WJC Players To Watch

The 2009 World Junior Championship gets underway today with 4 games, unfortunately not all are televised and those that are may or may not be available to YOU depending on where you live. I know the USA games are being carried by the NHL Network south of the border but up here at the same time we get to watch documetaries instead of actual games. Go figure.

Anyway, I decided to throw together a list of players who I have an interest in following in this year's tournament. Some on the list will be players you've heard of, some won't be. I've seen several lists from the mainstream media this week proclaiming John Tavares and Victor Hedman as "players of note" to which I say "Um... gee, thanks?"

Dean and I were proclaiming those two as players to watch LAST YEAR. It doesn't take a genius to point out that the top two rated players for 2009 are "players of note".

With that said, here's who I'm watching for this year.

Andrej Nestrasil (CZE) - He's playing in Victoriaville (QMJHL) and leads his team in scoring with 30 points in 36 games. He's only got 10 goals so far but still, he's a 6'2 195 lb 17-year-old that is enjoying a lot of success in North America already. Central Scouting and ISS consider him one of the top 2 or 3 draft eligible players from the Q but I haven't seen anyone listing him in the top 20 yet... and I'm wondering why not.

Tomas Vincour (CZE) - I see him a lot here in Edmonton but like Robin Figren last year, the Oil Kings aren't exactly top heavy when it comes to skill. I want to see what Vincour does when he's surrounded by it at the WJC. He was considered a first rounder in the summer but now seems to be appearing in the second round on most lists I've seen. A strong tournament might turn that around for him. (photo courtesy Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings)

Juha Metsola (FIN) - Frankly I'm surprised that he's not property of a NHL team already and that he was passed over twice in the NHL draft. I can understand it in his draft year because he barely played but last year he was very good for Lethbridge especially in the second half of the season and in the playoffs. He's not big but he's capable of making those spectacular athletic saves like he did against Canada in their exhibition tune up game last week. (not sure if this link will work but try here).

Harri Sateri (FIN) - If Metsola doesn't start then I assume that job will fall to the San Jose Sharks prospect. Sateri is the anti-Metsola... much bigger and more of the stereotypical technical goalie. For some reason he dropped all the way to the 4th round last year. Maybe there is a reason or maybe it was good fortune for San Jose?

Teemu Hartikainen (FIN) - "Poor man's Thomas Holmstrom", that's how Oiler scouts described him to me after the draft. That's setting the bar pretty high though so it will be interesting to see if that comparison makes any sense after watching Hartikainen play with the best in the world in his age group. He's having a decent year in the top finnish league though.

Vitaly Karamnov (RUS) - He was considered a 1st round talent in 2007 but was passed over by NHL teams because he apparently had no interest in playing in North America. Oddly enough, two months later he was skating for the Everett Silvertips. Karamnov didn't get drafted again though in 2008, one NHL exec told me that "there was no progress in his development" during his WHL season. Karamnov went back to Russia and is now playing a small role with Moscow Dynamo in the KHL. (photo courtesy Everett Silvertips)

Sweden (SWE) - Honestly... with so many 2009 eligible players on the team as well as already drafted guys like Jacob Markstrom, Erik Karlsson and Mikael Backlund to check out, Sweden's games will be Must-See-TV.



Danny Kristo (USA) - He's the second youngest American in the tournament (and Schroeder is an obvious viewing target too) but his play at the 2008 WJAC in Camrose has me wanting to see Kristo on this bigger stage. He's already drafted (MTL, 2nd Round in 2008) and will head to North Dakota next year but, like with Vincour, I want to see him perform when he's surrounded by players who are as good or better than him.

The rest of the USA squad and Canadian team are packed full of intriguing players but most of them have already received the appropriate level of hype so I'll pass on adding to it.

One thing Dean pointed out to me about the USA team that I find really interesting: When was the last time that both goalies and the team captain were CHL players? With Thomas McCollum (Guelph) and Josh Unice (Kitchener) in net and Jonathon Blum (Vancouver) wearing the C... it's hard to make an argument this year that CHL players were victims of conspiracy. There are a total of 8 CHL players on the team compared to one NCAA player on the Canadian side (Cody Goloubef).

Goalies I'm watching for: Metsola/Sateri (FIN), Timo Pielmeier (GER), Jacob Markstrom (SWE). The team that wins the gold usually receives the best goaltending but although I've predicted Canada to place on top and I'm on record saying Dustin Tokarski and Chet Pickard
are stellar goalies... I won't be suprised if one of the above gets some press over the next few weeks.

Top 5 Overagers for 2008

Every year good players fall through the cracks and don't get drafted. Too small, didn't play enough during their draft year, not seen enough by NHL scouts, late bloomer; there are lots of reasons it happens but every year it does and then the next draft some of those guys get scooped up as overagers.

Here are some of the top guys that fit the category this year and I'm sure we missed a couple good ones so feel free to add their names in the comments section! And YES... i realize my top 5 list has 6 names on it.

Viktor Tikhonov - Severstal Cherepovets (Russia)

He was passed over in both 2006 and 2007 and a big part of the reason why is the lack of a transfer agreement with Russia. But with an outstanding performance at the 2008 WJC in the Czech Republic, the 6' Russian forward could be a priority target for some teams this time around. Like 1st round priority. He had several interviews at the NHL combine and one scout I talked to couldn't say enough good things about him including his total shock at Tikhonov's grasp on English (He's fluent with no accent). Tikhnov actually grew up in California when his dad worked for the San Jose Sharks and in fact the 20-year-old only got his Russian passport in the last few years telling the NHL scout that he's spent a lot more time in North America than he has in Russia. He played for Severstal Cherepovets this past season and had 12 points in 43 games.

Vitaly Karamnov - Everett Silvertips (WHL)

Last year there were scouting agencies that had Karamnov listed as a potential first rounder but teams stayed away because the player had expressed no desire to play in North America. Imagine the shock and dismay of those NHL teams when just two months later Karamnov turned up in the WHL playing for the Everett Silvertips! The Moscow native had 25 points in his rookie year with the 'Tips playing in a 2-way role. He was invited to training camp by the Edmonton Oilers last fall, one of the teams who had initially toyed with the idea of drafting him. Will he get picked up this year now that his intent on playing on this side of the pond is without question?

Juha Metsola - Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

Last year Central Scouting had the Finnish netminder listed as the 4th best goalie in Europe and yet no team took a chance on him. Why? He's listed at 5'10 and 165 lbs, that's why. However, this past season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes should give teams reason to reconsider his ability to play. He 1.98 GAA and .916 SV% in 23 regular season games, was named CHL Goalie of the Week twice this past season (March 3rd and April 15th). In the playoffs he got the nod from coach Mike Dyck and carried the load for the Hurricanes. His post season numbers were solid again including 3 shutouts in 18 games.

Ben Wright - Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

Originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 4th round (113th overall) in2006 but was surprisignly not signed to a contract and so re-enters the draft pool this year. Wright was named captain of the Hurricanes at the start of the year and represented his club well this past season. He had 10 points in 19 playoff games after a 38 point regular season where he boasted a plus-15 rating. He's 6'2 and a hair under 200 lbs, plays a solid 2-way game and could be compared to a guy like Steve Staios, a leader that can round out a defensive corps with dependable play in his own end and chip in some points as a bonus.

Mike Murphy - Belleville Bulls (OHL)

The OHL Goalie of the Year was a major factor why the Bulls fared as well as they did this year in getting to the Memorial Cup. Passed over in previous years because he'd never played more than 18 games in a OHL season until this year where he was stellar in 44 outings. His 2.24 GAA and .929 SV% were the best in the regular season. Head coach George Burnett told me that he had no qualms about Murphy's potential as a pro and the 5'11 keeper should be poised for a huge year in 2008-09 with the Bulls.

Colin Long - Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Last but not least, this California product had a massive year for the Rockets finishing the year as one of only two players to break the 100-point plateau in the WHL (Nashville's Mark Santorelli won the scoring race with 101 points). Long isn't big at 5'11 and 175 lbs and of his 100 points only 31 were goals; some I have spoken to suggested to me that linemate Jamie Benn's transfer from the BCHL was the key to Long's success. However, to me that just goes to show that with a talented linemate Long has proven that he can raise his game and play that complementory game very well. Certainly worth being drafted in my opinion, the question is "how high"? Colin was recently invited to try out for Team USA in Lake Placid where they are going to build their 2009 WJC squad.

Tonight on the show we're airing the Nikita Filatov interview, you won't want to miss that one, plus we're also recapping our mock draft picks 1-25 and announcing our final 5 of round 1. If you miss it, I'll be psoting both of our lists on the blog in the next day or two.