World Junior Thread II

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Podkolzin is an interesting case. He works really hard, but he's not really as effective as advertised

 

[The CyNick]

Man Niemala is so good with the puck. Should have picked a Canadian though.

You mean like the guys who dummied him and his team? Yes, they should have.

 

[Mitch nylander]

I want russia to score selfishly to see our leafs prospects in 3 on 3

 

[hotpaws]

its worse when you turn

 

[The CyNick]

Amirov on bench in crunch time

 

[stickty111]

EN 3-1

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

What kind of idiot benches his leading scorer in this situation? Deserved 4th place finish for his efforts

 

[stickty111]

4-1
That sequence showed how awful Russia's system was.
Low danger after low danger

 

[Mitch nylander]

Amirov on bench in crunch time

Pretty idiotic if ya ask me considering he lead Russia in points.

 

[Fogelhund]

Pretty idiotic if ya ask me considering he lead Russia in points.

He’s been very good most of this tournament, and had some great moments in the first. The last two periods, not very effective.

 

[stickty111]

Congrats to Finland. Deserved Bronze
Lorianov is an absolute clown though. Doesn't have his leading scorer on the ice in a crucial time. Prefered low danger shots and didn't adjust.
Taking lessons from Babcock?

 

[TMLeafer]

Most of the Russian team was uninspiring, so not sure why Abramov gets benched, but oh well, they didn't deserve to win tonight.

Hirvonen was really impressive to me. Seems like a heady, responsible, dependable player.

 

[The CyNick]

Pretty idiotic if ya ask me considering he lead Russia in points.

I think Larianov is a great hockey mind. Likely didnt like what he was seeing from the player.

In two medal games he had 0 points. That's not good. No reason for him to demand ice time from Larianov.

As a Leaf fan hopefully it makes him work harder to get better and perform on the big stage.

 

[TheDoldrums]

You mean like the guys who dummied him and his team? Yes, they should have.

if I were Dubas I would have simply drafted Bowen Byram in the 3rd round of the 2020 draft

 

[stewpac]

You mean like the guys who dummied him and his team? Yes, they should have.

I'm afraid there were no players like any from team canada available, pretty obvious I would have thought....

 

[Mitch nylander]

I think Larianov is a great hockey mind. Likely didnt like what he was seeing from the player.

In two medal games he had 0 points. That's not good. No reason for him to demand ice time from Larianov.

As a Leaf fan hopefully it makes him work harder to get better and perform on the big stage.

The fact is the players he chose to play didn’t have any points either in the big stage games Lmao.

What a poor viewpoint.

 

[Mitch nylander]

I think Hirvonen and Niemela are both players though. Both looked fantastic.

 

[Leaf Fans]

The fact is the players he chose to play didn’t have any points either in the big stage games Lmao.

What a poor viewpoint.

Were you expecting better?

 

[Mitch nylander]

Were you expecting better?

What do you mean by this?

 

[Leaf Fans]

What do you mean by this?

I mean a better viewpoint from that poster.

 

[Mitch nylander]

I mean a better viewpoint from that poster.

Oh lol not really, all he does is consistently trash our players. I was just trying to see some common sense out of the dude.

 

[Fogelhund]

Larionov is likely one and done as a coach. Their play was very questionable from the start of this. His game plan just wasn’t very effective.

 

[FlareKnight]

In the end, that's how it goes for Russia. Amirov had some ups and downs in the tournament which is fine. Still looks good and hopefully in a few years will be helping out the Leafs.

Good work by Finland. They got it done when it counted. This made for a good game since we had plenty of prospects on both sides of it.

 

[Mitch nylander]

Larionov is likely one and done as a coach. Their play was very questionable from the start of this. His game plan just wasn’t very effective.

Agreed

 

[Knies iT]

Hirvonen is becoming one of my favourite prospects in the system. Really impressed with his pest game and work rate to compliment his high IQ and passing. Reminds me of a smarter, more engaged Grundstrom with better passing. His game is tailored for NA hockey; I think he'll have a long NHL career.

My tournament scores:

• Niemela (A): tournament standout. Led the tourney in points for D and was arguably the best overall D, at worst top 5. Big breakout showing. There's something special here.
• Hirvonen (B+): see above. One of the shots-on-goal leaders in the tourney as a playmaker. Called one of the key leaders by his coach. Two high-profile clutch goals and an assist in the bronze medal game. If he converted on more of his chances earlier in the tourney, i'd have no problem giving him an A-.
• Amirov (B): led Russia in points while being one of their top PKers. Entire team underperformed offensively yet he still led the team statistically. Nothing bad to point out, but admittedly wanted to see a bit more of an offensive driver.
• Akhtyamov: (B): .944sv% in 1GP, barely played, but looked steady behind Askarov. Can't criticize anything here.
  
• Abramov (B-): suspended and benched (IMO undeservedly so). If he played more he'd be ranked higher because he showed glimpses of dynamic offense and transition play. At times he looked like the best forward on this list, but didn't bring it consistently enough due to coaching and penalties.
• Kokkonen (C+): clearly a leader loved by the coaching staff. Handled tough defensive assignments, was a shot block machine, and posted impressive controlled breakout numbers. Didn't love his handling of the puck and thought a guy with 155GP in the Liiga (who has been playing already this year) would stand out more and look quicker than he did, but nothing major. I think his NHL future is a quiet, safe, 3rd pair D.