Team USA Brings Home Gold From WJC

I just want to say how awesome it was to actually watch live hockey again, despite having to wake up at 3 in the morning it was worth it to watch these young players battle it out and leave it all on the line. After all the blood, sweat and tears of the tournament two teams stood above the rest; Team USA and Sweden. The powerhouse and defending World Junior Champions team Sweden vs. the underdog Americans.

Going into the 2013 World Junior's not many people gave the Americans a fair shake at winning the tournament after their 7th place finish in 2012 and having

only 3 returning players on the roster. But defenceman Seth Jones believed in his team when no one else did stating "We're the best team!". People scoffed at his comments, but it turns out the draft-eligible defenceman was right- the Americans really were the best team in the 2013 World Junior Championships and to prove it they skated away with the gold medal.Team USA came into the tournament with little pressure, other than themselves no one expected them to make it to the medal round. But they worked hard and battled to the end in every game to advance to the semi-finals.

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Team USA celebrates after wining the 2013 World Junior Championships[/caption]

In the semis they beat a Canadian team that they had earlier lost to and surprised the Canadians who thought it would be a easy victory. The Americans earned their spot in the gold medal game. They then relied on strong goaltending and heroics from lesser known prospects to get them the win over the Swedes.

Besides goaltender John Gibson- who was hands down the best player in the tournament, the best player in the finals was American forward Rocco Grimaldi. At the beginning of the tournament the NCAA freshman had been placed on the Americans first line, then a few games later he found his butt glued to the bench after head coach Phil Housley benched him. After getting let out of the "dog house" Grimaldi did not disappoint scoring 2 big goals for the Americans in finals- including their first goal which gave them life and the go-ahead goal. After Grimaldi gave them the lead Gibson was able to shut the door the rest of the way, leaving Sweden stymied.

Now lots of things had to come together for the Americans to claim the gold medal- team chemistry, good coaching, staying out of the box, timely goals and timely saves. But the two of the biggest reasons they were able to capture their 2nd gold in 4 years is because they didn't have politics when picking their roster and the emergence of Gibson as a elite goaltender.

I touched about the lack of politics when picking the team in my last post, but it goes deeper than just cutting big name players. Housley showed faith in NCAA players and they didn't disappoint. Jake McCabe was an excellent captain leading the Americans to a win over rivals Canada in the Semi's and ranked

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John Gaudreau celebrates after scoring.[/caption]

3rd among defenceman with 6 points. For his efforts he was also named to the all-star tournament team. Next to McCabe, the biggest forward for the Americans turned out to be one of their smallest- John Gaudreau. Gaudreau had a fantastic tournament and really showed how valuable he can be to a team. Johnny hockey had 3 multi-point games in a row leading up to the semi's including 7 goals in 3 "must-win" games and led the tournament in scoring, proving it doesn't matter how "big" a player is as long as they can score! Of course we already talked about benefit that Rocco Grimaldi had in the finals, heck if it wasn't for his 2 goals the Americans may be wearing silver around their necks. Jones also stepped up playing a major leading role on the blue-line despite his inexperience, he showed maturity with the puck and may have solidified top spot in the 2o13 draft.

But the biggest story for the Americans was the play of John Gibson. When watching the Anaheim Ducks prospect throughout the tournament you just sit back and marvel at some of the big time stops he was able to make. Finishing the tournament with the best Save Percentage (.955) and Goals Against

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John Gibson makes a save in the finals against Sweden[/caption]

Average (1.36) which also gives him the highest Save Percentage of any American goaltender at the World Juniors. To say Gibson stood on his head would be

an understatement, he led the Americans to victory and stood tall against the opposition time after time. His play earned him tournament MVP, top goaltender and a gold medal. His play was somewhat reminiscent of Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller during the 2010 Olympics. The Americans were the underdogs in the Olympics much like this tournament but the strong play of Miller between the pipes led the team right to the gold medal match against Canada- closer to a gold medal than anyone thought the Americans would come. The only difference between the two is Gibson was able to lead his American squad to a gold medal where Miller fell just short in OT.

Congrats to team USA on winning gold in the 2013 World Junior Championships, it was a well deserved championship that reminded everyone never to count the Americans out.

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.