Connor - Scheifele - Wheeler Laine - Little - Roslovic Perreault - Lowry - Tanev Lemieux - Copp - Appleton Petan as extra, skating with a mix of forwards and D
For many players, the World Junior Championship is the first time they’ll play in front of an international audience. The stakes are undeniably high. While one tournament shouldn’t be enough to completely tank or skyrocket a player’s stock, it is a great opportunity for them to showcase the work they’ve put in and the growth they’ve achieved.
Here are some players we feel really showed off their skill at this year’s WJHC.
Tyler Madden - USA (Vancouver Canucks)
Madden, a 2018 third-rounder (68th overall) of the Vancouver Canucks, has certainly made an impression during his first games in front of his potential future team's fans. He’s been one of the United States' most aggressive players offensively, driving the net and pushing play forward. Madden has great hockey sense, but he's a pretty small guy in his draft year - listed at 5-foot-11 and 152 pounds - so it makes sense that he was lower on some of the more traditional scouting lists. Still, this tournament has made it clear that, at least against his peers, Madden has what it takes.
In the quarterfinal, he had the most ice time among American forwards with 18:17. He was named player of the game in the USA’s round-robin win over Finland. It took time for his efforts to show up on the scoresheet, but anyone paying attention could see that Madden was continually making life difficult for opponents. He makes great plays and he’s starting to adjust his game to a faster pace. While he’s still got some work to do, signs point toward a future as a solid middle-six NHL forward.
Alexander Romanov - Russia (Montreal Canadiens)
Rich Lam / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Romanov, the 2018 Montreal Canadiens second-round pick (38th overall) impressed everyone from the word go at this year’s tournament. On a team that doesn’t have a lot going for it defensively, he’s consistently impressed. And he’s not just doing his best to shut down opponents - he’s been contributing at the other end as well.
Going into the medal games, Romanov is behind only Grigori Denisenko for the team lead in points with seven in six games, including one goal. He’s been playing heavy minutes for Russia, taking on difficult competition, and while it took the team a while to get clicking, Romanov was playing well from the start.
Ryan Poehling - USA (Montreal Canadiens)
People wondered how the USA would replace Brady Tkachuk offensively. Poehling seems to have taken that as a personal challenge. With eight points, including five goals, going into the gold-medal game, the Canadiens' 2017 first-rounder is tied for the tournament lead in points with Morgan Frost (CAN) and Artur Gatiyatov (KAZ), both of whom are no longer playing.
While the U.S. eventually fell 5-4 to Sweden, Poehling’s natural hat trick in the round-robin game drove the Americans' comeback to force overtime. He’s been an offensive force, driving the pace of play and searching for opportunities every time he takes the ice. He has shown significant growth as a player over the past year and has made a great case for himself as a tournament MVP candidate.
Philipp Kurashev - Switzerland (Chicago Blackhawks)
Rich Lam / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Kurashev has, perhaps, made the biggest impression at the world juniors. He leads the tournament in goal-scoring with six goals going into the bronze-medal game and was the engine behind Switzerland’s offense for the majority of the competition. His seven points should see him finish inside the top 10 in scoring.
Kurashev was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round (120th overall) in 2018 and is producing in the QMJHL regular season as well, with 18 goals and 25 assists in 33 games. During this tournament, he’s shown that his club numbers aren't just a product of playing in the Q. His offensive instincts have been on full display as he's played big minutes and scored in big moments, including a hat trick to lead Switzerland over Denmark and the only Swiss goal against Finland in the semifinals. His overall game is more solid than it was last season, and that has to have the Blackhawks feeling good.
Nando Eggenberger - Switzerland (2019 eligible)
Eggenberger, who captained the underdog Swiss team to almost unbelievable heights in this year’s tournament, has used the world juniors to show exactly why he should’ve been drafted - not passed over - in 2018. Going into the bronze-medal game against Russia, Eggenberger has four points in six games in his third WJHC appearance. It’s a solid addition to his performances with the OHL's Oshawa Generals so far this season.
Along with Kurashev, Eggenberger has been a critical part of Switzerland's attack, consistently pushing the pace. He’s a good skater, is deceptively speedy, and has a great release and solid hockey sense; he clearly came into the tournament with a drive to put all of those skills to work.
If you're seeking some nostalgia on a busy night in the NHL, look no further than the Los Angeles Kings-Edmonton Oilers broadcast Saturday night.
The Kings will be hosting '90s night at Staples Center, and FOX Sports West is bringing back the 'Glow Puck' as a part of the festivities, the team announced.
What's that, you may ask? Take a look at it in action from the 1996 All-Star Game:
"We won't be able to give the speed of the shot," FOX Sports producer Steven Dorfman said, according to Kevin Allen of USA Today. "But we can simulate the glow of the puck, and we can simulate the tracking of the puck."
The 'Glow Puck' was introduced in 1995 as a tactic to help newcomers to the sport follow the action a little bit easier.
"It was brand new back then, and it was polarizing," Dorfman said. "Hockey purists thought it was insulting, the idea that you would need an effect on the puck to see it. Other people drew to it because it was new."
Finland defenseman Henri Jokiharju had high praise for his teammate Kaapo Kakko following a 6-1 semifinal dismantling of Switzerland on Friday, comparing the 17-year-old to one of the most lethal goal scorers in the NHL.
"He seems a little bit like Auston Matthews," Jokiharju said of Kakko, according to TSN's Mark Masters. "Short stick, quick hands, he's a good skater, and he can make some good plays in tight areas.
"(Kakko's) going to be No. 1 (pick in 2019 draft)," he added, according to NHL.com's Mike Morreale.
If anyone on Finland has the right to make such comparison, it's certainly Jokiharju. The 19-year-old spent 32 games with the Chicago Blackhawks this season before joining Finland for the world juniors, and in just his second NHL game, he got a front-row view of Matthews' brilliance, as the Maple Leafs' superstar picked up two goals and two assists en route to a wild 7-6 overtime win for Toronto.
Kakko is widely considered the second-best project eligible for the 2019 NHL Draft, and many believe he could push American Jack Hughes for the first overall slot.
Kakko has an impressive 20 points in 27 games in Finland's top professional league, but he could truly leave his mark on the hockey world with a standout performance in Saturday's gold-medal game against Hughes and the United States.
The trio of entities involved in the Ottawa Senators' ongoing arena impasse will head to mediation to try to salvage a bid for a new downtown facility.
GBA Development and Project Management president Graham Bird was able to get the three parties - including Senators owner Eugene Melnyk's Capital Sports Management, and Trinity Development Group's John Ruddy - to agree to mediation, according to The Canadian Press.
Bird did that on Friday, which is when he also filed a statement of defense against Melnyk's lawsuit.
Melynk is suing the Trinity Group and Bird for $700 million over the LeBreton Flats project, which he deemed a "failed" venture in November.
Mediation with members of RendezVous LeBreton is scheduled to take place before a Jan. 19 deadline imposed by the National Capital Commission for the parties to reach an agreement.
The crown corporation will look into other options if no agreement is reached before the deadline.
The Senators have played at Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario since 1996.
The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar stood up for the forward, who was denied on a penalty shot in overtime during Canada's quarterfinal loss to Finland at the World Junior Championship and subsequently cyberbullied.
"I feel bad," Crosby said Friday, according to TSN. "That's immediately what I thought of when I saw the penalty shot and just the amount of pressure that's on a young kid. It's too bad that people have to react that way and with social media, it kind of gives them that opportunity."
Crosby offered some words of wisdom to Comtois - namely, not to fixate on it.
"My advice to him would be just to ignore it. He's a great player and he's going to have a great career and that's not going to define who he is - that penalty shot. The real fans and the people that are behind you, I think everybody is there to support him. Anything can happen in hockey and in a quarterfinal game like that. You see the stick break - it's one of those things."
He also had a message for anyone who was quick to criticize the Anaheim Ducks prospect.
"It's easy to be a good fan when you're winning, but it's a little tougher when you lose and I think everyone should keep that in mind," Crosby said.
The agency that represents Comtois, Roy Sports Group, said in a statement Thursday: "It is shameful and incomprehensible that a few cowards who can hide behind social media could make such vicious attacks on these young men's character after they have battled their hearts out for their country."
The club's new acquisition will start Saturday's game against the Vancouver Canucks, head coach Mike Babcock told reporters, including NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger, on Friday.
Hutchinson stopped 30 of 34 shots in his Leafs debut Thursday, a 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Toronto acquired the 28-year-old in a trade with the Florida Panthers on Dec. 29.
Frederik Andersen will miss his fifth straight game with a nagging groin injury. He was placed on injured reserve Thursday, retroactive to Dec. 23.
The Leafs reassigned netminder Kasimir Kaskisuo to the AHL's Toronto Marlies earlier Friday.
