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.

Team USA Beats Canada Advances to Gold Medal Match

For the fourth straight year Canada will be leaving the World Junior Tournament without a gold medal after losing to team USA 5-1 in the semi-finals. The game was completely dominated by the Americans and the confused Canadians were left just watching their opposition skate around them, so much for the "dream team" assembled due to the lockout.

The Canadians got off to a slow start and were quickly left in the dust of the Americans who came out ready to play and with something to prove. With 2 first period goals by American captain Jake McCabe they found themselves in a deep hole, needing to score 3 goals on the red hot John Gibson. Going into the 2nd period the Americans scored the next 2 goals and the game was quickly put to bed before Canada was even able to show up. Whether it was the 2 days off after earning the quarter final bye or they were to over confident, they just didn't show up ready to play when the puck dropped and that's what killed the Canadians.

Team Canada

The Canadian players played with no heart or passion during the tournament and the reason is they have a sense of entitlement. They believe because they're star Canadian players and wear the maple leaf on their chest they should immediately be in the gold medal game. The star players on the Canadian team were just given a spot on the team and weren't forced to work hard and actually make the team. Just look at the games during selection camp, every player who had already made the team (after only 1 practice) got to sit in the press box and eat wings while the fringe players (many of whom got cut) had to fight like crazy for a chance to represent their country.

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Canadian players upset after loss to Team USA[/caption]

When watching Canada in the tournament you could tell that players like Jonathan Drouin who had to battle to earn the honour to put the Canadian jersey on, were the better players and they actually seemed to care. For the first round draft-picks who were given a spot on the roster before touching down out West, the tournament becomes almost a "right of passage" that they must compete in before making the jump to the NHL. It seems like they don't put their full heart into the tournament because they know they're already headed to the NHL.

When push comes to shove Canada just expects to win gold, so much has been made about hockey being their game and how dominate they used to be that they just expect to wind up in the gold medal game. You could see today that was the mindset they brought into the semi-finals, they just expected to be in the finals but team USA had other plans.

Thanks to the lockout Canada had the added benefit of some very talented players including first overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. With so many stars suiting up for Canada there are 2 things to take away. The first is the fact that all the star players are used to being the star players, it's hard for 5 guys who are used to be being "the guy" to come together and mesh as a unit and thats what happened. When watching them play it truly looked like 5 individuals out on the ice instead of a team as each guy wanted to be the hero and tried to do to much. The second thing to take away is the coaching from head coach Steve Spott, I have no clue where they drew his name from, but he had absolutely no clue how to coach the players. One thing that really stood out for me was the fact he didn't even go into the room before the semi-final game, what kind of coach doesn't at least talk to his team before a big game like this? He was unable to get the right lines together and flat out did a horrible job managing the players.

Now moving onto the underdogs of the tournament Team USA.

After a disappointing 7th place finish last year at the World Juniors, Team USA has rebounded nicely and will now be going home with at least a silver medal. Not a bad turnaround by the Americans who chose a fine mix of CHL players and NCAA players. The best part of the Americans roster going into the tournament was the lack of politics. They were comfortable cutting first round draft picks Stefan Matteau and Brady Skjei because they didn't perform as well as other players during the selection camp. That's a team that is willing to take the best players instead of the biggest names.

Their decision to take college players John Gaudreau and Rocco Grimaldi payed off in the end as Gaudreau scored 2 big goals in the win over Canada and is 2nd in scoring with 9 points (7 goals and 2 assists). When you have 3rd and 4th liners who are able to produce at the rate Gaudreau has been able to it makes scoring a lot easier. All 5 goals scored by the Americans against Canada came from players playing in the NCAA (Gaudreau 2, Jake McCabe 2, Jim Vesey) proving that you can win with players from anywhere.

But perhaps the biggest story and the number 1 reason they're in the finals is due to the play of goaltender John Gibson. He has been absolutely phenomenal throughout the tournament and if it wasn't for a questionable whistle would have recorded his 2nd straight shutout. The Canadians had many golden chances where players were left alone in front of the goaltender but Gibson stood strong and shut the door time after time. With his strong play he ended up getting into the Canadians heads forcing them to miss the net trying to pick corners or shooting right at him. When a team is able to get the strong type of goaltending team USA has gotten, it does wonders for the confidence of the team. Going into the tournament their main goal was defence but against Canada they managed to generate offence and let Gibson take care of the rest.

The Americans knew they had something to prove after last years tournament and their satisfactory play during the round robin, beating Canada who they had lost to earlier would be a huge step for them. They came out for the semi-final game on fire, ready to play and with a chip on their shoulder. They were a determined team and right from the start they showed they weren't going to roll over.

During the semi-final match team USA was the better team, period. They out-played Canada in every aspect from skating, to scoring to goaltending. After their effort they were the team that deserved to advance to the gold medal match not Canada. At the end of the day you have to earn your way into the gold medal match not just show up. While I stand by the Canadian hockey team, their effort today in the semi-final was pathetic and an embarrassment to themselves and Canada. They didn't bother to show up until the 3rd period and by then the game was over, they allowed themselves to become impressed by who they were and believed they couldn't be beat.

Team USA UnderDogs in WJC

Considering the US junior team failed to advance from the round robin play in the 2012 World Junior Championship, they have a lot of work to do in order to get themselves back into the "elite" division in World Junior hockey. But one American defenceman believes that won't be an issue at all;

"I think we're the best team! We have a lot of speed up front, we're great defensively and we have good goaltending so I think we have all the pieces to win the gold medal." ~ Projected first overall pick and defenceman Seth Jones

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A bold prediction from the young defenceman suiting up in his first World Junior tournament. It will be no easy task for the boys in blue and white to reclaim the gold medal with only 3 players on the roster with World Junior experience and only 2 players who would likely be up in the NHL if not for the lockout. Jones who many are saying will be taken first overall in the 2013 draft, is by far the biggest name on the roster and may end up as the top shutdown defenceman for the Americans.

Outside of the rookie Jones, J.T Miller, Jacob Trouba and John Gibson are the 3 returning players from last years disappointing 7th place finish. These 3 will have to lead the team and help the younger rookies adapt to the pressures of the playing in the World Juniors.

“J.T. is key for us on and off the ice and we really listen to what he has to say." ~Jones

If the Americans have any shot of challenging for the gold medal they will need Miller to step up and lead this team in scoring. Miller is the only member of the team playing in the AHL and well on his way to a NHL career. Despite his slow start with the Connecticut Whale the New York Rangers junior team he's racked up 14 points in 26 games and will need to further elevate his game to lead the Americans to victory. He still has a bitter taste from last years tournament and will be looking to win big this year to erase last years pitiful performance.

In addition to the scoring threat of Miller, Sarnia Sting forward Alex Galchenyuk will be another dangerous offencive weapon. The third overall pick in the 2012 draft, he's the highest drafted player in the Americans line up and is virtually ready for his shot in the NHL. He's been lighting up the OHL in recent weeks racking up 19 goals and 40 points in his last 18 games and is 2nd in OHL scoring behind team Canada's Ryan Strome. If Miller goes quit look for Galchenyuk to pick up the slack and perhaps lead the team in scoring.

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On the back end the focus will fall on Jacob Trouba and Jones to shut down the opposition. Jones has lofty expectations for his team on the backend stating he wants the team to "Give up the least amount of goals in the tournament". A lofty goal which puts added pressure on the defence and goalies. While Jones has something to prove for the upcoming draft and facing off against fellow top ranked prospects Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon, Trouba has already been drafted and is one of 3 returning players. Trouba's job will be to lead the defence and set the tone of play. Trouba was taken in the first round by the Winnipeg Jets and has had previous success with the U17 and U18 American team. After the dismal showing last year look for Trouba to be motivated to bring home a medal.

Between the pipes the US will turn to John Gibson who was the back-up netminder during last years tournament. Gibson got a first hand look of what it takes to win games from last years tournament and has the added benefit of a second chance to fix mistakes. Playing in 20 games this season with the Kitchener Rangers he's won 13 games and has a solid .929 Save Percentage. After playing second fiddle last year, Gibson is ready to take on the starting role and hopefully propel the Americans back into medal contention. He will have the benefit of playing behind a team that is focusing mainly on defence but will still need to stay sharp and come up big during the penalty kill.

While games against their rivals Canada and Russia will be big games, the Americans will have to stay sharp and get the "easy" wins against teams like Slovakia and Germany to insure their inclusion in the medal round. In addition to some of the big names up front the Americans will be relying on some of their smaller players to help give them a boost. Rocco Grimaldi is the smallest player on the roster at 5 foot 6 and wont add much in terms of physical play but if he's given the time and space, the big ice surface will give him room to do his thing and could add another offencive weapon. Speed kills in the World Junior tournament and Grimaldi has tons of that.

This years American team has an added focus on defence and is looking to play close games like their overtime win over Sweden in the pre-competition.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"] Team USA will need to band together and stay out of the box[/caption]

Much like team Canada they will need to adapt to the way international refs call the game, the ruff, tough, hard hitting hockey played over in North America isn't

usually welcomed in Europe and the Americans have already found themselves in penalty trouble. The key for the Americans is to stay out of the box and play sound defensive hockey. While most people aren't expecting team USA to make it to the finals, they have the potential to be a surprise team. Coming in as the underdogs there is no room to slack off.