Five Takeaways from the 2016 World Juniors

The 2016 World Junior Championships are over, and many Congratulations to Team Finland on their Gold Medal. It was a great tournament this year capped off by a thrilling gold medal game.

It always seems like when you’re watching this great tournament, certain things pop up and catch your eye. Here are the five things that really stood out to me.

The Next Great Superstars Hail from Switzerland? And Denmark?

Last year was the first time fans were given a real look at Jesse Puljujarvi and Auston Matthews. Both made their respective countries rosters as 16-year-olds and were not eligible until the following year’s draft (now this year). Both players struggled to as extent as one would expect, they were very young. But now, you can see how both benefited greatly from the experience and were two of the best players this year.

Looking ahead to next year, the two players that look primed to have that breakout tournament are Nico Hischier of Switzerland and Jonas Roendbjerg from Denmark. Neither of them lit the world on fire. They combined for just three assists. But they were both top six players for their respective countries.

Hischier displayed some good puck skills. He was great at getting controlled zone entries which in turn allowed him to generate some pressure. He didn’t get many shots when he was in the offensive zone, but was at least able to give his goalie a bit of a rest.

Roendbjerg is a very smart player who seemed to be in the right position more often than not. He’s a good skater who, like Hischier, is able to get controlled entries and some pressure. What impressed me most about Roendbjerg was his play in his own zone. Denmark spent a lot of time hemmed in their own end and Roenbjerg consistently had an active stick, was getting into passing lanes and broke up plays. He’s wasn’t afraid to get down and block a shot. He also had the trust of his coach, as he was a regular on Denmark’s PK and also when they were killing a 6 on 5.

Denmark is Slowly Becoming the new Switzerland

By new Switzerland I mean a team that is always a thorn in your side, always giving you a tough match-up. It was a reputation the Swiss had proudly earned. But for two years now, Denmark has been that team.

Last year they took both Russia and the Czech Republic to overtime, and beat the Swiss. This year they again beat Switzerland, but also put a scare into Canada and the USA and held leads against both teams. They almost pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament against Russia in the quarterfinals, when they had a lead with under a minute left before Russia tied it and ultimately won in overtime.

What gives me confidence about Denmark going forward is that they brought a very young team and almost assuredly everyone who is able, will end up returning. The Danes brought six players who were eligible for the draft – the most by any team, and that doesn’t even include Roendbjerg. In total, they can return 11 players, many of which were already playing key roles. Compare that to Switzerland who has no one eligible for the draft, can only return a possible eight players, and are facing the upcoming loss of key players like Timo Meier, and Noah Rod.

Coaching is Critical

In particular, bad coaching can really sink a team. I think this is what we saw with Team Canada and Dave Lowry. Everyone always talks about how chemistry is key in a short tournament like this so being able to develop that chemistry quickly is huge for teams. From what I saw, Lowry never gave his guys a chance to develop that elusive element since he constantly shuffled the lines.

From the start of camp all the talk was about Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner as a duo. They are good friends, have played together in the past for Canada, and shared a line at the CHL top prospect game. All that was needed was a left winger and Canada was supposed to have a dynamic top line. Lowry tried numerous players in that spot before just breaking up Strome and Marner completely. Every game there was new combinations and I think that played a role in Canada’s downfall.

You didn’t see (at least I didn’t) any other team shuffle their lines like Canada did. The USA ran the same lines only switching when an injury occurred. Sweden, Russia, and Finland did the same. I’m sure many of you reading this can remember the top lines of each of those teams, but for Canada you likely have no clue.

Special Teams Play is Huge

Finland rode the best power play in the tournament to a gold medal. They had a 37.5% power play percentage, which always seemed to come through in the big moment. In international play, this is a big boost as the games are called a lot tighter so teams get more power play opportunities.

This is more than just a one year trend too. Take a look at the last five gold medalists.

Each of them led the tournament in either power play percentage or penalty kill percentage, with the exception of Sweden. Russia, who Sweden beat in 2012, ranked first in penalty kill and second on the power play.

While it may not guarantee gold, having a good special teams unit can take you very far.

Having Pro Players Goes a Long Way

Looking at the final four teams this year, there was one thing that really stood out. It wasn’t just the talent on each team, but rather the talent the teams had that were playing hockey professionally. Each of the final four teams (Finland, Russia, USA, and Sweden) had multiple players playing professional hockey either in North America or Europe.

Sweden had multiple players who play professionally in the SHL, plus Adrian Kempe who plays in the AHL. Russia was the same deal with multiple players playing in the KHL and Vladislav Kamenev from the AHL. Finland had a host of players from the SM-Liiga as well as Mikko Rantanen, and Kasperi Kapanen from the AHL. The USA, of course, had Sonny Milano from the AHL, but also Auston Matthews who plays pro hockey in Switzerland.

This is where I think the CHL-NHL transfer agreement hurts Canada. Yes the Canadians had a pro player in Jake Virtanen who plays in the NHL, but he sees such limited ice, which is tough on development. Canada had a host of players like Marner, Strome, and Virtanen who easily could be in the AHL, but because of the transfer agreement they are not. Having that chance to play against older more experienced players would be very good for their development which in turn would help them at this tournament. It may not have been enough to offset the coaching concerns outlined above but it wouldn’t have hurt them that is for sure.

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot

Photo courtsey of the IIHF website