World Juniors 2010 Review

[joel]

I thought I would share some thoughts on some of the standout performances that I noticed throught the tournament. Feel free to add your own thoughts on those players or other players that stood out for you. I'll try to continue to add more later on too..

Jordan Eberle (CAN):
I'll admit going into this years WJRs, I did not follow Canada much at all with the exception of the two US games (honestly, what kind of competition was there to watch in the other games). But of what I did see, Eberle has been tremendous. The kid is a great pressure player, and plays strong on the puck despite his size. He seems to have a quick, hard wrist shot (almost sakic good) and is very noticable in the offensive zone.

Chris Kreider (US):
He has awesome speed and some great puck skills. I have seen a lot of fast players that just cannot handle the puck at those topend speeds, but few that can handle the puck and weave by opposing players too. He seems to have a good, accurate shot. And his size, speed and skill combination are a rare package. I really wanted to draft this guy in last years NL Pool, but drafted him for Keian as his pick came before my own.

Jordan Schroeder (US):
Some sick skills. He is just so creative and sees the ice so well. He has the speed and skill to beat players one-on-one. He seems to be a player that will excel when lined up with other scoring threats. He was not as impressive this year as he was the past two, but still very noticable. Had he been 6'1, I would have rated him as the top forward, ahead of tavares in their draft year. Due to his size, I think he'll always need to play with other bigger bodied linemates to be fully effective. He is extremely dangerous when given the extra time and space afforded when playing with other attention attracting linemates. I attribute his less impressive play this tournament to have being assigned to the "midget" line on the US team.

Added 01-07-2010:
Magnus Paajarvi-Svenson (SWE)
Good Size. Great Speed and Great Skill. Anyone who talked to me about him, knows I hold him in high regard. I have been touting him for the better part of 2 years. He's the type of player who loves to have the puck on his stick. His puck protection skills off the chart, some compare his puck protection skills to that of Forsberg and he has no problems driving the puck to the net. He creates lots of chances in the offensive zone. He had a pretty good tournament and at times looked dominant on the ice. Given his level of skill and ability, one would expect him to look like a man amongst boys. However, it seems his effort level is not always there. He is by far the most NHL ready skater on the team though. EDM may not be big fans of his days off though.

Mattias Tedenby (SWE)
This guy was born to skate. I cannot stress how exceptional his skating is. He is truly one of a kind when it comes to his speed, agility, and puck handling. He is basically a highlight reel waiting to happen. If you want to see some sick skating skills you have to youtube his highlights. They are something else. He put up another ridiculous highlight reel moment against Finland this tournament, leaving his defender's jock strap around his ankles. Oh and then he deked out the goalie and scored.

Nikita Filatov (RUS)
He was expected to be dominant for this world juniors, but barely impressed at all. He was heavily relied on this team as the go to player. He was given lots of opportunity and played a lot of key situations but he just did not elevate himself above his teamates or competition. He was stripped of his captaincy before Russia's last game after losing out of the medal rounds. His compete level has really dropped off over the past year.

[Wetundies]

Jake Allen shoulda got pulled like the USA goalie after 3 goals.

[Keiho]

[JKY88]

Classy winners

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOeGQmvqWmo