10 Players to Watch During the World Juniors

The World Juniors are upon us once again. This tournament is one of the highlights for every hockey fan and this year it may be the biggest highlight due to the lack of NHL hockey. This years tournament will feature some extra talented players many of whom are NHL-Calibre, but in addition to players well on their way to their NHL career there are also several prospects playing to help improve their stock for the 2013 draft. So while the following list may not be the biggest names, they are players who have a lot to play for and don't always get the recognition they deserve.

10. Joel Armia- Finland

I'm not just saying this because he's a Buffalo Sabres prospect, but Armia does not get the recognition and respect he should for his talent. Finland is flying
high after defeating both Canada and the US in the pre-competition games and one major reason for their surging play is Joel Armia. He is one of the most dangerous offensive weapons for Finland and is extremely dangerous on the powerplay. Since he has not made the jump over to North America yet he has the added benefit of knowing the international style of play.

9. J.C Lipon- Canada

J.C Lipon is the underdog that you fall in love with. After not being selected in either of the last 2 NHL drafts, Lipon is hoping the 3rd time is the charm and now that he's made team Canada, he may just fulfill his dream and hear his name on draft day. After being dubbed a "late bloomer" Lipon is finally starting to turn heads and garner some interest. While he wont play a huge role with team canada (3rd or 4th line) he will be a key player while killing penalties and is one of those players that are crucial to every winning team.

8. Aleksander Barkov- Finland

Although Finland is sometimes considered a 2nd tier team at this tournament they have a serious chance of bringing home a medal from this years World Junior tournament. They have some high flying offensive players one of which is Aleksander Barkov who many are saying could be the highest scoring European in the tournament. He is also ranked as the highest European for the upcoming draft, with a big tournament he could challenge Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones for the first overall pick. This will be Barkov's second crack at the World Junior tournament and he'll look to provide more of a leadership role and lead the talented Finish squad to a gold medal.

7. Jonathan Drouin- Canada

Before the tournament almost nobody expected the young 17 year-old to even crack the Team Canada squad, but team Canada saw something special and made him a member of the team. But he's now slated in on the 2nd line and ranked ahead of teammate MacKinnon. If you've read my last articles about team Canada you'll know how excited I am to see Drouin play in the tournament, strong play will significantly help his draft stock. Drouin may be one of the underdogs on the Canadian squad and could play a big role in the end.

6. Olli Maatta- Finland

I said Finland had a solid team this year and the addition of first round pick Olli Maatta doesn't exactly hurt their cause. He played in just 1 game for the Finish team at last years World Junior Championship but will undoubtedly have a much bigger role this time around. He will be relied on to be the top shutdown defenceman and help calm down a offensive focused squad.



5. Jake McCabe- United States

Now if you're not familiar with the NCAA and the Wisconsin Badgers chances are the name Jake McCabe means nothing to you. But that should be changing within the next week. The US junior team named McCabe captain for this years World Junior tournament ahead of fan favourite J.T Miller. It's a smart move by the Americans naming their captain as a defenceman since their team is focusing on a strong defence this year. McCabe along with Jones will both be key leaders on the backend and the captain should help with Jones' game.

4. Elias Lindholm- Sweden

Elias Lindholm is another top notch European player looking to up his draft stock for the upcoming draft. He's playing against older and stronger men in the swedish elite league but has still managed 21 points in 32 games and currently sits 4th in the draft rankings. He'll be responsible for replacing the offence of Mika Zibanejad who will not be suiting up for team Sweden. Leading the team will be no easy task for the un-drafted prospect but considering he's already drawing comparison's to Peter Forsberg he should have a big tournament.

3. J.T. Miller- United States

Despite being drafted in the first round in 2011 and playing in the AHL. J.T. Miller is one of the most unknown players for the United States. Despite not being given the captaincy of the US national team, he was given the role of alternate captain. Miller will be called upon to lead the offence for the Americans and help score goals for the defensive minded squad.

2. Mikhail Grigorenko- Russia

The Russians have some fantastic offensive talent and having Buffalo Sabres first round pick Mikhail Grigorenko at their disposal wont hurt their chances of making it to the finals. Grigorenko is a big, tough natural goal scorer, he's 2nd in QMJHL scoring with 29 goals and 21 assists for 50 points. While he may have to sit in the passenger seat while Nail Yakupov leads the team it doesn't mean he won't be a productive scoring leader for the Russians. After last years 5 points and a silver medal, Grigorenko is hungry to add a gold medal.

1. Andrey Vasilevskiy- Russia

Vasilevskiy was the first goaltender selected in the 2012 draft ahead of team Canada's starter Malcolm Subban. He helped lead Russia to a silver medal in last years tournament and finished the tournament with the highest save percentage (95.31). He was also the netminder who surrended 5 goals against Canada in the nail bitting 6-5 Russia win. Because of his poor play against Canada he was benched during the finals but this year he's looking to avenge last years benching and help lead Russia to a gold Medal. Vasilevskiy will need to shut things down in net and keep opponents goals total to a minimum or face losing his job to Sabres prospect Andrey Makorav who took over in the finals for Vasilevskiy and played exceptionally well.

 







 

 

QMJHL Shows Russia They Wont Go Down Without A Fight: Subway Super Series

The Subway Super Series officially kicked off with a bang this past week, as top level junior Russian players took on some of the top talent from the QMJHL. The Subway Series is a mini tournament of sorts that sees some of the best junior talent from Russian come over and take a shot at some of the best Canadian talent spread throughout the QMJHL, OHL and CHL. It's a great tournament that truly showcases some of the great Canadian and Russian talent available and eventually heading to the NHL. For fans it's a chance to see more top level players than one would at the World Junior Championship in December and a chance to prove that our talent is deep and we are still the best hockey players in the world. The series this year will feature 86 players from across the 3 Canadian hockey leagues, of course there are 7 players donning Russian colours that play on Canadian teams during the season which attests to the talent available in the junior leagues.

The Russians wrapped up their 2 game series with the top players from the QMJHL on Wednesday evening and the series ended in a tie, with each team winning a game. Russia came out hot and won the first game in convincing fashion 6-2. But the boys from the "Q" came out on Wednesday and showed they wouldn't be out played in front of their home crowd and beat the Russians 5-2. The 2 game mini-series featured some fantastic junior talent from both sides; Key performers from the "Q" included Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Huberdeau, who both put up 4 points in game 2 and sit 1st and 3rd respectively in scoring amongst all players thus far in the series. For the Russians, Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko turned some heads in game one and has put up a respectable 2 points. In addition to Grigorenko, the first overall pick Nail Yakupov has not disappointed having contributed 3 points. The action between the two rivals was fantastic, providing hockey deprived fans some highlight reel plays.

Next up the Russians will take on the All-Stars from the OHL for a 2 game mini-series and will face even tougher competition, perhaps the stiffest competition throughout the 6 games. Suiting up on the OHL side are many top ranked draft picks and some solid prospects. Max Domi, Mark Scheifele, Ryan Strome and Dougie Hamilton will not go down quietly. The 3rd game of the mini-series kicks off on Thursday night, it will be interesting to see how the Russians (who have already played 2 games) will fare against the OHL players who have yet to suit up for the mini-series. Will the Russians be tired? Will the Canadian boys be ready to go?

After a 2 game stint against the OHL players, the Russians will be heading west to take on the WHL All-Stars, for the final 2 games. Once again it will be no easy task facing off against the Western Canadian boys, who boast a very strong defencive line up. Ryan Murray, Morgan Reilly, Matt Dumba and Griffin Reinhart all play a sound defencive game.

Now you may be thinking; "Why have a series between the long time rivals without a trophy, what are they playing for pride?" In a sense yes they are playing for pride. There's a long time discussion that dates back well before these young stars were even born, on which players are better; The Canadians or the Russians. Neither side wants to lose the mini-series and look like the weaker team, especially heading into a very important draft year for many of these young men. You don't want a team to draft someone who beat you ahead of you and in the same sense you don't want him to have your spot in the draft.

More so for the 86 Canadian players, they are playing for a chance to represent their country at the previously mentioned World Junior Championship. For many it's their last chance to impress before camp or to even earn an invite to camp and a chance to play in the tournament. The tournament is key for the development of the young prospects as all eyes, including scouts, are focused on the juniors.

They are also playing for a chance to improve themselves before the draft. For some of the younger and draft eligible players it's an opportunity to show that they can compete against NHL ready talent and are ready to make that leap to the next level. At the end of the day, this mini-series means more to these young men than most can imagine.

If you're starving for some high level hockey or are depressed there is no hockey, open your eyes there's hockey all around you. Tune in and show the Canadian junior's some support on their quest against the Russians. You'll get to watch some pretty darn good hockey.