2008 WJC: Outside of the Spotlight

Neither Denmark nor Slovakia was near competing for the medals at the 2008 World Junior Championship in Pardubice and Liberec, as they were severely lacking depth. Nevertheless, it would be unfair to neglect the individual talent on those two teams, as they had top players worthy of being measured against the best that other clubs had to offer. Mikkel Boedker (pictured).

In the case of Denmark, it was basically down to two players, Lars Eller and Mikkel Boedker, to make something happen for the struggling squad.

"I'd certainly wish we'd more guys like them. Then we could have given Canada a run for their money. I triple shifted their line today to get the Canadian checking line off their backs", the Danish coach Ken Babey sighed after losing the round robin game against Canada 4-1.

As for the Slovaks, they displayed two competent lines in the tournament, but in a round robin group consisting of Canada, Sweden and the host Czech Republic, that would not nearly be enough to avoid relegation-round hockey. Yet, players like Tomas Marcinko and David Skokan made good cases for themselves during the tournament.

Scouting Denmark

Lars Eller (StL), C, Boras

Showed why he was a first round pick by the Blues in this tournament .. extremely slippery and shifty on his skates .. very soft hands, excellent puckhandling ability and knows how to deke .. sees the ice very well and often found passing lanes that his teammates failed to comprehend .. reads the game very well and works hard defensively .. was used extensively on the penalty kill in this tournament and did a good job there, although it drained him a bit of his energy toward the end of games .. has a quick wristshot, but is clearly a player who prefers to look for a pass as his first option .. still looks a bit lanky and needs to fill out his frame .. has a very good reach though and rarely gets knocked-off the puck. Tournament stats: 6-3-3-6.

Mikkel Boedker (2008), LW, Kitchener

Was together with Lars Eller as the standout Dane's of the tournament .. displayed great skating, as he is extremely quick and can accelerate to a top gear very few players in his age group are able to reach .. also has the ability to handle the puck effortlessly at high speeds .. thanks to his speed and skill, he would single-handedly wreak havoc in the offensive zones for many shifts, even playing against teams such as Canada or Sweden .. a good passer, but seems to opt to drive for the net or finish himself, rather than setting up plays .. his hockey sense is more than adequate though and he knows how to play the game .. just like Lars Eller, Boedker had to take care of defensive assignments as well here and he showed that he could be a loyal team player. Stats: 6-2-4-6.

Philip Larsen (2008), D, Boras

Larsen did not strengthen his case for the draft in this tournament .. he was in no means outright bad, but he was not quite the force on the Danish blueline that he should have been .. Larsen is a mobile defenseman, but does not have elite fluidity in his motions and his top speed is barely above average for a defenseman .. is known for his cool decision making and his crisp passing, but looked shaky in that department in this tournament, responding badly to pressure on the forecheck and occasionally struggled to find the right passing lanes .. displayed average puckhandling ability and his physical play was mediocre, as he would often get out muscled in his own end, which good positional coverage could not make up for fully .. despite the ordinary showing, Larsen was by far the best Danish rearguard and logged a tremendous amount of minutes in all situations. Stats: 6-1-1-2.

Simon Gronvaldt (2009), D, Rodovre

Gronvaldt looks like a decent prospect for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, as he managed fairly well against players mostly three-years-older at this tournament .. needs to build a lot of muscle in his upper body, but his hockey sense and puckhandling ability are where they should be .. mobile skater who moves well across the ice and has a strong passing game .. knows how to play the simple game, but showed hints of offensive desire as well, although Denmark preferred to keep their defensemen at home here. Stats: 6-0-1-1.

Scouting Slovakia

Tomas Marcinko (NYI) C/W, Barrie

A big centre that enjoys carrying the puck and setting up plays .. despite often being the biggest guy on the ice, Marcinko never initiated any form of physical contact, in fact, he often seemed reluctant to enter high-traffic areas .. has slick puck skills with a great reach .. smooth skater for his size with a decent acceleration, making him hard to catch .. has good velocity in his shot, but lacks the accuracy of a true sniper .. has average playmaking ability and knows how to distribute the puck to make an offensive play happen, but he lacks the elite vision required to be truly imaginative .. seems like a player who gets easily frustrated with adversity and has a tendency to dive .. his defensive effort and coverage are inconsistent at best. Stats: 6-2-4-6

David Skokan (NYR) C/W, Rimouski

A very shifty and creative player, equipped with quick and powerful skating strides .. nifty with the puck and has a good arsenal of dekes .. has a good wristshot and his slapshot is powerful, albeit not that accurate, which showed when he was used as the powerplay quarterback on the blueline .. does not allow himself to be banged around physically, but is neither an aggressive player and his overall energy level could drop down too frequently .. average hockey sense, which displays itself in limited vision on the ice and a below average positional game defensively. Stats: 6-2-6-8

Ivan Rohac (2008), C/W, Kamloops

A smart but undersized centre .. reads the game well and works hard in both ends of the rink .. is a smooth skater, but ultimately lacks the high-end acceleration needed to fully compensate for his lack of size .. a good playmaker with decent vision .. a strong puckhandler and has an above average wristshot…moves well in and out of traffic, but lacks the pure energy and natural tenacity to be an effective checking-line player down the road. Stats: 6-3-2-5