WJC Switzerland: Romy Oh My

Switzerland and Germany appear to be heading in opposite directions when it comes to developing NHL talent. The Swiss put a scare into the Americans and avoided relegation at the recent WJC with a pair of 5-0 shutouts over Belarus and Germany, easily the tournie's most disappointing team. We review the performances of the draftees including Swiss standouts Kevin Romy and Philippe Furrer.

Philippe Furrer (NYR), D

A standout and physical force throughout the tournament .. consistently worked hard every shift and showed an intelligence in all areas of the game .. formed defensive nucleus, played huge minutes in all situations, yet also found ways to attack .. failed to register a point, but not for lack of trying .. stole the puck while killing off a 5-on-3 against the Slovaks and got a nice shot on goal .. showed a penchant for joining the rush and good confidence in his shooting abilities .. hard wrist shot and slapper .. strong, well-constructed body which he uses liberally to punish crease invaders .. a real battler and hard-nosed physical presence in all three zones .. moves well for his size, but could use improvements in his skating mechanics and overall quickness .. uses long powerful strides, looks rock-solid in lower gears, but tends to kick up his heels and sacrifice a little speed when forced to accelerate rapidly - nothing that can't be corrected .. defended effectively for the most part, though he got caught running around a few times trying to cover up for others .. played a textbook 2-on-1 against the US, holding middle ground and taking away passing option .. named 'player of the game' against Slovakia and voted one of three stars for his team .. definitely proved that he could be NHL material with added quickness. (6-0-0-0, E, 10 PIM)

Kevin Romy (Phi), C

Alternate captain centered Swiss top unit .. engine-room, sparkplug type player with skills .. not blessed with great straightline speed, but cuts and turns sharply and has a quick first step .. also a smart player, displays very good game-reading skills and gets to loose pucks swiftly .. delivered excellent efforts against the US and Germany in particular .. led several rushes up ice against the Germans and grinded effectively along the boards .. plays agitating style, likes to run around and dish out minor elbows and stickjabs .. was a magnet for slashes and hacks against Team Slovakia, which paid off when he drew a cross-checking penalty .. strong on the cycle, solid short passing game .. likes to keep moving and avoid getting stuck in traffic .. threw big hit at end of US game perhaps out of frustration and threw some nicely-timed hits against the Czechs .. strong penalty killer and forechecker, gets low and spread out to block passing lanes .. produced one superb sequence against the Americans that saw him make two smart defensive blocks, generate a shot on goal at the other end, and then hustle back to squeeze out the puckcarrier along the boards .. he looked exhausted but dug into the reserves .. good control of his stick .. fast shot release, but could use more power .. tried to do too much at times .. coughed the puck up on several occasions attempting risky moves .. errors aside, this was a gritty showing from Romy who demonstrated that he could likely make a smooth transition to North America. (6-3-2-5, E, 8 PIM)

Roman Wick (Ott), RW

Scores high marks for appearances .. an impressive package of size and skill .. possesses a strong elegant stride, his long limbs move crisply and with marginal effort, gets remarkable thrust from minimum leg drive .. smooth, talented stickhandler .. created a partial breakaway with a sharp burst of speed against Team USA, but wasn't able to even get a shot off against Borer's restraining stickwork .. would like to see him fight through obstructions with greater persistence as he gives up a little too easily on the whole .. also tends to glide around defensively and needs to make a greater commitment away from the puck .. likes to cherry-pick at times and wait for the long bomb around the opposing blueline .. uses his size to good advantage sometimes, made an excellent pass against the Czechs with a defender draped all over him .. demonstrated a willingness to park himself in the slot area and was tough to move when he decided to stay .. often, however, he plays too fragile as if he's not supposed to be touched .. he also gets knocked off his feet far too easily still, and doesn't battle enough to keep himself from falling down .. lacks desperation in most areas, particularly around the opponent's net .. may have finished a few prime chances had he really bore down .. boasts an excellent pair of hands, superb hand-eye coordination and a deceptive change of pace that fools defenders .. too casual for this level of competition - could have dominated this tournament had he brought a life-or-death work ethic and better overall tempo. (6-1-3-4, plus-3, 0 PIM)

Julien Sprunger (Min), LW

Towering yet stringy winger lacked the strength and tempo to succeed at this level .. played like more of a finesse scorer here, not much nastiness and a general lack of energy compared to what he's shown in the past .. a gangly skater with good long strides though lacking power due to his weak, spindly legs .. needs to develop a quicker first step burst .. top speed is decent .. boasts huge reach and casts big shadow in front of the net, but also took a beating in the process .. too easily knocked off his feet for a player of his size .. lacked impact whenever he did try to throw a hit .. plays shy at times, waving his stick at puckcarriers rather than steamrolling them no matter what the consequences .. needs to add muscle all over as his 6-foot-4 frame consists mainly of legs .. saw very limited icetime against the Czechs, but picked up the physical play against Germany and showed good chemistry with Roman Wick during the final game against Slovakia .. the pair dominated at times even though the final scoreline suggested otherwise .. decent looking prospect who has plenty of work to do before thinking of an NHL career. (6-0-0-0, minus-1, 2 PIM)

Kai Hospelt (SJ), C

A lack of star firepower on the German squad left Hospelt as the de facto top center .. in fact, he was the only drafted skater on a disappointingly bland German squad .. failed to record a point in the tournament and generated just eight shots on goal .. also tied for worst plus-minus on the team .. more a cerebral shutdown type than a big scorer, though he did demonstrate an ability to get himself into open scoring positions .. solidly built, moves well and has decent puck skills .. played with good determination, kept working even when his team was getting badly beaten .. does excellent job shadowing his check and is very aggressive on the penalty kill .. even displayed a bit of a temper against Canada .. produced sporadic moments throughout the tournament but nothing spectacular or sustained.. solid at physical play, excels at separating opponents from the puck and created a few prime setups for his teammates, particular in the game against Belarus. (6-0-0-0, minus-7, 6 PIM)