U18 WJC: Scouting Notes

TOURNAMENT INDEX:

Intro | CAN | CZE | FIN | RUS | SWE | USA

Team USA (posted 5.10.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

The defending champions managed to repeat their success from last year's tournament in the Czech Republic, capturing their second straight U18 Gold medal. And they did it by going through the tournament with six consecutive victories, setting the tone right away in the preliminary round, beating a strong Russian team and then went on the virtually destroy Germany, Belarus and the Czech's.

In the semifinal a re-invented Czech team provided quite a challenge for the Americans, who were able to prove that they could deal with adversity as well as anyone and ended up winning the game in overtime. The Finn's played the game of their lives in the final, but in the end, it just was not enough to defeat an amazingly solid American team who had the best skaters, the hardest workers and all around most mature players of the tournament.

Led by the incredible standout rearguard Erik Johnson, who basically proved to be too good for this level, true team players like Pat Kane and Mike Carman had a huge part in the captured Gold medal. The tournament also proved to be something of a coming out party for the very slick and highly offensively skilled defenseman Jamie McBain.

Scouting notes:

Erik Johnson (2006), D, 6-4-6-10

Review: Johnson was simply the best player in the whole tournament, despite an unnecessary game misconduct for an excessive hit in the final. His overall skill level and maturity was head and shoulders above anyone else and at times it looked like a seasoned veteran from a top Euro league had dropped down on the ice, playing against kids.

Scouting: One of the biggest players in the tournament, but also one of the most mobile .. doesn't have single major flaw in his skating, as he turns very well and has no problems with his lateral movement .. smooth stride and when he gears up to top speed, he can catch anyone and few can catch him .. handles the puck with ease and great confidence, soft hands and could dangle his way end-to-end if he likes .. could get overconfident at times, but that's very rare and if so, he was able to clean up his own mess .. stellar passing game and vision and controls the powerplay from the point with great poise .. possesses a very hard and clean slap shot that he releases with great quickness, only the accuracy of it isn't quite NHL caliber just yet .. physically, he is a brute force at this level .. delivers excellent open-ice hits when the opportunity arises and obviously doesn't back down in his own end, where his size, hockey sense and mobility, make him almost impossible to get around .. is the type of player that thrives when the game gets physical, although he doesn't have to hit much really, as his hockey sense would take care of most things defensively anyway, but he does it just for the sheer joy of hitting .. all-in-all, a tremendous package that could be NHL ready this fall.

Patrick Kane (2007), C, 6-7-5-12

Review: Ended up being the top scorer of the tournament, although he doesn't have the jaw breaking, flashy offensive skills and mindset as many others. Does everything well however and has no real weaknesses in his game.

Scouting: The type of player without any real standout feature, but who knows bits of everything and puts it together very well .. a speedy skater with quick first strides, although he could might come off as a bit choppy technically .. top speed is decent, but not spectacular á la Bill Sweatt .. boasts a great work ethic, never takes a shift off and always keeps up the intensity for both himself as well as for the whole team, as he leads by example .. good passer and has some playmaking skills, although most of the offensive output is derived from hard work rather than raw skill and vision .. certainly not bad in front of the net, as he shoots the puck fairly accurately and with a quick release, knows how to finish off a play without being a bona fide sniper .. his overall hockey sense is very strong, good anticipation skills both offensively and defensively and is always very mature in his decisions with and without the puck .. a true two-way player, helps his team tremendously killing penalties and in his own end.

Mike Carman (2006), C, 6-4-4-8

Review: Just like Pat Kane, Carman is strictly a team first player, but has very good fundamentals and an attitude and determination, which made him stand out in this tournament.

Scouting: Despite ending up scoring less, Carman is probably a tad more offensively oriented than Kane, without ever forgetting his defensive responsibilities .. a rather fluid skater, who moves around well on the ice, although he lacks top end explosiveness .. a difficult player to play against as he has a very intense and energetic approach to everything he does and just doesn't know how to quit .. good puckhandler who delivered some pretty fancy moves at times, but his game is certainly more substance than style .. has some vision and generally found the right passing lanes seemingly effortlessly, he seems to have to tools to dare trying some more difficult options as well, but looks content to go with the safe decision .. works hard defensively, wins a lot of physical battles despite his fairly lanky frame and never loses track of his positional game .. strong in the faceoff circle and logs a lot of ice time in all key situations .. generally a very smart player who in the worst case should develop into a solid third liner in the NHL and if he continues to nurture his creative sides, his limit is much higher than.

Jamie McBain (2006), D, 6-2-9-11

Review: Was perhaps the biggest positive surprise on the US team. McBain showcased great offensive skills on the powerplay and is blessed with vision that few other rearguards displayed in the tournament.

Scouting: Is an exciting type of defensemen who wants to make things happen offensively when he's team is in control over the puck .. mobile in every direction and has a fairly smooth stride, as is the case with most young rearguards, his top speed isn't exactly blistering .. strong puckhandling skills are the key to McBain's game, a very poised player who never appears to be under pressure, no matter what's going on .. has a good deking arsenal, which he uses when given the chance .. frequently joins the rush and is an excellent passer .. combines good, creative vision on the ice, with the ability to deliver hard feeds right on the tape all the time .. has a good point shot, although not as powerful as Erik Johnson's .. strong wrist shot from close in, can really roof the puck in a sniper-esque fashion when given the opportunity .. generally handles himself well in his own end, although he occasionally displays glares in his positioning and has a tendency to over handle the puck, although this became less and less evident as the tournament progressed.

Bill Sweatt (2007), LW, 6-5-2-7

Review: While the others skated, Bill Sweatt moved in warp speed. By far the best skater in the tournament and although the rest of his skills certainly weren't on par with his skating, he certainly didn't have hands of steel either.

Scouting: There can't really be enough praise for Sweatt's skating ability .. very smooth and moves well laterally .. quick first strides, although other players in the tournament could challenge him here, but when it came down to pure acceleration and top speed, nobody else even came close .. has that Pavel Bure type of extra gear as he suddenly pulls in, leaving everyone else left seemingly frozen .. handles the puck well overall and could make some decent dekes at high speed, but certainly not in proportion to his skating skills .. aside from being fast, he also plays with intensity and work ethic, which creates a lot of scoring chances .. isn't a true natural goal scorer as he misses more chances than he buries .. his vision and passing game are other weaknesses, as he seldom utilizes his teammates in a optimum fashion offensively and must learn to keep his head up and be more aware of what's going on in order to be as successful at a higher level .. works hard defensively, but sometimes took himself ouf of position.

Blake Geoffrion (2006), RW, 6-1-4-5

Review: On a generally very fast team, Geoffrion almost looked a little slow at times, but instead he provided a strong physical presence along with good shooting and passing skills, which certainly made him a threat offensively.

Scouting: Often struggled to get his legs going, rather sluggish first strides and his top speed is only a little above average .. has a good frame and his upper body strength made him difficult to stop for opposing defensemen coming into the offensive zone, once he generated some speed .. a slippery stickhandler who can put up some quality dekes .. has better vision than he appears to at first blush, as he is able to find some creative options in the offensive zone on occasion .. when he had the puck he often tried to attack the net and unleash his quick and powerful albeit less than accurate wrist shot .. sort of rounded out his game as the tournament progressed and started to utilize his linemates better and more frequently .. battles hard and has a competitive drive, which borders on the undisciplined at times, has a tendency to draw retaliation penalties .. solid defensively, but is definitely leaning more towards being an offensive winger than anything else.

Rhett Rakhshani (2006), RW, 6-5-1-6

Review: A straightforward type of winger who drove to the net and took no prisoners. Has the sniper gene and an impressive shooting arsenal as well. Was one of the most consistent players throughout the tournament.

Scouting: A slick skater who moves well around the ice .. doesn't possess a lethal extra gear, but isn't really in need of it with the way he plays the game .. generally avoids handling the puck much outside the offensive zone and plays a very simple game .. isn't a bad stickhandler, however rarely makes any flashy dekes or setting up creative set-pieces .. handles the puck well when driving to the net and setting up for his shot .. very dangerous around the net, as he releases his wrist shot very quickly and accurately and knows how to position himself to pick up garbage goals as well .. has no problem with working hard in the corners and trying to dig up pucks as he doesn't need to have every scoring chance served to him on a silver platter .. good overall strength and protects the puck well when needed .. isn't much of a factor at all outside the offensive zone, although he does the basics decently while on defense, such as covering his man and not making risky decisions when the team's under pressure.

Chris Summers (2006), C, 6-1-0-1

Review: Normally a defensemen, but took on a center role in this tournament and handled the transition quite seamlessly. A feisty player with good skating and puckhandling skills and was primarily used in a checking type of role.

Scouting: Didn't look one bit as a defensemen here, as he carried the third line centre job excellently .. very good wheels, moves well laterally and can accelerate seamlessly from standing still, above average top speed as well .. good puckhandler and could carry to puck all the way deep into the offensive zone if required .. doesn't have the vision or quite the poise as a natural set-up man though, but he can get a good cycling going offensively and knows how to use his teammates to sustain pressure .. not much of a finisher though and missed many good scoring opportunities, which could be partially explained by his defenseman background .. Summers definitely has a mean streak as well, as he enjoys playing an aggressive game and seeking out hits, despite having a seemingly lanky frame .. sometimes took some unnecessary penalties and was a little rough around the edges, but he plays with a lot of heart and intensity and his desire to win is obvious .. being a defenseman normally, his defensive coverage was very solid, as he kept track of his positional game and made all the right decisions .. probably has a possible pro future both as a checking centre or as a defenseman.

Mike Ratchuk (2006), D, 6-0-3-3

Review: A defensemen who started out the tournament in a fairly bleak fashion, but really grew into it. Ratchuk gained more and more confidence in his own abilities after each game and ended up being a very strong all-round player for the American team.

Scouting: Not exactly a hulking physical presence, but plays a very mobile game .. quick skater and turns very well in all directions .. has quite good top speed and often uses is to carry the puck through the neutral zone or join an offensive rush .. not the best puckhandler though, but just as the rest of his game, it improved constantly as the tournament went by and in the later stages, he displayed some good poise and creativity while handling the puck and didn't just dump it in at the redline or play it out of the own zone off the boards .. very energetic and has good attitude and work ethic .. rarely gets beaten one-on-one defensively thanks to his mobility .. fairly good upper body strength and is, despite not being big, not easy to get by when battling along the boards .. average shooting ability at best, if he improves his shot, his offensive numbers would be much better, given his skating ability and fairly offensive mindset.

Joe Palmer (2006), G

Review: Palmer didn't outplay any other top team's netminder when facing them, but still always gave his team a chance to win. Despite winning the Gold medal, he was not the goalie who made the biggest impact in this tournament.

Scouting: Not a very spectacular type of netminder, but generally gets the job done .. doesn't go down to full butterfly mode too early, maintains good coverage up high .. a pretty good glove hand .. isn't that quick a skater moving around in his crease and rarely made the highlight save using his reflexes .. generally square to the shooter and knows how to cover the angles .. his rebound control was less than stellar, especially when his workload increased against a better team .. could look a bit shaky and under pressure and this tournament didn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that he's truly a winner as he got the Gold medal through a bunch of solid games, rather than being the difference maker himself .. never made the type of decisive saves really good goaltenders often make and didn't elevate his game when the level of the opposition increased.

James O'Brien (2007), LW, 6-3-1-4

Review: An underager that received a very moderate amount of ice time, but still managed to pick up a few points. An interesting package with size and some raw skill that will be someone to follow next year when he is defending the Gold.

Scouting: Has a rather choppy stride when skating .. his lateral movement and overall acceleration looked sluggish early on in the tournament, but he got his legs going a bit better eventually and thus was a more effective offensive threat .. has a quick and fairly accurate wrist shot and boasts a strong presence along the boards with his big frame .. tries to recover the puck from the boards and crash the net to generate scoring chances .. not the best vision on the ice, but found some decent passing options at times offensively .. should stay away from playmaking in the neutral zone as that is a notch above his capabilities .. decent stickhandler who could dangle some, yet needs to learn to do it at higher speeds as well .. with his frame, he should also be even more proactive in his physical game and try to raise his intensity level.

Ryan Flynn (2006), RW, 6-2-1-3

Review: Has a pretty good combination of tools, but also looked a little heavy footed in the tournament and didn't make that much noise offensively. Not bad overall as he still contributed with hard work and a sound defensive game.

Scouting: Started rather flat, almost being the type of player who looks his best when the play is nowhere around him .. good size and very well-balanced on his skates and has a smooth stride, unfortunately he isn't able to generate much speed from his very sound skating technique .. accurate and fairly quick wrist shot, knows how to finish off a play given the opportunity, but he didn't create many scoring chances on his own, as he didn't have neither the speed or quite the hands to make something spectacular happen .. has the physical tools to crash and bang, although didn't take much advantage of this weapon .. protects the puck and has decent vision, but nothing truly remarkable .. works well and always showed up, but there just wasn't much to show .. knows bits and pieces of things, but seems to lack top end offensive skills as well as the energy and guts to be an effective checking liner .. backchecked well defensively and made smart decisions in his own end.

Ryan Hayes (2007), LW, 6-1-0-1

Review: Hayes received very little ice time, but when he played, he made sure to be remembered. Possesses a great amount of offensive skills, which will come to more use in next year's tournament. This American team was simply too deep to give Hayes a larger role.

Scouting: A highly entertaining player to watch .. has very quick and smooth strides, although the blistering top speed is still somewhat lacking, but he moves swiftly in and out of traffic and is very hard to catch, a slippery kind of guy .. strong stickhandler equipped with a good arsenal of dekes, which enables him to create much on his own .. has the will and vision to involve his linemates and passes the puck well .. blessed with the ability to orchestrate highly creative plays and could finish them off as well with an decently accurate and quick wrist shot .. the physical game is obviously a flaw for the smallish winger and likely the single factor that often kept him on the bench rather than on the ice .. not exactly intimidated but doesn't win many battles and once he gets sucked into to the boards, he is really stuck .. needs to improve his overall strength and learn how to protect the puck a bit better, but this should not diminish his long-term upside though, especially not in the 'new' NHL.

Nigel Williams (2006), D, 6-0-0-0

Review: One of the players who came into the tournament being fairly highly touted, but left it with a bleak impression and a lowered draft stock. For the USA team, Williams was at best a non-factor.

Scouting: Didn't stand out in any way during the tournament .. fairly mobile and has a smooth skating stride, which obviously helped in his defensive coverage but he didn't do anything with it offensively .. has a huge frame and could and should be a menace to play against in his own end, but he didn't make much noise physically for some reason .. displayed some erratic decision making and passing games though, which cost the team an important goal in the semifinal game for instance .. kept his shooting ability a secret, as he rarely fired away or did anything remotely proactive in his offensive game .. generally solid in his own end through mobility and positioning, aside from a few obvious hiccups .. has upside in his size and pretty good fundamentals, but Williams certainly wasn't a leader or impact player in anyway on this US team.

Team Czech Republic (posted 5.5.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

The Czech's were definitely one of the top three teams in this tournament in terms of top end, raw, talent. Despite a fairly lackluster showing in the preliminary round, finishing third in their group, the Czech's managed to get it going when the hunt for the medals began.

Lead by the tournaments best top line, both in terms of actual talent as well as chemistry, featuring David Kveton in the middle with Michael Frolik and Jiri Tlusty on his wings, the Czech's beat the Swedish hosts in the quarterfinal and gave the United States a good scare in the semifinal. All their big guns delivered when it mattered and only some unlucky bounces in overtime prevented them from making it all the way to the final.

In many ways, the Czech's lived and died by the performance of their top line. When they had a good shift, it gave a tremendous amount of energy to the whole team and vice versa. Jiri Tlusty also got a well-deserved spot on the tournament's media picked All-Star Team.

Scouting notes:

David Kveton (2006), C, 7-2-5-7

Review: Kveton returned for his second and last U18 WJC appearance and sure made it a memorable experience for himself. He centered the Czech top line and was one of the best players at his position in the tournament.

Scouting: A bit undersized, but the way he plays the game, it's rarely an issue. A quick, elusive skater with a very fluid stride, if you stop moving for a second, Kveton will beat you .. extremely smooth puckhandling and can deke his way through traffic if necessary .. elite vision and playmaking skills, creative and has a natural gift for setting up his teammates .. doesn't hesitate to shoot when the opportunity arises, but he doesn't possess the hardest shot, even though he has a fairly quick release as well as being accurate .. good work ethic and a team player, rarely takes shifts off and his great hockey sense makes him very useful defensively .. his quickness and smarts make him a premier penalty killer .. needs to get stronger physically, but he does win some battles regardless and most importantly, he rarely needs to be in those type of situations thanks to his hockey sense and overall set of skills.

David Ruzicka (2006), D, 7-1-0-1

Review: One thing could be certain while watching the Czech team this tournament – something was bound to happen involving David Ruzicka in every game. Might it be a quality shot on goal, a great pass or a major defensive error, things certainly happened involving the aggressive rearguard.

Scouting: A type of player that has a huge amount of upside when he gets it all together. Rucizka isn't there yet, but the separate bits are intriguing .. has a good frame, although somewhat lanky, and plays and an aggressive, physical game in his own end .. sometimes he acts a bit overzealous and takes rather undisciplined penalties, which is an area he should refine .. his passing game is generally strong, as delivers quality outlet passes and has a good vision for what's going on .. makes glaring errors at times, almost as if just loses focus once in a while .. has a booming slap shot and received lots of time on the blueline on the Czech powerplay .. accuracy was an issue, although he would have racked up more points with more determination on the loose pucks in front of the net .. generally handles the puck well and one could easily see that the heart and the willingness to compete and win, are always present for David Ruzicka.

Michael Frolik (2006), LW, 7-2-3-5

Review: Was arguably the most well-known Czech player coming into the tournament and did not dominate in the way some might had expected from him. Still, Frolik showed a nice amount skill and was constantly one of the key players for the Czech offense, playing on the prolific Czech' top line with David Kveton and Jiri Tlusty.

Scouting: Frolik possesses all the offensive skills one could imagine, but perhaps not to the extent some previous hype might have lead people to believe .. quick skater, but not lightning quick, as his lateral movement still could improve .. strong straightaway speed, although not the most blistering one displayed in this tournament .. boasts elite poise when handling the puck and is confident in his own ability to make things happen offensively .. creative and sees to ice very well .. lacks the sniper touch in front of the net, as he missed a good number of scoring chances .. .releases his shot quickly and with decent velocity, but there's certainly no elite accuracy involved .. appears a little moody at times and takes the occasional shift off .. at the other end of the spectrum, he is very difficult to contain when it's his day .. generally decent defensive awareness and coverage, but he clearly devotes most of his energy to the other end, which is to be expected in his role as an offensive, scoring winger.

Martin Latal (2006), LW, 7-1-2-3

Review: The undersized winger managed to be a decent secondary scoring threat for the Czech team in the tournament, despite inconsistent performances and a severe lack of any physical edge.

Scouting: A very fluid, swift skater who accelerates well and could dance around his opponents when he is on his game .. unlike teammate David Kveton, his lack of size is definitely a weakness for him .. gets knocked off the puck quite easily, doesn't win many, if any, battles along the boards and generally lacks overall strength .. handles the puck effortlessly and can deke with the best of them .. good hockey sense and is defensively aware, plays a solid positional game and makes the right calls, which made him fairly useful killing penalties as well .. creates plays offensively and has good vision on the ice, but not quite at the elite level .. his shooting ability is just about average and leaves a lot of room for improvement .. needs to learn to be more fearless and play with a greater intensity level on every shift if he wants a future in the NHL.

Jiri Tlusty (2006), RW, 7-4-3-7

Review: Tlusty was arguably the best winger in the whole tournament, as he displayed great offensive skills combined with a willingness to compete and the always quite useful habit of scoring clutch goals for his team. He left the tournament looking like a certain top ten pick come draft day.

Scouting: Moves extremely well on the ice, well-balanced, has a quick, fluid stride and a pretty good top speed as well .. handles the puck with great composure and poise and has the ability to control an entire shift with his soft hands and great vision .. sees the ice very well and is a set up-man as much as a scorer .. very creative and knows how to make a highlight reel play happen .. can stickhandle through almost anything and doesn't hesitate to drive to the net and move into traffic .. has a good frame and overall strength and isn't knocked off the puck very easily .. certainly has an eye for how to position himself in front of the net, as he showed that he knows how to pick up garbage goals on rebounds and deflections, as well as on more fancy type of plays .. the only major knock on his game, is that he could fade away if his team gets a few bounces against them and his line doesn't manage to get things going right away .. but on the other hand, if the little things suddenly come his way, he displays a great deal of desire and could start to lead the whole team by example, something that occurred in this tournament .. responsible defensively and does what he is supposed to do, but still fairly one-dimensional in his approach.

Bohdan Visnak (2006), D, 7-1-0-1

Review: Perhaps the smallest player in the whole tournament managed surprisingly well with the seemingly impossible task of holding his own against players who could appear to be twice the tiny rearguard's size.

Scouting: Mobile, smooth skater who moves around effortlessly .. Visnak obviously can't out power the opposing forwards with an aggressive physical game, instead he plays a thinking man's style, reads the game very well and is his positional coverage is excellent .. despite his smallish stature, he's a safe player in his own end and almost never get himself into trouble, due to his hockey sense .. .was often paired with David Ruzicka and generally left the offensive initiatives to his partner, as he seldom joins the rush or tries anything flashy with his passing game .. could however get some good power out of his wrist shot though, which he displayed on occasion .. despite making up for it in other areas, Visnak is likely too small for a future NHL career.

Michal Neuvirth (2006), G

Review: Apart from the abysmal first period in the semifinal against the United States, Neuwirth had a strong showing in Sweden and was generally on par with the other top netminders of the tournament.

Scouting: A more spectacular type of goalie who is highly dependant on splendid reflexes .. looks smooth and athletic in his movements overall .. moves quickly in his crease, making him hard to beat from close in .. plays the butterfly style, which combined with his strong mobility and reflexes, makes his coverage down low very strong .. doesn't display the same quickness on his stick side though and can even look a bit out of position while trying cover shots aimed at his stick side .. his game doesn't have a lot of focus on covering the angles though, which is something he should work on .. never the less, he is a goalie with a lot of raw talent and the type of goalie that could be the deciding factor in games for his team.

Vladimir Ruzicka (2007), C, 7-0-1-1

Review: The talented and underaged center did not make a major impact on this Czech team, but still managed to take decent care of the second line and generated some offense, although he did not get much of it on the scoreboard.

Scouting: His main weakness is a lack of overall physical strength, as he could get knocked off the puck fairly easily at times and if he was caught along the boards against the better nations, the lanky pivot was stuck and rarely came out there with the puck on his stick .. displayed a smooth skating ability, but very much in the need of better top speed, as he wasn't exactly flying .. does however have elite hands, very smooth and poised while in control of the puck and has the vision of a playmaker .. knows how to run a powerplay and distributes the puck well with crisp passes .. has an under-used, above average shooting arsenal, as he fires away fairly accurately and with good velocity, something he should do more frequently .. decent in the face off circle and his defensive coverage his adequate, but there's no doubt that most of his energy is spent in the offensive end.

Martin Bartos (2006), RW, 7-3-1-4

Review: Remained in the shadows of his more flashy teammates during the course of the tournament, but Bartos still teased with flashes of interesting offensive upside. Had about the same role as Canadian James McGinn on this team, and all in all, came out looking better than the North American.

Scouting: Not as smooth skating as many of his Czech teammates, but isn't slow when it comes to starts and stops and his top speed is adequate as well .. is the closest thing the Czech's came to a power forward this tournament, as showed hints of physical grit .. attempted to crash the net with puck, and eventually got lucky with it at the final games .. disappeared at times and could be a non-factor for long periods of time .. would have flourished more if given even more time in powerplay situations, where his team often lacked a solid presence in front of the net .. handles the puck fairly well, but is certainly no magician with it .. distributes his passes well and reads the game well enough not to paint himself into a corner, but obviously lacks the vision and creativity of a playmaker.

Jiri Jebavy (2007), D, 7-0-1-1

Review: Underaged rearguard that took the safe route throughout the tournament and did it well. Received a lot of ice time on even strength and will likely be an important cog for the Czech's at next year's tournament.

Scouting: Is the kind of player you really have to look for to notice, but given his role on the team, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Shared the duty of being paired with David Ruzicka along with Bhodan Visnak and displayed very strong positioning skills in his own end and read the game well, as he was there to cover up for Ruzicka's sometimes erratic plays .. doesn't play a very aggressive game, but can deliver a hit when required and has pretty good overall strength .. has a crisp outlet pass and makes the right calls all time, doesn't try to over handle the puck, as he simply plays it out along the boards when pressured .. fairly smooth skater who doesn't seem to have any problems with his mobility .. didn't display any type of offensive instincts though, but wasn't supposed to be either creative nor joining the rush either, although he might have it in him given a larger role.

Michal Kazatel (2006), LW, 7-1-1-2

Review: Was rumoured to be a good secondary scoring threat for the Czech team, but didn't show much in order to keep that reputation alive, as he was mainly a non-factor in this tournament.

Scouting: His skating is fairly quick, but his lateral movement isn't that of an elite player and there isn't much of an extra gear present either .. a pretty good puckhandler but it seemed like the pace of the game was a bit too high for him to accomplish much with it, has fairly limited vision and creativity .. was used as an offensive player, but he simply wasn't able to generate much of that .. lacks intensity and aggressiveness .. not a smallish player, yet he is certainly not proactive physically and gets knocked off the puck too easily at times .. it might be the case of a sub par mental game as well, as if he was able to get something going early on in the tournament, he could have been able to build some momentum .. faded more and more for every game and doesn't display much energy in his own end either .. overall, a disappointing showing for Kazatel.

Team Finland (posted 5.4.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

Finland

The Finnish U18 team very much mimicked the men's team in their run in the recent Olympics. A solid team built around defense and a hot goaltender, combined with speed and grit up front, managed to almost totally overcome the deficit in raw talent compared to must other of the top team's.

Finland never stopped working and skating, which Canada experienced when possibly under estimating them in the semi-final. While the United States didn't have an easy ride against them in the Final either, eventually winning on a questionable goal, as the time appeared to have run out of the second period when the puck crossed the goal line.

On a team that was more built on a solid team effort, individual standouts were much harder to come by than in many other teams in the tournament, aside from the goalie Helenius. However, creative center Jan-Mikael Juutilainen and the puckmoving rearguard Eetu Heikkinen certainly raised their respective draft stock by their showing here.

Scouting notes:

Robert Nyholm (2006), C 5-2-1-3

Review: A returning player from last year's tournament was supposed to anchor much of the Finnish offense this time. That wasn't quite the case as he indeed was one the team's best offensive guns, but he didn't stand out from the crowd in the way some might had expected.

Scouting: Doesn't have the smoothest skating stride and could look a little sluggish at times, despite a fairly good top speed .. amounts to surprisingly little when looking at his fundamentals .. his puckhandling is slightly above average and he protects it well, but doesn't dazzle the crowd with great dekes .. his playmaking ability is certainly a step below top notch as he just doesn't seem to have elite vision .. makes things happen in the offensive zone through some interesting intangibles .. has a knack for anticipating the play and being in the right position .. his passing game is less than crisp at times and his hands aren't that soft .. has a fairly weak shot and not surprisingly is reluctant to use it .. scores most of his goals from close in, chipping in rebounds or quick snap shots .. has a good frame, but doesn't have an aggressive attitude or instinct at all and should try to upgrade his intensity level to more of a threat in that area .. reads the game well defensively and works hard in both ends of the rink, has a two-way approach to the game.

Max Warn (2006), RW, 5-2-1-3

Review: A hard nosed winger that kept his desire and grit going throughout the tournament and rounded out the package by displaying some scoring touch as well. Comes across as more reliable than flashy however.

Scouting: Not exactly a silky smooth skater, but gets the job done and he can accelerate fairly quickly to a decent top-end speed…has good upper body strength and frame, which are his best offensive assets .. wins a lot of battles and is hard to knock-off from the puck, although his puckhandling is no better than average .. has an fairly aggressive approach and shows a lot of emotion, which could sometimes come off as undisciplined .. definitely displays a desire to win nevertheless .. has a pretty good nose for the net, although he doesn't possess a lethal shot, yet makes up for it with adequate offensive anticipation .. a decent passer, but don't expect to him to make any type of fancy plays happen .. plays a consistent game and shows up in every shift, reliable in his own end as well.

Jan-Mikael Juutilainen (2006), C, 6-3-2-5

Review: Juutilainen was the top Finnish scorer of the tournament and clearly had the softest hands of the Finnish bunch. Was the obvious choice for running the team's powerplay and did well with the job.

Scouting: Very good puck poise and has that natural confidence in his abilities talented players often possess .. crisp passer with corresponding vision, makes him able to find the creative options for distributing the puck .. overall boasts a decent shooting arsenal, and is fairly accurate, but the velocity needs to improve .. smooth skater who is quick in tight spaces, yet is actually fairly slow when skating longer distances, as his lack of top speed becomes evident .. this might be due to a lack of lower body strength, as the skating technique is obviously there .. aside from running the powerplay well, Juutilainen also has a two-way approach to his game .. thanks to his mature hockey sense, he knows what to do in his own end .. a team player with fundamentally good work ethic, although he rarely is proactive in his physical game and his overall intensity level could be turned up a notch .. doesn't shy away from traffic, but doesn't like to be in the middle of it for long.

Juuso Anttonen (2006), RW, 6-0-1-1

Review: Created a lot more offense chances than he actually finished, which summarizes the good and the bad. A quick and skilled winger who constantly caused a lot of trouble of the opposition defensemen.

Scouting: A pretty flashy offensive spark plug for the Finnish team, who's strong skating game and creativity often worked as an energy boost for the whole team .. quick on his feet, with splendid top end speed, which compensates well for his lack of size as he can move swiftly in and out of heavy traffic .. has a lot of energy, works hard and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in the grittier sides of the game .. won't hesitate to attack the net given the opportunity .. has a quick wrist shot in terms of speed and release, which with a bit more luck, could have given him a few goals in this tournament .. seems to lack poise when it comes to putting the puck in the back of the net though, not the sniper type at all .. strong puckhandler who has a few fancy moves up his sleeve .. decent passer, but sometimes lacks vision on the ice, as he misses good playmaking opportunities.

Eetu Heikkinen (2006), D, 6-0-1-1

Review: Stood out in the Finnish defensive corps as by far the best puckhandler and the overall most skilled. Logged a large amount of ice time as the Finnish team really had no one that could bring what he brought to the table.

Scouting: Really the only Finnish rearguard with any above average offensive assets .. proficient puckhandler and regularly delivers quality outlet passes, which was quite a lot as Heikkinen started almost all the Finnish plays from his own end .. mobile and moves well on the ice and will get even quicker and speedier as his leg strength improves .. has good offensive instincts and is the type of defenseman that wants to join the rush, although this trait was somewhat tempered by the overall quiet defensive Finnish game plan .. calm under pressure and handles himself well in the defensive zone as well, despite not being overly physical in his approach .. releases his wrist shot well, but he must let go of his slapper quicker as well as improving on the accuracy of it .. logs a lot of minutes but has no trouble delivering a solid, consistent performance game after game.

Jan-Mikael Jarvinen (2006), RW, 6-1-4-5

Review: A smallish winger who, along with a few others, added the much needed flair and creativity to the mix for the hard working and generally very defensive minded Finnish team. The type of player that is always very entertaining to watch.

Scouting: A quick, elusive type of skater who is quite slippery and difficult to catch, but his legs don't give him very much in terms of top speed, which keeps his overall intensity level down a bit .. smooth puckhandler and could be deadly coming in one-one to the offensive zone with the puck on his stick and some speed .. can deke around most defenseman as long as his feet keep moving .. boasts decent vision as well and has a knack for setting up his teammates for quality scoring chances .. has a good wrist shot that he releases quickly, his slapper is nowhere to be found though .. his main flaw is his lack of physical strength .. gets outmuscled fairly easily at times and is simply too soft to win many battles .. doesn't really appear afraid though, so this weakness should improve as he bulks up .. not the best defensive player as he goes through the motions but is fundamentally rather one-dimensional.

Joonas Kemppainen (2006), LW, 6-1-1-2

Review: A prototypical winger for this Finnish team, as Kemppainen certainly didn't show off the most impressive set of skills in the tournament. Instead, he constantly battled hard throughout the six games and generated some offensive output out of it.

Scouting: Has a pretty choppy skating style, as he lacks a fluid stride and smooth lateral movement .. his legs are pretty strong however and could find some speed when gearing up, although there is much effort behind every single stride for him .. another Finn where strength is his best weapon .. strong along the boards, loves to battle and more often than not, comes out of it with the puck on his stick .. great attitude, as he constantly works hard and has the mind-set of a winner .. will crash the net when given the chance and is the type of player who thrives in traffic and wants to be involved where things happen .. has a decent wrist shot and a sub par slap shot, which he should be able to generate more power from giving his solid frame .. works hard defensively, but needs to be well-coached as his decision making ability, or lack there of, could put him in troublesome positions .. definitely not a playmaker, knows how to pass the puck, but lacks pure, creative, instincts.

Riku Helenius (2006), G

Review: Another example of a Finnish goalie being a huge part of the team's success in an international competition, just as Tuukka Rask was in the World Juniors or Antero Niittymaki at the Olympics. Helenius didn't have one bad game throughout the tournament and was arguably the best netminder on display here.

Scouting: One would struggle to find a single major flaw in the latest great Finnish goaltending talent .. he has a very calm approach and doesn't go down into the butterfly position until the latest possible moment, not leaving much to shot at up high and when he goes down, he covers the ice and the five-hole very well…reads the game quite diligently and is excellent at covering angles .. makes everything appear very easy and fluid, which frustrates the shooters .. quick overall reflexes and moves smoothly in his crease, despite being a fairly big guy .. battles with Russian' Semen Varlamov for the title 'best glovehand' of the tournament .. controls the rebounds very well and constantly steers them out of harm's way, which once again demonstrates his excellent positioning skills and hockey sense .. a very competitive goalie who thrives under pressure and when being under heavy fire

Juuso Puustinen (2006), LW, 6-1-2-3

Review: A solid tournament by the no-nonsense winger, who possesses good fundamentals in terms of skating and shooting ability, which combined with a good frame, makes him a dangerous offensive threat.

Scouting: Has good wheels, as he accelerates well and reaches a pretty good top speed .. his lateral movement is about average though, and he could be smoother in his stride and more elusive .. his best ability by far is his shot and his willingness to use it .. releases a hard and fairly accurate wrister and slapper and basically doesn't hesitate to fire away as soon as he has the net in sight .. only managed one goal here, but the way's he's shooting, the goals will come .. his preference towards shooting and driving to the net makes him a bit easy to read though and his vision seems limited .. needs to add a few more tricks to become a more well-rounded offensive player .. works hard and keeps the intensity level up .. fairly physical, good in traffic and wins a fair share of the battles along the boards .. a reliable player that never takes a shift off and delivers an honest effort every night.

Joonas Lehtivuori (2006), D, 6-1-2-3

Review: Had the reputation of being a fairly offensive minded, puckmoving defensemen coming into the tournament, but Lehtivuori didn't quite prove that here, for various reasons. Was quite solid in his own end at all times.

Scouting: A decently mobile player that moves well laterally, but didn't stand out skating wise one or another, gets the job done though .. boasts a fairly good passing game and delivers good feeds from his own end, but wasn't overly creative in his choices of passing lanes, which can be perceived both good and bad .. showed that he can join the rush occasionally, although that didn't seem to be encouraged by the coaches for and defensemen on the Finnish team .. doesn't make any unforced errors while handling the puck, but showed no indication of having very soft hands either .. played the man well and kept track of his positional coverage quite well, hard to beat one-on-one and deals well with pressure .. physical when he needs to be and could fill out his frame further to be even more proactive in that aspect of his game.

Mikko Kukkonen (2006), D, 6-0-0-0

Review: An unspectacular, stay-at-home defenseman who played his part quite well and was a defensive key cog for the Finnish team. Often assigned to cover up for the more offensive oriented rearguard Eetu Hiekinen.

Scouting: Doesn't have the smoothest stride as his skating is a bit choppy, but knows how to play his strengths and works around this quite well .. certainly a defense first type of player and was often paired with the more skilled Eetu Heikkinen, letting him do the puckmoving bits .. not the best puckhandler around, but plays a simple game if pressured and tries to avoid mistakes and defensive lapses at all costs .. his defensive coverage is quite good as he has a lot of hockey sense in his own end and doesn't gets intimidated by watching players with elite skill dangling around the zone .. plays his position very well and can certainly shake things up by being a solid physical presence, despite still looking a bit lanky .. manages to be aggressive without being undisciplined at all and wins a lot of battles in his own end.

Nico Aaltonen (2006), LW, 5-0-1-1

Review: A quick, energetic type of player, which is necessary as a role player in any team. Aaltonen didn't seem to be able to score goals even if his own life depended upon it.

Scouting: Strong skater with a fairly smooth, quick stride and a solid top speed, could turn on a dime and is generally very mobile .. average puckhandler and doesn't display very much raw skill in what he does .. not much in terms of playmaking vision is offered, as the typical Aaltonen play with the puck is gearing up into the offensive zone, trying to beat the defensemen straight to the inside and get caught along the boards .. still always works very hard and oozes of intensity and energy, never gives up a battle and despite his limited skill set is a difficult guy to play against .. doesn't have much of a scoring touch either, as his hands aren't very soft and he doesn't have much poise in front of net, missed many great opportunities throughout the tournament and proved that he will never be a sniper .. should try to round out his offensive game to be more of a threat, an area that may improve with experience.

Team Canada (posted 5.1.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

The Silver medalists from last year had all the tools to challenge anyone in this tournament, although it really came together for the Canadians. An average display in the preliminary round, losing against Sweden and playing a scoreless tie against Finland, put Canada back at third place in their group, giving them Russia in the quarterfinal.

When it was do-or-die versus the Russians, everything just came together for Team Canada, who beat their flashier opponents with hard work, hard skating and a good team effort. Much of that, however dissapeared when playing Finland in the semi-final, which cost Canada the game. In the bronze medal game, there was no gas left in the Canadian tank and they lost against Czech Republic and ended the tournament showing frustration and poor discipline. Despite this, Canada also had some of the tournaments most intriguing talents in their roster.

Scouting notes:

Ben Maxwell (2006), C, 7-2-5-7

Review: In tight race with Justin Azevedo for being the best Canadian center of the tournament. A consistent offensive threat and elevated the game of whoever he was playing with on any given day. Showed signs at being a clutch player as well.

Scouting: Has elite poise with the puck and excellent vision .. very soft hands and is the type of player that always seems to be getting a lot of extra time with the puck, which is a sign of quality talent .. an excellent player for running the powerplay, as he has a crisp passing and the ability to see the openings few others are capable of .. smooth skater, although his top speed is somewhat lacking, but that rarely bothers his game due to his puckhandling skills and hockey sense .. reads the game very well and always knows what do next .. above average wrist shot, but make no mistake, he's more of a playmaker than a sniper .. seems to elevate his game when the going gets tough, was one of the few Canadians not to freeze up in the semi-final against Finland .. does not shy away from traffic and has enough strength to cover the puck very along the boards and wins a good share of the battles.

Justin Azevedo (2006), C, 7-4-4-8

Review: Centered the Canadian top line for the whole tournament and received huge amounts of ice time in every key situation. Dazzled most bystanders with his creativity and vision, but didn't have his best day in either the semi-final nor the bronze medal game.

Scouting: Very smallish, but also very feisty and energetic to overcompensate for his lack of size .. loves to battle, throws hits around on players twice his size and generally plays with a lot of heart and emotion in everything he does .. Azevedo also have lots of skill in a small package .. his creativity and vision on the ice are very good and so is his stickhandling .. obviously a quick skater with strong top speed, which his size requires him to be in order to be successful .. shooting skills are there as well, releases quick and fires hard .. smart, but does not have as refined hockey sense as for instance Ben Maxwell possesses .. can sometimes act a bit undisciplined and take unnecessary penalties .. seems like he needs to go at full speed all the time to be effective as he can't cruise control and yet still dominate, which is both a blessing and a curse.

Logan Pyett (2006), D, 7-1-3-4

Review: Logged the most ice time of all the Canadian defensemen and was a fixture on the first unit powerplay. By far the most creative rearguard on the roster and a solid job throughout the tournament at what he was supposed to do.

Scouting: Not a very big player, but he can be quite aggressive at times and generally gets the job done well in his own end. He also plays with a very long stick in relation to his height, but that seems to work seamless into his game .. fairly quick and smooth skater, although is lateral movement could look a bit slow at times .. strong passer who constantly delivers good outlet passes and has enough creativity and vision to be effective quarterbacking the powerplay from the blueline .. strong shooter who delivers the puck on time and with good velocity, the direction could be improved and will likely be with age and experience .. the overall hockey sense is there as well, as he makes the right decisions on the ice and doesn't get himself into trouble .. doesn't have any major flaw in any part of his game and should be looking forward to a solid pro career.

John Tavares (2009), LW, 7-2-3-5

Review: The youngest player among the big nations proved that age doesn't matter - only quality and Tavares has a lot of that. Considering that he was two years younger than almost all his opponents, he did exceptionally well and was a key cog in Canada's offense.

Scouting: Still looks a bit lanky and it's obvious that the lower body strength isn't quite there yet, which makes his skating looks less than fluid and a bit choppy at times, although he could gear up into a pretty good top speed .. his future greatness is already on display in a very mature hockey sense, he anticipates things very well and is always aware where his teammates are on the ice .. creativity and vision are top notch and his already able to set up game breaking plays at this level .. his shooting could look really sharp at times, with excellent timed releases and accuracy and other times he could be totally off target, due to his young age .. plays the body well and wins a surprising amount of battles in the corners .. good reach and covers the puck well .. generally handles the puck very well, but didn't impress as much with nifty dekes as many other top players did in this tournament.

Brandon Sutter (2007), LW, 7-2-0-2

Review: The underage winger did not make a bad impression during this tournament, but neither did he stand out as a leader on the Canadian team. Still managed to show off enough hints of offensive talent to keep you intrigued.

Scouting: Tall and lanky winger who needs to fill out his potentially very solid frame .. good top speed while skating, but his lateral movement is about average and balance could occasionally be an issue for him as well, but when he gets these flaws corrected, he will be a hard skating, physical menace to play against .. has interesting offensive skills as well, fairly soft hands and good puckhandler .. doesn't have elite vision, but knows how to deliver the puck and does it in a crisp, sharp fashion .. although he needs to add weight, his reach still makes him hard to knock the puck away from .. good, accurate wrist shot and knows his away around the net .. pretty good stickhandler who has the ability to beat defensemen by deking if required, certainly not a show-off though .. works hard and is defensively aware.

Francois Bouchard (2006), RW, 7-3-5-8

Review: Ended up as Team Canada's best scorer, tied with Justin Azevedo and did it in a sneaky fashion. Doesn't play a very spectacular type of game, but somehow Bouchard managed to be there when things happened offensively for Canada in this tournament.

Scouting: Plays a style that is very hard to describe, his fundamentals aren't very impressive by themselves, as he's neither an explosive skater, has a booming shot or elite playmaking vision. Neither is he a dynamic physical force. But apparently Bouchard has enough intangibilities to make the whole package better than its separate bits .. smooth, but not very quick skater, who could do some nifty twists and turns to get the opposition off his back .. has a knack for setting up plays that you can't see coming and plays strong positionally, suddenly you just find him open in front of the net .. not even his puckhandling seems to be more than average, but he never has problems handling it and his passing game proves there most be some softness in the hands controlling the stick .. an unusual type of player, but obviously certainly not without upside.

James McGinn (2006), RW, 7-2-1-3

Review: Scored the important 3-1 goal in the quarterfinal game against Russia, but overall the hard working McGinn failed to deliver much to the Canadian mix in this tournament and often looked a bit lost on the bigger ice surface.

Scouting: Simply just not a very stronger skater, has a hard time getting the strides going and moves slow laterally .. not even the top speed is much to brag about .. strong upper body and likes to get involved physically, wins a good number of battles along the boards .. seems to have a difficult time positioning himself on the international ice surface and is perhaps better suited for a more North American type of game .. was often used in front of the net on the Canadian powerplay, where he did some good thanks to his strong work ethics and naturally gritty approach .. can pick up some garbage goals but lacks sniper qualities .. his shot is overall mediocre and weapon he rarely uses .. passing game and puckhandling skills are average at best as there's nothing soft about McGinn's hands.

Shawn Matthias (2006), C, 7-1-0-1

Review: Was consistently used as the team's fourth line centre and played his checking line part excellently. If anyone deserves an 'A' for effort in this tournament, it's Shawn Matthias, who brought a great amount of energy and hard work to his team.

Scouting: In terms of attitude, Shawn Matthias was perhaps the best player in the tournament. He never stopped skating, hitting or working, no matter what was going on in the game .. wasn't used in an offensive role and does not have the skill set for it either, although his skating is quite decent, fairly smooth and good straightaway speed .. his passing is solid as well, although he rarely tries anything creative .. has a tremendous work ethic, strong in the face-off circle, kills penalties diligently and his overall determination makes him very difficult to play against for his opponents .. thrives in traffic, wins a lot of battles and is certainly not reluctant to throw his body around given the opportunity .. could have an NHL future as an defensively aware energy type of player.

Cory Emmerton (2006), LW, 7-1-1-2

Review: Came in to the tournament being one of the more highly touted offensive players in Canada, but was certainly not as good as advertised and was also soon demoted from the team's top line.

Scouting: A player who failed to deliver a consistent performance here, which led his demotion from the first to the fourth line, where he managed to get even less going .. has some interesting tools though, as he is mobile and fairly fast in the straightaway .. good upper body strengths and is difficult the knock off the along the boards, if he really wants to retain it .. failed to create much on his own though and seems to hope for his linemates to creates space and scoring chances for him, no vision with the puck offensively .. should use his strength to crash the net more frequently and generally display more intensity in his game .. played like he should on some shifts, but those were too few and far between .. releases his wrist shot fairly quick, but didn't shot the puck as much as he should either.

Jonathan Bernier (2006), G,

Review: Got very high marks by some after this tournament, despite the fact that he failed to steal any game for his team on his own and didn't play his best hockey when it mattered the most in the medal round. Still, a fairly solid effort from Bernier.

Scouting: A solid netminder, without the flash of Semen Varlamov or game breakers as Riku Helenius or Jhonas Enroth .. doesn't move around a lot in his crease and is very patient, which might be an approach used to compensate for fairly sluggish, lateral movement, which got him into trouble on occasion here .. plays a butterfly style and his coverage down low is very good, almost impossible to beat there or in the five-hole .. calm and doesn't show a lot of emotion, but it's yet to be seen whether he has what it takes to step in up in big games, as didn't in this tournament .. looked rather heavy on his feet both in the semi-final and in the bronze game .. solid, if not spectacular glove hand.

Ben Shutron (2006), D, 7-0-2-2

Review: Shutron played an overall solid tournament, where he stayed away from the flashy and instead played a simple game and made the right decisions, while hinting that he has the upside for even more than that.

Scouting: Comes in a solid package and the feeling is that his overall strength is already well-developed. Isn't the biggest guy around, but has a well-composed frame and doesn't hesitate to use it to his advantage in his own end .. skates well and has no troubles getting his legs going, although his lateral movement could be a couple of notches smoother .. hard slap shot with a fairly quick release, combined with a crisp passing game, makes him useful on the blueline on the powerplay .. has enough vision to make a good play when the opportunity arises and can skate with the puck too, but felt content with just dumping it in most of the time this tournament .. one could notice that he tried to play a more simple game here than he perhaps does normally .. good decisions in his own end, where he once again, kept it simple.

Ty Wishart (2006), D, 7-0-0-0

Review: Was paired up with Logan Pyett for most of the tournament, assigned to take care of the defensive duties, while leaving the rest for his partner. Something Wishart handled well and in return received quite a lot of ice time.

Scouting: Looks a little lanky and needs to add further upper body strength, although this didn't seem to hurt in battles .. had an ungrateful job of being the number two on Canada's top pairing, but he complemented Pyett well with his solid stay-at-home approach .. very hard to beat one-on-one for attacking forwards, as Wishart is a fairly mobile guy and has a good reach .. isn't good enough of a puchandler to have a future as a more offensive minded defenseman, but doesn't have hands of steel either .. delivers the puck crisp when making outlet passes .. didn't display much of a shooting ability, yet plays a strong positional game in his own zone .. logged a lot minutes while killing penalties .. a solid hockey sense prevents him from getting into trouble.

Team Sweden (posted 4.29.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

After going through the motions in the opening game against Norway, Sweden got off to a disastrous start in the second game against Finland, but almost managed to fight back. The team conserved its' energy well enough to carry on to defeat Canada, which in the end secured the Swedes the second place in the group behind Finland.

Injury to arguably most creative player, Mikael Backlund, depleted the Swedes thin offensive firepower for the quarterfinal against Czech Republic, who got their key players going at the right time. The loss in the fifth place game versus Russia, solidified a bleak overall Swedish performance in front of the home crowd and few Swedish players raised their stock for this summer's draft. Among the 2006 eligible, very few Swedes truly stand out.

Scouting notes:

Thomas Larsson (2006), RW, 6-2-2-4

Review: Larsson played on the Swedish first line and left the tournament with a good statistical output, but his overall performance left quite a few things left to be desired, as he never really seemed to get his rhythm going.

Scouting: In the Swedish junior league, Larsson is normally a force, with his gritty, in-your-face, agitating style, combined with a good hockey sense and overall offensive ability. In this tournament however, he failed to get either parts of his game going .. his foot speed has never been strong, but looked severely lacking here, which also worked as an obstacle for his physical game, as he simply didn't arrive in time to deliver his hits .. created very little offense and only displayed average stickhandling at best .. had some good passing plays, but they were few and far between .. as usual, defensively aware and hard working though.

Robin Figren (2006), LW, 6-3-25

Review: Really the only Swedish winger with the ability to generate offense on his own through a mix of strong skating and slick puckhandling. Was one of the team's best and most consistent offensive threats throughout the tournament.

Scouting: Strong skater with a fluid stride, but could get even more explosive. Handles the puck well and possesses a respectable arsenal of dekes .. isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, as he has a willingness to constantly drive towards the net and get involved in the physical aspects of the game .. throws the occasional hit and knows how to forecheck .. his wrist is above average, as he fires away with a quick release and decent accuracy .. is a decent passer, but does not have the vision a playmaker .. defensively responsible and good work ethics overall.

Patrik Berglund (2006), C, 6-4-1-5

Review: Started out the tournament tremendously well, sometimes having a clinic on the ice, but then faded some down the stretch. Despite that, a very strong overall showing for Berglund, who clearly raised his stock for the upcoming draft by his performance here.

Scouting: At the first glance, it is hard to see the upside in the tall and lanky centre with unpolished skating. But Berglund has a bit of deceptive quickness, as his long legs move along pretty well in the first strides, combined with his reach and size, two traits he has similar with Jaromir Jagr, which makes him quite difficult to contain .. handles the puck very well and has the playmaking eye, has his vision enables to create good plays in the offensive zone .. often gets in good scoring positions, but his shooting skills needs to be upgraded, doesn't fire the puck neither hard nor accurate .. has a two-way mindset and really knows how to take care of his own end as well.

Mikael Backlund (2007), C, 3-1-0-1

Review: Was the catalyst for the Swedish offense in the second game against Finland and showed flashes of great skill, until a concussion in the game versus Canada took him out of the line-up for the rest of the tournament, which helped to cripple the Swedish offense.

Scouting: While healthy, Backlund was clearly underused on the Swedish team, as he didn't receive any time on the powerplay, despite clearly being one the most skilled and creative offensive players on the roster .. shows a great deal of upside in everything he does, smooth skater who has an extra gear to use when required and very slick and poised when handling the puck .. has a lot of energy in what does which rubs of on his linemates, clearly shows a desire to win all the time .. the fact that he was a year younger than the rest in this tournament could occasionally show as some strength physically were lacking at times .. he was however not intimidated in any way or shied away from traffic areas .. great vision on the ice and he already has a very well-developed passing game.

Tony Lagerstrom (2006), C, 6-3-3-6

Review: Centered the Swedish top line with Figren and Larsson on his wings for the whole tournament. Put up a very reliable performance, but did not display the same top end skill that many of the other big nations top centres provided for their teams.

Scouting: Has a quick first couple of strides when skating straightaway, but not much of a top speed and his lateral movement is about average .. handles the puck well, although he rarely dangles with it, plays a more conservative type of game .. a good passer and has solid playmaking skills, but rarely displays truly elite vision .. his main strength lies within his decisions making skills and overall hockey sense .. very aware of what's going on in both ends of the rink and could be used in all type of situations .. works hard and lead by example, also very reliable and consistent in what he does, it's rare to find him take a shift off.

Dennis Persson (2006), D, 6-1-5-6

Review: Overall, the best Swedish defenseman in the tournament, although that certainly wasn't the expectations prior to it. Persson showed strong offensive skills and got a good offensive output from the blueline.

Scouting: Handles the puck confidently and rarely puts himself in positions where he's put in a corner .. has a crisp passing game and strong enough vision to find the right passing lanes .. also good enough wheels to carry the puck, good lateral movement and could accelerate to decent top speed, but as with many young defensemen, the first strides could be quicker .. very useful on the powerplay, as he can set up play with his passing and shoots the puck well, as he finds the target and delivers with good speed .. has the size, but could use it for effectively in own end and sometimes his positional game could be erratic defensively, which however more could be attributed to inexperience than a lack of hockey sense.

Viktor Sjodin (2006), RW, 6-1-2-3

Review: Was intended to be the Swedish equivalent to a power forward in this tournament, but he ultimately wasn't ready for it at this level, despite giving it an honest effort.

Scouting: Sjodin's strength lies is in his ability to play physical and crash the net, nothing fancy about. However, in this tournament, all his weaknesses were exposed in the open .. slow and choppy skating, lacking quickness and overall speed .. barely average puckhandling, although he managed to get the puck out of corners at times and attack the net .. good upper body strength, but his lack of foot speed did make him a very intense threat for the opposition's defensemen .. decent shot in terms of release and velocity, but due to bad puckhandling, he had a hard time controlling the puck while getting it in scoring positions .. despite his weaknesses, Sjodin's frame and willingness to play physical might make him attractive as a pick up in the later rounds on draft day.

Niclas Andersen (2006), D, 6-1-1-2

Review: The only returning skater from last year's bronze team was expected to lead the Swedish defensive corps, but wasn't quite the man for the job in this tournament and provided an inconsistent performance.

Scouting: Andersen has yet to find a good niche for himself as a player, as he doesn't seem comfortable fully accepting a role as a physical, stay-at-home defensemen and doesn't have the high end skill necessary to make him successful as a puckmoving, offensive minded rearguard .. had many errors in his passing game this tournament, attributed to bad decision making as well as sub par technical skill when making the pass .. reactive in his physical game in his own end and allowed the opposing players to take the initiative too many times .. has a decently heavy slap shot, but accuracy and release needs improvement .. his skating was not more than average, got where he needed to be, but without being either quick or very fluid.

Erik Moe (2006), D, 6-1-2-3

Review: Mixed great moves with really bad decisions throughout the tournament, but he also showed that he has a lot of upside in his game as an offensive defenseman.

Scouting: The Swedish defenseman with likely the highest offensive upside, even more so than Dennis Persson, although Moe is much less consistent at what he does and needs to clean up his mistake prone defensive game .. handles the puck with poise and was one of the best stickhandlers in this Swedish team .. good shooting skills, as both his slapper and wrister are useful tools, was however a bit underused on the Swedish powerplay .. has a tendency to complicate his passing way too much at times and his physical game and decisions making skills under pressure in his own end are lacking .. smooth skater, has a clean, fluid stride, but lacks a strong top speed.

Jhonas Enroth (2006), G

Review: After sharing the duty last year, Jhonas Enroth was the obvious starter this year for the Swedish team and nobody could blame the team's lack of success on him. Always gave the Swedes a chance to win and won the game against Canada almost single-handedly. Definitely one of best netminders in the tournament, as any of the big teams could have won with Enroth between the pipes.

Scouting: A calm goalie with no real obvious weaknesses. Rises to the occasion and tends to play his best hockey when it matters the most and did so in this tournament as well, although that failed to help the team to win .. plays the angles very well and doesn't leave a lot of room to shot at .. his glove hand isn't as spectacular as for instance Semen Varlamov's, but it does what it is supposed to do .. relies more on positioning than on quickness though and one way to beat him is to make him move laterally a lot in his crease and find openings through that .. good rebound control as well, knows what he's doing.

Mario Kempe (2007), RW, 5-0-1-1

Review: Was a bit of a surprise making the roster and started out as a healthy scratch. Did get his chance halfway into the game against Finland however, and managed to energize the whole team. Is one of the better skaters on the Swedish team.

Scouting: Doesn't have elite poise or puckhandling skills, even though he could pull off an occasional deke. What he does have however, is a great level of intensity and desire in everything he does, something that this Swedish lacked as a group .. quick skater, moves very well laterally and his extra gear is there, giving him good top speed as well .. shooting skills are merely average though and his vision and passing game are limited, knows the basics, but that's about it .. excellent work ethic and a loyal team player, who could have future as a checking line player in the NHL.

Team Russia (posted 4.28.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

Team Russia showcased their skill in the preliminary round and cruised to a comfortable second place in their group, behind only the United States, a team which Russia pushed to its' limits in the opening game. But behind the flashes of great individual skill, one could find the usual Russian problems of lacking defensive awareness, sub par team play and lack of competitive drive in tight games.

Weaknesses that Team Canada didn't hesitate to exploit in the quarterfinal, were their desire to win, hard skating and ability to put on pressure in the offensive zone, completely neutralised the Russians as the game progressed. Russia then finished off the tournament with an easy victory in the game for 5th place, against a disappointed and unfocused Swedish club. Individually, the quick goaltender Semen Varlamov and highly skilled forwards such as Ruslan Bashkirov, Anton Glovatsky and Andrei Popov, were the standout players while the highly touted centre Alexander Vasyunov did not live up his, without a shed of doubt, very high potential.

Scouting notes:

Andrei Popov (2006), LW, 6-3-2-5

Review: Made up one half of a Russian dynamic duo along with Anton Glovatsky. The duo was then teamed up with a more defensive minded centre, such as Maxim Mamin or Sergei Zachupeuko during the tournament. Regardless of the guy in the middle, Popov was a constant offensive threat throughout the six Russian games.

Scouting: An average sized winger out of the traditional Russian mold. Not physical at all, takes shifts off an could disappear for large chunks of games, but when he feels like it, he is deadly .. not the best top speed, but has a good burst of speed for short distances and good lateral movement .. displayed some of the best stickhandling moves in the tournament and he looks extremely slick while handling the puck .. has a good playmaking eye as well, and could set up his teammates with flashy opening passes when the opportunity arises .. defensive coverage virtually non-existent .. only shows intensity from the redline and on, but once there, you shouldn't take your eyes away from him.

Igor Zubov (2006), D, 6-0-2-2

Review: Capable Russian defensive anchor that seemed to possess some leadership skills and was a solid presence on the Russian blueline for the whole tournament.

Scouting: Neither the smoothest or the quickest skater around, but still managed to get from A to B, without losing too much time or looking too awkward .. Handles the puck well and provides good outlet passes .. also possesses good decisions making skills and rarely gets into trouble his own end .. limited offensive upside however, although his slap shot has some boom in it, the accuracy is way off .. doesn't have the same natural offensive instincts as many other Russians either .. can throw a decent hit once in a while, but needs to do that even more consistently.

Alexander Vasyunov (2006), C 6-2-2-4

Review: Was perhaps the most highly touted Russian coming into the tournament, but left it realizing a few of his teammates have caught up with him. Vasyunov certainly didn't make a bad impression in terms of skills displayed, but was not the one carrying the Russian team.

Scouting: Very enigmatic player, who gets very little done when considering the tremendous amount of tools that he possesses. A quick skater with solid top speed, who in his best moments, almost could be appear Ovechkin-esque .. unlike his countryman, Vasyunov only shows it once a game though .. has a wrist shot which is almost NHL calibre already, but rarely used it for some reason .. excellent puckhandler, but still just doesn't accomplish that much while actually handling it .. lots of raw talent in this package, but he seriously needs to find a way to get it all together as he right now is a player that would do much better in a skills competition than in actual hockey games .. very immature hockey sense.

Artem Anisimov (2006), LW, 6-3-2-5

Review: The opposite of his linemate Alexander Vasyunov in the sense that Anisimov gets things done offensively without having to show off top end moves all the time. Intangibles, is the key word here.

Scouting: Although he have quite decent fundamentals in terms of fairly quick skating, a decent frame and above average puckhandling, Anisimov was far from the mot spectacular player in the Russian offensive arsenal .. instead he was the only pure sniper in the team, as he displayed a natural awareness of being in the right place in the right time in front of net, a trait that rarely could be taught .. has a fairly quick wrister that gets the job done, mostly fires from pretty close range though .. smart player, lets his linemates do the more fancy stuff and seeks himself a good scoring position instead .. even wins a few battles along the boards, but like most of the Russians, lost in his own end.

Vadim Golubtsov (2006), C/LW, 4-0-1-1

Review: Started out the tournament with a huge game against the United States, but then faded while trying to play through an injury and also saw less ice time as the tournament progressed. Showed that the talent is there however.

Scouting: A very smooth player in everything he does, from skating, puckhandling and passing .. when he was healthy and on his game, he showed off some dazzling stickhandling moves and overall good awareness, knows where he had his linemates and could distribute the puck .. only has an average though shot and seemed reluctant to fire away while having the chance .. the upside is definitely there, but could have benefited from even more exposure.

Mikhail Churlyaev (2008), D, 6-0-0-0

Review: Didn't ever get in to the hot zone during the tournament, but one could see that the potential for it was there, although this just wasn't his time to shine.

Scouting: One could tell that he really want to be cast as an offensive, puckmoving defenseman, which is a blessing and a curse. Likes to handle the puck, but sometimes overhandles it .. is a strong passer, but must learn that the option that appears to be the most creative, is not always the best one .. he tries hard and makes solid effort every night, and his weaknesses could be rounded out with time .. does his job in own end, but clearly that isn't the part of his game that makes him stand out from the crowd .. has a fairly well directed shot, but needs to add some more boom from the point.

Yuri Alexandrov (2006), D, 6-1-2-3

Review: Ended up with some pretty good numbers in the tournament, but his overall showing was not that strong. Too many ups and downs between games and even shifts, provided for a very uneven display by the young rearguard.

Scouting: Has enough pure skill to never look truly bad, even on an off night. A smooth skater who reads the game fairly well defensively and gets into the right position most of the time .. could however suddenly turn into the Mr Hyde version of himself and playing very reckless for no apparent reason and totally lose control of his passing game .. doesn't shay away from getting his hands dirty physically and shows signs of being a good pointman on the powerplay., as he possesses a decently accurate and hard slap shot .. but he also does not seem to have that extra drop of pure offensive creativity that makes really great offensive defensemen stand out.

Ruslan Bashkirov (2007), C, 6-6-2-8

Review: Wasn't very talked about coming into the tournament, but that was about to change very soon. The Russian centre, with a mullet hair cut and shining white gloves, managed to mix entertainment value and actual offensive output, in a stellar manner.

Scouting: Is about on par with Vasyunov in terms of raw offensive skill and talent, the difference is that Bashkirov have more of a competitive drive to actually go out and make something happen on the ice .. strong skater overall and especially his lateral movement is excellent, looses his opponents with quick, nifty little twists and turns and makes it look easy too .. very creative in the offensive zone and could make any type of play happen, has the vision and poise of a great playmaker, but is just as good, if not better, at finishing it off himself .. very slick with the puck and possesses and wide arsenal of dekes .. big and strong enough to also simply cover the puck well when required .. despite not being much a factor in his own end, Bashkirov was easily the best Russian in the tournament.

Vladimir Zharkov (2006), LW, 6-0-0-0

Review: Had some good advertising buzz surrounding his name before the tournament, but during it, he really had to look to find Vladimir Zharkov, hidden on the Russian fourth line and receiving little ice time in key situations.

Scouting: Played with defensive minded players throughout the tournament and killed penalties as much as he played even strength. It should be noted however that he didn't display any bad attitude towards his assignment, at least not on the ice .. worked hard, battled and showed some good defensive awareness while on the penalty kill .. showed flashes of offensive skill, as his first skating strides are very quick and so is his wrist shot, but Zharkov didn't get that many opportunities to shine offensively, but the feeling is that he might could give, given the chance.

Semen Varlamov (2006), G,

Review: Did not have an easy job, being the last outpost in a team consisting of forwards with questionable defensive work ethic and a sometimes erratic defensive corps. But Semen Varlamov always gave the Russian team a chance to win despite that.

Scouting: An smooth, agile goalie who moves around well in his crease and is rarely caught out of position .. plays a strong butterfly game and possesses some great reflexes .. his quick legs makes him almost impossible to beat down low for shooters and his glove hand is magnetic, it catches everything within its perimeter .. the fifth hole might be his weak spot though and his rebound control could be polished further .. still one of the absolutely best netminders of the tournament.

Anton Glovatsky (2006), RW, 6-4-2-6

Review: Had very strong chemistry in the offensive zone with Andrei Popov for the whole tournament and much thanks to that, Glovatsky ended up being the second best scorer on the Russian team, despite perhaps a little less flash than his linemate.

Scouting: While many Russians just got out there and deked until they inevitably lost the puck, Glovatsky tried a more thinking mans game .. good offensive hockey sense, smooth in all his actions and generally has a knack of anticipation what's is going to happen on the ice .. can set up his teammates as well as seemingly effortlessly get scoring chances for himself .. as most Russians, shaky defensive coverage, but get points for at least showing hints of trying .. has an accurate wrist shot and of course handles the puck with elegance.

Mikhail Glukhov (2006), RW, 6-1-0-1

Review: Provided flashes of brilliance as the third link in the line with Vasyunov and Asimov for most of the tournament. It all ended in disaster however, as he took an unnecessary penalty late in the quarterfinal game, which allowed Canada to score a back breaking 3-1 goal in the third period.

Scouting: Quick and very slippery skater who is always hard to catch, despite not having the blistering extra gear .. very good with his feet as well as with his stick in small and tight spaces, allowing him to create time and space for himself offensively .. doesn't display much of a shooting ability and could find better ways to utilize his teammates at times .. not the best decision maker and could end up stickhandling himself to death on occasion .. poor defensive coverage and the late penalty against Canada shows lacking hockey sense and maturity .. does however possess enough raw skill to make him worth at least one extra look.

General Impressions (posted 4.25.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

The seventh annual U18 World Championships is now over and the players, along with most of the 200 NHL scouts attending the tournament, have now left southern Sweden.

Despite the fact the tournament showcased the talent of many future stars in the world of hockey, it went by fairly unnoticed in two hosting Swedish cities, Halmstad and Angelholm. The latter being the hometown of the former NHL-er and Olympic gold medal winner Kenny Jonsson.

Only the final game managed to draw more than a 1000 people in Angelholm, a city where the local team Rogle, playing in the Swedish second league Allsvenskan, drew an average crowd of almost 2800 people this season. One reason for the poor attendance figures, was obviously the early Swedish quarterfinal exist. Another one was the lack of marketing of the tournament, which some blamed on the Swedish Hockey Association, who were the organizers.

"Their understanding of marketing are very much lacking in general. Not even I knew about the tournament until I by accident found an article about it on some website", said Boris Lamby, who is running a major Swedish annual prospect camp in Stockholm.

A majority of the people actually attending the tournament, were, like Lamby, involved in the business of hockey in one way or another. At least the one's that were there, had an eye opening experience in terms of the quality of international junior hockey.

"I'm really impressed by the pace of the game out there as well as the individual skill of the players. I'd say the level of play is well on par with Allsvenskan", said Michael Johansson, a former player with Rogle as well as AIK and Lulea in the Swedish Elite League.

Born in the USA

The classic Bruce Springsteen hit song 'Born in the USA', was played in the arena every time Team USA scored a goal in the tournament, which turned out be quite a frequent occurrence. The Americans ended up with their second straight U18 gold medal and clearly deserved their success.

From the solid goaltending by Joe Palmer, an excellent defensive anchor in Erik Johnson and hard skating offense from the likes of Bill Sweatt, Mike Carman and Patrick Kane, USA was simply the best, strongest and the most mature team out there.

Don't expect Team Finland to host many, if any, first rounders in this year's draft from their silver team at the U18's. But much like in the Olympics, the Finn's showed that hockey truly is a team game, as they surprisingly managed to win their group in the preliminary round, threw an upset against Canada in the semi-final and then gave the United States a pretty good scare in the final.

The Czech's had one of the tournament's most noticeable characters in their head coach, Martin Pesout. Pesout single-handedly kept the decibel level high even in an almost empty arena at times, with his quite vocal coaching of the Czech team. After a slow start in the tournament, the Czech's, carried by a strong top line consisting of Michael Frolik, Jiri Tlusty and David Kveton, grew into it and played their best hockey in the playoff round, when it mattered the most. In the end, they went home to Prague with a well deserved bronze medal.

Team Canada played tremendous hockey – in one game, the quarterfinal against Russia. The rest of the tournament was however largely a very forgettable affair for last year's silver medallists. At least an international audience got the first chance to see the 15-year old sensation John Tavares. Given his young age, few could have been disappointed with what they saw of him in Sweden.

Stay tuned for expensive scouting notes and analysis on the player's and team involved in the 2006 U18 World Championship.