Join NHL Connect for all of the action from Lake Placid, NY, as the best under-20 American hockey talent battle for a spot on the 2008 U.S. World Junior Championship team. NHL.com Managing Editor Shawn P. Roarke will be on site at Herb Brooks Arena from Aug. 5-8 to provide daily coverage and answer your questions.
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ChooChoo0413
Sep 16, 2008
Fantasy Hockey
Hey i have created a Fantasy League through Yahoo Sports.. Im trying to get as many teams as i can if you are interested please message me with your email address so i can send an invite… If you have friends or family that want part just get me those emails to the more the better…
shawn_roarke
Aug 08, 2008
Signing off from Lake Placid
Well, it’s time to go. Finland is just finishing up its pregame skate and Sweden and the two American teams have already come and gone. Practices were short, but spirited after yesterday’s off-day from the Americans.
Also, the USA coaching staff has made a few changes to each roster in an attempt to see players interact with new linemates and play in different situations.
Colin Wilson, Corey Tropp, Colin Long Drew LeBlanc and Jake Gardiner have moved from Team Blue to Team White for this afternoon’s game against Sweden.
Jeremy Morin, Tyler Johnson, Rob Czarnik, Cam Fowler and Mitch Wahl have switched to Team Blue, which plays Finland tonight at 7 p.m.
Both games today are on the Olympic-sized 1980 sheet. The tournament returns to the North American-sized sheet of the NHL rink for tomorrow’s final two games.
Well gang, it has been an absolute blast covering this camp. I’m already looking forward to next year’s camp. I hope you enjoyed the coverage. have a good weekend.
shawn_roarke
Aug 08, 2008
Even more questions
I just wanted to catch up on some more questions before I left Lake Placid. I’m on my home to Rhode Island for a little family time before returning to the office early next week to turn around the ton of player features I was able to get during my time here.
I really appreciate the enthusiasm The Connect community has shown for my blogs. They have been a blast to do and I hope the fun I have had in doing them showed through in the product. Thanks for all your great questions, and I look forward to talking to you all again soon through more of NHL.com’s comprehensive prospect coverage.
Now, on to the questions:
Whitesnake asked: “Thanks for your comments. Really appreciated! What’s just wondering what is your take on Danny Kristo. As a Hab fan, I’m obviously keeping track of what’s going with them. I see though that he started the tournament on the top line but then was put on the lower lines, is that any indication of his play? Is he on the outside looking in ‘cause of the great depth of that team? Another questions, I saw your rosters and your cuts, still while Greg Pateryn’s name appears on the roster, I don’t see his name on your lines and neither on your cuts. Is he there? If so, how’s his play. On another note, and while you might mostly look at the US boys, besides his goal, could you tell me how did Torp looked like so far? While on the small side, any trouble handling the big US boys? Thanks for the answers!”
Whitesnake, don’t worry about the movement of Kristo from the top line to the lower lines. It is not a reflection on his play at all. The coaches just want to see how players play with other players to get a true gauge on their talents. So, they tend to try to get the wings play with different centers at times in the evaluation process to make more informed decisions. Kristo has been solid during the scrimmages I have seen, but he has not really stood out. As for making the World Junior team, there is a long road to hoe still. This is just one part of the process. But, I think it is safe to say that Kristo will have to be very good this year to crack what should be a load group at forward, especially on the right side.
As for your other questions, I don’t really know much about Pateryn’s status. I have not seen him at all, although that does not mean he is not here. He just hasn’t appeared in any games. Sweden’s Torp, meanwhile, has been impressive at times on the offensive side of the puck. He has, however, had trouble handling some of the bigger American forwards when they start cycling in the attacking zone. But, a lot of the Swedish defensemen have had similar issues this week. He will definitely need to work on his physical play to have a chance to play effective hockey in North America.
Canadian asks: “As a Michigan Wolverines fan, any observations you have on their representatives…Aaron Palushaj, Matt Rust, Rob Czarnik, David Wohlberg, and (if he is on one of the teams) Greg Pateryn, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, and thanks again for your great blog posts.”
Canadian thanks for your enthusiasm about this camp and your posts. The Wolverines contingent has done well at this camp. Palushaj has been very good and has been part of the offensive core for Team Blue, playing with Ryan Bourque and Colin Wilson. Rust has impressed everyone with his play and competitiveness despite not finding the scoredsheet much. He has been one of my favorite players to watch. Czarnik has been great on a line with Jimmy Hayes and Mike Hoeffel. That unit has been the Americans’ most physical trio and they have exerted a great deal of pressure on both the Swedes and the Finns with an effective and punishing cycle. David Wohlberg has not really stood out as much for me, but that could be a function of the fact that he has seen less ice time than some of the other guys and has not been afforded much special-teams’ time in what have been contests dominated by special-teams’ play.
Rabid Ranger says: “Shawn, on another board, a discussion has come up as to why the U.S. always dominates in this split-squad event, but seems to falter during the real deal at the WJC’s, with what should be the best possible team from both sides. Any thoughts? The U.S. seems to have enough talent to win gold each year. Is it team construct, coaching, work ethic? Thanks.”
Rabid Ranger, that is a great question. I’m not sure that the United States falters per se. For the past few years, this team has consistently been among the top-four programs at the WJC. The difference between winning gold and finishing out of the medals is razor-thin – remember the shootout against the Canadians two years ago – that it is a true accomplishment to medal. I personally think there are always three, if not four, teams that are talented enough to win gold. So, it takes more than just talent to win this tournament. It takes a mental mindset that you can win the tournament. Canada has that because it has been so successful at the WJC. The Americans are still building that, but it is coming slowly. I also think this WJC team will be more equipped for the rigors of the WJC because there will likely be more kids from the Canadian Hockey League than in the past. That will be especially telling with this year’s games being played on a NHL-sized arena.
Kyle 720 asks: “Shawn, how does Thomas McCollum look? Do you think he will make the team?
Kyle, Thomas looks 100 times better than he did at this same camp a year ago. What a difference a year makes. He is confident, he is poised, he is economical in his movements and he has not been haunted by his mistakes. To me, he is a completely different goalie and the experience he has gleaned from playing for Guelph and going through the Entry Draft process has paid off. He is far more comfortable in his own skin, both on and off the ice. I would be shocked if he is not one of the goalies on this team come December, but that is just my opinion.
shawn_roarke
Aug 07, 2008
More questions and answers
Here’s the answers to some more of the questions that have been posted on the blog in the past couple of days. Keep the comments and questions coming and I’ll keep answering them until I leave on Friday afternoon. I’ll get to some of the more recent questions either tonight or tomorrow morning.
Have a great day.
Flame4Ever asked: “How has Mitch Wahl looked centering that top line? Is he slotted to be a top-6 guy in the tournament as of right now? Also how has (Mikael) Backlund looked so far? Is he creating offence and generating scoring chances?”
Flame, Mitch Wahl has looked pretty good on the top line, although it is hard to look bad with a dominant James vanRiemsdyk on your wing. The combo of Wahl, Motin and Jeremy Morin has created more chances than any other line in this tournament and Wahl has played his part. He has kept up with the pace and has shown a knack of finding vanRiemsdyk and Morin, especially when the two wings drive aggressively to the net.
As for Backlund, he has been a bit of a disappointment. Let me preface that by saying we all know he will be a top forward for Sweden this winter in Ottawa. But, he has seen limited time in the two games I have seen and has not done much with it. Clearly, Swedish coach Par Marts is trying other forwards in key roles, much in the same way he is limiting defenseman Victor Hedman’s playing time. But, the second period of Wednesday night’s game is a perfect example of Backlund’s mediocre form during the first two dayts of the tournament. He had two good scoring chances of his own and created another, but he also took two foolish penalties. He has been better, he can be better and he will be better at the World Juniors in December.
60min says: Shawn, thanks for your updates. Can you provide current rosters for Blue and White, as well as a list of players who were cut? Also, any thought on Badgers Ryan McDonagh and Jake Gardiner?
60 min, I posted the rosters and the cuts early today, so scroll back through the posts to find that info. As for McDonagh and Gardiner, the pride of Wisconsin, I’ll do my best to update you. I mentioned McDonagh earlier and raved about his penalty killing. He has been great in that area as Team White has been highly undisciplined in the first few games. He makes sound coverage decisions and has shown great closing speed. Those traits also contribute to his own-zone coverage at even strength. Coach Ron Rolston has regularly used McDonagh and Kevin Shattenkirk as his shuit-down pairing in the first two games.
Jake Gardiner has been less visible so far for Team Blue, but that is because he has been given less of an opportunity. He is playing far fewer minutes and not seeing as much specialty time. I guess I would have to say I have not noticed him much in the first two games, but that is not always a bad thing for defensemen. He has been solid, if not spectacular. I hope that gives you your Badger fix.
shawn_roarke
Aug 07, 2008
Off-day today
The tournament is dark today as the Americans get a day of rest after six days of hard work here at lake Placid. They went through some off-ice testing in the morning today and then were given the rest of the day off. They’ll be back on the ice tomorrow.
I used the time today to answer some more questions from readers — which I will post soon and see a little of Lake Placid myself.
I’ll be at the practices tomorrow, but will be cutting out before Friday night’s games. I will have a few more posts on here before I leave though. Plus, we will be running player features from this camp on NHL.com throughout the summer.