World Junior Notes: Thurkauf, Stephens, Raddysh, Finland
It’s a light day at the World Juniors today with only a pair of games on the schedule before a full slate of games on New Year’s Eve. Here’s the latest from the tournament:
- Switzerland center Calvin Thurkauf, a seventh round pick (185th overall) of the Blue Jackets back in June, has been suspended for today’s game against Denmark for a slew-footing incident against Sweden, the IIHF announced. Thurkauf is tied for second in team scoring with two goals and an assist through the first two games. Columbus announced that they inked the 19 year old to a three year, entry level contract this afternoon. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Canada forward Mitchell Stephens, one of Tampa Bay’s five prospects on the team, missed yesterday’s game against Latvia with a lower body injury. However, the injury isn’t believed to be serious as head coach Dominique Ducharme noted to TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link) that had it been a medal round game, Stephens could have been in the lineup.
- In their game against Latvia yesterday, Canada winger Taylor Raddysh (another of Tampa’s prospects) tied a Canadian record with four goals in a single game. He joins Philadelphia’s Brayden Schenn as well as former NHL forwards Mario Lemieux and Simon Gagne to hold that mark. The all-time record is held by Sweden’s Ola Rosander back in 1987.
- As a result of Denmark’s overtime win against the Czech Republic and Finland’s loss to Sweden yesterday, the Finns find themselves in real danger of being sent to the relegation round, a best-of-three series to determine who gets to stay in the tournament next year. As Masters notes (Twitter link), no defending champion has ever found themselves in the relegation round the following year. If Switzerland beats Denmark today, Finland will be guaranteed to finish last in Group A.
Snapshots: Canada, Peca, Bailey
While it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, Team Canada is dominating at the World Juniors.
After a hard-fought win over Russia on December 26, Canada easily beat Slovakia 5-0 on Tuesday night. The Canadian goalie, Lightning prospect Connor Ingram, had a six-save shutout. Bruins defensive prospect Jérémy Lauzon, who began the tournament as Canada’s seventh defenseman, scored a goal and an assist in the second period to spark the offence and begin the onslaught.
However, another Canadian defenseman has been getting some love as an underdog story. Philippe Myers went undrafted in 2015, but earned an entry-level contract after attending Philadelphia Flyers training camp on an amateur tryout. Myers then had a 45-point campaign in the QMJHL and has 18 points in 19 games this season. The 6’5 right-handed defenseman is now playing on Canada’s top pairing with 2015 first-round-pick Thomas Chabot.
As for why Myers was passed over in the draft, with the value of right-handed defensemen at an all-time high, that’s something that Flyers GM Ron Hextall would like to know. Hextall told Postmedia’s Mike Zeisberger that he didn’t ask his scouting staff why they didn’t take him, but instead wanted to learn from the experience. With Myers tracking well, all 30 NHL teams will be wondering how Myers slipped through the draft. “I’m more trying to figure out how the hell that happened,” Hextall added.
Myers gave advice for all other undrafted players, saying “it’s all about your attitude and your mindset. If you see yourself playing at the bigger levels and you really believe it and you put the work in, everything’s possible. That’s what happened with me.”
- Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Matthew Peca (no relation to Michael) will make his NHL debut tonight at home versus the Montreal Canadiens. According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Peca centered J.T. Brown and Michael Bournival at practice this morning.The 2011 seventh-round-pick has 17 points in 28 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season. Meanwhile, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat are both considered “probable” for the Lightning after missing the past two weeks or so.
- With Zack Smith sidelined by an upper-body injury, the Senators have recalled Casey Bailey, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Smith left Tuesday night’s game against the Rangers. Bailey has 14 points in 28 games with the Binghamton Senators so far this season, but has been held pointless in two NHL games. Bailey was acquired by the Senators as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade.
World Junior Championship Final Rosters
Group A
Czech Republic:
G Petr Kvaca, HC Ceske Budejovice
G Jakub Skarek, HC Dukla Jihlava
G Daniel Vladar, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
D Frantisek Hrdinka, Linkopings HC
D Filip Hronek, Saginaw Spirt (Detroit Red Wings)
D Petr Kalina, HC Sparta Praha
D Daniel Krenzelok, HC Vitcovicek Steel
D David Kvasnicka, HC Plzen
D Ondrej Vala, Kamloops Blazers (Dallas Stars)
D Jakub Zboril, Saint John Sea Dogs (Boston Bruins)
F Filip Chlapik, Charlottetown Islanders (Ottawa Senators)
F Lukas Jasek, HC Oceláři Třinec (Vancouver Canucks)
F David Kase, Pirati Chamutov (Philadelphia Flyers)
F Radek Koblizek, Oulun Karpat
F Daniel Kurovsky, Vitkovice Ostrava
F Adam Musil, Red Deer Rebels (St. Louis Blues)
F Martin Necas, HC Kometa Brno
F Kristian Reichel, HC Litvinov
F Tomas Soustal, Kelowna Rockets
F Michael Spacek, Red Deer Rebels (Winnipeg Jets)
F Simon Stransky, Prince Albert Raiders
F Filip Suchy, Omaha Lancers
Denmark:
G Emil Gransoe, Topeka Roadrunners
G Kasper Krog, Sønderjysk
G Lasse Petersen, Red Deer Rebels
D Morten Jensen, Rögle BK
D Anders Koch, Esbjerg Energy
D Oliver Larsen, Odense Bulldogs
D Christian Mieritz, Leksands IF
D Oliver Gatz Nielsen, Herning Blue Fox
D Mathias Rondbjerg, Rungsted Seier Capital
D Nicolai Weichel, Rungsted Seier Capital
F Niklas Andersen, Esbjerg Energy
F Rasmus Thykjaer Andersson, HV71
F Joachim Blichfeld, Portland Winterhawks (San Jose Sharks)
F William Boysen, Rungsted Seier Capital
F Nikolaj Krag Christensen, Rogle BK (St. Louis Blues)
F Frederik Hoeg, Odense Bulldogs
F Jeppe Jul Korsgaard, Aalborg Pirates
F Tobias Maximilian Ladehoff, Aalborg Pirates
F David Madsen, Vaxjo Lakers
F Jonas Rondbjerg, Vaxjo Lakers
F Alexander True, Seattle Thunderbirds
F Christian Wejse, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Metropolitan Notes: Maatta, Philly Prospects, Standings, Tavares
While he wasn’t drafted to be a key offensive blueliner, Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta surprised many in his rookie season with 29 points in 78 games back in 2013-14. That raised the level of expectations for him right away that he could be a legitimate two-way threat in the league. Fast forward to today and suffice it to say, that hasn’t happened, writes Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
This season, Maatta has only managed a pair of assists in 35 games, a stat line that more than a few goaltenders around the league have. The Penguins have deployed him in a primary shutdown role which has limited his offensive opportunities but the 22 year old knows he can be better at that end of the rink:
“It’s something that should be part of my game as well, and it hasn’t been this season. It’s something I gotta pay attention to. You have to try to get better as a player as the season goes on. That’s a big thing, and I think that’s part of my game that I can be better at. I can improve.”
With Kris Letang and Trevor Daley, two of Pittsburgh’s top offensive threats from the back end, both out of the lineup, Maatta should get more of an opportunity to be a factor offensively in the coming games.
More from the Metro:
- Philadelphia fans will be keeping a close eye on the World Junior Hockey Championships which get underway today. As Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post notes, the Flyers have an impressive nine prospects that will be representing the team. By comparison, no other team has more than five. Among those nine players are three netminders, Carter Hart (Canada), Felix Sandstrom (Sweden), and Matej Tomek (Slovakia). With the uncertainty surrounding Philadelphia’s NHL goaltending situation moving forward (Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth are both unrestricted free agents at the end of the season), it’s certainly encouraging for the Flyers to know they have several quality prospects in their junior ranks even if these goalies are still a few years away from contributing at the NHL level.
- Newsday’s Steve Zipay wonders if there’s a chance we may see tanking of a different kind come April. As things sit in the standings, both Wild Card spots in the East are from the Metropolitan Division, creating a scenario where it could arguably be more beneficial to see a top three team drop into the first Wild Card spot and cross over to the bracket in the Atlantic Division. There’s still more than half the season to play but if things hold up close to where they are now, it will certainly be something to keep an eye on as we hit the stretch run of the season.
- With Casey Cizikas expected to be out through the Islanders’ five day break from January 1st to the 5th, captain John Tavares is expected to take a regular turn on the penalty kill, writes Arthur Staple, also of Newsday. Head coach Jack Capuano noted that Tavares has the hockey IQ to handle the role, even though it’s one he hasn’t played since his days in junior hockey. It also helps that Tavares is their best faceoff threat at 52.9% and winning shorthanded draws is an area that the Islanders have struggled at this year as they’ve won just 45.4% of their faceoffs in that situation.