The World Juniors is a great event for scouting. For me, it provides an opportunity to view players I wouldn’t normally get the chance to. Those 2016 draft eligible players are going to be the big focus here. Due to the tournament being so short, with so few games, players don’t usually fluctuate too much up and down their projected draft rankings, but in some special cases, it can be a big boost for perception.
I was able to watch 18 of the 28 games.
Finland
Olli Juolevi – D
Finland did not have a great defensive core. They put a ton of responsibility on the draft eligible Juolevi and, to his credit, he was up for the task. His nine points were tied with Columbus prospect and Team USA captain Zach Werenski for the tournament lead among defencemen. Juolevi was also named to the all-star team as one of the top two defencemen in the tournament. He has a very calming nature about him; he is very patient with the puck and doesn’t panic. He’s a smooth skater and was able to skate the puck out of the zone frequently. His game is not without flaws. He made a couple bad defensive reads against Russia and, on more than one occasion, was caught puck watching.
Jesse Puljujarvi – RW
Puljujarvi, along with Patrik Laine, were the stars of this tournament. Puljujarvi had 17 points in seven games, 16th most all time, and tied for second with Eric Lindros and Wayne Gretzky for most by an under-18 player, only trailing the legend Jaromir Jagr. For his efforts, Puljujarvi was named the tournament MVP as well as a tournament all-star. He is just the second draft eligible player, behind John Tavares at the 2009 tournament, to win the MVP, and the first to do so as a 17 year old.
He is a really good skater who can fly up and down the ice. He’s also got pro size, at 6’3, which makes his skating all the more impressive. He uses that size very well to protect the puck in the offensive zone. He’s an excellent passer who displays great vision and awareness on the ice. He always seems to have the puck on his stick. Quite proficient at controlled zone entries, allowing him to set up numerous great chances.
Patrik Laine – RW
As good as Puljujarvi was, he definitely benefited from playing with Laine. The two player styles fit together so nicely, and they showed tremendous chemistry. Puljujarvi is a playmaker, with Laine filling the role of sniper. Laine can absolutely rip the puck. It was remarkable how hard and how accurate he could shoot it. It had me going “wow!” every time. He is the type of player you position in the “Ovechkin spot” on the powerplay, and just feed him one-timer opportunities. How he only scored one power play goal is beyond me. He couples his shot with a great set of hands, which allow him to get by players and into good scoring areas. He’s also a quick skater and can pass the puck well.
He scored seven goals, tying him with Auston Matthews for the tournament lead. He becomes the first 17 year old to lead the tournament in goals since Alex Ovechkin in 2003.
Sweden
Carl Grundstrom – LW
Grundstrom didn’t have a great tournament, scoring just one goal. With the depth of the Swedish team he tended to play down in the lineup, often as a fourth line forward. He’s a good skater with a good shot. He played physical. He had a couple nice chances where he snuck in behind the defencemen and positioned himself beside the net.
Rasmus Asplund – C
Asplund had a nice tournament with three goals and two assists. He provided some good depth scoring for Team Sweden, and saw frequent powerplay time thanks to the unfortunate injury to star offensive force William Nylander. Asplund also did well on the PK. He has some wheels on him and was able to get a couple of good short-handed chances. His speed also helped him draw a penalty, as he feasts on slower defenders who are forced to hook or trip him to slow him down. He has fine hands and a solid shot. He’s not the biggest guy (5’11) but he did well at protecting the puck and getting to good scoring areas.
Alexander Nylander – RW
With his brother William getting hurt early in the team’s first game, Alex was forced to step up into his brother role as offensive catalyst. Whether he had some extra motivation or not, he shined. His nine points lead the team. He has great hands and good speed. He is a real good skater with a nice stride. He’s passes the puck very well, but also can rip it when the pass isn’t there.
For more on Nylander I suggest checking out our very own Jeremy Crowe’s archives, as he has been following Nylander closely in Mississauga.
Canada
Julien Gauthier – RW
Gauthier played a bottom six role for Team Canada. He was a good fit for that role as he has good size and plays physical. He’s a strong player, hard to knock off the puck. He played on the power play as the screen guy where he could use his size and strength to be a pest to opposing defencemen and goalies. He has a good hard shot which has helped him to achieve nearly a goal a game in the QMJHL this season.
Denmark
Mathias From – LW
Players like From are one of my favourite things about the World Juniors. This was a guy who was on nobody’s radar but had a big tournament and has put himself into draft consideration. He had nine shots to lead the team and his two points tied for the lead. He has good speed and skates with his head up. He loves having the puck on his stick, almost to a fault. He has tremendous hands and the ability to make defenders miss. Because he was being relied upon as an offensive presence, he often tried to skate through the whole team, leading to some turnovers. When he was successful, he turned it into plenty of chances, but as he starts playing at higher levels this strategy isn’t going to be as effective. At times, it looked like he didn’t trust his teammates. It would have been interesting to see him play with Nic Ehlers. From was the go-to guy for Denmark playing key roles at 5 on 5 and on the power play. He played some on the penalty kill but was more a second unit player.
Nikolaj Krag-Christian – C
Krag-Christian was also a go-to player for Denmark, playing on the top line alongside From. Krag-Christian didn’t have the same impact as From but still had a solid tournament. He skates very well and managed to get a couple good zone entries because of it. His best attribute was his playmaking. It seemed like every game I was making note of a great pass he made.
USA
Chad Krys – D
Krys was the seventh defencemen and didn’t see much ice time. He did get some power play time, where he showed a nice shot from the point. He’s a fine skater who, when he got 5 on 5 ice time, looked to join the rush to help create offense. He’s an offensive defencemen and did not receive any penalty kill time.
Charlie McAvoy – D
McAvoy played on the third pair for the USA. With Werenski eating up so many minutes for his team, McAvoy’s pairing didn’t see a ton of icetime. McAvoy has a solid shot and good hands. He has 11 points in 19 games with Boston University, and those offensive instincts were on display at the WJC. He joined the rush and pinched to create chances. He has a strong first pass, and he did a god job at moving the puck both out of the defensive zone and while in the offensive zone.
Matthew Tkachuk – LW
The London Knights star continued to do what he does best, put up points. He had 11 points in seven games, including seven assists. He has great hands and a good, hard shot. He displays patience with the puck, which allowed him to find open lanes to get those assists. He is also a hard nosed player with a nose for the net. When he gets the puck he likes to bull rush it to the net, going through anything that gets in his way.
Alex DeBrincat – RW
DeBrincat wasn’t able to play much in the tournament, as he was ejected in the first game and hurt in the second one. He started on the top line but was bumped down to the third line when he came back from his injury. He played in each medal round game but was a non-factor. He scored against the Czechs in the quarter finals but the game was already well out of hand.
Auston Matthews – C
Matthews’ great performance here further cemented his status as the top player available in this draft. He had seven goals in seven games to lead the tournament. He was named an all-star as one of the top three forwards at the event. It was clear watching this just how much better he is than his peer group. He is a great skater who controls the puck very well. He has a hard accurate shot, but also dishes the puck well. But even with all of these positives, Matthews’ best attribute is still his hands. He can dangle defencemen with ease. They are simply ridiculous.
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