It is the day after the Gold Medal Game at the World Junior Hockey Championship, and Jared Book and Patrik Bexell try to put words to a tournament that was impressive from the four Canadiens prospects. One of the least thought about players before the tournament stood out for his overall play.
First though, the ending of the final left a sour note after what had been a great tournament, both on and off the ice, where games had been intense and crowds had been excellent (at least in Scandinavium). What Anton Johansson did in his only shift of the final doesn’t belong on a hockey rink, and leaving without explaining himself makes him seem weak for not taking responsibility for what he did.
What are the conclusions that can be drawn from the the tournament in regards to the four Canadiens prospects?
Filip Mešár carried his Slovak team on his shoulders, especially in the quarter-finals, and stepped up when needed; most in the dying seconds of the first period, wining the faceoff and setting up the rebound in a two-and-a-half second play. Then in the dying seconds of the third period, he had a great shot to draw the game equal and and send it to overtime.
One thing that stood out a bit negative in Mešár’s game was the way he looked for open ice in the middle of the offensive zone, often ending up close to and between the defenders, something he will struggle to do at the NHL level, and something that needs to be erased at minor-league level before an NHL recall is considered.
Jacob Fowler played well in the games leading up to the tournament proper, and in the games that he got to play during the event. It was a very solid performance from a player that has stood on his head in the NCAA this year. Trey Augustine was just a little bit better, holding the starting role from the beginning, and didn’t make enough mistakes to warrant a change.
Owen Beck was used as a fourth-line centre and did his job to the letter. His performance is down to an underwhelming Canadian team, and a coaching staff that seemed out of its depth and too afraid to change anything. He was used as a defensive lock, but in many ways they never really got to that role in the big games, such as the quarter-final or the game against Sweden in the group stage.
One thing many might wonder is where Lane Hutson’s offensive output was, but the thing is Hutson was asked to play a certain game and he did it without question, and he did it very well. He played 23 minutes a game, had penalty-kill duties, and played a defence-first kind of game that Team USA needed. And in that role, he was named to the tournament all-star team.
Hutson’s performance may have been more encouraging about his NHL future than if he had had an offensive output that topped all defencemen. We know he has exceptional offensive skills, and his defensive skills look solid as well. There is a comparison to Cole Caufield in his gold-medal performance where he was asked to play a more complete game, and proved he was ready to play in the big leagues.
