World U18 Championship: Day Five

McKeen's Director of scouting Max Giese is in Fargo, North Dakota for the World U-18 Championship and concludes his daily blog with a brief look at some prospects from Team Canada and Team U.S.A. Throughout the tournament, McKeen's will also be providing notes on several prospects from all the teams, as well as providing comments from several notable scouts at the tournament.

Today was all about the North American teams, as I was able to catch both Team Canada and Team U.S.A. Team Canada didn't make it easy on themselves against the Czechs in which at one point they were down 3-0 heading into the third period. They tied things up quickly in the third and ended up winning the game 4-3 in overtime. The Czechs are an awful team this year and were beaten by Germany the previous day, but they need to be commended for their strong performance against the Canadians. Team U.S.A. on the other hand blew out the Slovaks 11-0.

One game does not make an opinion when scouting players and it's a good thing that I'll be able to see Canada play tomorrow, because most of their players were big time disappointments today. Leading the way in that category was defenseman Simon Despres. In our midterm rankings, we had him in the top ten, but unless he plays much better tomorrow, I won't be able to support that. Don't get me wrong, some team will take him in the first round, but it wouldn't be me at the draft table calling his name. On the positive side, Dylan Olsen was a revelation and looks like a pro already. He's big, agile, and smart with tons of physical upside. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go in the top 15. Another defenseman that was impressive was Calvin dehaan. Sure, he's slight, but few defensemen are smart as he is at both ends and he reminds me a little bit of Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

For the Americans, one player that is beginning to generate a buzz is Ryan Bourque, the son of Ray Bourque. He's going to play for the Quebec Remparts next season and the fans there are going to love him. Cam Fowler is going to challenge Taylor Hall and Kirill Kabanov next year for a top two selection. Fowler's defensive partner Jonathan Merrill looks like the next Alex Pietrangelo. It was interesting to hear scouts talk about Jeremy Morin, as they are polarized on their opinions, as some love him and others can't stand him. Drew Shore was a favorite of mine early in the year and I still like him, but it's more of a lukewarm feeling now.

This will be my last blog post here for the World U-18 Championships, as tomorrow, after the Sweden vs. Canada game, I'll be heading home. I appreciate all of you who read my daily recaps and I hope you are anxious to see the flood of detailed scouting reports that will beginning to come in soon from yours truly.