World-U18 Championship: Canada

Poor goaltending and lack of depth on defense doomed Canada from the start, as they failed to win a medal and took home fourth place. Some of their prospects shone, like defenseman Dylan Olsen, while other prospects disappointed, such as defenseman Simon Despres. McKeen's director of scouting Max Giese filed this report on Team Canada.

Dylan Olsen (2009), D, Camrose Kodiaks

An athletic horse of a defenseman that plays like a pro and deserves to be a top-15 selection this June .. has got it all - the size, smarts, and skill .. an agile, all-access skater with powerful strides .. has a long reach and fluently guides the puck with his soft hands .. looks like a pro coming out of his own end with the puck and delivers an NHL-caliber first pass .. his passes are hard and on tape, plus he astutely uses the boards to get the puck to teammates that are having their lanes blocked by opponents .. has the offensive skill and instincts to play the powerplay, where he acts as the triggerman with a cannon of a shot .. looks and plays bigger than his listed size of 6-foot-2 and 188 pounds .. already has the size to punish opponents, but there is yet another level of physicality he is going to reach and this side of his game will blossom once he fills out his frame with even more muscle strength .. defensively, he overstretches himself at times and tries to accomplish too much on his own .. utilized on both special team units and formed the top pairing along side Calvin de Haan .. was an anchor for Team Canada here and should see his draft stock rise dramatically .. has ample time to develop beginning next season at Minnesota Duluth, but count on him being a pro soon.

Calvin deHaan (2009), D, Oshawa Generals

Despite his slender appearance, de Haan is a quality two-way defenseman with acute hockey sense .. an all-compass skater that carries the puck with his head on a swivel .. poised with ice water running through his veins, de Haan finds an outlet and rarely makes mistakes under situations that would make most players crumble .. exudes patience in possession with the ability to survey the ice proficiently and his deceptive skill set enables him to smoothly evade the forecheck before moving the puck sharply .. displayed a nice touch of accuracy with his passing and the ability to thread the needle while quarterbacking the powerplay, although he still needs to add more velocity to his shot .. despite only carrying 180 pounds on his 6-foot-0 frame, de Haan is an underrated player defensively and physically .. he's small and slight, but he's hockey strong and is courageous going into the corners to deliver or take a hit to make the play .. a few times it looked like his man had him beat, but his bright understanding of the angles allowed him to recover and snuff the play out .. has deceptive strength and he places his body in a way that allows him to gain positioning on his opponent during a one-on-one battle .. would be a wise selection in the latter half of the first-round for a team that plays a puck possession style of hockey.

Simon Despres (2009), D, St. John Sea Dogs

One of the bigger disappointments of the World U-18 Championships, Despres has all the tools to develop into a fine NHL defenseman, but his play here raised concerns about his resourcefulness and upside .. once in awhile he did put those tools together and he emerged as a force on the ice that could move the puck and defend well .. someone will take Despres in the first round because of his size and skating ability .. a smooth skater for a player of his size with good lateral mobility .. too often, Despres would freeze up and appeared to go brain dead when the opposition challenged him .. struggled to make plays under pressure and his game suffered from brain cramps .. doesn't work the puck well on the point and he doesn't seem to know what to do with it even when he has plenty of time and space to operate with .. doesn't work well off the puck while in the offensive zone, as he's devoid of ingenuity .. dead-ended himself carrying the puck and forced pucks into the opponents legs and sticks .. wasn't much better defensively and he needs to tighten up his coverage .. was simply beaten too often and at times, he hesitated to make a play because he didn't want to take the hit .. however, he did do a nice job laying out to block shots .. a project.

Brayden McNabb (2009), D, Kootenay Ice

McNabb is a simple, stay-at-home defenseman that takes care of his own end .. despite being a mobile and fluid skater for a player of his size, McNabb is stiff handling the puck and doesn't have any offensive instincts .. did an adequate job making the first pass, but he'll never play the powerplay .. has a great reach and can suffocate opponents along the wall with his size .. still needs to quicken his feet some more and was caught on occasion on the wrong side of the neutral zone dots .. has pro upside even if it's limited, as he possesses the size and mobility to play the role of a stay at home, shutdown defender if all works out for his development.

Stefan Elliott (2009), D, Saskatoon Blades

Didn't receive much icetime because he was utilized as the teams' seventh defenseman .. most of his icetime came on the powerplay, where he showcased his offensive tools .. can skate, has some skill, and owns a good shot .. acted mainly as the shooter while on the point, although he was guilty of forcing shots into legs and didn't consistently get it through .. his poor defensive play was exposed here, as he was slow to tie up his man in front and too often, his tardy defensive reads lead to blown coverage .. also needing to get stronger, Elliot was overmatched physically and got ran over on several occasions.

Taylor Doherty (2009), D, Kingston Frontenacs

An absolute monster on skates at 6-foot-8, 203 pounds, Doherty skates and handles the puck fairly well considering his size, but he's dumb as a rock and his hockey sense is awful .. with the puck, Doherty will have three open options and will take the fourth .. his poor hockey sense forces him into playing the game at a sloth-like pace .. has the troubling habit of reverting back to behind his net when he has the puck in his own zone, in hopes of his defensive partner swinging by to move the puck for him .. has a great reach and was the largest player at the tournament .. some team will draft Doherty for his physical tools, but it will be a thorny developmental process because of his slow mental processor.

Erik Gudbranson (2010), D, Kingston Frontenacs

A big, mobile defenseman oozing skill, Gudbranson has everything you look for in a young player and now just needs to put it all together to become a high pick at the 2010 draft .. an athletic, long-legged skater that manipulated the puck seamlessly on the point where his big shot was a weapon .. occasionally telegraphed his intentions and coughed over the puck .. will need to upgrade his defensive play, as he blew his coverage at times and was beaten to the net quite a bit .. attempted to play physical, but he needs to strengthen his sizable frame because he was pushed right into his own goal.

John McFarland (2010), LW/C, Sudbury Wolves

If there is a proper adjective to describe John McFarland, it would be powerful .. he's a powerful skater, a powerful shooter, and it's all accentuated by a powerful body .. an amazing skater with a special thrust of power behind each stride, McFarland terrorizes defenders with his outside gear and also possesses the ability to burst east to west rapidly .. at times, he's guilty of skating too fast and will over skate a play .. wants the puck and overpowers goaltenders with his vast array of finishing armaments .. does a good job without the puck finding the scoring areas .. hasn't even filled out yet and he's already strong in the trenches .. for a player with his high-end offensive ability, it's nice to see him work so hard and play physical .. will need to work on his defensive play next season .. simply a powerful player and could be a top-ten overall selection next year.

Brett Connolly (2010), RW, Prince George Cougars

Very raw, but he's skilled and has that natural scoring touch all teams covet .. is a pure finisher with a great shot and he can really snipe .. saw a lot of time on the powerplay where he was stationed just off the half wall into the slot area so he could be a constant threat to get his shot on net .. was guilty of trying to do too much with the puck in the neutral zone when the right play was getting it deep .. needs to avoid overhandling the puck, as this led to some turnovers on the offensive blueline .. can skate and has some elegance with the puck, but he's rail thin and will need to get stronger to complete the package.

Ryan O'Reilly (2009), C, Erie Otters

Skating is the obvious weak point to his game, as his feet are ugly and he lacks quickness .. however, his hockey sense and anticipation are his strongest assets which balances everything out .. it doesn't matter how you get there as long as you get there and O'Reilly consistently gets into position before the puck even arrives .. an unselfish player with potent playmaking skills, O'Reilly has incomparable periphery vision and sees the whole ice .. a great passer that creatively utilized the boards .. has good hands and a strong stick .. goes like heck to the net when the opportunity presents itself and he finished because of proper stick placement .. doesn't appear to give a damn about scoring, rather he makes sure he's the third man high and that he's always in proper defensive positioning .. a phenomenal penalty killer that suffocates the point and he's an ace in the faceoff circle .. he's so strong on faceoffs, especially in clutch situations, that his team can diagram creative plays off them .. a character kid both on and off the ice, O'Reilly captained the team and any time he made the wrong play, he came back and made the right one the next time.

Zack Kassian (2009), RW, Peterborough Petes

A big winger that can hit, skate, and play a role in the NHL .. looking like a football player seeking to land a devastating cut back block on an opponent that has their head down .. Kassian delivered the hit of the tournament when he backchecked and crunched a Czech forward that was cutting towards the slot with the puck .. his size and physicality makes him an ideal winger .. when he's playing mean and using his size, Kassian is very effective .. can power his way to the net, but it was his understated passing skills that impressed the most .. capable of finding the open man with the puck and his hands aren't all that bad, it just appears as if he lacks confidence in them .. protects the puck well in tight around his body .. a strong skater for a player of his size that likes to get pucks in deep and to go work.

Peter Holland (2009), LW, Guelph Storm

A late addition to the team, Holland is an athletic winger with distinguishable finesse skills .. already has a good frame and will only get stronger, but he spends too much of his time on the perimeter and he wasn't physical at all .. he acted as a perimeter playmaker that delivered accurate passes to braver teammates that were in scoring areas .. he's talented and smooth, but he needs to play with more of a pulse than he did here to make the NHL.

Cody Eakin (2009), C, Swift Current Broncos

A solid two-way player with good speed and skating ability .. has above-average puck skills, but he neglected to capitalize on them because he chronically over handled the puck instead of making the right read with it .. committed some costly turnovers .. undersized and lost some one-on-one battles, although it wasn't from lack of effort .. blocked shots well .. was deployed on the penalty kill and he has the upside to perform this role in the NHL.

Ethan Werek (2009), LW, Kingston Frontenacs

Not a pretty skater and his first few strides need some work, although he can deceive defenders and slip by them wide .. was productive and smart with the puck, as he never overhandles it and acted both as a finisher and a set up man in the offensive zone .. has decent size, is not afraid of playing along the boards, and will only get stronger .. did a nice job fighting off checks.

Landon Ferraro (2009), RW, Red Deer Rebels

Was a pit-bull that played bigger than his size .. had a high motor while hitting hard and playing a relentless brand of hockey .. was willing to take a hit to make the play and did get pucks on net, but the offensive dimension to his game was not as dynamic as hyped to be at this tournament .. tended to disappear and the fact that he didn't showcase the offensive abilities he's said to have left him labeled as a disappointment.

Garrett Mitchell (2009), RW, Regina Pats

Excelled in his defensive role .. was one of Team Canada's top penalty killers and physically performed bigger than his size.. a quick and agile skater that played with a lot of energy.

Kyle Clifford (2009), LW, Barrie Colts

Plays his role of a gritty winger and will be a solid late round pick .. strong, plays hard, and runs over people .. had some opportunities around the net but he couldn't finish and couldn't score even on the empty net.

Byron Froese (2009), LW, Everett Silvertips

Did a nice job getting to the right place at the right time to produce offensively .. still was an unimpressive player that tried to do too much with the puck and often committed dumb mistakes when with it .. things that should just be engrained in a hockey player by now can't be taken for granted with Froese, as he wasn't even aware of the time on the clock .. multiple times he passed the puck to voices and not sticks, which lead to turnovers at the blueline.