Team: 2020-21 Custom Team

Initial Creation Date: Jan. 1, 2021

Published: Jan. 2, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Sorry I’ve been neglecting this the last four days, been busy with family and back to work, but anyway let’s get into it! Gonna start with comments on Canada, then Sens+Flames prospects, then other guys I noticed, then my frontrunners for awards at this point. Since my last thread I’ve watched the Canada vs. Switzerland game, the last 2 periods of Germany vs. Switzerland, the last 10 minutes + OT of Russia vs. Sweden, the last half of Canada vs. Finland, and the last couple periods of Sweden vs. USA.

Canada’s game against Switzerland was a major turning point for them. After a blowout against Germany and a poor showing against Slovakia, they needed a bounce back game and they really established how they want to play in this game. They were dominant all the way through, controlling possession, shooting frequently, cutting off zone entries and suppressing shots if they did make it in, and perhaps most importantly, this is the game where the 3rd line (and specifically Byfield) really got rolling. The Pelletier-Byfield-Quinn/Zary line was absolutely dominant all game, controlling possession and running the offensive zone, and creating several high quality scoring chances, leading to 2 goals apiece for Pelletier and Byfield. This is crucial for Canada moving forward, as the ability to roll 4 high quality scoring lines is what will give them the edge over the Group B powerhouses, their offensive depth is superior to everyone else’s if every line is clicking. Overall just a really good game for Canada, and an important one for them as a team moving forward.

Against Finland Canada got their first real test against an actual good team, and I would say they passed with flying colours. They began the game with an absurdly good period, outshooting Finland 17-1, and never really lost control after that. The score could easily have been higher, but it never really felt like Finland actually had a chance. About as perfect of a game as you could have asked for, aside from the Newhook injury.

Tim Stuetzle (OTT) - This kid put Germany on his back and carried them to their best finish ever at this tournament—and they aren’t even done yet! He’s noticeable every time he’s on the ice and a threat whenever he has the puck, which is often. He’s got fantastic vision, great playmaking ability, an equally great shot, and he’s very strong on the puck, once it’s on his stick it’s staying there until he wants it gone. One of the things I noticed that I like the most is the patience he has. He’s not in a rush to get rid of the puck, and picks the perfect moment to shoot or make a play. This was particularly evident on his second goal against Switzerland, he held onto the puck in the offensive zone, cut to the middle, and shot at the only moment where he had a lane through the traffic in front. He’s also an absolute monster on the power play, Germany has the most power play goals in the entire tournament (or at least they did at one point, who saw that coming eh?) and he’s been the engine of that top unit that’s been so productive. He’s been outstanding all tournament and I’m looking forward to what he can pull off against Russia!

Jake Sanderson (OTT) - Man he’s so smooth out there, his skating is superb. It’s pretty rare in this tournament that you see a guy and think “damn, he’s always in the right position,” but Sanderson rarely looks like he’s in the wrong place. He’s not the flashiest but he does have his moments offensively and makes good decisions with the puck, which is a great bonus when he’s penciled in as a future shutdown minute muncher. He’s not afraid to throw his weight around a bit, and overall I just really like what I’m seeing from him in this tournament. Reliability and consistency are important, especially for a defensive guy, so it’s good to see him handling himself well among his peers.

Roby Jarventie (OTT) - I’m gonna be completely honest I didn’t notice him in the Canada game at all. Not necessarily his fault because I didn’t think anyone on Finland looked particularly good because of how well Canada was controlling the game (exception being Lambert, man that kid’s a beast). I’d be interested to hear if anyone else has something to add. Right now I’m feeling like I did the day of the draft, wishing Ottawa had taken Peterka instead lol. Pretty disappointed with how his round robin went, but maybe I had too high expectations. After the start he's had I thought he would come in and play more of a scoring role, maybe push for a top 6 job or at least provide some depth scoring, but he's been largely invisible when I'm actively looking for him, and obviously hasn't really stepped up.

Jakob Pelletier (CGY) - I love this kid’s heart, every shift it looks like he’s giving it his absolute best. He’s been noticeably fantastic on the forecheck in every single game, and now that Byfield’s starting to carry his weight a little he’s been generating more offense as a result (2 goals and an assist against Switzerland). I think he’s a pretty good bet to make the NHL within 2 years, and it definitely helps that he’s willing to muck it up in the corners and do the dirty work, while playing a good defensive game as well. He’s fully capable of playing up or down the lineup, he’s gonna be a very useful, very versatile player for Calgary for a long time.

Connor Zary (CGY) - I was disappointed with his first two games but he’s improved since then. He only had one assist in the Switzerland game, but he had a couple high quality individual chances and there were several shifts where he helped sustain prolonged offensive pressure alongside Pelletier and Byfield, leading to a few excellent scoring chances. In the Finland game I thought he kept his energy high, and after the Alex Newhook (COL) injury it appears he was the guy tapped to move into that spot alongside Peyton Krebs (VGK) and Cole Perfetti (WPG), which was a promising sign (he got an assist on the Krebs goal too). I don’t want Newhook to stay injured obviously, as Canada is better with him in the lineup, but if he has to miss a game I hope Zary sticks there and gets the chance to show off a little with more ice time. Also, he signed his ELC just in time to stay eligible for the ELC slide for 2 years, and because I don’t think he’ll got more than 7 and 9 games respectively the next 2 years, we’ve effectively locked him up to a cheap deal until he’s 23, which I think is fantastic for Calgary.

Yan Kuznetsov (CGY) - Like Jarventie, I didn’t really notice him. Someone let me know if you saw anything lol

Forward of the Tournament:
1 - Trevor Zegras (ANA). He’s absolutely dominating right now, leading the tournament in scoring and he looks like an absolute beast. He looked good in the opener when America lost to the Russians, and he’s reached another level to help them cruise to first in the group with 3 dominant wins since.
2 - Dylan Cozens (BUF). 2nd in tournament scoring, he’s really doing it all for Canada right now, it’s great. He looks like a man amongst boys, it’ll be fun to see him go head to head with Zegras (especially if it’s in the gold medal game 👀)
3 - Tim Stuetzle (OTT). Carried Germany to 3rd place in Group A and their first ever berth in the quarterfinals. Tied for 3rd in tournament scoring, but with a significantly worse surrounding roster than the other contenders. Just looks amazing every time he’s on the ice, dazzling with speed and skill and using pure willpower to push Germany to victory. He probably won’t win as it would be a huge surprise if Germany made it to the semis, but if they do, it will likely be because of him, and that might be enough to push him into 1st.

Defenseman of the Tournament:
1 - Bowen Byram (COL). He just looks like an absolute beast out there. He's got extremely clean zone exits, whether he's passing the puck or lugging it himself, he's been physical, he knows when to jump up into the play and make something happen in the offensive zone, and when he does make a mistake, he recovers quickly and efficiently takes care of it. He's not been on the scoreboard a lot, but he's been superb every time he's out there.
2 - Jamie Drysdale (ANA). Like Byram, he looks amazing every time he's out there. They have great chemistry and honestly it just doesn't seem fair that they're out there at the same time. Drysdale is great at processing what's going on and making the best possible play to create chances, and like Byram, isn't afraid to enter the zone with the puck himself sometimes. They've both made very few mistakes so far, it's tough to say which one's been better. I may be a little biased by including two Canadians here. but I honestly think they're 2 of the best D prospects in the world (#2 for me is Moritz Seider and he's not at the tournament, Sanderson and Broberg are up there too, but Drysdale's playstyle lends itself better to winning awards like this than Sanderson's).
3 - Ville Heinola (WPG). He's been eating big minutes for Finland, and from what I've seen he looks really good. Very smooth, very intelligent, he'll continue to be relied upon heavily moving forward. I think his play will be key if they're to defeat Sweden in the quarterfinals.
Honourable Mentions: Cam York (PHI), Topi Niemela (TOR), Victor Soderstrom (ARI).

Goaltender of the Tournament:
1 - Devon Levi (FLA). Levi has been outstanding so far, through 4 games (minus a period where they let Dylan Garand get some playing time for fun basically) he's been near perfect, only allowing 3 goals, all when the opposing team has a power play, and picking up a shutout along the way. He has a sparkling .951 save percentage and looks super confident. Goaltending was a question mark for Canada, but like Joel Hofer last year, Levi has stepped up and turned it into a strength.
2 - Spencer Knight (FLA). After a not so fantastic game against Russia to start, and then not playing against Austria, Knight has really bounced back, with two shutouts against the Czech Republic and (impressively) Sweden. He's settled down and if he keeps up his stellar play, should be able to carry the Americans to a medal with ease, they look like a real threat to make it to the gold medal game.
3 - Kari Piiroinen (2021 double overager). I considered Askarov in this spot, and maybe he should be, but he's not really looked all that impressive so far. I feel like Russia has been winning more on the strength of their offense rather than him taking over in goal. Piiroinen has been excellent in net for Finland so far though, he kept them in the Canada game (his team let him down, never really looked like they had a chance, but he gave them hope by keeping the score down, it could easily have been 7 for Canada), was perfect against Slovakia, and great against Germany as well.
Honourable Mention: Yaroslav Askarov (NSH).

Surprises:
- Kasper Simontaival (LAK) has been great for Finland so far. He's put up 5 points in 4 games playing on the top line with Lundell and Hirvonen and doesn't look like a passenger.
- Elmer Soderblom (DET) has been amazing in this tournament, one of Sweden's few bright spots after a rough start (COVID issues, two losses, Broberg isn't looking great, likely due to injury, Alnefelt's struggles, etc.). He's absolutely massive and using his frame effectively to create room in the offensive zone to produce scoring chances. He looks great in the corners and great in front of the net. Not exactly who I expected to be talking about on a team with Raymond and Holtz, but yeah, he's been good so far. If Sweden's going to rebound in the medal rounds he'll have to continue to provide that impact secondary scoring.
- Philip Tomasino (NSH) has put up 4 goals and 6 points through 4 games from the 4th line for Canada, and he's looked great doing it. A pure shooter, he's always looking to get the puck on net, and it's proven to be effective, only Cozens has more goals for Canada. He looks dangerous with the puck on his stick and brings a lot of energy whenever he's out there. This secondary scoring will be vital for them moving forward.
- Matthew Beniers (2021) has been fantastic so far. He's only got a couple points, but he's playing pretty high in the lineup (2nd line centre between Cole Caufield and Matt Boldy) and he brings a lot of energy and skill to that line. He looks good in the offensive zone (which is where he spends most of his time) and has certainly raised his draft stock imo, I think he's the best 2021 draft eligible playing at the tournament.
- Brad Lambert (2022) has been fantastic for Finland. He looks incredible in the offensive zone, very poised, very intelligent, very dangerous. It's a shame Wright is a generational talent and all that, but Lambert's no slouch, I imagine he'll be like the Eichel to Wright's McDavid. He's worked his way up the lineup onto the second line and been extremely impressive in my opinion.
- Florian Elias (2021 overager) hasn't been the engine for Germany by any means (Stuetzle and Peterka have been leading the way) but he's stepped onto that top line in place of Reichel and not looked out of place. Sitting 5th in the tournament in points, he's been a huge part of the German offense, particularly the surprisingly lethal power play, and probably has some teams interested in taking a shot on him in the late rounds next year (Ottawa likes drafting overagers late, and also guys who are friends, wouldn't surprise me if they took him honestly).
- Gonna end with a shoutout to Sebastian Wraneschitz (2021 overager) for a phenomenal tournament for Austria. Didn't get any help from his team in a brutal group, but he played outstanding throughout. Despite the constant blowouts, the way Austria was playing in front of him the score in most of the games could have easily been double or tripled. Kudos to him for hanging in there.

Disappointments:
- Marco Rossi (MIN) didn't really do anything. Austria only scored one goal all tournament, and he wasn't involved in it, finishing pointless and -6. I would have liked to see him pull off something similar to what Stuetzle is doing, and while he definitely has a weaker supporting cast, he could have at least put some of his individual talent on display and maybe made the game against the Czech Republic interesting.
- Lucas Raymond (DET) and Alex Holtz (NJD) were among my pre-tournament favourites for best forward, and both have been rather lackluster so far. Only 1 goal and 2 assists apiece for a duo I expected to be among the tournament leaders (obviously Zegras and Cozens have been phenomenal, but I don't think expecting 6-8 points at this stage is unrealistic). They're obviously missing Henriksson, but Sundsvik hasn't been bad. Raymond and Holtz really need to step it up if Sweden's gonna go anywhere.
- Cole Caufield (MTL) looked good out there against Austria, but I didn't really notice him in the parts of the other games I watched, and he hasn't been producing at all. A lot of people had him pegged as the forward of the tournament, and while my expectations were a little lower, I still expected him to have more than 1 goal and 3 points (especially as 2 of his points, including the goal, came on the 6th and 7th goals against the Czech Republic, when the game was obviously out of reach, and on the power play to boot). He's being helped out by Boldy and Zegras playing amazing, but the USA could really use their best sniper stepping up and scoring some meaningful points.
- I kinda wish Thomas Harley (DAL) was more involved offensively. He's played a lot of minutes, and hasn't been bad or anything, but he's touted as an offensive whiz from the blueline, and I feel like only having 1 goal (and 0 assists) when Canada's already put up 33 goals, is rather underwhelming for a second pair offensive defenseman. It's not too big of a deal, because it's not like he's been bad defensively, but if he steps up and runs the offensive zone more effectively moving forward, that makes Canada more threatening on the rare occasions Byram and Drysdale need a break.
- Hugo Alnefelt (TBL) has been pretty bad for Sweden honestly. I expected him to step up and compete with Knight and Askarov for goalie of the tournament, but Levi has done that instead, and Alnefelt has struggled a lot, currently sitting at a measly .902 save percentage. Jesper Wallstedt (2021 eligible, projected as a top 15 pick) had to replace him in the USA game and looked solid in his start against Russia the night before (.923 save percentage only playing against the two best teams in the group). I would not be surprised if he's stolen the starting job, we'll have to see who Sweden goes with tomorrow.

Other Comments:
- I'm glad Quinton Byfield (LAK) finally woke up for Canada, having a 3rd line that's rocking (him and Pelletier both look good) as well as an effective 4th line (Tomasino, Suzuki, and Mercer are having great tournaments so far) is all Canada could have asked for. He's got some confidence now after the 6 point night against Switzerland, and he played well against Finland despite being held off the scoresheet.
- Philip Broberg (EDM) is clearly injured (have they come out and said that yet or is it still just speculation? Haven't been reading the headlines, just watching the games), whether or not a day off helps him bounce back to elite form will play a big factor in how well Sweden fares in the knockout stage. Kind of a shame, because he should really be in that best defenseman conversation, but he hasn't looked great so far likely due to this issue. He'll still be a stud for Edmonton though.
- J.J. Peterka (BUF) has been fantastic for Germany riding shotgun with Stuetzle, they've arguably been the most dynamic duo of the tournament, and he's really helped them take advantage of their power plays to stay in games.
- Ryan Johnson (BUF) walked in and wired an absolute LASER against Sweden, beautiful snipe. Lots to look forward to in Buffalo with Cozens, Peterka, Quinn (who looks pretty solid on Canada's 3rd line, currently at a point per game), and Johnson on the way.
- Connor McMichael (WSH) has been one of Canada's best players imo, probably our 2nd best forward after Cozens. His 5 points in 4 games don't even do justice to the fact that he's been our most consistent player and looked dangerous and engaged in every single game (most of the team had a rough game against Slovakia, McMichael was one of the few good players even then). He's a very important player for Canada, and a threat every time he's out there. He's due for a huge game at some point.
- Simon Knak (2021 overager), Noah Meier (2021 eligible, one of the older players in the draft), and Thibault Fatton (2021 overager) were very good for Switzerland in a rather disappointing tournament for them after a couple high finishes recently. The Swiss were snake-bitten by some atrocious puck luck, until the 3rd period explosion against Germany I believe they only had 1 goal on their first 85 shots. Knak (the captain) was one of the few Swiss players who looked good throughout, consistently creating offense despite the team in general lacking finish. I'm glad he got one in the end. Fatton was a wall for them, and he was better than his .909 save percentage implies considering the quality of shooter he faced, and kept the games closer than they had any right to be against all of Slovakia, Finland, and Germany (Patenaude was the guy lit up by Canada). Meier was pretty solid on the back end as well, not sure if he did enough to work his way into the draft conversation but he might be worth looking into as a late round option. It's always nice to see guys you've never heard of from a lower-end hockey nation show they can hang with the big boys at tournaments like this, it's part of what makes this whole ordeal a blast to watch as a fan, so congratulations to those guys for putting on a show while they were here!

Wow if you made it through all that, congratulations, let me know what y'all think! Looking forward to the medal rounds, should be a blast! A Canada vs. USA clash of the titans for the gold medal would be magnificent, I think they're the two strongest teams this year (obviously both won their groups lol) and the rivalry is only really matched by Sweden vs. Finland (and one of them is going home after the quarterfinals, that'll be a can't miss game, but I might have to because of work lol).