn't quite dominate but looked overall solid with smart plays. Something that somewhat bothers me is that Berggren never really looks to shoot the puck, he always passes, while his passing is great it would be good to see him take it upon himself to score from time to time, it's the same in SHL.

Holtz impressed me, he was hustling out there on both the forecheck and backcheck. I'm used to seeing hime cherry pick a lot but he didn't really do that all too much.

Raymond looked abit out of place to be honest, he made some good plays for sure, but he didn't stand out as a highly touted prospect with game breaking ability to me. He's been sick for a while and dealt with injuries this season so perhaps he's not quite up to game speed yet. Still think he's a far better player than Holtz though.

 

[Go Wings]

What an assist-show Lafreniere did put on the table. I'm really impressed.

I don't know who to compare him. Datsyuk with 1.5x speed (offensively) ?

Maybe he is one of a kind.

Damn I'm pissed that the lottery chance is only 18.5% after Byfield & Raymond no-shows.

Give Byfield time to adjust, there is a ton of pressure at this tournament and because Canada is so deep he is playing on the wing which isn't natural for him.

 

[Frk It]

Seems to me Germany may be the new underrated territory. Draisaitl is now at worst arguable #1 with Pastrnak. Seider was heavily underscouted and thus ranked in the middle of the first.

Maybe Stutzle is the next. Some have him Top 5 and others not even in the top 10.

Yeah but Draisaitl played in the WHL before being drafted. Very different scenario than those other 2 guys.

 

[newfy]

I posted this on the world junior board but with the States being in a back to back, Germany might be able to make this game semi competitive with the roster they have. If they can hold the States to a 2 goal lead or less going into the third I would consider that a pretty big win for them. They need to stay out of the box though, the USA PP was really good yesterday. Seider will be playing half the game and should see Stutzle and Bokk for close to half the game. Those guys can compete

 

[Go Wings]

I have been thinking about it quite a bit trying to come up with a comparable for Lafreniere and there really isn't a perfect one. But the closest I think would be Nathan MacKinnon if he were a winger.
They have the same body type with Laf being an inch taller.
Mac is one of the best passers in the league and can just dominate. Laf has that ability to just take over a game as well and his passing is top notch.

I watch the WJC every year and Laf didn't do much last year. It was amazing how much he's grown in a single year. He looks like a completely different player.

 

[Frk It]

I have been thinking about it quite a bit trying to come up with a comparable for Lafreniere and there really isn't a perfect one. But the closest I think would be Nathan MacKinnon if he were a winger.
They have the same body type with Laf being an inch taller.
Mac is one of the best passers in the league and can just dominate. Laf has that ability to just take over a game as well and his passing is top notch.

I watch the WJC every year and Laf didn't do much last year. It was amazing how much he's grown in a single year. He looks like a completely different player.

The skating is not close between these two.

 

[Marky9er]

When thinking of a playmaking winger...

That's almost an oxymoron. Rantanen?

 

[newfy]

The skating is not close between these two.

Yeah I dont see it either because of the skating. I read somewhere said a better version of Matt Tkachuk. Hes not a rat but they have some similarities and Lafreniere does throw the body around. Both kinda have their skating knocked as a weaker part of their game but both have a lot of skill. A smaller, winger Lecavalier is another one I've seen that I didnt mind. does a bit of everything to produce points, has a nasty side.

 

[Frk It]

When thinking of a playmaking winger...

That's almost an oxymoron. Rantanen?

There's plenty of them. Gaudreau, Kane, Marner, Huberdeau, Kucherov, etc.

 

[Frk It]

 

[Marky9er]

There's plenty of them. Gaudreau, Kane, Marner, Huberdeau, Kucherov, etc.

I guess I don't really think of most them in that way, as most of them are ridiculous finishers. Was trying to come up with somebody with some size, too. Nyquist is/was a playmaking wing, terrific skills but he's much more contained due to physical stature.

 

[Frk It]

I guess I don't really think of most them in that way, as most of them are ridiculous finishers. Was trying to come up with somebody with some size, too. Nyquist is/was a playmaking wing, terrific skills but he's much more contained due to physical stature.

Yeah they can all shoot, but I think most of them have a pass-first mentality. Maybe all of them minus Kucherov. I am really hoping we go for a playmaker over a scorer this year. I think we need to prioritize players who drive possession and make those around them better.

This is why I like Lafreniere as the #1 player in this draft. If you ask me who in this draft elevates the players they play with most, it is without a doubt Lafreniere. Does not matter to me that he is a winger. We need to add a guy like that to our roster.