U-18 IIHF World Championship Thread

[Dean Youngblood]

Just a heads up.

Canada plays Team USA in the Semi Final starting at 12:30pm EST. The game will be televised on TSN

There will be lots of top end NHL prospects playing so keep an eye out.



Sweden beat the Russians 3-1 this morning so the winner of the Canada-USA game will face off against Sweden in the Gold Medal Game. The loser will play Russia for Bronze.

[Dean Youngblood]

LIVE UPDATE of USA-CANADA Semi-Final Game

1-0 Canada. Brett Ritchie (Sarnia Sting; ranked 36th) tips in Ryan Murphy's shot on the PP. G: Ritchie (PP) A: Murphy, Quine

JT Miller (ranked 23rd among NA) snaps one five hole on Malcolm Subban to tie the game 1-1. G: Miller A: Unassisted

END OF 1ST. Tied 1-1

Notes: Brett Ritchie was Canada's best player in the first period as he dominated the USA zone. Ritchie is playing his best game when he uses his size and plays physical. His line of Nick Cousins and Mark McNeil spent the majority of their shifts playing a cycle game in Team USAs zone. Rocco Grimaldi (ranked 32nd among NA skaters) was Team USA's best player as he created several scoring chances with his speed. Grimaldi has first round talent but his size (5'6") is the biggest concern for scouts. Grimaldi is a treat to watch as he oozes creativity.

[Dean Youngblood]

Reid Boucher scores for Team USA to make it 2-1 USA. Boucher is ranked 113th among NA skaters and is property of the OHL's Sarnia Sting (but hasn't committed).

Canada trails USA 4-2. Ritchie added his second goal of the game (by far Canada's best player)

Canada's Malcolm Subban (G) has let another game slip away. Subban's ability to win big games is going to be questioned a lot as he enters the 2012 draft.

Latest Scoring:

2-1 USA - Reid Boucher (assisted by JT Miller)
3-1 USA - Zach Larraza (assisted by Travis Boyd)
4-1 USA - Reid Boucher (assisted by JT Miller)
4-2 CAN - Ritchie (assisted by Nick Cousins, Alan Quine)

6 minutes remaining in the 3rd

[Dean Youngblood]

Canada scores on the PP to bring it within one goal. 4-3 USA with 1:35 remaining in the 3rd period.

[Dean Youngblood]

Canada TIES IT UP with 53 seconds on a beauty pass from Ryan Murray!

[jsender]

Atta boy Murray! Exciting ending to the game.

[Dean Youngblood]

Tyler Biggs scores the game winning goal in overtime.

USA wins 5-4 (OT) and will play Sweden for Gold Tomorrow.

Canada and Russia will play for the Bronze Medal Tomorrow

[dodospice]

Im starting to look at 2012 NHL Entry Draft now and my top 5 prospects are:
1: Nail Yakupov
2: Mikhail Grigorenko
3: Alex Galchenyuk
4: Ryan Murray
5: Nick Ebert

Martin Frk is #6 on my list.


Now Im not sure how accurate I am but as of today thats how id rank them.

[Dean Youngblood]

Im starting to look at 2012 NHL Entry Draft now and my top 5 prospects are:
1: Nail Yakupov
2: Mikhail Grigorenko
3: Alex Galchenyuk
4: Ryan Murray
5: Nick Ebert

Martin Frk is #6 on my list.


Now Im not sure how accurate I am but as of today thats how id rank them.

I would say you are pretty damn accurate. It's exactly how I have them ranked too. However, Grigorenko could be number one if he publicly stated that the NHL is his destination or somehow came over and played some NA hockey before the draft.

[Dean Youngblood]

If anyone is up and watching the Bronze medal game (on TSN) between Canada and Russia, you will not be disappointed by the Yakupov show. Nail has 2 goals (one shorthanded) and an assist as Russia leads 5-3 with 5 minutes left in the second.

Russia's Kucherov has 2 goals in the game which puts him at 20 points for the tournament setting a new record for most points by a single player. Washington has a good track record for drafting russia talent but other teams better get on board. Kucherov should be ranked in the Top 20 in this years' draft class but as we see each year he will likely drop further than he should. Kucherov's 20 points is more than Ovechkin had (18) and Phil Kessel (16).


The more I watch Ryan Murphy play the more I am impressed. Murphy is such a dynamic skater and his hockey IQ is off the charts. Murphy is the best offensive defenseman available in this years' NHL draft and if Columbus chooses not to draft him with their 1st round selection (8th) Scott Howsen should lose his job. Ryan Murphy and Ryan Murray (Canada's captain) have been awesome in the three games I have watched. It seems that neither defensemen leave the ice.

One last thing, if you want a kid who has improved his draft stock substantially look to Canada's big power forward Brett Ritchie. Brett has been Canada's best forward in the last two games. Ritchie missed a lot of time this past season (Sarnia Sting) due to a few injuries and a case of mono so he is flying under the radar a bit. The 6'4" winger was once ranked as a first round but currently sits at 36th among North American skaters. I would not be surprised to see a team draft him in the first round. In my opinion, he is a better prospect than other "potential" first rounders including Tyler Biggs and Matt Peumpel. Keep an eye on Ritchie.


Russia leads Canada 5-3 after two periods.

[Dean Youngblood]

Russia wins Bronze with a 6-4 win over Canada

- Yakupov (RUS) showed why he will go first overall in 2012. If you get a chance to watch him, don't pass it up. Yakupov finished with 3G, 1A

- Ryan Murphy (CAN) is making scouts really think. The kid can control the puck soooooooooooooooooo well. In my recent release of the NHL top 10 prospects I had Murphy pegged 8th with the chance of falling outside of the Top 10. Lets just say that Murphy is really making me second guess that comment. The Kitchener Ranger could fall but he could also rise up into the Top 5. I will be very interested to see where he gets drafted in June. He was Canada's best player today - BY FAR

[Big Ev]

I definitely see Yakupov and Grigorenko falling come next June. Everybody is so afraid of drafting Russians right now, I don't know if a team will want one with their 1st overall pick. If they like another non-Russian player as much as Yakupov, I bet they pick him instead.

Plus the order changes a lot in a year, so they might not even be 1st or 2nd at this time next year. Look at McFarland and Couturier, etc. I don't think Yakupov will drop much in rankings but I could see Grigorenko drop.

[dodospice]

I would say you are pretty damn accurate. It's exactly how I have them ranked too. However, Grigorenko could be number one if he publicly stated that the NHL is his destination or somehow came over and played some NA hockey before the draft.

I think Yakupov to Murray could all go #1 depending on who is picking. Ebert and Frk I see as guys who could go as high as 2 or 3 but not quite 1.

If Grigorenko could play in NA it would help him out greatly.

I could see the 2 Russians going 1 and 2 like 04 with the Canadian Dman going 3? Could be a possibility but i dont see it happenening.


I want to see Yakupov and Galchenyuk play in person but that wont happen seeing as how i live an hour from Halifax....so ill just have to settle for Frk i suppose haha.

[SeaDawg]

There will most certainly be some movement among the top 5 for the 2012 draft, but I do find it interesting that for the most part the same 5 guys we were talking about a year ago we are still talking about today. Yakupov, Galchenyuk, Murray, and Grigorenko appear locks for top 10 and probably even top 5 picks. Frk, I believe, has dropped off a bit but he will still be a late first or early second round pick at worse, I think.

I'm a big Reinhart fan and I'm sure he would have played in this tournament if he wasn't injured. Reinhart, Murray, and Murphy would have been unbelievable for Canada.

I wonder next year who the late risers like Strome, Huberdeau, and Zibanejad will be.

[Dean Youngblood]

Yakupov Galchenyuk and Murray are locks for Top 5. No question about it. Grigorenko would be a lock if he were in NA but he could fall for sure but I don't see him falling outside the Top 10.

If anyone sees Yakupov not going one or two then they haven't seen the kid play. He is in NA for a reason and the Russian factor won't apply in his case

Galchenyuk is as much American as he is Russian and he will be heavily sought after. I predict that his draft stock will improve significantly over the next 14 months