Awesome to see the Panthers prospects doing well. Holy **** is Huberdeau sick, and all of that Finnish hype for their team and Granlund. Talk about a punch in the face.
and all of that Finnish hype for their team and Granlund. Talk about a punch in the face.
I think that we (the finns) knew that this team is nothing special from any other WJC team in the past few years. It's just that we haven't had that good of a offence since like the 1998 WJCs, so the expectations from the media are a bit higher. The defence is too young and inexperienced as is the coach.. Add to that, our number1 goalie got apparently injured in the pregame warmup.
Awesome to see the Panthers prospects doing well. Holy **** is Huberdeau sick, and all of that Finnish hype for their team and Granlund. Talk about a punch in the face.
Granlund was dangerous everytime on the ice, it was everyone else that dissapointed.
Rau with two goals! Man it's awesome to see the talent we have coming. Also noticed Donskoi and Bjugstad both wear number 27, should make things a little easier to watch lol.
Kosov surprised me for the Russians. I wasn't really expecting much from him but he played a good game and had an assist.
Yes, he looks like a great pick. Looked like a man among boys, and punished the Swiss players every time he was on the ice. He also looks to have some pretty nice skills with that size, added an assist. And remember he was in a car accident a couple of months ago, nice recovery
Brickley out with the cut on his leg from the skate. They had something pop up about him for about 2 seconds that said "Dallas Stars 2nd round pick" but was quickly taken down.
That was a boneheaded play by Gibson (the penalty).
Donskoi was left a little bit to the shadow of Salomäki, who would have been my pick for MVP if not for Aittokallio's huge performance.
Donskoi impresses me in so much as he has very nice puck skills and is a good skater, but he'll need more than that to make the NHL.
Salomaki is IMO a better NHL prospect. He has some good skills, but when your that physical and compete that hard, he should make the NHL.
Bjugstad showed glimpses of high end talent. The US to be honest had alot of shots, but i think it flatters them. Obviously alot of skill on the Forward lines, but today they really didn't do that much.
Interesting group now. We can all add 1 more victory to each teams tally as Denmark is the weakest team in the event. I struggle to see the Czechs threatening Canada. So the important games are :
Finland Vs Czechs
US vs Canada
US vs Czechs
Canada are basically through already. Finland only have to beat the Czechs to assure qualification and i think it's very likely. The Czechs have to beat 2 of US/Finland/Canada which i find difficult to envisage.
The US should still very likely qualify and are still medal contenders.
Meanwhile, the other group is so easy to predict. Sweden or Russia will qualify 1st, whilst the Swiss will qualify in 3rd.
Salomaki is IMO a better NHL prospect. He has some good skills, but when your that physical and compete that hard, he should make the NHL.
I would kill to have him on this team. Like I said earlier, he is a lot like Tootoo but with more skill. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up playing for the senior team in the WCs this spring.
