World U17 Hockey Challenge Day 2 Recap

LAMBTON SHORES, Ontario – It was an exciting day of action at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge as teams started to find their chemistry and comfort level among foreign competitors. After spending the opening day taking in Group A action, day two was spent at The Shores Recreation Centre obtaining initial views of all Group B teams, it’s clear that both divisions have some tantalizing talent on display. With USA pitted against a winless Slovakia team and Canada Red matched with Sweden, both North American squads were looking to remain perfect.

DAY TWO GAME RECAPS

USA 7, Slovakia 1

Entering the tournament, the Americans were wearing a noticeable target as the team to beat after capturing gold in Cape Breton last year. Heading into their contest versus the Slovaks, USA had won eight straight games at the U17. With the advantage of playing together all season long on the National Junior Team (except for two late additions – Riley Tufte from Blaine High School and Kailer Yamamoto from Spokane), USA resembled a fine-tuned machine displaying remarkable chemistry and a deadly powerplay – products of linemate familiarity.

Coming off a loss to Canada Red, Slovakia was still searching for its first goal of the tournament, a reasonable objective for the underdog team against the mighty Americans. American sniper Nick Pastujov (University of Michigan commit and Saginaw Spirit prospect) opened the scoring 2:34 minutes into the opening frame as he beat Slovak goaltender Jan Koziak shortside. Max Jones (London Knights) capitalized on the Americans’ second powerplay firing a shot over Koziak’s shoulder to send his team into the first break up 2-0 with a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Windsor Spitfires’ draftee Clayton Keller was a star all game long and he would score his first of the game shorthanded after he stripped the Slovak defenseman of the puck and skated in on a breakaway, going short-deke five-hole to extend the USA lead to 3-0. Less than two minutes later, Slovakia finally found something to celebrate as underage forward Adam Ruzicka unleashed a one-timer on a pass from Marian Studenic to give his nation its first goal of the tournament. The Slovakian high was short-lived as William Lockwood renewed the three-goal lead and gave the Americans a 4-1 lead heading into the dressing room.

In a game where possession was dominated by the American squad, the third period was much of the same. US made good on three of its six third period powerplay opportunities as Keller (from behind the net), Pastujov and Lockwood all added their second goals of the game as USA skated to a 7-1 victory, extending their winning streak to nine games.

The Americans will face off against Canada Red on Tuesday (7 p.m.) as both squads look to remain perfect in Group B play in Lambton Shores.

Slovakia will face off against the winless Swedes in the Tuesday afternoon (3 p.m.) game.

Top Players:

In all reality, Team USA features a roster full of talented players and each member is certainly worthy of mention here but the following are the team’s work-horses and go-to players when the game is on the line.

Clayton Keller (Windsor Spitfires; Boston University commit) – Easily the best player versus the Slovaks, Keller is an undersized but tremendously skilled pivot. The Illinois native is a lethal offensively as he owns elite hockey sense, high-end puck skills and the vision and creativity to make opponents look foolish. His one-on-one skills are dazzling and he’s always buzzing around the puck making him an easy and fun player to watch. Keller notched two goals and two assists against Slovakia and was named the US Player of the Game. He sits tied for the tournament scoring lead with Nick Pastujov’s five points.
Nick Pastujov (Saginaw Spirit; University of Michigan commit) – Dating back to his Honeybaked days, Pastujov remains a favourite prospect of mine. He owns tantalizing puck skills, an intuitive sense that allows him to read plays seconds before they are executed and his ability to strike quickly is an elite quality. He’s a hungry goal scorer and upon gaining possession the puck usually finds its way into the back of the net before the opposition knows it.
Max Jones (London Knights) – NHL scouts eyeing talent for the 2016 NHL Draft will absolutely adore Max Jones as he plays a real throw-back style of hockey. Good size, an excellent north-south attack and a sniper’s shot provide him with projectable skills for the NHL game. Few players can fire a puck like Max Jones and his game-changing physicality, net drive and overall gritty skilled game ensures old-school hockey guys will covet him. As long as he’s sticking to his power game, he will play himself into a high first round selection slot at the 2016 NHL Draft. Jones finished the Slovakia game with two assists.
Chad Krys (Moncton Wildcats) – The smooth skating defenceman offers good two-way upside and with his mobility and hockey sense, he’s especially an asset in the offensive game. He can jump-start the rush with a crisp outlet pass or with a few short bursts he’s off and away leading the rush. Unlike some offensive defencemen, Krys’ game is more calculated and he rarely puts his team at risk at the expense of an offensive rush.
Ryan Lindgren (Brandon Wheat Kings; University of Minnesota commit) – Another smooth skating rearguard with some excellent pro upside, Ryan Lindgren makes lugging the puck up ice look effortless. His long smooth skating stride powers him up-ice and his slick puck-handling abilities weave through traffic virtually untouched. He’s excellent working the blueline on the powerplay displaying world-class poise and patience before he unleashes a booming shot.
Michael Campoli (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada) – Quebec native is an intriguing defensive prospect. With Krys, Lindgren, Adam Fox and Luke Martin acting as offensive options on the backend, Michael Campoli is content playing an elite level of defensive hockey. Excellent mobility allows him to maintain tight gaps on attacking forwards and his low-maintenance approach is a coach’s dream knowing that he can be put out in any situation and excel defensively. He keeps it simple and always makes the safe play but don’t mistaken his defensive excellence as a limitation to his offensive abilities because Campoli has the ability to make plays in possession under pressure.
Other notable standout players vs Slovakia: Trent Frederic, Patrick Khodorenko, and Luke Martin.
Adam Ruzicka (Slovakia) – The underager showed well versus a powerhouse American squad and that speaks well to his future. He was the lone goal-scorer on a beautiful one-timer goal. With a 6-foot-2 frame, strong skating abilities and confident puck skills, Ruzicka is certainly a Slovak to watch. Unfortunately, Slovakia didn’t own much possession time in the game versus the Americans and that didn’t allow him to show his skills all that much.
Jakub Lacka (Slovakia) – Arguably Slovakia’s top player, Lacka was one of the few Slovaks who actually establish quality possession time. An excellent skater with elusive footwork, Lacka was able to skate and dangle his way out of trouble. However, with few passing options and a smothering American defense, his time with the puck was short-lived. Lacka looked very good on the powerplay and was their go-to quarterback in those situations.

CANADA RED 4, SWEDEN 2

Hungry to remain perfect, Canada Red hit the ice flying scoring three unanswered goals from Logan Brown (Windsor Spitfires), Adam Mascherin (Kitchener Rangers) and Jake Kryski (Kamloops Blazers) in the opening period, two of which were on the powerplay. Brown walked in on his off-wing and fired a wicked wrister over the shoulder of Swedish goaltender Filip Gustavsson to open the scoring. Just 91 seconds later, a streaking Adam Mascherin received a pass from Mathieu Sevigny and went bar-down to extend Canada Red’s lead to 2-0. Jake Kryski’s one-timer on a powerplay feed from Logan Brown would give Canada an early 3-0 lead.

Sweden would find the back of the net with 4:58 remaining as Alexander Nylander (brother of Maple Leafs’ top prospect William Nylander) dove to poke the puck to a streaking Jesper Bratt who scored on his breakaway attempt pulling Sweden to 3-1 at the 1st intermission.
Tre Kroner hit the ice full of energy to start the second period and really put the Canadians on their heels. In the dying minutes of a fast-paced second period, Sweden’s Jacob Moverare sent a pass to defenseman Adam Thilander, who blasted home a point shot on the powerplay to cut the Canadian lead to one goal.

With the third period underway and Canada feeling the pressure from the Swedes, Canada Red employed the approach “a good defence is a strong offence” as the red and white outshot the Swedes 11-3 In the final frame. With some outstanding goaltending from Swedish netminder Filip Gustavsson, Sweden remained in the game until Mason Shaw saucered a pass to William Bitten who fired the puck into the empty net to seal Canada’s win 4-2.

Canada Red and USA face off Tuesday night for first place in Pool B while Sweden takes the ice against the Slovaks as both squads look to get their first wins of the tournament.

Top Players:

William Bitten (Canada Red; Ottawa 67’s) – A sparkplug of a player, Bitten brings it every shift whether he’s attacking at full speed showing off his slick puck skills or backchecking to stop a play. His energy radiates through the lineup and he really sets the pace of the game. Strong one-on-one and elusive abilities makes this smaller forward a hard player to check.
Michael McLeod (Canada Red; Mississauga Steelheads) – The Red coaching staff has McLeod playing wing on the right-side of Miguel Picard and teamed up with fellow OHLer Adam Mascherin. McLeod looks very comfortable on the wing and his speed, lengthy reach and aggressive pursuit makes him quite the player to handle. He is much more effective on the wing and was one of Canada’s most dangerous players.
Mason Shaw (Canada Red; Medicine Hat) – At first glance I was unsure what to expect from Mason Shaw as a top line player but as the game unfolded, he quickly become one of the most impactful players. Despite skating at 5-foot-8, Shaw owns a deceptively quick skating stride and his separation gear creates problems for opposing defenders. With really crafty puck handling abilities, especially in traffic, Mason Shaw was a pest around the offensive goal, creating lots of scoring chances for Canada.
Adam Mascherin (Canada Red; Kitchener Rangers) – Being quite familiar with Mascherin’s game for over a year now, I wasn’t expecting to be surprised by his game. However, Mascherin was not only the usual dangerous sniper but he played the best two-way game that I have witnessed over the last two years. His overall strength on the puck and pro-calibre shooting release was on display in Forest Monday evening.
Givani Smith (Canada Red; Barrie Colts) – Physical, aggressive and in-your-face attacks, Givani Smith always brings great energy. You know what type of player Smith is going to develop into and he was very good in this game playing on a line with Tye Felhaber. He plays on the edge which puts him at risk for undisciplined play but again, the energy and work ethic radiates throughout the lineup.
Jake Kryski (Canada Red; Kamloops Blazers) – Canada Red’s leading scorer, Jake Kryski is the type of player that the puck just seems to follow around. He’s a slashing type of skater who darts in and out of traffic, always remaining in the thick of the action. Kryski wields some great hand-eye coordination and was quite effective at pick-pocketing the opposition and creating turnovers. Opportunistic scorer.
Sean Day (Canada Red; Mississauga Steelheads) – Name the Player of the Game for Canada Red, Sean Day is an unfathomable player with the puck on his stick. He skates, handles the puck and glides about the ice as if it’s a public skating event but don’t mistake his demeanor as a lack of competitiveness. Elite level mobility and puck handling skills allow Sean Day to attack and recover at will. His deep-knee-bend-upright-back skating stride is both mesmerizing and awkward at the same time but he remains one of the best skaters in his age group.
Dante Fabbro (Canada Red; Penticton, BCHL) – My new favourite player – Dante Fabbro. Like every other outstanding offensive defenseman before him (Ryan Ellis, Ryan Murray, etc), Fabbro owns an innate ability to think two or three seconds ahead of his competition, buying him extra time and space to flash his elite level passing ability and agility. Not overly familiar with the BCHL but Fabbro must absolutely dominate this league as he was an all-star versus the Swedes.
Victor Mete (Canada Red; London Knights) – With more than enough viewings of Victor Mete over the past year, I am comfortable stating that this young defender played one of the best games I have ever seen him play. Outstanding in his own zone maintaining suffocating gap control and tremendous poise under pressure, Victor Mete was also a shot-blocking machine. On the rush, Mete passed with conviction and was a threatening quarterback on Canada Red’s top powerplay unit (one that went 2 for 5).
Logan Brown (Canada Red; Windsor Spitfires) – It wasn’t hard to spot this 6-foot-5 forward but it was his patient puck skills, blistering wrist-shot and physicality that kept the Swedes checking over their shoulders on every shift.
Filip Gustavsson (Sweden) – The 6-foot-2 Swedish netminder was very good stopping 28 of Canada’s 31 shots, none more important than the slew of shots in the third. Gustavsson made several spectacular high-light reel saves in the dying minutes of the third period to keep his team within one goal. He owns tremendous size, quick reflexes and the lateral coverage to execute desperation saves.
William Fällstrom (Sweden) – Wearing number 13 and the captaincy for Sweden, William Fällstrom was among his team’s most dangerous players. Shiftiness and quick hands allows Fällstrom to draw opponents in before dishing off to an open teammate. He rarely puts himself in troubled situations which speaks to his hockey sense.
Alexander Nylander (Sweden) – The younger brother of Maple Leafs 1st rounder William Nylander, Alexander Nylander is cut from the same cloth. He is a slippery offensive winger with a lengthy stride that doesn’t take long to get up to top speed. His ability to handle at top speed is high-end and he uses creative passes at unexpecting times to fool the opposition. The confident Nylander was quite dangerous as he timely slid into scoring areas and quickly unleashed a quick shot.
Adam Thilander (Sweden) – Stocky defender with a dangerous point shot that packs both power and accuracy, finding its way through a forest of legs and sticks. His impressive mobility and confident ability to walk the blueline was quite noticeable. Times his breakout passes well and displays veteran-like patience in possession.
Lias Andersson (Sweden) – Impressed with his ability to play in traffic and he really knows how to use his physicality as an advantage.
Jesper Bratt (Sweden) – Bratt scored a nice breakaway goal that showed good touch and confidence but he was one of Sweden’s most dangerous players in this contest. He attacks with speed and showed a knack for finding the scoring areas at the right time.
Linus Weissbach (Sweden) – Quick footed forward who plays with great energy buzzing into traffic as he hounds down pucks. In possession, Weissbach shows good patience, confidence and an ability to make checkers miss using elusive stop-starts and/or cut backs.

Follow Brendan Ross on Twitter (@RossyYoungblood) as he covers the action at the #WU172014