U-18 WJC: Mad About Madsen

As expected, Denmark was the second team relegated in the U-18 WJC. The squad boasted one star in center Morten Madsen, but the rest of the team was either too inexperienced or was just not skilled enough to seriously compete against the best players of its age category.

Madsen stood head and shoulders above the rest of the Danish forwards and that was both the good and the bad news for his team. His passes were wasted time and time again with little offensive help, but he still emerged as the heart-and-soul leader of his squad and contributed at each end of the ice. He managed to both create and finish scoring chances and was the only player on his team who didn't look out of place in the Canadian drubbing of the Danish squad.

If there were two more Morten Madsen's on the Danish team, the squad could well have competed for a shot at staying in the elite group. Unfortunately, the country's scientists have not been able to make that kind of a cloning breakthrough yet.

WEAK DEFENSIVELY

The defensive corps was not one of the strengths of the team and the only player who really stood out among the rest of the pack was undersized blueliner Mads Bodker. Despite his tournament efforts though, Bodker will not get much attention from the NHL scouts. He's too small and doesn't have the strength to handle bruising opponents, which was evident throughout the tournament. He did manage to make use of his mobility and skating skills to jump into plays and support the offense though and he also emerged as the best Danish defenseman on powerplays.

Bodker tried to add a physical dimension to his game when the team met European opponents, but when the Canadians came calling it was a different story and he was simply out-muscled by the bigger players.

As a sum of the parts, Bodker played a solid tournament. He didn't get much help from the rest of his defensive teammates and his drawbacks are too glaring for the scouting community to overlook.

OLSEN'S SKATING NEEDS WORK

If it wasn't for a lack of skating skills in the form of first-step quickness and stride effectiveness, left winger Christian Olsen might actually make some noise on the radar of scouts. The sturdy forward could then step out of what is an average bunch of Danish forwards.

He had a number of quality shifts where he took advantage of his crafty puckhandling skills, blocked opposing passing lanes effectively and also wreaked havoc in the defensive zone of his opponents with strong forechecking. Unfortunately for him, his overall skill level isn't anywhere near Madsen's and he couldn't deliver convincing performances on a regular basis. Olsen looked lost in the game against Canada, and let its players get under his skin.

Although he stood out during moments of some games, his downside doesn't match his upside.

MIKKEL BODKER EMERGES

The Danish relegation to the Div I level for next season has at least one silver lining. Late '89-born forward Mikkel Bodker, who was the tournament's youngest member, delivered a solid performance against players two years older than him. He should be able to translate this international experience to cope with the burden of being one of the leaders in next year's battle to return to the elite group at the World Championships.

The younger of the Bodker brothers couldn't compete physically with the bigger opposition and needed to do better with his defensive awareness, but he wasn't afraid to perform in traffic. He showcased good smarts and an awareness of his linemates on the ice, which, once he physically matures, will make him a dominant player against his peers and a potential star of the upcoming Under-18 events. Bodker wasn't a threat on every shift, but he displayed glimpses of undisputed talent and overall delivered a promising showing.