WJC: Ovechkin Admits Sub-Par Play

Notes on selected performers at the U-20 World Junior Championships including Alexander Ovechkin, Lukas Kaspar, Jiri Hudler and Petr Kanko.

Alexander Ovechkin (2004)

Russian coach Rafail Ishmatov gave Ovechkin a mark of three (out of five) for his play in the tournament, indicating a below average performance .. scored a huge, clutch goal mid-way through the third period in the quarter-final against Finland, fighting off four Finns and unleashing a devastating wristshot up high .. always dangerous with the puck in the neutral zone, utilizing his strong skating skills to drive the net .. the Finnish-tight checking game limited him, but lack of coherence among his linemates was part of the problem .. was ejected in the fifth-place game versus Slovakia for elbowing after a hard hit .. scored his fifth goal of the tournament on PP with a heavy shot from the point .. admitted his unhappiness with his performance in the tournament after the game, vowing to play better in the future .. despite an average tournament for his standards, we were very impressed with Alexander's candidness with the media .. was very calm and polite with his thoughts and has been very quick to admit his mistakes, making no excuses .. we're not concerned with his development one bit; his stranglehold on the first overall spot in the draft remains as strong as before.

Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis Blues)

Played a sub-par game against Finland .. looked nervous and gave up big rebounds near the crease .. tired and seemed to lose his composure as the game went on .. allowed a seemingly weak game-winner to the Finns with 13 seconds remaining in the quarter-final match (on a play that was clearly offside), although the puck was moving and was partially screened .. most of the goals against the Russians were scored off careless turnovers, so the blame cannot be pinned solely on him, although he did not show the ability to win games on his own as he did in the earlier ReMax Russia-CHL challenge .. struggled handling major traffic around the crease.

Konstantin Korneev (Montreal Canadiens)

Led the Russian blueline troops .. mobile player whose agile skating skills and quickness allow for a fine positional game .. no stranger to physical hockey despite smallish frame .. made a good, clean hipcheck versus Finland .. above-average vision and plays well in transition .. Mature, but sometimes unassuming and does not possess game-breaking elite skills and strength .. good, accurate outlet passer .. an experienced, calming influence on an otherwise shaky Russian blueline.

Lukas Kaspar (2004)

After sitting out the first Czech game, Kaspar moved to the first line for the Czechs before settling in on the second line in the game against Switzerland .. has a pure goal-scorer's mentality and instincts .. an offense-first player likes to get into an appropriate shooting position in order to unleash his powerful slapshot on the wing, even strength and on the powerplay .. excellent stickhandler plays very strong on the puck and rarely loses it .. looks somewhat lazy, but should be described more as a player with a sluggish appearance .. not visible in the game against Canada, but utilized his patented slapper on several occasions .. terrific release and quick backswing on the shot .. looks raw and fairly one-dimensional despite full ability to handle the physical aspects of the game.

Jakub Sindel (2004)

The Czechs utilized mainly three lines in the game against Switzerland and Sindel did not see playing time until the third period .. did not look comfortable and struggled to find his groove, which was clear as he struggled with his passing game .. project has been a complete non-factor in the tournament, but his age and lack of experience must be taken into account.

Ondrej Nemec (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Probably the most skilled blueliner on the Czech roster .. mobile skater, he moves well laterally and intercepts passes effectively .. an important member on the PP and joins the rush well .. had many problems in the defensive zone, especially against the stronger Canadian forwards .. must bulk up and work on tying up his man .. completely lost his man on Canada's first goal in the semi-final .. seems to lack focus on the ice at times, must concentrate on defense better as he has a tendency to day dream .. redeemed himself later with a power play goal with a hard, low one-timer on the powerplay.

Ladislav Smid (2004)

Tall Czech must add bulk to his frame .. needs more upper and lower body strength to dictate the action in the defensive zone .. a smooth skater with excellent lateral movement is also a smooth back skater .. very poised and confident on the powerplay .. received an assist versus Canada due to some heads-up work keeping the puck within Canada's zone .. logged major minutes against both Canada and Slovakia .. does not have full confidence in his slapshot and does not use it enough on the powerplay.

Jiri Hudler (Detroit Red Wings)

Not a particularly impressive tournament for the forward expected to dominate, but had his best game of the event against Slovakia .. received loads of icetime, even on the penalty kill .. scored the game-winner on a rebound in the second period .. tends to shy away from physical contact, which is troubling .. too concerned with complaining to the referees and drawing penalties .. has been accused of diving several times at the tournament.

Jakub Klepis (Buffalo Sabres)

Adopted the leadership duties on the Czech team .. the finest phyisical presence on the squad .. always finishes his checks and ties up his man well along the boards .. fine skater with excellent acceleration for his size .. must simplify his offensive game, as he tends to stickhandle to an unnecessary extra degree .. has a crisp, accurate wrist shot with which he scored in the quarter-final match against Slovakia .. very good release on both the slapper and the wrister, but must utilize his arsenal more .. an unspectacular player, but blue collar and responsible.

Peter Kanko (Los Angeles Kings)

Plays a North American style game, but struggled to convert offensively .. willing to challenge any defenseman on the rush .. excellent speed and protects the puck exceptionally well with his size and good lower body strength .. has a mean streak and likes to get into scrums .. we're surprised by his inability to pull the trigger near the crease in this tournament after coming up clutch last spring during Kitchener's Memorial Cup run.

Martin Vagner (Dallas Stars)

Hasn't fulfilled on the promise he showed in his draft year .. played on the third defensive pair for the full tournament .. does not use his size enough and takes undisciplined penalties, including several for cross-checking and one for interference against Canada .. not quick, nor strong enough against bigger forwards and does not seem always willing to pay the physical price .. Vagner and partner Linhart let Nigel Dawes deke past them for the first score in the semifinal game.