Claimed: S55 World Juniors Roster Analysis

[Corco 1,267]

A Look at the S55 WJC Rosters

Canada's roster is loaded with talent (from left): Felix Savard, Chase Keller, Ay Ay Ron, and Xavier LaFlamme; are they the favorites to win it all?

 

Rosters/Lineups can be found HERE

 

Team Canada

Forwards: You would expect Canada to have superstar depth at all positions, however that oddly isn't the case here, with their forwards at least. The Great White North has three bona-fide dynamic offensive players in Xavier Laflamme, Chase Keller, and Corey Klopfenstein, but after that, it's really only depth players. Matt Denning, Ulyanin Namestnikov, and David Kiaskov are all promising players, but they're simply too raw right now to make a huge impact on the rink; look for them to develop into important players for this squad in the coming years though.

Defense: The Canadians have an elite top pairing in Felix Savard and Ay Ay Ron, especially considering that Savard will be well-rested after his first round elimination in the VHL playoffs for the Calgary Wranglers. The 2nd pairing of Smallwood and Bourdon should be a decent two-way duo, especially with Bourdon looking to improve his draft stock. The third pairing is composed of the pugilistic Jabby McFullO'Schmidt and promising rookie talent Keaton Louth. Louth's agency is new to the league, so playing with player's whose agencies have a long history in the league should only help his development.

Goaltending: While they may not have the most skilled and veteran goaltenders of the tournament, Canada certainly has two quality starting-goaltenders that they can count on. Shawn Brodeur, Norris Kensington, and Miguel Luc-Legrand are all young, it's their first year of eligibility in this tournament and all three have made the roster, although Kensington and Brodeur have a huge jump on Legrand talent-wise; Legrand will be sitting in the press-box hoping that one of his two superiors should falter, but that seems highly unlikely. Kensington and Brodeur will most likely split starts in the round robin, and whoever has the hot hand will start in the elimination rounds.

Overall Prediction: Silver Medalists I think the Canadians definitely have a chance to win it all, but ultimately fall short in the gold-medal game. They have pretty good depth at all positions, and a stud #1D [in Savard], which is more than you can say for some other teams in this tournament, but I think they fall victim to a robbery game against Team Europe's Key Perought.

 

 

Team USA

Forwards: The Americans arguably have the best forward group in the tournament. Their top line of McAllister-Boeser-Scheel looks to be dynamite, and fans hope that they can re-discover the chemistry that they had when they were linemates on the Saskatoon Wild in S54. The 2nd line of Gow-Quill-Process also can pack a punch in the scoring department, especially now that Quill has pro-experience after being called up to the HC Davos Dynamo for the end of the regular season and playoffs. The next line of VHLM Forever-Shepard-Salah is more of the same, as all three could be a first line on some other team in this tournament. The 4th line of Green-Szatkowski III-McManahan has all the makings of a great energy line, and will look to use physicality to boost their team's morale.

Defense: The American blue-line corps definitely aren't as dynamic as their offense, but they aren't too shabby either. Lane and Kinkaid both have over 100 practice hours, and should be able to hold the fort down thanks to the team's electric offense. Casey Jones and Ko Kane anchor what looks to be a very reliable 2nd pairing, and the 3rd pairing of McKenzie and Rayne look to provide the top two pairings with some needed rest.

Goaltending: The United States has no goalies eligible for this tournament.

Overall Prediction: Bronze Medal. I think Team USA would be my pick to win the Gold Medal if they at least had a halfway-decent goaltender. They have a great group of forwards and a defense that isn't crazy good, but good enough considering how strong their offense is. I think despite this though, their lack of a goalie will be the Americans downfall.

 

 

Team Europe 

Forwards: The Europeans will be relying largely on two superstars, Rusty Trombone and Mattias Forsberg, to score goals. Aside from those two, Europe's offense doesn't look to be a big threat to opposing defenders. They have some promising players who look to be impact forwards for Team Europe in the future, like Birkir Hólm Guðnason, Ozamataz Buckshank, Jules Cedric-Labrie, and Oskar Ingolfsson, but none are at the skill level yet to do much damage.

Defense: What they lack in forwards, Team Europe makes up for with their defenders. The Europeans have what looks to be the best overall defense in the league, led by Riga Reign prospect Niko Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic is the #1D, but that doesn't mean that the rest of the defense can't step up either; his partner Aackckqz Ky has some promise as an all-around defender, and the 2nd pairing of Bonér and Aeschylus Jigglejawns CXXXVIII look to compliment each others playstyles nicely, as a shutdown defender and offensive defenseman. The third pairing features Nicodemus Raven and Mats Johnsson, who could easily be top 4 defenders on most of the other teams in the tournament. 

Goaltending: The Europeans have possibly the best [and most skilled] goalie in the tournament in Key Perought. The Swiss netminder is a veteran of these international tournaments, having already played for Team Europe at the last World Cup. He had an underwhelming performance there, but he looks primed to bounce back and be a stud in net. Backing him up is Brienne O'Tarth, a British netminder who has spent this season manning the crease for the Saskatoon Wild, and will be ready at a moment's notice to play for Perought should he falter.

Overall Prediction: Gold Medal. I think that even with their lack of scoring depth, the Europeans go home champions thanks to their stifling defense and star goalie. It looks like all Europe has to do is score a goal or two, and their defense/goaltending will take care of the rest. Perought will stand on his head in the gold medal game and leave Europe victorious.

 

 

Team Asia

Forwards: Thanks to a big influx of Asian forwards, Team Asia is able to almost have three full lines of forwards. Sergei Komarov and Rudy Ying look to lead the way for the team, as both have over 100 practice hours and can do some damage on the scoresheet. After them and their linemate Shiro though, Team Asia is seriously lacking in the scoring department.

Defense: Team Asia's best defender is already an arguable bust, and he hasn't even been drafted yet. Ho Lee Fuk comes from a very successful player agency, so to see him not be showing up to practice is quite concerning. Even if he is a bust, he's the best defender the Asians have, as his partner Igor Mjers is a promising young player, but isn't talented enough yet to be trusted with full first pairing minutes. The rest of the defense is paltry, as most are new players or likely-busts.

Goaltending: Rennie Bacani is the only registered goalie for Team Asia, and he certainly isn't someone you can even think to count on to steal games for your team. He's brand new to the VHL, so don't look for him to put up any impressive stats.

Overall Prediction: Fourth place. I think he only reason that Team Asia finishes ahead of Team World is their two offensive stars [Komarov and Ying]. Their defense and goaltending just isn't good enough to get them any medals in this tournament.

 

 

Team World

Forwards: Team World can at least say that they have a star on their roster! That star is Toronto Legion prospect and current Saskatoon Wild winger Daring Do. The bruising forward had over 200 hits this past season in the VHLM, and will look to continue that physical gamestyle in the tournament. Aside from Do though, Team World isn't bringing much to the table in terms of forwards, with Center Charles Murphy being the only other forward to have even shown up to practice.

Defense: Team World can surprisingly field a full defense, even if two-thirds of that defense is players cut from other teams. Emil Martinov and Augustus Gloop were cut from Team Europe, but that means that they get 1st-pairing duties over on Team World. Expect those two to play a hard-nosed style and attempt to shut down opposing team's forwards. On the 2nd pairing we see Darryl Took and Hodor, two players who have definitely flown under the radar, and the same can be said for the 3rd pairing of Mr. Shakedown and Klaus Baustein; both were two players who have admittedly disappointed a bit with their lack of commitment to practice.

Goaltending: The lone bright spot for Team World is their starting goaltender, Michael Roy. Roy made Team World after being cut by Team Canada, so perhaps that lights a fire under his ass to play extremely well. The rookie will need to perform out of his mind to give Team World ANY chance in this tournament.

Overall Prediction: Fifth place. Aside from Do putting the team on her back or Michael Roy playing lights-out, I don't see how Team World can finish anywhere other than the basement. They simply lack the depth at forward and defense to do any real damage here.

 

 

 

For Boner

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

im so hyped for this. even if i didnt have a player in it i would be hyped because you are doing an amazing job hyping it up @Corco good job man

[der meister 3,247]

Yeah, you're killing it, Corc. This is one of my favorite sets of articles in a long time. 

[Kendrick 4,741]

Yeah good work on these

[Megster 63]

We coming for that gold baby, I really enjoy these Corco, it gives the babies in the league something to read about themselves.  Just looking at some of the people who commented on your last post they had like 6 posts total, so new and now they are becoming engaged, it's great.

[Quik 4,113]

18 minutes ago, Megster said:

We coming for that gold baby, I really enjoy these Corco, it gives the babies in the league something to read about themselves.  Just looking at some of the people who commented on your last post they had like 6 posts total, so new and now they are becoming engaged, it's great.

Yep, it's definitely something that will be needed to keep some of the new members active. Especially since the big recruitment drive came up with none of the new players getting a chance to join teams. So this tournament really can't start soon enough.

[Corco 1,267]

2 minutes ago, Quik said:

Yep, it's definitely something that will be needed to keep some of the new members active. Especially since the big recruitment drive came up with none of the new players getting a chance to join teams. So this tournament really can't start soon enough.

I'm still working on the file, should be within the next few days though!