This isn’t quite a true CBJ Prospect Watch since I only saw one of these guys (Bjorkstrand) in person, so this will be a mini version of what we normally do.
I watched every game these guys played (expect for the Boxing Day Denmark game), and took notes on how they did in each game. I’ve compiled all that qualitative information, combined it with some quantitative information (huge shout out to David Wood for that) to bring you a quick scouting report on each player.
Oliver Bjorkstrand RW – Denmark
5 GP, 4G, 1A, 25 Shots on goal
Bjorkstand was absolutely incredible for Denmark. His line along with Mads Eller and Nik Ehlers was the only one that could get anything going for the Danes. Bjorkstrand has a hard accurate shot that he can fire off quickly. He was the shot guy on his line, leading the team with 25. What makes that even more impressive is the fact that Denmark only had 97 shots for the entire tournament meaning Bjorkstrand took 26% of the team’s total shots! On the power-play, Bjorkstrand lined up in the “Ovechkin spot” at the circle where he again was the trigger guy. His hands are great; we all saw that shootout goal right? He not only can make a goalie look silly, but also able to beat most defencemen one-on-one.
What impressed me most about Bjorkstrand was not his offensive abilities which are obviously elite but it was the defensive responsibility he showed. Despite being a natural winger Bjorkstrand lined up at centre numerous times taking a ton of face-offs. He was also the most heavily used forward on the penalty kill. For someone who has a reputation of being a pure sniper he did not look out of place on the PK. He showed some strong two way ability, which bodes well for both his and the Blue Jackets future.
Dillon Heatherington D – Canada
7GP, 0G, 0A, 7 Shots on goal
http://gty.im/460991660
Heatherington was the 6th defencemen for Canada, sharing time on the bottom pair with Sam Morin. He didn’t get a ton of ice time at even strength doing most of his work on the penalty kill. He was on the top unit usually the first defencemen over the boards for Canada. I thought he did a good job at getting in passing lanes and blocking shots when he had too. At even strength he was just ok. I thought he had a ton of shifts where he was stuck in the defensive zone. Looking at his Corsi numbers, through the preliminary round he was +48/-38, a 56% Corsi, which doesn’t support my eye test. When we compare that to the rest of the team Heatherington has a relative Corsi of -3% which does support the eye test.
He’s regarded as a good skater for a big guy but it was hard to tell this from watching on TV. He very rarely has the puck on his stick. When he did get the puck he either chipped it off the glass or made a quick outlet pass, never opting to try and skate it out. Offensively he stayed near the point only pinching to keep the puck in the zone never to create a chance. Fellow BS hockey writer Cory noticed that Heatherington’s teammates at times seemed reluctant to pass him the puck even when he was wide open. When he got the puck he would quickly take a wrist shot.
He was decent physically. Didn’t go crazy running guys over every shift but when he had to he used his body and got some good hits.
Sonny Milano LW – USA
5GP, 2G, 2A, 15 Shots on goal
To start Milano’s usage was rather inconsistent. He started the tournament in the top 6 but by the end found himself on the third line. I found this to be rather odd as Milano spent the majority of time last season in the USDP on a line with Jack Eichel. I think that up and down usage is part of the reason why he didn’t have the best tournament. I don’t have many notes on Milano as he didn’t really stand out much. What I did notice about Milano was that he looked to tilt the ice when he was out there. The numbers back this up as Milano was +65/-41, a 61.3% Corsi and a 0.7% Corsi Rel.
For further info on Milano check out the previous prospect watches on him from Jeremy and I.
Ryan Collins D – USA
5GP, 0G, 0A, 0 Shots on goal
http://gty.im/460894696
Collins played a very similar role for Team USA that Heatherington did for Canada. Collins was a little bit behind Heatherington in terms of his play almost entirely in part on being a year younger. Collins being the 7th defencemen went through stretches where he didn’t see the ice at all. When he was playing, he wasn’t anything special. He much like Heatherington played the top PK for his team. I thought he did a good job there. He made some good defensive plays including one against Slovakia where he broke up a breakaway. He was physical delivering some big hits. He quietly lead the team in Corsi percentage finishing the preliminary round +35/-15, a 70% Corsi and a 9.4% Corsi Rel. That however can be very deceiving as Collins was on the ice for the fewest Corsi events of any player outside of Miles Wood.
Stats from IIHF, fancy stats from Hockey Thinking
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