World Junior A Challenge Re-Cap

Canada west met Canada East for the Gold Medal at the inaugural World Junior A Challenge. Team West scored the games first four goals but Team East fought back to make it a one goal game with three unanswered goals but couldn't burry the fourth one as team West took the gold. Slovakia made the bronze medal game and gave the Russians all they could handle on the strength of 2008 eligible goaltender Jaroslav Janus, but the skilled Russians were too much for Slovakia and they walked away with the Bronze medal with a shoot out victory.

TEAM WEST:

Riley Nash (2007), F

Distributed the puck very well from below the hash marks and finished the tournament with four assist.. was at his best working from the half wall on the power play .. is a solid two way player who picked up his man on the back check .. protects the puck well and cycles the puck effectively .. upgraded upper body strength would suit his game better, but his balance is fine .. steady skater with deceptive speed but is not a burner.

Casey Pierro-Zabotel (2007), F

He will be a popular "sleeper" at the 2007 Draft for his intriguing blend of size, speed, and hockey sense .. leads the BCHL in scoring currently and collected 3 goals, 6 assist to finish second on Team West in scoring .. his top gear really stood out as once he gains some steam he absolutely blows past the opposition at this level and can be elusive with the puck .. could improve his strength on the puck .. uses his prodigious frame to screen the goalie on the power play and has no hesitations about driving the net with or without the puck .. on top of all that his hands are pretty soft and he seemed to be in the right place at the right time, giving a consistent effort away from the puck although I would like to see him use his frame as a physical advantage.

Kyle Turris (2007), F

Dominated the tournament including a 4 goals performance against Russia and finished with 5 goals, 6 assist while winning the tournaments Most Valuable Player award .. what separates the great players from the good ones is instincts and hockey sense, both things that he has in spades .. finds the quiet space in the offensive zone and is a lethal finisher, has a heavy wrist shot with pin point accuracy .. has that quick release you need to score in the pros and also has a good one timer ..has an arsenal of in close moves on the goalie .. is a creative play maker, identifies the open man instantly and moves the puck quickly tape to tape .. can thread the pass through tight lanes .. protects the puck well .. has soft hands with a few tricky moves .. accelerates swiftly with a quick, smooth stride and has a separation gear to get behind or around the defense .. shows good puck pursuit and effort away from the puck .. has great hockey sense and the natural ability to create offense .. I believe he can thrive at the next level thanks to his gifted mind for the game, and should challenge for a high selection in the first round .. teams will kick themselves for passing up on him .. strength seems to be the only issue, yet I see that as an upside as he isn't close to peeking yet .. I have no doubts he could thrive at a higher level of play.

Ben Winnett (2007), F

His skating stood out the most as when he turned on the jets he gave the opposition fits finishing with 3 goals and two assist .. has a lanky frame with decent height, but will need to bulk up as he can be pushed off the puck too easily .. slippery when he has the puck with some elusive one on one ability .. can really fly past the opposition and can hit a third gear to the outside .. is a real exciting player to watch with the ability skate and score but didn't stand out as much as a few of his teammates .. has a lot of upside as he can create and score, but he's still very raw .. committed to the University of Michigan.

RUSSIA:

Alexander Vasiliev (2007), F

Floats around defensively at times but was willing to get involved physically in the offensive zone, and grinded through traffic .. will need to improve his strength as he did get knocked off his feet a couple of times .. has soft hands with tricky moves and wasn't shy about attacking the defenseman one on one.. possesses a quick release with some natural scoring ability that was evident despite not scoring a goal .. acceleration stands out but he still lacks elite explosiveness.

Nikolai Lukyanchikov (2007), D

Had a solid showing despite only having one assist in five games .. at his best when on the power play .. possesses a heavy point shot that he quickly releases, allowing the shot to get to the net frequently .. keeps it low and created plenty of rebounds .. was just o.k. at quarterbacking the power .. has good wheels with soft hands and is comfortable handling the puck.

Egor Averin (2007), F

Wasn't the player that he is hyped to be by other prospect services and only registered one goal, no assists in five games .. moved puck well but besides that he was very quiet .. despite his apparent hand skill and vision of the ice .. he seemed passive and shy as he didn't challenge the opposition much one on one and was hesitant to go into traffic .. saw his stock drop as the tournament progressed .. didn't score in the bronze medal shoot out.

Sergei Korostin (2007), F

Definitely the best Russian Prospect at the tournament finishing with 2 goals and four assist .. blessed with silky soft hands .. displayed the most dangerous moves one on one of any player at the tournament as he can really dangle and can swiftly cut laterally .. has lively feet with exceptional acceleration .. every stride produces impressive power and can hit a fine top gear .. isn't your typical Russian as he likes to involve his teammates and distribute the puck .. a creative play maker and can execute a slick pass at full speed or standing still on the half wall.. plays on PK .. is a competitive player who wants to win and doesn't cheat his defensive effort .. he anticipates well, created a few turnovers as he can strip the opposition then take it the other way .. doesn't finish his checks .. displayed a few game breaking spurts of end to end rushes.. quickly releases his wrist shot that he likes to keep low with fairly good accuracy although I stress he's more of a play maker than a finisher .. stronger on his feet than most Russians and loves to challenge the opposition one on one.. his favorite move is when he takes the puck from the outside to the slot to unleash a shot .. real fancy in close finisher in tight and scored a goal in the shoot out for the bronze medal, the game in which he scored Russia's only goal .. has a little Alexander Radulov in him.

Vitaly Karamnov (2007), F

Had a methodical tournament with 2 goals, and 2 assist.. wasn't as flashy as some of his teammates but was effective in the end at getting his name on the stat sheet .. his shot and scoring instincts stood out most .. he's a finisher.. he has a lightning quick release and he can pick corners with his shot .. finds the open ice and sneaks into prime scoring areas .. I prefer Korostin at this point.

Vladimir Bakika (2007), F

Displayed a soft pair of mitts as he really dangled the puck on occasion .. has an arsenal of creative one on one moves .. once utilized a Dennis Savard spin'o rama to elude the defender .. not a blazing top end skater but has swift agility with rapid acceleration and can change gears deceptively .. elusive in tight spaces .. was fairly strong on his feet for a player of his average size.

Sergey Gayduchenko (2007), G

Towering butterfly goaltender that was decent down low but exposed up high .. challenged the shooter and took away the angle well .. smooth skater for a goalie of his size with above average lateral mobility .. could cover the whole crease with a lateral push from the butterfly ..good foot work for a goalie of his size .. struggled to see the puck through traffic .. weak glove side as he was beaten there routinely almost .. was better down low where his wide butterfly took away the majority of the lower portion of the net .. but his leg quickness was average and would open wholes if he was forced to move .. has some intriguing raw ability like his size and footwork but has a long way to go as his reflexes are below average .. lost both games he played in and finished with a poor .839 svp while his teammate Dmitiry Voloshin won all three games and finished with .937 svp.

SLOVAKIA

Jaroslav Janus (2008), G

The best Slovakian prospect at the tournament by a far margin and should see his stock soar, as he's not even eligible until 2008 .. lead the tournament with 125 shots against in only four games and still posted a .928 svp .. capable of carrying a team on his back and almost stole the bronze medal away from Russia with a 48 save, one goal against performance .. has the style of a North American goalie .. always in position thanks to taking the proper angles and his ability to anticipate the play .. is poised and patient as he doesn't get rattled .. has economical movements, often making the saves look easy .. rebound control was superb as he always controlled the first shot .. did everything you could ask of him as his team left him out hanging to dry to often .. his legs are cat like quick .. a goaltending prospect to keep an eye on for the 2008 draft as he's already internationally established as a consistent goaltender with exceptional fundamentals and strong athleticism.

Ondrej Rusnak (2007), F

Was often found in front of the oppositions net and lead Slovakia in scoring with 3 goals and one assist .. uses his long reach to quickly pounce on loose rebounds and cash them in for a goal .. quickly releases his snap & wrist shots with adequate accuracy .. smart player who positioned himself in all three zones on the ice although he will need to improve his first step quickness and could use his size to his advantage more physically.