Hockey Fans - World Juniors

[Chickenman Testa]

US blasts its way into the semis against the Czech Republic with a 7-2 cakewalk against Switzerland. The Czechs knocked host Canada out on a goal with 40 seconds left - Canada’s 2nd early exit in a row. Heads will roll at Hockey Canada.

Team USA is #1 in the tournament power rankings and is looking to go back to back for the first time ever

 

[Kasparaitis]

US blasts its way into the semis against the Czech Republic with a 7-2 cakewalk against Switzerland. The Czechs knocked host Canada out on a goal with 40 seconds left - Canada’s 2nd early exit in a row. Heads will roll at Hockey Canada.

Team USA is #1 in the tournament power rankings and is looking to go back to back for the first time ever

These kids are salty.

 

[bcspsu]

US blasts its way into the semis against the Czech Republic with a 7-2 cakewalk against Switzerland. The Czechs knocked host Canada out on a goal with 40 seconds left - Canada’s 2nd early exit in a row. Heads will roll at Hockey Canada.

Team USA is #1 in the tournament power rankings and is looking to go back to back for the first time ever

You could tell very early in this tournament that Canada was very underwhelming. The USA just is developing youth hockey players better than any country right now, including Canada. Now that you have kids from all over this country playing hockey, it's going to be very hard for countries like Canada, Sweden and Finland to keep up because it's a numbers game; the USA just is going to be able to produce more good players.

The World Junior Tournament increasingly is becoming a tournament in which the USA is expected to win almost every year, not that they will.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

USA comes back from a 3-1 deficit to Finland to win 4-3 in OT. Dominated OT.

Back to back champs for 1st time ever. All the games can be found on YouTube

 

[Little J]

You could tell very early in this tournament that Canada was very underwhelming. The USA just is developing youth hockey players better than any country right now, including Canada. Now that you have kids from all over this country playing hockey, it's going to be very hard for countries like Canada, Sweden and Finland to keep up because it's a numbers game; the USA just is going to be able to produce more good players.

The World Junior Tournament increasingly is becoming a tournament in which the USA is expected to win almost every year, not that they will.

The numbers are only part of it. You need a system that develops players. Take soccer for example. US has more kids playing soccer than any other country, but it does not have the development and growth system to hone the talent pool.

 

[bcspsu]

The numbers are only part of it. You need a system that develops players. Take soccer for example. US has more kids playing soccer than any other country, but it does not have the development and growth system to hone the talent pool.

Yeah, US hockey coaching and development now is the best in the world. from the youth travel programs to the college programs and USA Development program. It's so good that Canada began to replicate it.

When kids from states like Arizona, where Auston Matthews is from, and California and Florida started to play this sport in ever increasing numbers, it effectively was the end, so to speak, for small countries like Sweden, Finland and Czechia, and Canada that has a small population. It doesn't mean that those countries never will win these junior tournaments, but the US now goes into most of these tournaments either as the favorite or one of the favorites. I don't even think that this particular team was as good as several of the recent teams, but I always thought that they would win it.

 

[Aardvark86]

If you're a Washington Capitals fan (or by extension, a Hershey Bears fan), you have to be really excited about how their prospects played:
Leonard - tourney MVP
Hutson - all tourney, first ever d man to have most tourney points
Mateiko - 5 goals in 5 games
Sikora - 7 points in 7 games, +10, and the most hated man in canada

 

[LandoComando]

USA comes back from a 3-1 deficit to Finland to win 4-3 in OT. Dominated OT.

Back to back champs for 1st time ever. All the games can be found on YouTube

They played great throughout the tournament. I was also very impressed with Finland.

 

[SLUPSU]

If you're a Washington Capitals fan (or by extension, a Hershey Bears fan), you have to be really excited about how their prospects played:
Leonard - tourney MVP
Hutson - all tourney, first ever d man to have most tourney points
Mateiko - 5 goals in 5 games
Sikora - 7 points in 7 games, +10, and the most hated man in canada

"It was another outstanding year for the St. Louis Blues prospects at the World Junior Championship, capped off with five of the team's prospects winning medals.

Colin Ralph is taking home a gold medal with Team USA, while Adam Jecho, Adam Jiricek, Ondrej Kos and Jakub Stancl captured bronze for Czechia.

A franchise-record nine prospects competed in the tournament, the most of any NHL team. In addition to Ralph, Jecho, Jiricek, Kos and Stancl, the Blues were also represented by Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Pekarcik on Team Slovakia and Theo Lindstein and Otto Stenberg on Team Sweden.

Blues prospects finished the World Junior Championship with a combined 52 points, surpassing last year's total of 44."

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Those sweaters - aside from the awful Chipotle patch - are sweet. The White one is even better

 

[Chickenman Testa]

 

[Kasparaitis]

Those sweaters - aside from the awful Chipotle patch - are sweet. The White one is even better

No doubt. Imagine putting that on and jumping out on the ice. You’d be ready to stare any Russian down!

 

[Chickenman Testa]

If you're a Washington Capitals fan (or by extension, a Hershey Bears fan), you have to be really excited about how their prospects played:
Leonard - tourney MVP
Hutson - all tourney, first ever d man to have most tourney points
Mateiko - 5 goals in 5 games
Sikora - 7 points in 7 games, +10, and the most hated man in canada

Leonard was a menace. All over the place and very physical for his size.

 

[Aardvark86]

Leonard was a menace. All over the place and very physical for his size.

Indeed. Many will hate to hear this, but I think he is the second coming of Tom Wilson, with more skill. I think he made a good call to spend another year in college rather than jump to the ahl.

I gotta say, while there's a lot of the season to play out yet, the Caps' gm's work over the last year has been genius - aside from this draft pool at Juniors, Miro/Lapierre who should be down but can play up, Protas/McMichael who are rightfully up and blossoming now that they are out from under TheViolet, and the Canadian kid Cristall who got screwed out of a spot on the Canada juniors team, he brings in Chychrun, EatBread, Dubois, Raddysh, Roy, Eller, and even Vrana to keep Ted's promise to Ovi to keep his cup window open, all while the circus is going on with Ovi's pursuit. A freaking miracle. Reloading and rebuilding simultaneously is no easy task. Oh, and also while Ted's dealing with a new downtown arena project after the VA deal was cratered by the VA general assembly

 

[knickslions]

 

[Chickenman Testa]

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Canadian fans were very salty once they were knocked out. They did NOT want us to win.

 

[drb67]

Yeah, US hockey coaching and development now is the best in the world. from the youth travel programs to the college programs and USA Development program. It's so good that Canada began to replicate it.

When kids from states like Arizona, where Auston Matthews is from, and California and Florida started to play this sport in ever increasing numbers, it effectively was the end, so to speak, for small countries like Sweden, Finland and Czechia, and Canada that has a small population. It doesn't mean that those countries never will win these junior tournaments, but the US now goes into most of these tournaments either as the favorite or one of the favorites. I don't even think that this particular team was as good as several of the recent teams, but I always thought that they would win it.

Lets not forget that Canada's top 2 centers could have been Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini (they also could have added Zach Benson, while the US could have added Will Smith), They might have been a little more difficult to deal with with them playing.

 

[Aardvark86]

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There is no possible universe in which the team’s selection of free bird as the goal song was unrelated to this: