It's been awhile, but it's the holiday season and there hasn't been much going on.
Have to say that the past few years have provided some of the best hockey I have ever seen at the World Junior Hockey Championships, including yesterdays Gold Medal loss to the Americans. I can't say for sure, but I think it would be a pretty safe bet to say that no player has tied the Gold Medal game two years in a row with their team behind. Jordan Eberle, can you say clutch? I'm not sure if I'm ready to say that Eberle will be a monster at the NHL level, but I'm definitely excited to see what he can do. After watching this WJC I have no idea why Pietrangelo can't make the transition to the NHL. He was dominant throughout the tourney and made things look very easy, he is still young though, and it is said that it takes defensemen the longest to develop to the pro game.
Now on to the game. Have to say congrats to Team USA, they played great and players, such as, Schroeder, Kristo, Fowler and Carlson all look like great up and comers. Not to take anything away from the win, however, there are always things the losing team could have done better and I would like to address them. Watching the last game there were definite calls that were missed, however, you have to be able to rise above them and for the most part Canada did. They fought back hard and were able to tie the game. Throughout the tourney I said time and time again that Canada, specifically their forward group, were trying to be way to fancy. You can pull that stuff against teams like Latvia and Switzerland to an extent, however, at the end of the day, and it showed when Canada was successful, you have to get the puck to the net and crash and get those dirty "pay the price" type of goals. On too many occasions Canada got away from this. Finally, Canada's biggest weakness, and don't get me wrong I truly think that missing Hamonic was unfortunate, was their goaltending. Canada just didn't have a Pogge, Pickard, Price or Mason to rely upon to make the big stop. Goaltending wasn't terrible but it was definitely was the weakest part of the team, and I think the 5th USA goal demonstrated that. You can't fumble shot from inside the blue line and barely move when deked, especially in a Championship game.
In any case, it was great hockey, and the streak of winning gold wasn't going to last forever. In addition to Eberle, as a Leaf fan I was pretty impressed with Kadri's play. Obviously the "cut throat" gesture was a little bit overboard but I thought his edgy style was good and I've always like players who have that feisty edge a little bit more. Ellis looks like he might be more than just an offensive defenseman as he was throwing his smaller frame around, which was good to see. Nashville might have got a real steal with him at 11th overall.
Whatever became of World Junior sensation Jimmy Waite?
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