Sunday, January 06, 2008

 

Canada Takes WJC Gold ... Again!



Given how many people play hockey in Canada, this country should dominate the world scene, especially at the junior levels.

For that reason, the World Junior Championships (U-20) is seemingly used as the ultimate measuring stick of Canadian hockey. Despite the fact that *anything* can happen in a short tournament, anything less than a Silver medal sends the press into a frenzy about how Canadian hockey isn't good enough, how we don't develop skill, etc ... No pressure, kiddos.

Well, a win over the evil Swedes sealed a fourth straight GOLD for Canada. It was nice since Sweden beat Canada earlier in the tournament, and because they are evil.

  • Sweden won their first medal in like a decade. Hard to believe, right? Now, this team has some fine prospects and gave Canada a true run for their money. Berglund is hella sweet.

  • Evil Russia beat Evil USA for the bronze. No medal for the Yanks ;)

  • John Tavares, aka Uber-prospect, started the WJC as Canada's 13th forward. It was pretty obvious that he didn't belong there, and eventually got moved up in the ranks. He finished with 4 goals in 7 games, and showed us his slick talent.

  • Jonathan Bernier threw a hissy-fit because he wasn't named Canada's starting goalie. Well, Johnny, playing a few NHL games doesn't guarantee that you'll be #1. Coach Hartsburg made the call he was comfortable with and it turned out to be the right one.

    Final Rankings:
    1 CAN
    2 SWE
    3 RUS
    4 USA
    5 CZE
    6 FIN
    7 SVK
    8 KAZ
    9 SUI
    10 DEN

  • Yes, Slovakia did its usual just-avoid-relegation and finished 7th. Funny to see Kazakhstan avoid relegation. Switzerland? Are they ever going to make the leap into an elite hockey country? They have the resources, but never seem to grow.

    Media All-Stars

    Position     # Name              Team
    Goalkeeper  30 MASON Steve        CAN
    Defenseman   6 HEDMAN Victor      SWE
    Defenseman   8 DOUGHTY Drew       CAN
    Forward     15 BERGLUND Patrik    SWE
    Forward     11 TIKHONOV Viktor    RUS
    Forward     12 van RIEMSDYK James USA


    Now, the DRIVE FOR FIVE begins :)

    • Labels: , , , ,


    # posted by Unknown @ 9:31 am
    Comments:
    I thought the Slovaks performed well in comparison to recent years (i.e. their new program is a good idea). They had a couple of scoring lines instead of their usual one. Their defence seemed less panicky. They lost to Sweden on a last minute heart breaking goal, and played very well against Canada. Their only disappointing performance was against the Czechs. They won their final three games, including one against a very desperate team Switzerland. Slovakia received excellent goaltending from Julius Hudacek which certainly helped.
    # posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 7:03 am
     
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