[Metaldude's Power Chords] World Junior Forgotten Stars

[metaldude26]

With all this discussion about how great a tournament the World Juniors are and what a tremendous opportunity it is for prospects to make a name for themselves it's easy to forget that a vast number of NHL stars never play at this tournament. So what about those prospects who didn't get the call this year? Does that make them inferior? Well there's a good argument to say that yes they are but there's any number of reasons why a player gets left off the roster.

This year coaching philosophy had a huge impact on what players showed up to represent their country. For Canada, head coach Dave Cameron placed huge value on two things; size and two-way skill. That meant most of the best scorers in Major Junior hockey were left off the final roster, hell a good number of them didn't even get an invite to selection camp.

How about the Russians, who defeated Canada in the final? New head coach Vladimir Bragin selected a team comprised solely of players still playing in Russia with the exception of goaltender Igor Bobkov.

Other players to miss this tournament may have been shoe-ins to represent their country if not for poorly timed injuries or poorly timed slumps. In any case, let's discuss the players who missed out on this year's tournament but should still be on your radar regardless.

Calvin Pickard - Canada - G - 18 year old goalies don't tend to fair well for Canada at selection camp. Based on who received an invite it seems almost set in stone who the goalies for Canada would be, even though all the prognisticators seemed to have no clue. The only 19-year-old invited, Olivier Roy, was an obvious shoe in for me, and last summers 1st rounder Mark Visentin seemed the logical choice as back up based on his draft status. You knew if it was close, there was a damn good chance Visentin was going to have an edge. Seems to me this was the case. So the point here is that Pickard is a damn good goalie prospect. In today's NHL you really shouldn't ignore any goalie prospect, particularly not one with Pickard's bloodlines and WHL career statistics. This kid is an absolute work horse and you shouldn't think any less of him for not making the cut this year. He'll get another shot at skating for Canada next year, and he could very well dominate. As a 2nd rounder in the Colorado Avalanche system there's further reason to be excited. The Avalanche have drafted very well since the lockout but are quite shallow when it comes to their goaltending pipeline. Do yourself a favour and keep Pickard on the radar.

Brandon Gormley - Canada - D - How unlucky can you get? Gormley injured his knee less than a week before Canada held their selection camp for this tournament. I considered him a strong bet to make this team and feel he very well could have been our best defenseman. That's saying a lot considering we had two-time returnee and all-time tournament leading scorer for a defenseman suiting up for our squad in Captain Ryan Ellis. Yes, I feel Gormley missed a huge opportunity to boost his profile. Of the top 4 defensemen selected in the 2010 NHL entry draft I honestly feel he could be the best. Anaheim D-man Cam Fowler is already in the league and doing damage, but he's a pure offensive guy. Canada defenseman and third overall pick Erik Gudbranson made Florida out of camp but couldn't agree to a contract. So I do realize that it may be a reach to consider him the best prospect but I do feel that's just what he is. He has the size, skating and two-way game to be just that. The only thing standing in his way is the glut of depth the 'Yotes have on their blueline. Still, I think that should give you some perspective. In spite of all their depth, Phoenix felt compelled to take Gormley because that's how talented he is. Need more info, just check his numbers from junior prior to the injury. He was scoring at over a point per game with strong goal numbers. He's money, don't let his absence reflect on his bluechip status. He's one of the best D prospects in the game.

Tyler Toffoli - Canada - W - The Los Angeles prospect is scoring goals at a near per game pace in the OHL this season. Not points, GOALS. He now has 38 goals in 41 games. That's just an insane pace for an 18 year old. It's not like he's one of those guys who is absolutely dominating in his last year of junior, the year you are supposed to dominate, he's bringing it at 18 in his post draft year and is looking like another steal for the Kings. I don't even want to think what pace he might score at next season in the OHL. You have to like his chances to play at next year's World Juniors but you still wonder what levels he could have vaulted himself to with a strong showing for Canada this year. His absence from selection camp was notable but obviously a by-product of Dave Cameron's coaching philosophy. There was no room for pure scorers on this team and thus he was left without an invite. He is however, breaking out huge and this should not be ignored. He leads the entire CHL in scoring, and probably will for the whole season. Give this kid a look, the Kings are deep but the search for scoring wingers to pair with Anze Kopitar has been a long and mostly unsuccessful one. Even if Toffoli is leaching off a great situation in junior, you can't deny his nose for the net, and you also can't deny that their are few situations better than lining up next to Kopitar. That alone is reason to love his upside.

Joey Hishon - Canada - C - The Colorado 1st rounder was similarly a victim to the Dave Cameron coaching philosphy. Like Toffoli he is having a breakout season as an 18-year-old in the OHL putting up an absurd scoring pace of almost 2 points per game. Unlike Toffoli however, he is known for playing a two-way game and did receive an invite to selection camp. Still, he was cut and likely fell victim to both the numbers game and to his age and size. He'll have a shot to make it next year, and I like his chances. At this point you don't ignore Colorado prospects. They do so well with scouting, drafting, and development that he's almost assured of turning into gold. Don't right him off even if he has a mountain of prospects to climb over.

Scott Glennie - Canada - W - I can't rightly explain his absence from Team Canada selection camp. The '09 first rounder should have been right up Dave Cameron's alley. With size and skating built for the two-way game, not to mention chemistry with Canada's leading scorer Brayden Schenn, I'd have figured Glennie to be somewhat of a shoe-in for the roster. Perhaps Hockey Canada's uncertainty about having Schenn led that chemistry to be disregarded and ultimately his already plummeting stock was sent further into the trash. Don't write Glennie off completely though. He appears to have been a bad pick for where he was taken but he's still Dallas' top prospect with very bare cupboards. They'll be giving him plenty of opportunity to succeed and he should not be written off just yet.

Stefan Elliott - Canada - D - Plain and simple his presence would have been redundant. When you have a guy like Ryan Ellis is there really a need for a pure offensive defenseman? The answer is (and for Canada was) an emphatic no. Elliott is an elite offensive blueliner with real NHL prospects and tremendous upside. Don't look down on him for not even receiving an invite to Canada's selection camp. They didn't need him and they knew it so why waste his time and the spot in camp. One of the big lessons discussed in this article is not to ignore Avalanche prospects, and that's just what Elliott is so don't get down on him for not playing for Canada.

For more info on Elliott check out Dub's Take: http://www.dobberhockey.com/index.ph...stefan+elliott

Stanislav Galiev - Russia - W - The lanky Russian winger is a Capitals prospect and much like any Russian Capitals prospect he deserves respect. It's a tough debate whether he really deserved to make the Russian team for this tournament. Draft status doesn't mean a huge amount when considering talent level for Russian prospects. Getting drafted often just means that a player shows a willingness to come play in North America. Galiev spent two seasons playing in North America prior to being drafted and continues to play for St. John's in the QMJHL. Playing over here is what got him drafted but it's also likely what got him cut from the Russian team as the head coach was looking to build a tight squad of stay-at-home Russians. It's hard to argue with the Gold Medal results but you have to feel for Galiev who could likely have brought something to the table. Galiev is a skilled playmaker and deserves your attention because talent was not the only thing considered when that team was selected.

Alexander Avtsin - Russia - W - The big lanky winger was not even invited to the Russian selection camp due to an injury. He's an unusual case as he was drafted in the late rounds out of Russia and remained there for a year only to come over this season and ply his trade in the AHL to learn the North American game. Surely his pro experience would have given him a huge edge going into the tournament and he'd have had a great shot at really boosting his profile. I struggle to peg just how good he is but all reports indicate he's a very solid player with strong upside. His numbers at every level are underwhelming so it would have been nice to see a strong showing at the WJC to boost my confidence in him as a prospect.

Continued...

[metaldude26]

...Continued

Jacob Josefson - Sweden - C - Forget about this guy? Me too. He got an early taste of NHL action with all the cap and injury troubles New Jersey had to start the season. Of course he ended up getting hurt and has been out since October. Josefson has been a great player for Sweden internationally and as a veteran of two WJC's he would have been a tremendous leader. In fact he was my preseason favourite to captain the team. A lot of people forget that Sweden was almost as hamstrung by injuries and NHL commitments as Canada was for this tournament and surely missing Josefson was a huge blow. I liked him to be top line center and I figure he would have had a great opportunity to show off his offensive potential. So don't forget about this kid even though he's been out for seemingly forever.

Austin Watson - USA - W - What's disconcerting is how streaky this kid is at the junior level. I can only imagine how streaky he'll be at the next level, particularly playing for the anemic Nashville offense. When he's on his game, Watson is a nightmare combining tremendous size and scoring ability but when he's off he's dissinterested and pretty well useless. His lackluster play to start the year is what kept him off Team USA but he's really turned it on the last month and a half to get those numbers back to respectability. How he finishes the year will go a long way to determining just where his stock ends up but right now we've seen both the highs and the lows. Keep him in mind because these power wingers usually take a long time to get it together consistently.

Peter Mrazek - Czech - G - The Detroit late rounder shouldn't be on many people's radar. I mean, you can't ignore any Detroit prospects and as mentioned before you don't write off any goalie prospects in today's landscape, but still he's pretty far down the list. Mrazek is having a great season for the Ottawa 67's this season and he missed out on a huge opportunity to boost his profile starring for the Czechs. It seems every year, some low profile goalie is able to have a standout tournament and turn an otherwise also ran team into a legitimate medal contendor. Mrazek was left off the Czech team due to politics and missed what could have been a real coming out party. Maybe he's not on your radar, but don't use his absence from this tournament as a reason to write him off down the line. He absolutely deserved to be there.

Mikael Granlund - Finland - C/W - He was supposed to lead the Finns to a great tournament showing. They still rallied and had a great tournament without him, but this could have been a real coming out party for him. His numbers in the Finnish SM Liiga are sick almost breaking Olli Jokinen's underage scoring record last year. He had a solid showing at this tournament last year and was poised to build on that. Granlund was carrying last year's momentum into this season scoring near a point per game before going down with a concussion suffered on a missed it. The Minnesota 1st rounder relishes the physical game and thrives in that environment. He's sublimly skilled and would have absolutely taken things to the next level at this year's tournament. Don't forget about the undersized Finn because his absence was surely bad luck and I guarantee he would have taken it to similar levels as fellow 2010 1st rounders Tarasenko and Kuznetsov.

A great breakdown from HPG can be found here: http://www.dobberhockey.com/index.ph...light=granlund

My hope is that this article may have been even more informative than my last piece on the prospects who stood out at this year's tournament.

As always, this was originally posted on my blog found here: http://stevelaidlawsports.blogspot.c...ten-stars.html
So check that out if you like what you saw here.

[byz]

Loved this write-up. Thanks metaldude.

[GMGates]

Excellent stuff! Love it.

[wendelclark17]

great stuff as usual MD thanks for posting. I am really liking the way this toffoli kid is playing. As you mentioned he is tearing up the CHL (41gp 38g 37a 75pts) and I love the fact that he is a winger prospect on the Kings who always seem to be in need of wingers.

[metaldude26]

Thanks for the feedback gents! Feel free to post any of your own forgotten stars, if I missed any, which I'm sure I did.

[dyzfunctioned]

Great write up man. Although as a Watson owner, your comment on his streakiness worries me.

[metaldude26]

Great write up man. Although as a Watson owner, your comment on his streakiness worries me.

Yeah, I had to drop him in a couple leagues because he simply wasn't getting it done to start the year. Now he's ripping it up again and I don't know what to do. I'm just gonna keep an eye on him and see if he continues his recent pace. If he can then he probably forces my hand and I pick him back up. My biggest deterent is probably how far from the league he is. I figure he's a good 2-3 years from NHL action and then who knows how long before he "gets it". I think he's an awesome one to own if you have patience but if not then it's best to leave him and go after someone with a more favourable ETA.