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Ivan Hlinka Tournament Successes Part 1 |
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The players I will be looking at today are players that I expected to have strong showings and did. These are players that I’ve seen have strong showings in other tournaments or in their respective leagues and simply continued the trend at the Ivan Hlinka. Later on I will get into disappointments and finally surprise performances. This is why some of the standout performances will not be on here, despite the theme of the blog being about some of the strongest performances. The two best performances happen to be in the surprise category.
Michael DiPietro – Goaltender – Canada – 3GP 2.01GAA .923SV%
6’0 198lbs, 17 years Old, Windsor Spitfires in the OHL
With no relation to the Jesus Cosplayer Rick, Michael has come into the 2017 draft with some expectations as being the top ranked goaltender in this year’s draft. It’s always a little dicey when it comes to goaltenders and rankings, but after his performance I’ve come away with a sense of hope in Canadian goaltending at the junior level that has been missing for several years now. DiPietro was the third best goaltender in the tournament performance-wise behind Skarek (Czech) and Melinkov (Russia), however that’s merely on paper. This Canada team did not fare well in their own zone and the defense was very poor at transitioning the puck. While many Canadian goalies before him have let in the “heartbreak” goal and “spoil” a dominant performance, DiPietro made some spectacular saves and in the Russian game alone stopped six breakaways. Six. I’ll get into that more on the disappointment side of things. Even the Finnish game where the Canadians hung on to win 4-3, only one goal was on DiPietro, a Seeing Eye one timer on a completely unmarked Finn from 15 feet out…and even then he shouldn’t be unmarked. One was even…another breakaway. One of four I counted in that game alone.
Though he lacks the size of our presumed modern goaltenders, he is extremely reminiscent of Marc-Andre Fleury in his athletic style and fantastic legwork. His lateral movement is phenomenal and what really came through for me was his ability to look bigger than he is by impeccable positioning. A lot of smaller goalies tend to be a mixed bag on their positioning and overly rely on speed and athleticism. He tends to let his positioning be his foundation and the athleticism as the last gasp and desperation.
Good odds he’s the first goalie to be selected in 2017 as he eyes the starting role in Windsor and 45+ starts.
Maxime Comtois – Left Wing – Canada – 4GP 4G 1A 5P
6’1 192lbs, 17 Years Old, Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL
After a fantastic Rookie Season in the Q that bested former Q 3rd Overall selections Dubois and Huberdeau; Comtois is ready for a big year to hope to solidify his position in the top-5 of 2017. I will put this fairly bluntly. Outside of any line Comtois or Rasmussen happened to be on, this Canadian team’s offense was stagnant and uninspired. For the level of talent on the squad, I was genuinely perplexed at the lack of chemistry and creativity. Comtois mostly played with Suzuki and Entwistle (Yes that’s a real name apparently), however he saw some PP time with Rasmussen. Comtois ended the tournament with three unassisted goals, two shorthanded and one an OT winner. What was so impressive about these three goals are how he came by them. All three came off forced turnovers caused by Comtois’ relentless fore and back checking and most importantly; positioning. He just knows where and when to cause turnovers. He terrorized presumptive 2nd overall pick Timothy Liljegren pressuring him into two terrible mistakes that led to shorthanded breakaway goals. Both in the neutral zone as he tried to weave his way into the offensive zone on the PP. Also, despite only (only?) 4 goals in the tournament, he could have easily had 7 or 8. In the Sweden game alone he had three breakaways while shorthanded and he had an open net one timer that he completely whiffed on. He’s fast, he plays with and edge and his defensive game is extremely strong for a young winger. He’s a really interesting guy to watch this year and I have a feeling he’s going to continue getting top-5 buzz as the year rolls on.
Klim Kostin – Right Wing – Russia – 5GP 4G 3A 7P 1 Line Brawl
6’3 196lbs, 17 Years Old, HK MVD Balashikha in the MHL
Kostin was the heart of the Russian offense on what was a very controlled and methodical group effort for Bronze. Often we are so dazzled by individual brilliance of Russian forwards that we forget that what has really helped turn around their U20 squads has been a commitment to team defense while allowing the stars to do whatever they want. Kostin was that star and he was fantastic. He and Comtois were the two best forwards in my opinion. I expected him to be great after having seen him Captain the U18 squad at 16 after the rest of the U18 squad was banned from the tournament for PED’s. He took the opportunity and ran with it showing his lethal shot from his off-wing and ability to meld into open ice and find scoring lanes. Much like Rubtsov, Guryanov, Buchnevich, Kamenev and Nichushkin, he’s a big bodied skilled player with a lethal shot. Very much the typical Russian styled winger. Lethal in the counterattack, but shows some frustration when the puck luck doesn’t go his way. Kostin would score the 2-1 dagger 36 seconds before overtime when a bewilderingly dumb pinch by Johnathan Smart led to a two on one give and go between Kostin and Alexeyev with Kostin taking the last past and blasting it past DiPietro. Kostin is currently in the top-30 of 2017 and will likely be a late riser with a return as the Russian Captain for the U18’s and an MHL season ahead that may see him play some KHL minutes.
Andrei Svechnikov – Right Wing – Russia – 5GP 4G 1A 5P
6’2 185lbs, 16 Years Old, Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL
Svechnikov had a pretty decent tournament maybe even a great one considering his age. The 16 year old phenom played strong minutes on the Russian’s second line and really came alive against the Swedes scoring 2 goals and adding an assist in the 6-3 romp for Bronze. He was truly dominant in that game showing his blazing speed and Phil Kessel-esque snap shot. Svechnikov is a pure sniper very much in the vein of a Gaborik. His passing is fine, he just doesn’t like to do it often. I counted 10 shots by Svechnikov alone in this game and I think the one time he passed he should have shot it on a two on one that was stifled by the extra pass. The brother of the Wings first rounder Yevgeni is an early favourite for the top-5 of the 2018 draft, showing just how early some of these guys are touted. His move to the USHL is an interesting one and rather unprecedented for such a dynamic and high profile European skater to transfer to the USHL. Even odder is that he wasn’t drafted in the USHL Import Draft and instead had to sign a tender lease agreement with the club as they forfeited their first round selection. The sky is the limit for this explosive winger.
Filip Zadina – Left Wing – Czech Republic – 4GP 5G 2A 7P
6’0 190lbs, 16 Years Old, HC Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga
2018 is shaping up to be one competitive draft and all of Europe seems to be coming to play. Zadina from the Czech Republic, Roman from Slovakia, Svechnikov from Russia, there’s a lot of talent. After being the best Czech player at the U18’s at only 16 years of age, he proved to be one of two heroes for the Czech Republic who won their first ever Gold Medal at the Ivan Hlinka and did so on home soil in front of a cheering Czech crowd. In the Gold Medal win against the USA, Zadina scored two goals including the first goal of the game. He had five scoring chances including a beautiful deke on the US goalie that he stuffed into the bar with Tyler Inamoto basically draped on his back. Zadina also scored a beautiful breakaway goal against the Swedes and made an amazing pass to Galvas from behind the net in overtime to win the Semi-Final. Zadina is a very shifty offensive forward and a guy that can get to top speed with ease. It makes him very dangerous. The Czech Republic has had a lot of trouble producing quality forwards in recent years and even guys like Hertl, Zacha, Faksa and other first round picks are in the 2nd line tier of talent. Zadina looks like he can break the mold.
Part 2 Soon
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