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Winnipeg Jets represented at World Juniors; Mailbag Incoming |
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The summer is never fun for hockey fans. We are lucky enough that this summer, we had the NHL Entry Draft in July, as well as Free Agency, plus the World Juniors which is ongoing, and the Women's World Championship next week.
I haven't been covering the World Juniors as I expected to be. While I have been taking the time to watch, I've been cooped up on the couch, ill. Time to play some catch-up.
The Winnipeg Jets had Brad Lambert (FIN) and Daniel Torgersson (SWE) representing the team at the tournament, which was delayed from December 2021 after a COVID-outbreak.
As I write this, the Finnish team is set to play Germany in the quarter-finals, while Sweden is set to play Latvia, who recently won their first ever preliminary game.
We will start with Torgersson and the Swede's.
Torgersson, the 2020 2nd round pick by the Jets has spent his time during this tournament slotted into the middle six, and has been doing pretty well for himself. In the tournament's opening game, Torgersson notched two goals, both within 5-feet of the crease, which is something that on it's own should get Jets fans excited, as that is something the current lineup is missing.
So far, those are the only points registered for the 6'3" winger, but his effort defensively has certainly been noticable. Head Coach Tomas Monten has been using Torgersson on the penlaty-kill, as well as for the quality matchups. For such a large-bodied player, Torgersson is showing that he has the skating skills, and compete level to content for an NHL position in his future.
With the Swedish team playing against Latvia, many have them marked down for a trip to the Semi-Finals, and while the betting odds certainly favour Sweden, Lativa has the motivation like never before. Latvia has played really well, and shouldn't be taken lightly.
Brad Lambert joins the Finnish team, and has had some ups-and-downs.
Finland will take on Germany at 12EST for their quarterfinal matchup, and Brad Lambert has the ability to be the X-Factor in this one. With just one goal so far, Lambert has struggled to get on the scoresheet, but has also lost some of the trust from the coaching staff.
It's a really hard situation to judge Lambert right now. He struggles in the defensive zone, which is a known issue, as his positioning and awareness isn't up to par. But with this, he is still being given a chance in the lineup, but not given a chance to succeed. Lambert, a pure offensive monster, isn't even being given the chance on the powerplay when the team is down.
He still has a lot to learn, and him being on the fourth line is acceptable. Frustrating, but acceptable. What I struggle with is the powerplay and ice time issues. He is stuck between not earning his spot, and being given the chance to earn the spot.
Lambert, while having some of the most skill outside of the NHL, is still a project, and the Jets know that. I wouldn't take the tournament and Lambert's play too harshly against him, as it is a short sample size, but it is certainly worth noting. Lambert needs confidence to thrive, and he isn't getting that here.
Like I said above, Lambert can still be the X-Factor, if given the opportunity to be.
Mailbag Incoming
We have a summer-edition of the mailbag coming soon. Be sure to leave your comments down below, or send it to me on Twitter, and we will get to it!
The mailbag is supposed to be a place for all of your questions to get answered, whether it be all of the research you don't want to do, another opinion to hear, and just my thoughts on it all! Be creative, unique, or go back to the basics about hockey in general if there is something you don't quite understand about the NHL and other leagues.
That's all for today, thank you for taking the time to check in, and be sure to let me know your thoughts on how the Jets prospects are doing at the World Juniors!
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • 
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