WJHC (World Junior Hockey Championships) 2015

[bustaheims]

Felt like Gauthier played that whole third and locked it down.

He was out there like every other shift. He was very much relied upon as the shutdown guy, and did a very good job of it in the 3rd. Teams need that and the Leafs will likely be very happy with him.

[Potvin29]

Felt like Gauthier played that whole third and locked it down.

He was out there like every other shift. He was very much relied upon as the shutdown guy, and did a very good job of it in the 3rd. Teams need that and the Leafs will likely be very happy with him.

I think it's his size that will hopefully help him be effective at the NHL level.

[L K]

Felt like Gauthier played that whole third and locked it down.

He was out there like every other shift. He was very much relied upon as the shutdown guy, and did a very good job of it in the 3rd. Teams need that and the Leafs will likely be very happy with him.

I think it's his size that will hopefully help him be effective at the NHL level.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=54471

[hockeyfan1]

[hockeyfan1]

What a way to a Gold Medal victory!!

Canada defeats Russia 5-4 in a thrilling Gold medal classic matchup before a full-house capacity crowd at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

It was a flurry to the finish, as Team Russia tried valiantly to get the tying goal, even with the extra attacker on empty net, but the Canadians denied them the chance, denying their opponents the opportunities to get as close scoring chance as there was, with Canadian netminder Zach Fucale there to stop any loose pucks.

Some say Team Canada was not particularly tested in this tournament, as the Canadians coasted over their opponents in the name of Denmark, Slovakia, and the U.S., in the round-robin.
Then, meeting same (Denmark & Slovakia in the quarter and semi finals, respectively).

That Russia, the big, bad, skilled, we-can-beat-anybody-Russians, would then prove a real headache for Team Canada never materialized, what with Canada taking a 5-1 lead, led by the line of Domi, Reinhart, and Duclair.  Then, with a series of penalties and a 'rejuvenated' Russian team, suddenly Canada saw their lead shrink to 5-4.  Fucale, some say, had a 'weak' second period, though he cannot be blamed completely for the Russian goals, as one or two were screens or a bad bounce.

To think that Canada could blow a lead was unthinkable up to now, for the Canadians blew out the opposition in this tournament, never having to relinquish a lead.  To do so in this all-important gold medal match left many in the stands shaking their heads...and wondering if Canada could indeed pull off victory.

Victory, ah, sweet, victory!!  Joy, elation, and a huge sigh of relief could be felt from the players to the fans to the whole country!

"This is amazing," gushed captain Curtis Lazar. "I really wanted to help Canada get back on top, and everyone did their part. I was just along for the ride. We had the momentum; we let it sleip away a little bit, but we hung in there."

Lazar was quick to credit the Toronto fans who flocked to games both with Canada and without in remarkable numbers. "The crowd supported us and was with us every step of the way. They were so loud, and to sing the national anthem along with them was special."

"We're World Junior champions," said McDavid succinctly. It's joy. Right now, this is just absolute joy."

They're a team that never quits," noted defenceman Josh Morrissey. "They have a lot of skill, and they prey on turnovers. We kinda got a little complacent there in the second period, but I'm so proud of the way we responded in the second intermission and came back out in the third and really locked it down. I guess it was a little more exciting than it had to be, but it was amazing. I'll never forget it."

After the game, McDavid recalled watching his first World Juniors as a kid. "The team that I remember most vividly was the '05 team and how dominant they were, Sidney Crosby, Bergeron, the list goes on and on. The 6-1 final. It was pretty fun to watch."

And how does this team compare? "We'll see in a couple of years, but in terms of the dominance, we were also very dominant. We didn't even trail once all tournament. If it wasn't for a sloppy five minutes in the second period, we might have had a 6-1 final as well."

Best tournament players:  Russia's Vladislav Gavrikov (defence), Slovakia's Denis Godla (goaltender), and Canada's Max Domi (forward).



http://www.worldjunior2015.com/en/games/2015-01-05/CAN-vs-RUS/

[Chev-boyar-sky]

Felt like Gauthier played that whole third and locked it down.

He was out there like every other shift. He was very much relied upon as the shutdown guy, and did a very good job of it in the 3rd. Teams need that and the Leafs will likely be very happy with him.

I think it's his size that will hopefully help him be effective at the NHL level.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=54471

I thought this was a link to Gauthier's junior stats but it's so much better.

Thanks for the chuckle.

[RedLeaf]

Felt like Gauthier played that whole third and locked it down.

If only he had a decent pair of mitts....

[Chev-boyar-sky]

Nice to see some Leafs prospects making their presence felt at the WJHC.

Nylander and Valiev look like future difference makers (one offensively and defensively) and Gauthier a 4th line C for sure with the potential to be a 3rd line C.

[Boston Leaf]

I never get too worked up over how well a guy plays in this tournament.. I guess being so excited over how well Justin Pogge did that year has ruined those ideas

[AlmosGirl]

I don't think I could have taken OT.

Awesome win boys!!!

Agreed! My gosh I'm getting to old for this stuff!

[L K]

Felt like Gauthier played that whole third and locked it down.

He was out there like every other shift. He was very much relied upon as the shutdown guy, and did a very good job of it in the 3rd. Teams need that and the Leafs will likely be very happy with him.

I think it's his size that will hopefully help him be effective at the NHL level.

I think it's a pretty fair comparison.  Both are late first round picks.  Both have great NHL size.  Both excel at faceoffs and have a reputation for advanced defensive zone play.  The big difference is Gautier is a better skater. 

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=54471

I thought this was a link to Gauthier's junior stats but it's so much better.

Thanks for the chuckle.

[Potvin29]

Felt like Gauthier played that whole third and locked it down.

He was out there like every other shift. He was very much relied upon as the shutdown guy, and did a very good job of it in the 3rd. Teams need that and the Leafs will likely be very happy with him.

I think it's his size that will hopefully help him be effective at the NHL level.

I think it's a pretty fair comparison.  Both are late first round picks.  Both have great NHL size.  Both excel at faceoffs and have a reputation for advanced defensive zone play.  The big difference is Gautier is a better skater. 

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=54471

I thought this was a link to Gauthier's junior stats but it's so much better.

Thanks for the chuckle.

Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to turn into a similar player like that.  Steckel gets unfairly maligned for his time in Toronto I think.  From what I saw from Gauthier I thought he looked more physical than Steckel was as well.

[hockeyfan1]

In the bronze medal game, Slovakia defeated Sweden 4-2 and captured it's first medal in this tournament since 1999.

Team Slovakia made good on it's promise to bring home a medal and played with determination against a disappointing Team Sweden that looked  'sluggish' at times in the game.

Martin Reway, Patriks Koys, David Soltes and Mislav Rosandic scored for Slovakia. 
William Nylander and Jens Looke got the markers for Sweden.

Crowd pleaser & favourite, Slovakian goaltender Denise Godla, was named game MVP as well as top tournament netminder.

The Slovak bench went wild as their bronze medal was confirmed. And why not? It's a proud day for Slovak hockey, and the players wanted to soak it all up.

"This is the best moment in my life," said Petras.

"It's indescribable feelings," said Soltes. "For Slovakia, it doesn't happen every day. First we finished in third place [in our group], and now we finished third. So this is like history. We will be happy forever."

http://www.worldjunior2015.com/en/games/2015-01-05/SWE-vs-SVK/

[Stickytape]

Felt like Gauthier played that whole third and locked it down.

He was out there like every other shift. He was very much relied upon as the shutdown guy, and did a very good job of it in the 3rd. Teams need that and the Leafs will likely be very happy with him.

I think it's his size that will hopefully help him be effective at the NHL level.

I think it's a pretty fair comparison.  Both are late first round picks.  Both have great NHL size.  Both excel at faceoffs and have a reputation for advanced defensive zone play.  The big difference is Gautier is a better skater. 

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=54471

I thought this was a link to Gauthier's junior stats but it's so much better.

Thanks for the chuckle.

Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to turn into a similar player like that.  Steckel gets unfairly maligned for his time in Toronto I think.  From what I saw from Gauthier I thought he looked more physical than Steckel was as well.

I liked Steckel well enough under Wilson, but centering the face-punchers on a Carlyle 4th line was never going to work for anyone. God, I have nightmares like that. *shudder*

Now that both of those problems have been remedied, I wouldn't mind taking a look at Steckel 2.0.

[CarltonTheBear]

Lawson Crouse's tournament bumped him to 3rd overall on ISS's draft ranking:

http://www.isshockey.com/iss-top-30-released-january-2/

What? He played on the 4th line all tournament and didn't even look all that great to me. How does a guy with 4 assists in 24 games this season get this much attention. I know he's big and all that, but still.