Noah Delemont – McKeen's Hockey

2022 IIHF World Junior Championship Preview

Zack Szweras — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 13:26:09 +0000

World Juniors’ Preview

Group A:

There is going to be a ton of competition out of this group, between Canada, Finland and Czechia. With this tournament being held in August, there will be omissions of players attending NHL training camp with the hope of making their respective NHL rosters. It will be interesting to see which countries will benefit the most from this.

Czechia

Line Projections

Jiri Kulich – Michal Gut – Jan Mysak

Ivan Ivan – Gabriel Szturc – Petr Hauser

Martin Rysavy – Matyas Sapovaliv – Jaroslav Chmelar

Tomas Urban – Matous Mensik – Jakub Kos

Stanislav Svozil – David Jiricek

Jiri Tichacek – Stepan Nemec

Tomas Hamara – David Spacek

Jan Bednar

Tomas Suchanek

Czechia is entering this tournament with one of the more complete group of defencemen. Highlighted by Columbus Blue Jacket’s prospects David Jiricek and Stanislav Svozil, it will be tough to get around their big-bodied defence. On top of that, Tomas Hamara, David Spacek and Jiri Tichacek can provide offence from the blueline. Currently David Jiricek did not travel with the team as he tested positive for COVID.

To complement their defence, they also have NHL drafted forwards spread through their lineup. The most notable names include Jiri Kulich, who was recently selected 28th in the 2022 entry draft from the Buffalo Sabres, Jan Mysak the Canadiens prospect who produced this year for the Hamilton Bulldogs on their way to win the OHL cup and Matyas Sapovaliv, the playmaking power forward taken in the 2nd round of this year’s draft by the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Everett Silvertips’ center Michal Gut will look to provide his improved playmaking, likely playing alongside goal scorers Kulich and Mysak.

Lastly, they will be looking for solid goaltending from Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Jan Bednar. With all their skill in their top-six forwards and on their blueline, Czechia will have to hope their depth can hold up and keep up with powerhouses like Finland and Canada.

Canada

Josh Roy – Mason McTavish – Connor Bedard

Kent Johnson– Logan Stankoven – Tyson Forester

Brennan Othman – Ridley Greig – William Dufour

Will Cuylle – Elliot Desnoyers – Nathan Gaucher

Donovan Sebrango – Olen Zellweger

Ryan O’Rourke – Lukas Cormier

Ronan Seely – Jack Thompson

Dylan Garand

Brett Brochu

While the Canadian team looks drastically different from the cancelled January World Juniors, they still have a strong chance of going far in this tournament. Offensively, Canada is loaded with the likes of Mason McTavish, Kent Johnson, Logan Stankoven and of course, 2023 projected first overall pick, Connor Bedard. Mason McTavish looked dominant in the January World Juniors. Using his combination of size, speed and skill to bully opponents, he will look to continue his success. The potential pairing of Kent Johnson and Logan Stankoven should be extremely fun to watch, as Johnson has elite skill often undressing defenders and Stankoven dominated the WHL last year, winning not only the WHL but the CHL player of the year award. Lastly, who can forget the name Connor Bedard, the 17-year-old phenom is coming off a season in which he produced 100 points in 61 WHL games and don’t forget he became the second 16-year-old to score a hat trick for Canada in the cancelled January World Juniors since some guy named Wayne Gretzky.

Defensively, Canada took a large blow losing both Kaiden Guhle and Owen Power, however they still have plenty of talent with Olen Zellweger, Ryan O’Rourke and Lukas Cormier. Olen Zellweger took his offensive game to another level last year producing 78 points in 55 games as an 18-year-old. He will see time running Canada’s powerplay. O’Rourke is a strong two-way defenceman who never takes a shift off, always trying to be involved, whether it’s a big hit, transition pass or a poke check to change momentum. O’Rourke will likely be paired with Lukas Cormier as Cormier is an extremely gifted offensive defenceman. While O’Rourke can bring strong defensive presence, Cormier will look for opportunities to transition the puck and join the odd man rush.

The final question for Canada is their goaltending. They are coming into the tournament with three solid options in Dylan Garand, Brett Brochu and Sebastian Cossa. All indications point to Garand and Brochu battling it out for the starting goaltending position. No matter who takes the net, Canada should be comfortable with all options available. Canada will be a team to beat this tournament.

Slovakia

Line Projections

Maros Jedlicka – Jakub Demek – Adam Sykora

Servac Petrovsky – Oleksiy Myklukha – Matej Kaslik

Samuel Honzek – Dalibor Dvorsky – Roman Faith

Oliver Stumpel – Peter Repcik – Lubomir Kupco

Rayen Petrovicky – Viliam Kmec

Adam Stripai – Maxim Strbak

Simon Groch – Boris Zabka

Tomas Bolo

Patrik Andrisik

Slovakia has taken a large hit from the tournament being held in August rather than December as top prospects Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec and Filip Mesar are not on the roster as they focus on NHL training camps. With that being said, there are still plenty of names worth watching. Looking at the forwards, Slovakia will be leaning on New York Rangers’ forward Adam Sykora to generate offence, who has made a strong impact on all international teams for Slovakia over the past year. Besides Sykora, Slovakia will be looking at Maros Jedlicka, who had a strong season in Slovakia, Minnesota Wild’s prospect Servac Petrovsky and Vegas

Golden Knights’ prospect Jakub Demek to provide support. The biggest name to watch for Slovakia, however, will be 2023 draft eligible Dalibor Dvorsky. Dvorsky as of now is seen as a top 10 talent in the upcoming draft and continues to find success internationally. The blueline is truly taking a toll with 2nd overall pick Simon Nemec opting not to participate in this tournament. Slovakia will look to rely on Rayen Petrovicky to give them top pairing minutes and solid defence from the backend. With the lack of depth, another 2023 draft eligible, Maxim Strbak, will be asked to step up to the plate. Strbak was a large piece of the Slovak team that won silver medal at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and looks to make his name known as someone to keep an eye on during his draft year.

Finally, in net Slovakia will most likely look towards 20-year-old Tomas Bolo as the starter for the team. Bolo has consistently played for Slovakia in international play and played well for Slovakia at the start of the cancelled World Juniors this past January. Overall, Slovakia will be an exciting team to watch, but will need to overcome the lack of depth in order to compete in a strong Group A.

Finland

Line Projections

Roni Hirvonen – Aatu Raty – Joakim Kemell

Ville Koivunen – Samuel Helenius – Brad Lambert

Roby Jarventie – Juuso Maenpaa – Kasper Simontaival

Eetu Liukas – Oliver Kapanen – Kalle Vaisanen

Petteri Nurmi – Topi Niemela

Eemil Viro – Ruben Rafkin

Aleksi Heimosalmi – Kasper Puutio

Leevi Merilainen

Jani Lampinen

There is legitimate competition between Finland and Canada for the top team in this Group A. Finland is loaded with a ton of talent up front, with every player in their projected top-six being selected in the 1st or 2nd round in their NHL draft. Both Aatu Raty and Brad Lambert have a chip on their shoulder to score this tournament as they each went into their draft years as projected top three picks and ended up sliding down on draft day. Finland is also lucky to have some strong playmakers on offence as Roni Hirvonen and Ville Koivunen have both proven their ability to set teammates up in Liiga. When Finland is looking for someone to bury the puck, the first option will almost always be Joakim Kemell, the elite goal scorer started last season on an absolute tear and finished with 15 goals in 39 Liiga games while battling through injuries in his draft year.

Transitioning to defence, Finland is lucky to be anchored by the player awarded best defenceman in the 2020 World Juniors in Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenceman Topi Niemela. Niemela is likely to be paired with defensive defenceman and Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Petteri Nurmi in order to give Niemela the comfort to get involved in the offensive game. Another name to watch closely on the blue line is Carolina Hurricanes’ prospect Aleksi Heimosalmi, who is an extremely strong skater that thrives in the transition game. Finland is backing it all up with Ottawa Senators’ prospect Leevi Merilainen as the projected starter. While he struggled in his first year playing for the Kingston Frontenacs, Merilainen has produced during his time with the international squad. It will be extremely exciting to see the skill of this Finnish team.

Latvia

Line Projections

Girts Silkalns – Klavs Veinbergs – Arni Ravinskis

Peteris Purmalis – Dans Locmelis – Sandis Vilmanis

Felikss Gavars – Martins Lavins – Darels Durkurs

Rainers Darzins – Raimonds Vitolins – Danils Andersons

Ralfs Bergmanis – Niks Fenenko

Harijs Brants – Rihards Simanovics

Bogdans Hodass – Gustavs Ozolins

Bruno Bruveris

Patrick Berzins

In a strong Group A, Latvia seems likely to finish in the bottom of the standings. While there are still talented players on this team, it would take a miracle for Latvia to advance to the quarterfinals. Taking a look at the forwards, Latvia will likely pair MHL teammates Girts Silkalns and Klavs Veinbergs together. Continuing the teammate trend, Dans Locmelis and Sandis Vilmanis will likely see a large amount of ice time together for Latvia coming off a strong season together playing in the J20 league producing 34 and 32 points, respectively. Both Locmelis and Vilmanis were recently drafted in the 2022 NHL draft, Locemlis was taken in the 4th round by the Boston Bruins and Vilmanis was selected in the 5th round by the Florida Panthers.

Latvia’s blueline will be anchored by 17-year-old defenceman Niks Fenenko. Fenenko went undrafted in the 2022 NHL draft despite having a fairly solid season playing the QMJHL scoring 40 points in 62 games. Projected to partner with Fenenko is University of Vermont commit, Ralfs Bergmanis. Although he is only 5’10”, Bergmanis is willing to throw his body around and disrupt play. The likely starter in net for Latvia will be 20-year-old Bruno Bruveris, who spent the past year playing with Cedar Rapids of the USHL, posting a 3.02 GAA with a .873 SV%. It would be an upset to see Latvia make the quarterfinals let alone win a game in this tough Group.

Group B:

Group B is expected to be dominated by two powerhouses in the United States and Sweden. It will be exciting to see if any of Germany, Switzerland or Austria can challenge either powerhouse and shake up the group. Even with losing players due to NHL training camps, the United States and Sweden are still positioned to make it far in this tournament.

United States

Line Projections

Matthew Knies – Logan Cooley – Matthew Coronato

Landon Slaggert – Thomas Bordeleau – Carter Mazur

Sasha Pastujov – Hunter Mckown – Brett Berard

Red Savage – Charlie Stramel – Mackie Samoskevich

Wyatt Kaiser – Sean Behrens

Tyler Kleven – Ian Moore

Jacob Truscott – Brock Faber

Remington Keopple

Andrew Oke

The United States are coming into this tournament with an extreme amount of talent on both the offensive and defensive side of the ice. While they may have one of the most talented rosters entering the August World Juniors, they have one major concern, the goaltending. No matter which goaltender starts the tournament for them, it will be an undrafted goaltender. Before we dig deeper, let us take a look at their firepower upfront. It will be extremely exciting to be able to see a line consisting of Matthew Knies, Logan Cooley and Matthew Coronato. All three have played for the USNTDP and each are considered offensive forces.

On top of that, the US finally will be able to have Thomas Bordeleau play for them as he unfortunately missed the last several World Juniors. The depth of the US forwards is something to be amazed at. Players like Sasha Pastujov and Mackie Samozkevich, each have immense skill and will provide scoring depth throughout the lineup. In addition, 2023 draft eligible Charlie Stramel looks to have made a strong impression and has carved out a role on this team. It will be interesting to see how this boosts his draft stock entering his draft year.

Taking a look at the US defence, it may be one of the most talented pools of defenceman in this tournament. There are many reliable names defensively on the backend including captain Brock Faber, Tyler Kleven, Jacob Truscott and Wyatt Kaiser. Offensively, the US will lean on Sean Behrens and Ian Moore to pinch and provide odd man rushes from the blueline. It is extremely important for their defence to play up to the level that many expect them to as they are going to play behind lesser named goaltenders in Remington Keopple and Andrew Oke. Keopple, the older of the two goalies, played this past season with Des Moines of the USHL, putting up a 3.06 GAA and a .896 SV%. Oke, who is only 18, had a worse season playing for a poor Saginaw team in the OHL. He produced a 4.63 GAA with a .848 SV%. If the US can protect their goaltenders they will be in for a long run.

Switzerland

Line Projections

Simon Knak – Joshua Fahrni – Jonas Taibel

Fabian Ritzmann – Joel Henry – Marlon Graf

Attilio Biasca – Micolas Baechler – Kevin Nicolet

Joel Marchon – Mats Alge – Tim Muggli

Giancarlo Chanton – Noah Delemont

Nick Meile – Dario Sidler

Rodwin Dionicio – Arno Nussbaumer

Noah Patenaude

Andri Henauer

The battle for the third spot in Group B will be a close one to watch and Switzerland will have to rely on a mix of veteran and youth to avoid relegation. The most notable forward for Switzerland is 20-year-old Nashville Predators’ prospect Simon Knak who has split time between the WHL and the Swiss National League. Knak has a knack for forechecking, often using his skating ability to provide pressure to puck carriers hoping to pounce on loose pucks. Switzerland will also rely on the youth, with 17-year-old Jonas Taibel likely playing top line minutes. He finished the previous season with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL, producing 21 points in 57 games.

On the backend, Switzerland will turn to 20-year-old Noah Delemont to cover significant minutes for them. Delemont is calm cool and collected on the ice, which allows him to scan theice and use his strong vision to pass the puck. Like their forwards, Switzerland will again look to the youth and 18-year-old Nick Melie, who has been a consistent part of Switzerland’s international teams, producing four points in nine games at the U18’s. Switzerland is most comfortable with their goaltending. Noah Patenaude has proven to be reliable, playing for Saint John in the QMJHL producing a 2.96 GAA and a .914 SV%. With a little luck and strong goaltending, Switzerland has the chance to steal a couple games.

Germany

Line Projections

Alexander Blank – Danjo Leonhardt – Josef Eham

Markus Schweiger – Joshua Samanski – Justin Volek

Haakon Hanlet – Bennett Rossmy – Maciej Rutkowski

Thomas Heigl – Luca Hauf – Yannick Proske

Maksymilian Szuber – Luca Munzenberger

Adrian Klein – Maximilian Glotzl

Arkadiusz Dziambor – Korbinian Geibel

Florian Bugl

Niklas Lunemann

Germany was one of the unfortunate teams that were heavily affected by having the tournament moved from January to August as they had to replace seven players from the January roster. On offence, Germany will be leaning on Alexander Blank, Danjo Leonhardt and Josef Eham. Alexander Blank was off to a hot start for Germany in January scoring 3 points in 2 games before it was cancelled. Leonhardt, on the other hand, had a strong season playing in the Alps Hockey League finishing the past season with 35 points in 32 games. Both Leonhardt and Eham are teammates for RB Hockey in the Alps Hockey League and their chemistry should be used on a line together. Eham, like Leonhardt, had a great season finishing with a 1.14 point per game.

Defensively, the go-to player for Germany will be Luca Munzenberger. The former 3rd round pick of the Edmonton Oilers played the previous season for the University of Vermont. At Vermont, Munzernberger has polished his defence working on his gap control. Projected to play across from Munzenberger is Maksymilian Szuber who spent the majority of the season in the DEL playing for EHC Munchen. Szuber, an Arizona Coyotes’ draft pick, is a large raw defenceman who uses his body to his advantage.

In net, Germany will rely on 20-year-old Florian Bugl who dominated the Alps Hockey League last season producing a 2.27 GAA and a .916 SV%. Bugl looked fairly sturdy in January in his lone game in the cancelled World Juniors. Germany will be in a strong battle to avoid relegation and make the quarterfinals.

Austria

Line Projections

Oskar Maier – Leon Wallner – Moritz Lackner

Jonas Dobnig – Ian Scherzer – Senna Peeters

Fin Vann Ee – Luca Auer – Maximilian Hengelmuller

Tim Geifes – Janick Wernicke – Nico Kramer

Tobias Sablattnig – Martin Urbanek

David Reinbacher – Christoph Tialler

Lukas Horl – Lukas Necesany

Leon Sommer

Thomas Pfarrmaier

Similar to Switzerland and Germany, Austria will be trying to avoid relegation and will fight for a spot in the quarterfinals. The majority of Austria’s offence will be ran through Oskar Maier and Leon Wallner. Maier was named captain of the RB Hockey team in the Alps hockey league last year, finishing the season with 24 points in 27 games. Wallner, on the other hand, played his season in Sweden in the J20 league, producing 37 points in 28 games. An exciting name to watch for Austria this World Juniors is 2023 draft eligible Ian Scherzer. Last season, Scherzer excelled in the Swedish J18 league scoring 15 points in 17 games. He will be using this tournament as a platform to get himself noticed by NHL scouts.

Austria’s backend will be fortified by the youth with the likes of 19-year-old Tobias Sablattnig and 17-year-old David Reinbacher. Sablattnig spent the majority of the season in the Alps Hockey League where the 6’0” defenceman was able to put up 16 points in 37 games. Reinbacher has spent the past season between the U-20 Elit league and the Swiss League. The 2023 draft eligible put up a combined 33 points in 50 games and will look to use this tournament as a platform to get drafted.

Lastly, the net will be occupied by Leon Sommer who played for a poor Steel Wings Linz of the Alps Hockey league allowing 3.16 GAA while carrying a .910 SV%. Austria will hope their youth will be able to step up and lead their team to a few victories.

Sweden

Oskar Olausson – Daniel Ljungman – Fabian Lysell

Isak Rosen – Theodor Neiderbach – Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Linus Sjodin – Ake Stakkestad – Daniel Torgersson

Oskar Magnusson – Victor Stjernborg – Albert Sjoberg

Simon Edvinsson – Helge Grans

Leo Loof – Mans Forsfjall

Emil Andrae – William Wallinder

Jesper Wallstedt

Calle Clang

The other power house in Group B, Sweden has an enormous amount of talent up front and will look to lean on their skill to bring them a medal. The projected first line of Oskar Olausson, Daniel Ljungman and Fabian Lysell will be looked upon to set the offensive tone for Sweden. Olausson and Lysell both have a combination of speed and skill, which they use to transition the puck and attack the offensive zone. Ljungman has proven to be a good two-way centre who will provide support on both sides of the ice. Sweden still has options down the line including a pair of first round picks in Buffalo Sabres’ prospect Isak Rosen and Vancouver Canucks’ prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Both these players spent a large chunk of the previous season in the SHL in limited roles and were still able to produce.

The backend is where Sweden will excel, anchoring it will be none other than 6’6” Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Simon Edvinsson who has a unique combination of size, physicality and speed. Opposite of Edvinsson should be Helge Grans, the two-way defender uses his speed and long reach to close gaps and attack forwards turning over possession. To show the depth on this defence, the projected bottom pairing, Emil Andrae and William Wallinder, should make a large impact for Sweden. Andrae is an extremely skilled offensive defenceman who put up 33 points in 41 games in the Hockey Allsvenkan league. His partner Wallinder is a big bruising 6’4” defenceman who will crush any player in his way.

In net is where Sweden has the largest advantage though, with Minnesota Wild’s prospect Jesper Wallstedt. Wallstedt improved on his draft year season playing 22 games in the SHL and putting up ridiculous numbers with a 1.98 GAA and a .918 SV%. It is going to be extremely difficult to score on Sweden in this tournament.

WJ Predicitons

Group A

Canada

Finland

Czechia

Slovakia

Latvia

Group B

Sweden

USA

Germany

Switzerland

Austria

Quarterfinals

Canada over Switzerland

Finland over Germany

Czechia over USA

Sweden over Slovakia

Semifinals

Canada over Finland

Sweden over Czechia

Medals

Sweden – Gold

Canada – Silver

Finland – Bronze

Tournament MVP – Connor Bedard

Best Forward – Mason McTavish

Best Defenceman – Simon Edvinsson

Best Goaltender – Jesper Wallsted

All-Tournament team

F – Connor Bedard

F – Mason McTavish

F – Logan Cooley

D – Simon Edvinsson

D – Topi Niemela

G – Jesper Wallstedt

2022 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: TEAM SWITZERLAND – Plenty of Talent, Established Players; Can the Team be the Sum of its Parts?

Chapin Landvogt — Sun, 26 Dec 2021 17:01:03 +0000

Things were anything but hunky dory for Switzerland at last winter’s WJC. In fact, the best thing about the tournament was that there was no relegation round for Covid-related reasons (well, the IIHF had canceled all other U20 events), because the Swiss basically only played one impressive period of hockey, which was too little too late as it was the third period of a do-or-die loss to archrival Germany, which went on to the playoffs for the first time in its WJC history. Back home in Switzerland, it proved to be an unthinkable result and led to many questions about the state of player development and where exactly the Swiss truly stand in the hockey world.

EDMONTON, AB CANADA - DECEMBER 29: Canada vs Switzerland preliminary round action at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship at Rogers Place on December 29, 2020 in Edmonton, AB Canada. (Photo by Andrea Cardin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

A look at the roster a year later would indicate that the inevitable long-winded analysis has pointed out that as many returnees as possible should be along for the ride while just about anyone playing halfway decently outside of Switzerland should be banked on as well. Among those on the preliminary roster, there are 10 returnees, which is one of the highest sums in the tournament. There are also two goalies, four defensemen, and five forwards currently playing their hockey in North America or Sweden, and that’s not including team leaders Simon Knak (NAS), Noah Delemont, and Giancarlo Chanton, each of whom have at least one season of CHL play under their belt. The team will be very prepared for the ice surface in Red Deer and the program is surely hoping that all those returnees will be returning to Alberta with a burning desire to right last winter’s wrongs.

This all said, test games from the summer and most recently at the 4 Nations Tournament in Norway were conducted with a good handful of players who are not on this roster and didn’t necessarily provide much more than average results, including a recent loss to a German squad that is looking a lot like the one showing up in Edmonton. Furthermore, that’ll mean that the nation that has four official languages is now sending a team to the WJC that hasn’t had a whole lot of time to gel. There’s plenty of talent here and even a few very established players for this age range, but can the team be the sum of its parts? Those admittedly solid players will need to be on the same page ASAP in order to surmount the challenges ahead of them.

The onus will be on coach Marco Bayer’s head to gain much different results than last winter.

Stopping pucks can lead to wins

It’s not clear who the team’s starter will be, but 18-year-olds Noah Patenaude and Kevin Pasche, playing in the QMJHL and USHL respectively, will have the inside track on the starting job and both are in the midst of very positive and successful seasons. A 7-2-2 record for Patenaude may have him on the inside track, as Pasche’s strong numbers in the USHL are being racked up a level below CHL play. Loic Galley appears to be the third option and has done fairly well at both the U20 and MSL (Swiss 3rd league) levels. This is his last year of eligibility, but it looks like he’s just along for the ride. Lucas Rötheli, currently injured, likely would have had his name in the mix for one of the top two spots, but the Swiss will have to hope that Bayer knows who to go with and when, because they just need one outstanding goaltending performance at the right time to at least avoid the relegation round.

They better have a bonafide starter in place should they end up there.

Mixture of experience and promise up front

The forward corps is interesting for both fans and the scouting community alike. Captain Simon Knak is the only drafted player among the attackers, but two seasons in Portland of the WHL have him very knowledgeable about Red Deer and what is in store for his Swiss colleagues. Still, he’s not exactly tearing up the Swiss NL this season and his production has always left more to be desired at U20 and U18 Worlds. Next to him, Lorenzo Canonica of the Shawinigan Cataractes will need to be a go-to guy in all things offense. With 27 points in 29 games, he’s the most productive of all the North American contingent on the team. Nonetheless, the Swiss are going to need primarily Attilio Biasca, Louis Robin (both QMJHL), Keanu Derungs (both WHL), and Ray Fust (USHL) to bring their experience on North American ice to the table and make some noise up front, something Derungs and Biasca couldn’t do much of last winter.

After that, the proof will be in the pudding for the NL legionaries, because the team features a whole handful of them who are currently occupying lower line roles for their pro clubs and have five points or fewer this season, including Dario Allenspach, Lilian Garessus, Christophe Cavelleri, Valentin Hofer, and Josh Fahrni, who has been a bit of a revelation in the league this year. Particularly Allenspach is of great importance as a leader for this team together with Knak and was Switzerland’s most positive performer at last winter’s event.

After that, there are also plenty of players who are currently suiting up for the SL, Switzerland’s second highest pro level of play. Joel Henry and Marlon Graf are the most successful of them with 14 and 12 points thus far respectively, but also Fabian Ritzmann and Nicolas Baechler could make the team in a lower line capacity, bringing pro experience to the table.

In short, Switzerland has a large group of guys with plenty of potential to push this team towards playoff competition, but no surefire producer who promises to make last season’s fiasco unrepeatable. Several of these players simply must step up to the plate in a manner they haven’t really done internationally to date.

Emphasizing creativity with the puck

For the Swiss, the blueline could very well be the most impressive - and important - piece of the WJC puzzle. Of course, with a few exceptions, it’s on the smaller size and will be banking on clever puck retrieval and movement being a difference maker. Those exceptions in size consist of most especially Lian Bichsel, who is a monstrous 6’5”, 216 pounds, and has been plying his trade of late for Leksands in Sweden’s SHL. OHL skater Brian Zanetti (6’2”, 181 lbs.) and the QMJHL’s Vincent Despont (6’2”, 190 lbs.) are the only other defensemen above six feet in height. Interestingly, Zanetti was drafted last summer by Philadelphia while Bichsel, a likely top 45 draft pick, and Despont are first eligible for next summer’s draft. Both Bichsel and Zanetti are looking like they’re going to be important parts of the team’s top four in Red Deer.

But the team possesses several other defensemen who are well-known to the scouting community. WJC returnees Delemont and Chanton have spent their time in North America and are both playing pro hockey in Switzerland, with Delemont getting considerable ice time in 20 games this season in the NL. They were already top four defensemen at last winter’s tournament. Second-year eligible draft prospects Noah Meier and Dario Sidler have also been having themselves a fine season back home. Meier having gone unselected this past summer was a bit of a surprise for those familiar with the European prospect scene and it has him playing like a man on a mission with 18 points in 24 SL games Küsnacht. Sidler is an absolute little tyke at 5’7” and 160 lbs., but he just won’t go away, having himself collected 13 points in 25 SL games thus far. Both remain in the scouts’ notebooks and will need to apply their slick puck-moving capacities to Switzerland’s efforts in Canada.

It’s uncertain who the final cut will be, but the choice is likely coming down to Sidler, Max Streule (who’s doing a real nice job for Winnipeg of the WHL), and Arno Nussbaumer, who himself has contributed nicely at the SL while getting into 25 games as a regular thus far. All three have given the staff good reason to include them. As such, there’s not a candidate on the blueline who looks like he’d be in over his head at the WJC, but several defensemen are going to have to prove themselves of not only capable of upping the ante vis-a-vis last winter, but also in running the power play and logging what could be considerable shorthanded minutes.

Scout’s focus

Defenseman Lian Bichsler already raised eyebrows as a 16-year-old at the U18 Worlds in Texas last spring. Sure, the scouts knew about him, but the giant really stood out in many facets of the game. Now he’s 17 and playing for Leksands in Sweden, where the hope was that he would make an impact at the U20 level. Well, he did, and it was so impressive that he’s now suited up for 12 games with the SHL team (one assist). Despite a group of internationally-tested defensemen, Bichsler’s size and raw abilities should see him getting no less than top four minutes and that’s exactly what the NHL scouting community is dying to see. Will he be ready to skate with the Russias, Swedens, and USAs of the world? Count on it!

Group synopsis

As far as preliminary rounds go, Switzerland is in a group free of “lighter” opponents. In fact, it’s hard to imagine that the team will be able to upset any of Russia, Sweden, or the USA, although stranger things have happened. The money will be on the line against Slovakia, a nation everyone is licking their chops to see, and this year’s crew is the most anticipated in over a decade. Many feel there’s not a nation with more upstart potential than Slovakia.

So, what is this tournament about for Switzerland? It can only be about survival. Even with a number of high quality options in the line-up, the Swiss are the least accomplished bunch in the group and look to have an uphill battle with every single opponent in the preliminary round. That wouldn’t necessarily have been the case in a group featuring either Austria or Germany, one of whom will surely be the opponent in a relegation round.

Forecast

This team has all the makings of a squad that will be completer and more competitive than last winter’s team, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll be enough to qualify for the playoffs. Even a win over Slovakia would need to be classified as an upset in light of the wave of talent the Slovaks are bringing to Alberta. The other three teams in Group B are each medal favorites and the stars would need to be aligned properly for a victory against any of them. This all means that the most likely scenario is one that sees the Swiss in the relegation round, where they’ll have a good shot at avoiding flipping spots with Belarus, a prospect-laden club that is headed back to the world’s elite after dominating Division 1A play in Denmark last week. There’s plenty to work with on this squad and scouts will be watching closely at the team’s individual players.

It’ll take a relegation round, but this Swiss team has too much going for it to get relegated, especially if Austria is the opponent.

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP – SWITZERLAND: Lack of Experience Presents Challenge

Chapin Landvogt — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 14:03:29 +0000

WJC experience lacking for a Swiss side devoid of stars

Let there be no doubt that first-time U20 head coach Marco Bayer has his work cut out for him at this year’s WJC.

He will get some extremely important assistance from highly respected former NHLer Tommy Albelin and national team head coach Patrick Fischer, who will complement the coaching staff, but he is putting together a Swiss U20 side that is potentially void of any overtly notable scoring threats and which consists of a handful of players who missed out on a huge developmental step when the 2020 U18 worlds were cancelled.

Last winter’s Swiss side put in a valiant effort in completing a choppy preliminary round with a sound 5-2 win over Finland only to then suffer a respectable 3-1 loss to Russia in the quarterfinals. All in all, basically your typical result for the Swiss, who have but one bronze medal to show for all their years of participation. Bayer does have a rather large base of players to choose from and many would appear to be solid options when simply looking at junior numbers or pro stations to date in Switzerland, but there is precious little experience from U20 and U18 tournaments for players who will need to take on key roles if Switzerland is to make a run at a medal.

Surely most pressing for Bayer is that every single position has question marks that will need viable answers heading into the tournament. That forwards Kevin Lindemann, Yves Stoffel, and Jannik Canova have had to be left off the team for Covid-related reasons has only seen those question marks increase.

Simon Knak of Switzerland against Tobias Björnfot and Philip Broberg of Sweden during the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship game between Switzerland and Sweden on December 28, 2019 in Trinec.
Photo: Simon Hastegård / BILDBYRÅN

Goaltending

One would have to think that Noah Patenaude, who will turn 18 while in Edmonton, will be heading into this tournament as the probable starter. The youngster has already stood in goal this year for 11 Saint John Sea Dogs games after having put up a 10-7-1 record as the team’s backup last season. His underlying numbers haven’t been so hot in either season, but he is used to facing a good number of shots and has considerable experience in North American rinks, something all the other goaltending candidates for Switzerland are lacking.

However, little Andri Henauer has seven games of pro play under his belt this season in the Swiss League, the nation’s second highest pro league, and has put up a 5-1 record with a sub-2.50 goals against average. Meanwhile, Thibault Fatton (9-2-0, 2.30 GAA) has been killing it for respective U20 program. Both have also already gained international time in net for the U20 squad in this short season, with Fatton having started two of the three test games against Germany last fall.

A better indication of who the opening day starter will be won’t come until the pre-tournament test games on Canadian soil, but the Swiss will be entering the tournament with three netminders who have seen as much time in net for their respective teams as anybody in this short season.

Defensemen

Switzerland has brought 10 defensemen to Edmonton. Of them, each of Inaki Baragano, Chanton Giancarlo, and Noah Delémont spent last season playing CHL hockey. Lightweight Baragano garnered by far the best results going 5-11-16 with a +25 rating in 60 games for Kamloops of the WHL. Neither Chanton nor Delémont have thus far had seasons to write home about, each having gotten off to less-than-impressive U20 and SL seasons to boot. Dual citizen (SUI/USA) Cédric Fiedler is a defensive defenseman who has two years of USHL play under his belt and has started this season with Western Michigan University. None of these players has the look of a Mirco Mueller, Jonas Siegenthaler or even a Nico Gross before them, but each has solid North American experience and plenty to prove to the scouting community. It would be quite surprising if any of the four were cut when the Swiss shorten their roster on December 23^rd, unless they become unavailable, with Baragano (who should be in line for a letter on his chest) and Fiedler being the likeliest candidates for the most important minutes.

Of the other nominees, 2020 WJC returnees Rocco Pezzullo (15 games) and Bastian Guggenheim (5 games) have spent time this season in Switzerland’s renowned NLA, although neither has dented the scoresheet. Guggenheim is primarily responsible for adding a physical presence. To Pezzullo’s credit, he is garnering regular minutes in a lower line capacity. At the same time, offensively oriented Noah Meier has gotten regular ice time for Küsnacht in the SL, where he has contributed a line of 1-4-5 over 17 games in addition to tearing apart the U20 league in five games.

Looking at the remaining candidates, 17-year-old draft eligible Brian Zanetti is clearly the most interesting. Measuring in at a scrawny 6-2”, the lefty shot has collected 38 points in 55 total U20 league games over the past two seasons and is currently biding his time in the U20-Elit until he joins the Peterborough Petes when the OHL gets up and running. With this all in mind, it wouldn’t surprising if U20 league stalwarts Alessandro Villa (more defensive) and Nathan Vouardoux (more offensive) being among the eight defensemen kept for the tournament.

The blueline is lacking anything resembling a verified power play quarterback of international form and will surely need whichever six defensemen get the bulk of the playing time to play to their absolute top abilities if Switzerland is going to make some noise at this tournament, because the major powers are heading to the tournament with far more accomplished groups of defenders.

Forwards

Much like with the group of defensemen, there will be no Nico Hischiers, Timo Meiers or even Philipp Kurashevs to carry Switzerland’s offense heading into this tournament. The sole returnees up front are Gaetan Jobin, Simon Knak, and Joel Salzgeber, albeit the latter has hardly played this season due to an ankle injury. Any two of the three should be wearing a letter on their chest and both Jobin and Knak have CHL experience. Jobin is coming off a mild bottom line role in the QMJHL and has been dominating at the Swiss U20 level thus far this season while Knak, whose style of play can be reminiscent of Vincent Lecavalier, has four points and a +4 rating in 11 NLA games for Davos this season. It’s safe to say he underwhelmed for the Portland Winterhawks last season despite some magical moments in what was his first year in North America, but he will be returning when the WHL season takes flight and he enters this tournament as Switzerland’s most dangerous offensive weapon.

What Switzerland does have is a fairly deep group of forward possibilities behind the three returnees. Keanu Derungs (WHL) and Ray Fust (committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha) spent last season in North America while 2021 draft-eligibles Attilio Biasca and Lorenzo Canonica are both scheduled to play in the OHL this season. The scouting community would love to see them getting top nine minutes in Edmonton, especially Canonica. Burly winger Lionel Marchand is currently plugging away for Timra’s U20 club and brings a power forward mentality to the forward ranks.

Despite their experience abroad, all five of these players are facing serious competition for a role on this team with another half dozen players who are currently playing NLA or SL hockey.

Elvis Schläpfer and Dario Allenspach are two players whose names are all but engraved in stone for this team, each having spent the last four seasons suiting up for the country internationally, and both currently getting solid minutes in the SL. Valentin Hofer would seem to be on the inside track for a middle six job, should it be felt that more offensive punch is required, while Mika Burkhalter and Ronny Dähler are not only years-long Swiss national team members currently taking a regular shift in the SL, but each has the ideal make-up for lower line duties.

Even though there are options aplenty for coach Bayer, a rabbit in the hat could be dual citizen Stefano Bottini (SUI-CAN), an experienced winger with solid size who is scheduled to spend this season with Penticton Vees while seemingly pursuing a college scholarship.

Synopsis

Looking at group play, Switzerland has a true opportunity in this tournament. Both Germany and Slovakia are in their group and these are teams the Swiss could beat on any given day, even if they lack star power in this tournament. Finland is in the group again and that means the Swiss can look at last winter’s big win against the Nordic nation as something to build on. In addition, Switzerland has a special relationship to hockey Canada (through the annual Spengler Cup) and rarely gets as pumped up for any opponent as it does for the motherland of ice hockey.

The team is here without a great deal of WJC experience and there is no threat of relegation. In general, there is little pressure for the multi-lingual nation to succeed, or at least avoid failure, but that could lead to a lack of desperation, which the team should ideally be feeling in every single game.

Slovakia looks like the team the Swiss must beat to at least get their foot into the playoff door. It won’t be easy, but if and once there, any success in the quarterfinals would have to be viewed as an overachievement for this inexperienced WJC group.

QMJHL 2019-20 Season Preview: Early returns show parity, competition at top of standings

Mike Sanderson — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 13:01:36 +0000

Sorry, QMJHL friends, but the penthouse is overbooked.

Five teams have won four or more games to start this young 2019-20 season, and all five of those teams are within two points of each other.

The defending champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies would not likely be anyone’s top pick as the best team for a second year, with all the movement of players this past summer. Missing stalwarts like Joël Teasdale, Félix Bibeau, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Peter Abbandonato and, for the moment, Noah Dobson has not slowed the Memorial Cup titleholders this season, as Vincent Marleau is tied for the league lead in points and Tyler Hinam has made huge strides in his game.

Netminder Zachary Emond has lost his first regulation game in over a season this year, but he has been solid with a 5-1 record to lead all goalies in wins.

While one would be remiss to expect that hot play to continue, the Huskies are at the top of the heap once more as the season rumbles into its third week. A repeat of their 59-win season of a year ago seems unlikely, as they will look to maximize return of their remaining current assets for future gains, but they can get the accolades while they are hot.

More expectedly in the Western Conference, the Sherbrooke Phoenix are in second place. The Phoenix boast an older lineup and the league’s top drafted player from last June’s NHL entry draft in Sam Poulin, who is looking to build on a strong first camp with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

His ability to take over a game at the left wing position and shut a team up or shut them down has been chronicled a lot with his strong playoff last season, and the Phoenix are looking to form their team around their captain’s strengths as they look poised to break team records for their best season in franchise history.

Alexis Lafreniere

Out east, the top three teams boast one potential surprise and two predicted top teams – the Rimouski Oceanic, the Cape Breton Eagles and the Charlottetown Islanders.

Rimouski enters the year with the most pressure to salvage results out of this season than any other team in the entirety of the Canadian junior league. They have potential top pick Alexis Lafrenière for this season and likely no more, and will attempt to build a contender around their wunderkind for a third season in a row. Last year, they were swept in the third round, and their regular season results will not matter this year. They have considerable pressure to be a contender this year, or the Lafrenière-led team will be considered a failure.

Lafrenière already has four multi-point games in his five games played so far this season. He has not skipped a beat. They also boast a strong starting goalie in Colten Ellis, and good offensive depth around the prodigal right winger, but their defence corps at this point is worse than last season’s edition, and Serge Beausoleil will feel the pressure to make moves at Christmas time to form a strong unit.

The Eagles are no longer Screaming, but they will provide plenty of emotions for their fans this year in Cape Breton. New ownership, a new coach in Jake Grimes, and a new outlook gives new life to one of the deepest teams in the QMJHL. While the team is lacking in top-end talent, they have plenty to be excited about throughout the lineup in forwards Mathias Laferrière, Shawn Boudrias and the impeccably named Ivan Ivan.

The team is lacking in a top star up front and a top defenceman on the back end, but the market is there for both of those holes, and they have a great goalie in Ottawa prospect Kevin Mandolese. A possible strong defender is still on the shelf, as overager Antoine Crête-Belzile is still recovering from post-concussion symptoms from a knock late last season.

Charlottetown is always in the mix as long as coach Jim Hulton is in the fold, and this season is no exception. The Islanders may not stay in this position all season long, but they have one of the best goalies in the league in Matt Welsh, who can steal games by himself, and a team that always stays committed to the game plan. Xavier Bernard on the back end is no slouch, and neither is the solid pivot Nikita Alexandrov.

The league’s best potential team is just behind the big five in Chicoutimi. The Saguenéens are in the best position to be contenders this season – a good mix of veterans, a very strong young core of Hendrix Lapierre, Théo Rochette and William Dufour, and three first round picks to make moves if they choose.

Of course, since many of their core players will not age out next season, they can choose which year in the next couple they want to load up their team.

If they choose this season, they have captain Harvey-Pinard and Ethan Crossman up front with Memorial Cup experience, an underrated goaltender in Alexis Shank and a solid-if-unspectacular defence group led by Artemi Knyazev. The Sags have a lot going for them this season, and the world is their oyster in terms of what they choose to do.

Another potential contending team is in Moncton, as the Wildcats made a move in the summer to set themselves up for a run this season. They acquired goaltender Olivier Rodrigue to start games for them this season, and the 19-year-old is likely AHL bound after the season. This turns this season into an important one for the Wildcats, who lost Jeremy McKenna and Jonathan Aspirot to pro contracts.

There is a chance they may receive both players back from their pro teams, but even with the veteran boosts, the Wildcats are still missing an impact defender to be a true contender. That blueliner could be Boston Bruins pick Axel Andersson, who is in limbo in Providence, but until he is physically in the uniform, no one knows for sure.

The draft this June will be interesting for another New Brunswick team: the Saint John Sea Dogs. The Dogs are the most polarizing team to predict this season, as they have many young potential stars in their lineup, but their core is still very young. Last season’s youngest team in the CHL is still wet-behind-the-ears, but the talent in undeniable, led by blueliner Jérémie Poirier.

Poirier will lead a defence corps with five 17-year-olds in the fold, including fellow draft prospects William Villeneuve, Joona Lehmus and Charlie Desroches. Up front, Josh Lawrence and Brady Burns return and along with Alex Drover and Dawson Stairs taking important roles, all at 17, they look to be setting themselves up for a bright run. Joshua Roy, the league’s top pick in the Q draft in June, is also on the team, taking a regular shift and having an impact in his first year in the league.

The Sea Dogs could catch lightning in a bottle or could crash and burn in their inexperience, but will provide must watch attention for draft watchers trying to catch the next NHL players from the QMJHL.

Last season’s Memorial Cup hosts in Halifax are not the team they were last season. This year, they are more of a one-line unit than a fleshed out juggernaut, led by forwards Benoît-Olivier Groulx, Raphaël Lavoie and Maxim Trepanier.

Jared McIsaac starts the year on the shelf for a considerable amount of time, leaving potential first rounder Justin Barron as the undisputed number one defender on the unit; a huge boon to his development. It is not the start new head coach Jean-Jacques Daigneault would have hoped for in taking the job, but he could really make a name for himself as a coach if Barron thrives in this environment.

It is expected that the Mooseheads will make some moves for the future during the mid-season trading period in which they kiss any or all of Lavoie, Trepanier, Groulx and McIsaac goodbye, which would dramatically alter the skills of this team in the second half.

Also looking ahead to the future is the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who saw the fruits of their building labors tumble and sputter in a first-round upset to Moncton last spring. Nathan Légaré and Gabriel Fortier could be available to the highest bidder as the Drakkar hope to begin anew with a new coach in Jon Goyens, who has an excellent record of development at the midget level.

Goyens’s Lac-Saint-Louis teams have a reputation for producing many QMJHL players and pros, including Mike Matheson, Jonathan Drouin, Joe Veleno and Anthony Duclair. The Drakkar will have a chance to rebuild in his image, and he has earned it with his success at the midget level.

Drummondville will also be looking to cast off veterans in favour of younger players, as they hope to look to future years. The for-sale sign is on stars like Xavier Simoneau and Thomas Pelletier, while it has been rumoured that draft hopeful Dawson Mercer already has a new home lined up at Christmas when the trading period opens in late December.

In closing, here is a top-ten of QMJHL prospects to watch this season:

Alexis Lafreniere, Rimouski – his hype precedes him, but he’s absolutely worth it.

Hendrix Lapierre, Chicoutimi – missed some time last year with injury but hoping to make up for lost time.

Justin Barron, Halifax – Dobson-like skater and potential dominator on the back end.

Vasily Ponomarev, Shawinigan – a fitness freak in an optimal position to make things happen with lots of ice time.

Mavrik Bourque, Shawinigan – impressed on an offensive-weak Shawinigan last year with his skills and poise.

Theo Rochette, Chicoutimi – An early season injury sidelines him in a critical year, but will have plenty of opportunities.

Dawson Mercer, Drummondville – do-it-all two-way winger who skates well and can play all situations.

Jérémie Poirier, Saint John – great size and skating ability, is already a top-pairing defender in his draft year.

Lukas Cormier, Charlottetown – undersized, but excellent skater who can always make something happen offensively.

Noah Delémont, Acadie-Bathurst – great skater, great hockey sense and ability to handle minutes, especially internationally.

IIHF 2019 U18 World Championship: Day 2 Notebook – CAN vs SUI, BLR vs FIN

Marco Bombino — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 23:24:17 +0000

UMEA, SWEDEN - APRIL 19: Belarus' Rostislav Zinovenko #1, Georgi Krishtal #23 and Vladislav Kolyachonok #5 battle for a loose puck against Finland's Tuukka Tieksola #32 and Juuso Parssinen #35 during the preliminary round of the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship at A3 Arena on April 19, 2019 in Umea, Sweden. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/HHOF-IIHF Images)

Game 1: Canada – Switzerland 7-4

Canada got off a fast start against Switzerland, scoring three goals in 10 minutes and 19 seconds. The Swiss were really struggling to contain the Canadian forwards in their own end and the Canadians were constantly quicker to pucks. However, the Swiss were able to elevate their overall play in the second period, with two goals from forward Elvis Schlaepfer and one from defenseman Denis Rubanik. Peyton Krebs gave Canada a 4-3 lead late in the period as he redirected Jamie Drysdale's point shot. Canada was able to hold on to the lead in the third period and eventually take a 7-4 win. The game was surprisingly close on the scoreboard, considering that the shots on goal were 60-28 for Canada.

One of the Canadian forwards who caught my eye was Jamieson Rees. The 5'10" winger showed great game sense and offensive vision, finding his teammates with precise passing in the offensive zone. He's a quick and shifty skater with strong edge work, plus he can stop and start quickly. He had a strong on-ice work ethic and he was slippery with the puck. Defenseman Thomas Harley stood out with his puck movement and offensive contributions. His decision making was sound and he moved well in all directions displaying fluidity and agility. He has a lot of tools that NHL teams look for in a defenseman.

From the Swiss team, Schlaepfer had a rather strong game. He showed good scoring touch and finishing ability, even though he did have a lot of room to pick his spot on the first goal. Noah Delemont was one of their top performers as an underager. He moved the puck into good spots, had some good poise and a head for the game. However, at 5'9" Delemont is small and his skating did not look truly high end which may ultimately limit his upside. Still, he was able to have an impact on the game and is one to keep an eye on for the 2020 draft.

Game 2: Belarus – Finland 4-3

Belarus defeated Finland 4-3 for their second win of the tournament. The Finns did not look ready to compete in the first period and their play was less than stellar in the second period as well. But they did get back into the game by scoring three goals in the third period, cutting Belarus' lead to one goal. Belarus was able to hold onto the lead as Rostislav Zinovenko was outstanding in net, making 58 saves, including several excellent ones, and showing a high compete level. Finland has now lost both of its games.

Among Belarussian skaters, two players that had standout performances are forward Yevgeni Oksentyuk and defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok. Oksentyuk is very small but also slippery, highly skilled and tough to contain in one-one-one situations. This tournament has been a coming out party for the intriguing forward. Kolyachonok showcased excellent puck moving abilities and good mobility at 6'2". His game projects well for the next level as he can process his options quickly and make the right choices at both ends of the ice. Has some flash in his game, too.

Juuso Pärssinen stood out from the Finnish team. He has nifty hands, he showed some nice playmaking skill and was able to generate offensive opportunities for his team. Pärssinen is a solid skater, despite lacking a bit in lateral mobility. The big center is a balanced player with a chance to be a mid-round draft pick. Tuukka Tieksola was also quite noticeable as he put his high-level offensive skills and awareness on display on a few occasions, especially in the third period. He scored Finland's first goal with a precise wrister.