Team Europe Announces Their S88 WJC Roster!

[McLovin 393]

 

 

 

Team Europe has announced their roster for the S88 World Junior Championship, and we've got a lot to cover in this, so let's not waste any time and just jump right into it!

 

This is an incredibly strong team that's been selected to represent the continent of Europe here, so in this media spot we're gonna cover strengths and weaknesses, as well as team power rankings and where to expect to see Team Europe end up in the tournament. Before any of that, however, it's important to make note of how significant this tournament is for GM McLovin, who announced his retirement from managing in the WJC about 18 seasons ago during his bronze and gold medal runs with Team USA in S69 & 70 respectively.

 

GM McLovin had been out of the business for a long, LONG time. He was selected as the General Manager of Team USA in S69 after showing interest in entering management in the VHLM, and off a recommendation from his mentor @Jubo, who at the time was General Manager of the Helsinki Titans. GM McLovin would win Bronze in a comeback story of the ages after barely squeaking into competition for medal contention. Team USA was last place, but after some motivational speeches in the locker room and some lineup changes, he completely turned the team around and got them a bronze medal. Unsatisfied with his work, he reapplied for GM of Team USA the following season. After bringing back a couple players and selecting a few new ones as well, he built a true underdog team that went on to upset Canada in the Gold Medal game to bring gold back to the States. Looking to end on a high note, he shortly thereafter announced his retirement from WJC management to assist GM Jubo in Helsinki for three seasons before retiring from management (for the time being. )

 

The reason I bring this up is that it can really only mean one thing, GM McLovin is aiming to reenter the management game. He's built strong teams before, as shown previously, as well as assisted GM Jubo in getting the Titans to the Finals in S73. With his application being accepted for GMing Team Europe, and his announcement earlier today of the players representing Europe in the tournament, time will tell where GM McLovin takes his skills into the rest of the VHL. Until then however, we can only wait and see. With all that out of the way, let's get to the real exciting part of this team!

 

Offense:

 

This team has got a remarkably strong offense, based upon individual players point totals and experience within the minor leagues of the VHL, these guys know how to score goals. With the likes of Francesco Mancini @GioSivo, Jasper Davis @Josh, and BjorkaBjorn BjornaBjorkson @JardyB10 headlining as some of the best forwards in the entire tournament. Their VHLE careers thus far speak for themselves, and it's going to be interesting to see how their player types and chemistry blend when they play top minutes against the rest of the world in the tournament. Owen Lazaro @traphag, Tullemore Dew @Spade18 and Legacy Gaming @Gaming Ringleader make up the middle core of this offense. What's interesting here is that GM McLovin has gone for a more two-way lineup possibility with these players. We have the elite offensive production of Legacy Gaming and Tullemore Dew here, in addition to a strong two-way winger option in Owen Lazaro. While he doesn't put the numbers of his two likely linemates, his defensive coverage and physicality will do wonders in keeping players off his line mates and bodies in front of the net to screen shots. It's going to be very interesting to see how they collectively play when puck drop comes. Rounding out the forward core, we have Steve Lattimer @pugsood, Viktor Jensen @Advantage and Nils Andersson @Viper. What's amazing about these three is that it shows top to bottom, there is offensive production everywhere. Steve Lattimer and Nils Andersson both had very strong S88 campaigns in the VHLE, and Viktor Jensen is currently the leading scorer in the JST by far with 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in only 23 games! He's simply a juggernaut of production, and the fact that he's going to play only 2nd or 3rd line ice time is criminal, so you'll probably see him move up the lineup should his game transition to the international stage. Overall, this is a well oiled machine of production, and will be the backbone and carry of this team moving forward. It's without saying however, without these next two categories, the offense would be able to do nothing, so let's cover the blueline and goalies and what they're going to provide in the WJC.

 

Defense & Goaltending:

 

In the WJC, power rankings have been used to assess the teams likelihood of determining how and where a team will end up. Based upon these preliminary power rankings, Team Europes defense is ranked last, as well as it's goaltending. This is mostly due to a lack of European defenders and goalies being eligible for this seasons WJC, but they still provide a strong and determined group that will put up a fight no matter what. Without further ado, let's take a look at who's guarding the goalie and keeping pucks out of the net in a single segment. Staring us off, we have Admir Bala @Tyler. Admir is a very strong and capable two-way defender. With 74 points in 72 games in the VHLE, Europe is going to be leaning on this guy to quarterback powerplays and kill off penalties for sure. Expect to see him putting up some numbers, as well as high ice time figures for how much Europe is going to need him. Next up, we have Eurydyka Sklodowska Dudzinska @diamond_ace. While his name may be difficult to understand, his defensive game absolutely isn't. He's a defensive defenseman through and through, and when paired with Admir Bala, you got a recipe for success. A hard hitter and shot blocker, ESD as he's been called is going to provide much needed defense on this team, so expect to see his special teams ice time up there too. Tord Yvel @Trazan is another similar case to Admir. Strong two-way game, and a very good vision on sending passes up the ice. His game combined with Tyler Swifts @lilchrist incredibly strong defensive game is going to guarantee Europe has a fighting chance across the board. Despite being ranked in the power rankings low, Team Europes defense is remarkably capable of getting it done, and the player types GM McLovin has selected was not by accident. A strong mix of offensive and defensive capabilities is going to carry this team to glory, and I, myself, cannot wait to see them all out of the ice. Wrapping this up we got the tendies, Karl Herzlich @LastGoon007 and Jeffrey Blake @ElementStyx9. Herzlich and Blake both currently play for the Philadelphia Reapers of the VHLM, who just won the Founder's Cup. This winning mentality will absolutely carry over into the WJC, and they bring a capable and formidable mindset into the locker room that will be the backbone of Team Europe. 

 

Conclusion:

Man, this is an exciting team right here. Between the stories that have been already written with some of these players making Team Europe in previous World Junior tournaments, to the new stories that will be written, this is an exciting time to be a fan of Europe. Really, it's an exciting time to be a fan of hockey in general. Seeing these players do their thing in the coming weeks is only going to enhance their game, teach them lessons, and propel them even further upon their already illustrious careers. Overall, GM McLovin has built a strong team. Not one purely based off numbers, but off of chemistry and player architypes. What we can expect from Europe this tournament, with that being said, is another underdog story. GM McLovin loves building teams that people will write off as not being strong or capable enough in winning it all, but he's proven before that it is a winning recipe, and this iteration of Europes representatives is no different. An absolutely lethal offense matched with pre-scouted defensive playstyles catered towards enhancing the defense, as well as Cup winning goalies, how could anyone say that Team Europe doesn't have a shot at gold? I'm extremely biased when I say that Europe is absolutely bringing home gold, and that everyone writing them off as just an obstacle for the Canadians and Americans to overcome is just not right. Europe is gonna give the WJC hell, and I cannot wait to see the boys in action. It's also worth mentioning that GM McLovin is most definitely retiring from WJC management for good after this as he's aiming for management position in the VHL leagues, so this is truly his last hurrah in the international stage, but of course, there is always the World Cup. So we'll see what he does there, too . Games are set to begin soon, so stay tuned and keep up to date with your new favorite team! Let's go Europe!

 

 

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