WJC 2013 World Junior Championships Thread

[Killah_punk]

Originally Posted by habsfan1122

no

you can play an underager to develop him but two is too much, mckinnon was completly out matched in this tournament but drouin wasnt.
on the other hand mckinnon was benched and when he had a little of ice time he was frustrated and took VERY bad frustration penalties.

The difference between Drouin and MacKinnon in the tournament was that Drouin was given the opportunity to shine while Mackinnon was given little to no chance to shine. Drouin is also a winger and MacKinnon is a center so MacKinnon had even more harder competition to crack the top 3 lines. Mackinnon is also more suited for the grinder role as he's more physical then Drouin and better defensively.
To say he was out matched is not accurate at all. Also not sure what your talking about with bad penalties when MacKinnon only took 2 minors the whole tournament and they were both in the same game against the US when the whole team played like crap. If MacKinnon had a bad camp he wouldn't of made the team. The fact that two 17 year old's made the team especially during a lockout season is a tribute to how well both played in camp. He earned his spot on the team. Pretty hard for MacKinnon to stand out when he's was given limited ice time. If Spott had half a brain he would of put them together with someone like Huberdeau as they showed great chemistry at the subway series. The few shift both Nate and Jo were together they looked good and were creating chances.
I hate how people will watch just this tournament and think Drouin and Jones are that much better then MacKinnon. Before the last 2 Canadian games people were jumping on the Drouin bandwagon saying he should go first overall in the draft. These assumptions should not be made based off a small sample of work. I watch these two play on a regular basis and while I agree Drouin has risen his stock significantly since last years playoffs I still think it's too soon to be touting him a number 1 pick in the upcoming draft.

[Killah_punk]

[thepolishkid88]

http://canada4thbest.ytmnd.com/

[habsfan1122]

Originally Posted by Killah_punk

To say he was out matched is not accurate at all. Also not sure what your talking about with bad penalties when MacKinnon only took 2 minors the whole tournament and they were both in the same game against the US when the whole team played like crap.

exactly this was the game i was talking about, two stupid frustrating penalties in a row because he was unable to skate at the american's level of competition, obviously mckinnon wasnt out matched by the germans. btw this was the game that we won against usa.

coach Tourigny did say they benched mckinnon because he couldnt keep up to the competition in his own zone so i dont know what you are talking about defensivly... he wasnt good enough for this tourney... but again hes not the reason why we lost it. poor coaching, poor goaltending and poor defense... and poor offense from 2nd-3th-4th lines.

[Killah_punk]

Originally Posted by habsfan1122

exactly this was the game i was talking about, two stupid frustrating penalties in a row because he was unable to skate at the american's level of competition, obviously mckinnon wasnt out matched by the germans. btw this was the game that we won against usa.

coach Tourigny did say they benched mckinnon because he couldnt keep up to the competition in his own zone so i dont know what you are talking about defensivly... he wasnt good enough for this tourney... but again hes not the reason why we lost it. poor coaching, poor goaltending and poor defense... and poor offense from 2nd-3th-4th lines.

He was a better skater then the majority of team Canada. His skating is NHL level right now and he is a far more explosive and powerful skater then Drouin. Drouin has the better hands and his hockey IQ is slightly better. The Americans were the fastest skating team with the Swedes not far behind. He was good enough this tournament. I am a Halifax guy and attend a lot of Moosehead games so i am very familiar with both MacKinnon and Drouin. Poor coaching is the reason Mackinnon looked average in the tournament and there is nothing wrong with being average when your 17 playing against a tournament that is more for 18 and 19 year olds. There is a reason he is ranked in most scouts top 2 for the upcoming draft. But you don't need to listen to what i half to say just look at the following scouting reports. Also Steve Spott said MacKinon can play any role whereas Drouin was only effective on the top 2 lines. So MacKinnon was in essence punished for being better defensively than Drouin. The coach was to blame for MacKinnon's results. He was put into a position to not be effective.

From the Hockey Writers.

With the NHL lock-out currently casting a gloomy shadow over hockey fans, MacKinnon’s emergence and continued progress has become one of the good-news stories in the sport of hockey so far this season. The 17 year-old excels on face-offs, is not afraid to drive the net and skate in heavy traffic to create scoring chances, and is blessed with above-average hockey acumen. He is also very strong on the puck, holds off defenders with his strength and his first few steps are explosive, giving him tremendous speed.

“His skill level with the quickness with which he can execute, read and react — there aren’t many players who can do that,” NHL central scouting director Dan Marr told NHL.com.

“At the Under-18, he displayed his A game to where he did some things that no other player in this draft class has shown,” Marr said.

“He’s great in every department,” said Russell. “He’s got great vision, extremely quick hands … he can reach full speed in about two strides, he can just accelerate.”

Mackinnon is a dynamic center who has all the tools to succeed at every level of play. Although he has a small frame, he plays big, using his physicality to knock down opponents and gain control of the puck. He has a dynamic vision and can see the play very well, paired with the amazing vision, he uses his powerful shot to get pucks past goalies in highlight reel fashion.

[theknuckler]

dont understand why canadians love the junior tournament so much. I think its boring ****ty hockey with future 3rd/4th lliners/minor leaguers. at least other countries don't buy the b/s hype with this tournament. TSN has canada hook line and sinker.

[Killah_punk]

Originally Posted by theknuckler

dont understand why canadians love the junior tournament so much. I think its boring ****ty hockey with future 3rd/4th lliners/minor leaguers. at least other countries don't buy the b/s hype with this tournament. TSN has canada hook line and sinker.

A lot of the other countries are starting to buy into the World Jrs. This tournament is popular in Sweden and the Americans are really starting to buy in also. Years ago the top 1 or 2 nations (Can and Rus) were significantly better then the rest. Now a lot of the other nations are starting to develop their young players much better. Look at Switzerland for example they might of only won one game but all there losses against teams ranked higher were close 1 goal games. Why would you say future 3rd/4th liners when there tons of guys who play in this tournament that go on to become star players at the NHL level. I think the level of hockey is very good it does however lack the physicality and international officiating can be so bad it's embarrassing. But besides that I think it's a great tournament. How can you not like watching the young kids playing their hearts out for the countries. Better then the greedy fuks in the NHL who are more concerned with their wallets then their love of the game.

[rondo]

:uniteds tates::gold medal:congrats to Phil Housley and his staff. Loved housley as a player especially in Winnipeg . He's 4th all- time amongst dman in scoring, trailing only borque, Coffey , macinnis. Wasn't exactly sure what there plan was early on but they got it figured out in a Hurry !

*Not sure how people could not like this tournament. To me it doesn't get much better. The greatest 17, 18., 19 year olds in the world playing there hearts out for the most part .

* Haven't seen a ton of McKinnon but in the subway series (orussia vs qmjhl stars) earlier this year I thought he was outstanding and feel Canada misused him .


*

[FightingIsGood]

I did watch several games of this tournament, and I wholeheartedly disagree that it's crappy hockey. I thought it was fun to watch, though the IIHF referees were frustrating as hell. I don't know what else anyone would expect - it's an international tournament, therefore you are not going to see overly physical play. That's just the way it is.

Congrats to Team USA for taking the gold.

[frankie515]

Crappy hockey? Personally, I think it is much more exciting than most of todays NHL games....

[HordiBrusk29]

Originally Posted by Killah_punk

I was not impressed with Steve Spott, poor coaching and he seemed to have a bias for the OHL guys.

Hockey Canada period has a bias for OHL players.

Originally Posted by frankie515

Crappy hockey? Personally, I think it is much more exciting than most of todays NHL games....

That doesn't say a lot. Golden Girls re-runs are more exciting than most NHL games. That said I'm not a big fan of the World Juniors either. People here seem crazy about it but I just don't get it. Then again I hate just about all International hockey tournaments/events.

[hebbe_25]

Originally Posted by theknuckler

dont understand why canadians love the junior tournament so much. I think its boring ****ty hockey with future 3rd/4th lliners/minor leaguers. at least other countries don't buy the b/s hype with this tournament. TSN has canada hook line and sinker.

The tournament has become HUGE in Sweden! I like it..

[Broons66]

Originally Posted by HordiBrusk29

Hockey Canada period has a bias for OHL players.



That doesn't say a lot. Golden Girls re-runs are more exciting than most NHL games. That said I'm not a big fan of the World Juniors either. People here seem crazy about it but I just don't get it. Then again I hate just about all International hockey tournaments/events.

Different type of hockey for sure, but it's a good way to see tomorrow's NHL'ers, for better or worse. The B's were well represented on team Canada, again for better or worse. Had three draft picks representing, Subban probably looked the worse. Oh well, let's see Subban in three years.

[HordiBrusk29]

Originally Posted by Broons66

Different type of hockey for sure, but it's a good way to see tomorrow's NHL'ers, for better or worse.

That's true. But the same could be said for watching major junior hockey, which is what has replaced the NHL (for good) for me since the lockout in 04-05. As a whole it's far more entertaining than the NHL, or the World Juniors, IMO. It's the closest hockey to what the NHL used to be. Although it too is slowly dying thanks to the NHL and constant rule changes in our sport. But that is all I have left. I just hope and pray it stays at the very least status quo for as long as possible.

[habsfan1122]

Originally Posted by HordiBrusk29

That's true. But the same could be said for watching major junior hockey, which is what has replaced the NHL (for good) for me since the lockout in 04-05. As a whole it's far more entertaining than the NHL, or the World Juniors, IMO. It's the closest hockey to what the NHL used to be. Although it too is slowly dying thanks to the NHL and constant rule changes in our sport. But that is all I have left. I just hope and pray it stays at the very least status quo for as long as possible.

word, junior hockey is first in my mind, when i buy tickets i dont have this impression of encouraging a bunch of greedy millionaires while im poor as scabies