Yesterday was a busy day in Lake Placid at the WJC Evaluation Camp for Team USA.
First off, 14 players were sent home:
G - Michael Houser - allowing 7 third period goals in Sunday night's game didn't do him any favors
D - Brandon Archibald - I was sad to see him go because he was the only one that tweeted during the camp...you can
follow him here
D - Jarred Tinordi
F - Kevin Hayes
F - Phil Lane
F - Kevin Lynch
F - Tyler Maxwell
F - Matt Nieto
F - Tyler Pitlick
F - Bryan Rust
F - Drew Shore - tweaked his shoulder during the second game and all involved thought it best that he forgo the remainder of camp and rest up for the start of his sophomore season at Denver
F - Nick Shore
F - Steve Whitney
That means the following players are all still in attendance, plus some thoughts about them that will hopefully answer some of the questions you've asked:
G - Jack Campbell - Didn't have the best game in the world on Sunday night, but he should start tonight against Sweden and I'll let you know how he does. Also...
he's on twitter! Hasn't been tweeting too much, but he's learning and said he'd do more this week...we'll see
G - Zane Gothberg - He didn't see much action in the game on Sunday because his team dominated puck possession in the third period and he rarely had the opportunity to show his skills. I'd be surprised if he saw more than 10 shots! I'll let you know more if I see him play again.
G - Andy Iles - This guy is the second coming of Jeff Lerg. He's two inches taller than Jeff at 5'8" and plays a more aggressive style, but his persevering attitude is exactly the same. No kidding...the guy looks like an octopus out there just grabbing anything and everything that comes his way. He had a great showing against a very potent Team White on Sunday only allowing one goal.
D - Mark Alt
D - Adam Clendening
D - Brian Dumoulin
D - Justin Faulk
D - Derek Forbort
D - Stephen Johns
D - Jon Merrill
D - John Ramage
D - Phillip Samuelsson
D - Patrick Wey
It's not a very offensive defense, but they move the puck well in transitions, most of them are well over six feet and they're very tough to move off the puck.
F - Beau Bennett
F - Nick Bjugstad - Had a hat trick in Sunday's game and is now tied for the lead in points with 4 goals and an assist
F - Ryan Bourque - looks just like his dad and credits his brother Chris for helping him become a better hockey player, has three goals and two assists so far
F - Connor Brickley
F - Chris Brown - I was surprised last year when he didn't make the WJC team and I'll be even more surprised if he doesn't make this one. I just love the style of hockey he plays. It's in your face, but has more than just pugnacity to offer.
F - Zach Budish
F - Charlie Coyle - definitely making a good impression...will fit right in at BU
F - Jerry D'Amigo - This guy's got a great attitude!
F - Emerson Etem - quiet guy, but quite talented - really quick release on his snappy wrist shots
F - Chris Kreider - Had a long chat with him yesterday about his incredible season this past year. I'll be writing it on my train ride home tomorrow so look for it Thursday or Friday. In short...he's got his head screwed on straight!
F - Jeremy Morin
F - Brock Nelson
F - Kyle Palmieri - has three goals (two on the PP and one GW) and two assists
F - Brandon Saad
F - Austin Watson - kind of surprised he made the cut based on his performance, but they could just want to see more of him...he needs to pack on some muscle.
He's also on twitter but he doesn't tweet much...I'll have to chat with him lol
F - Jason Zucker
It's really hard to underestimate the talent on this roster. Almost all of them have won gold either in the U-20 or the U-18 and some of them have done both. They've had success at the international level and they are working hard to reach it again.
Last night, Sweden and Finland played and I must say...I was pleasantly surprised with the intensity on display. As I said in
my twitter feed last night, I think there's a new breed of european hockey players on the rise and they don't like being called soft. There was so many good clean hits and checks last night, you would have thought it was the gold medal game. What made me enjoy it even more was that all eight goals scored were pure skill. It was seriously the best of both worlds. Looks to me like they're tired of the Canada-USA domination at the WJC over the past seven years and are finally prepared to do something about it.
Team USA will face Team Sweden tonight. Budish, Saad, Brown, Johns, Wey and Gothberg have the night off. I'll be tweeting from the game and you can follow along at www.usahockey.fasthockey.com if you'd like.
If you want more specifics on certain players, just ask away!
Julie
[email protected]
@JulieRobenhymer
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