World Jr. Hockey Championships

It's the most wonderful time of the yeeeeeear! Before the advent of NHL Gamecenter Live, which I've had the past couple years, the best hockey I had to look forward to over here in Korea was the annual TSN.ca televising of the World Jr. Hockey Championships. I love watching this tourney as much as American basketball fans love their March Madness and for a lot of the same reasons. These are young, hungry kids playing their hearts out to win for their team and country more than impress scouts. Not yet rich, spoiled businessmen playing to maintain their financial status without risking it through injury.

Last year the Canadian team came within a goal of the gold medal. It was the first time in quite a while anyone has taken it from Canada. But full marks for the US team. They were good. Aparently they are gonna be good THIS year again too and their playing in their own country. So team Canada is set up to do exactly what they had done to them last year. There are 4 guys on the team who settled for silver last year and they'll no doubt be telling the others how nice it was to get those medals. ANNNHHH! They'll be stomping on them, throwing them at walls, and grinding them down in the skate sharpener to ensure the boys know that nothing but gold is good enough.

The final rosters have been entered and the pre-tournament games begin on December 20th. I'm not sure if those will be aired on TSN.ca or not but I'm pretty sure I'll be watching livecasts of games provided by TSN.ca even if I'm teaching at a camp and have to be up at 3 AM to do so. Here's the sched: http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/feature/?id=4124

Nice thing is they keep them archived for NON-live viewing. The problem is accessing them without accidentally seeing the score. It's better just to watch them live. Hope you'll all be watching with me.

Here is a brief rundown of some of the players to watch. I don't know much about them but I'm crunching stats and a-googling. Here's what I've come up with.

Line 1?

Brayden Schenn is probably the class of the forwards on the team. A strapping farm boy from Saskatoon, he's already playing Center in the NHL for the LA Kings this year. He's got 2 assists in 8 games but is being used very sparingly. He scored 99 pts. in 59 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings last year so he got game. Some think he'll be the leading scorer for team Canada. I'm not so sure.

Jaden Schwartz is another Saskatchewan product. Though he is also a center he'll likely be on the wing with Schenn setting him up. He's a Colorado college boy right now but taking a break from the books to get some business done. He's got 26 pts. in 17 games with Colorado College this season.

Louis Leblanc is, (as the name would indicate), a Quebec Major Jr. Hockey League player for the Montreal Juniors. He's got 29 pts. in 24 games so far this season. Both Leblanc and Schwartz are a bit small, and they're both centers but since Leblanc shoots right and Schwartz shoots left they'll probably play right and left wing respectively. My UNtraditional wisdom says that should be reversed to get them some SWEET one-timers, but nobody ever listens to me.

Line 2

I think line two will be FAR more productive for team Canada.

Brett Connolly is a right handed sniper from Campbell River, BC who has 22 goals in 30 games for the PG Cougars in the WHL this season. He's a lanky 6'2 181 but he'll have some protection to his right that will allow him to freewheel. He'll center the best line of the tourney if it's put together.

Zack Kassian could be the guy folks. His 20-game suspensions and bar fights have taken a lot of attention away from the fact that this guy is a HUGE 6'3 226 bull-in-a-China-shop right winger who could run roughshod over this tourney. He'll barge into the opponent's zone, get the puck and set up one of his two sniping linemates a LOT if things are as they should be. He's got 48 pts. and 33 assists for the Windsor Spitfires this season. I sure hope this line is together!

Quinton Howden is an Oak Bank, Manitoba boy who ALSO has 22 goals this season. He plays for the Moosejaw Warriors in the WHL and got his 22 goals in only 29 games. He's a smooth skating left winger who will be the perfect complement to Kassian and Connolly.

Line 3

Sean Couturier He has the same initials as Sidney Crosby and is being compared to him all the time. Of course it's way too early but he IS someone who has a lot of eyes on him. This might be a detriment. He'll still get his share of points but the fact that he'll be targetted and the first line will get a lot of focus is just going to make line two better. He's from Bathurst, NB and has 51 pts. and 35 assists for Drummondville in the QMJHL this season. He has 3 more points than Kassian after having played 7 more games in a league where I think it's a little bit easier to score. But SHHHH, don't tell the other teams in the tourney.

Cody Eakin from Winterpeg, Manitoba is a character player. I think his nickname should be "Seth" because he looks like Seth Green. He's a natural center but has played on the wing. Good at forechecking and penalty killing he may be used in these roles. But he also has good hockey sense and rarely makes a bad pass. He has 18 goals and 39 pts. this season for the Swiftcurrent Broncos in the WHL.

Marcus Foligno seems to be a wildcard. He hasn't played in all the under 18, world jrs., world championships, etc. that everyone else on the team has played in. He has just gotten better at a staggeringly fast rate. At 6'2 200 lbs. he's a powerful left winger and he likes to get his nose dirty. Nobody will mess with Couturier or they'll go toe to toe with Marcus. But he's got 15 goals in 28 games with the Sudbury Wolves! He's no slouch. The 48 penalty minutes may be what got him on this team though. I am anxious to see this guy play.

The fourth line

Casey Cizikas is better known for his rugby play than hockey. Let's hope THAT changes this year. He aparently pile-drove a guy who was headlocking him in the midst of a rugby game. The guy already HAD head injuries and was medically ordered not to play but he died from head injuries and Casey was charged for manslaughter. Okay enough of that, I want to see him slaughter a few men as a member of what will probably be a hard-hitting 4th line for Canada. I think if this line is together and positioned properly they could do some scoring too. He's got 36 pts in 28 games with the Mississauga Majors in the OHL this season.

Carter Ashton is yet another Saskatchewan hockey playing lad who is a left-shooting right winger. I LOVE this idea because of the one-timer goals that leads to. He's also a big 6'3 219 grinder for the Regina Pats in the WHL who has 44 penalty minutes already. Hopefully he accumulates penalties wisely.

Ryan Johansen is a right shooting center who I think should be put on the left side of this line. I remember watching olympic and world jr. hockey last year and seeing a couple huge trends. One was the ease with which off-handed wingers were piling up the one-timer goals. I felt Canada, (as usual the more traditional thinking team), was probably taking the LEAST advantage of this tactic and could have made things easier for themselves if they had. Will they try it this year. I doubt it. But Johansen has 36 pts. in 31 games with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL this season. He might center a line but I like him here.

That's it for the forwards. The defence I will just sum up. Jared Cowan is back. I loved his big hits at last year's World Jrs. and am looking forward to the same this year along with his stifling defence.

Ryan Ellis is the all time leading scorer amongst Canadian defencemen in the tourney. And he's back to extend his record. He's a tiny 5'10 154 but he'll be buzzing around and scoring more than most forwards. He's already got 40 pts. in 27 games as a defenceman with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. I think he'll be my favourite guy on the team. I can't wait to see how he does in the NHL!

Calvin de Haan returns this year to avenge his silver medal from 2010. He's steady and will have the confidence of being in his second WJHC.

Simon Despres is 6'4 222 but he's supposed to be a guy who can also score. He's a smooth skater and good shot blocker. He plays in the QMJHL where, as I said, I believe it's a bit easier to score, and I've heard has been kinda disappointing so far in training. We'll see...

Tyson Barrie is an offensive-minded defenceman. He plays for the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL and has 25 pts. in 23 games this season. He's a mainstay on their powerplay. Could be a good pairing with Ellis for power play situations.

Dylan Olsen is the only Alberta boy on the team. He's 6'2 222 and has 9 assists in 12 games for the NCAA college Duluth team this year. I imagine he'll be a stay-at-homer.

Erik Gudbranson was the captain of the Canadian under 18 team that included some of these same players. He's a rock solid 6'4 211 and the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL will tell you he doesn't let many guys past him. He's a very physical player in his own end. But he also has a great outlet pass and hard shot from the point. Leadership is strong and I wouldn't be surprised to see him as the captain though Ryan Ellis might be the more likely choice.

So watch out for Canada this year! They're predicted to be not so much a one-line team and I think that will be good for them. It will spread the other teams thinner so we can take advantage of our depth. Usually that's Canada's biggest strength.

GO CANADA GO!