So the IIHF World Juniors is in the record books, and your winner is the USA! Defeating Sweden at home with a definitive victory. I watched a good bit of the tournament and want to write up some players who I thought played well. The rest that don't find themselves in this article will be written in the rankings.
1. Rutger McGoarty: Rutger has the size to bully people at this age range, but showed off a wide array of skills. He has amazing defensive awareness and effort back checking, he has the ability to win one on one battles on the boards, and he has an a advanced hockey IQ and a great shot. He might be stuck behind Mark Scheifele on the depth chart when he finally gets called up, but he can be an absolute great 2C. He was also leading the NCAA in points before his injury.
2. The other Elias Pettersson: Vancouver taking another player named Elias Pettersson might have been meme worthy at the time, but he is proving to be a great player deserving of the name. He was a minute muncher for a decent Sweden team averaging north of 21 minutes a game. His size already will lend well to the NHL game and his hockey IQ and little chip played are NHL calibre. Vancouver doesn't necessarily have the utmost depth on defense so his chance to carve out a role on the big club is highly likely.
3. Zeev Buium, I've had my eyes on Zeev way before the WJC, but he has solidified himself as a lottery talent with his stellar WJC play. He has been an absolute menace in the NCAA well over a PPG. He drives play on offense, can lug the puck out of the zone, or make a perfect pass to spring board a rush. He can be a power play quarterback at the NHL level as well. He has good, not elite edgework, but he can always work on that. He has a prowess for getting shots through. I was very high on his brother as well, and they are playing together in Denver. Zeev is definitely the more offensive minded brother though.
4. Trey Augustine. Trey has been an absolute unit in collehe, and backstopped the USA to gold medal. USA had a pretty good team, and Trey managed to post a .936 SV% which is absurd in that tournament. A smaller weight goalie, Trey really holds his angles well, but can really flail and use his flexibility to get back into position to make a save. He will be challenging Sebastian Cossa as the top Detroit goalie prospect.
5. Cutter Gauthier. Cutter had 12 points in 7 games in the WJC. He was top notch, and undeniably was USA's best player other than the goaltending. He has fantastic offensive awareness, and the ability to carry the puck up the ice and enter the zone. He has an otherworldly shot either, but his playmaking is so good he didn't need to shoot as much. He's also above a point per game in the NCAA right now. He has NHL size, and is going to be a John Tortorella style player as well.
Honorable mentions:
Michael Brandsegg-nygård
Dans Locmelis
Nate Danielson
Dalibor Dvorsky
Macklin Celebrini
Maverick Lameroux
Photo credit StevenEllis546
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