World Junior Selection Camp Preview

For those interested, here's a preview of 39 names to watch for the World Junior Selection Camp,

http://imaginesportsmedia.com/?p=1748

- For those curious, Cole Cassels was left off, once you see the forward core, you'll likely understand why.

ok since we are talking world juniors here , I have a rant I would like to share with my fellow bloggers regarding the world juniors

I m fully aware many would not share my views here , but perhaps someone other than myself feels as I do .

first off , i'm a huge canadian junior hockey fan and supporter , for me its the greatest game and I love the thrill of competing for the coveted memorial cup .

For me the world juniors is an annoying interference to our ohl and chl season .This tournament has become a MAJOR disruption of the seasons schedule .
Take for example our own oshawa generals , as of monday we could be out of 3 or 4 of our key players for a bloody month , Dal Colle , Cassels , Lindberg and possibly Hertzberg . ......A month if these players all make their respective countries teams , thats more than a little loss to our team and its quest for possibly a record junior A season , and to the paying stiffs like me , a season ticket holder .

And should god forbid, someone get injured , the players season and our teams could be drastically altered , for what ???? Bragging rights for nations junior team , sorry for me its not worth it .

Why does this have to take place every year ???? money thats why , someone is making a pile off it , while the league already has our money in their coffers to boot ! It sucks !

So as we sit watch our 22 AND 3 RECORD , disappear over the next month , because ours and other quality teams have been stripped of the best players and the continuity of the team, that our coaches have worked so hard to put together , some will be scrambling to get tickets and follow this damn tournament , not me , not now , not ever .

to me , chl major junior hockey is a much better game to watch ! And its what really prepares these young men for the next level !

You know what my gens I somewhat agree. On one hand I do like watching the junior tournament at Christmastime with friends and family but I don't like the cost to the individual teams who lose their top players. You are right they are making boatloads of money and that's what is taking a priority. We have a busy weekend against strong teams next week without three of our top guys. I'm not happy how that might affect the generals record but some of those teams are losing players too. With the tourney being in Canada why do they have to go over two weeks before the tourney would be my question .

Mygens, nice rant.....

I here what you are saying but I love watching the World Juniors. Its great to see the best junior kids playing together representing their country and playing at a top level. Having said that I too feel the pain of losing up to 4 Gens. For me though taking a few losses is ok. It's the playoffs where I want everyone on board and playing at their best.

I'd be interested to see which team is most affected by the Juniors.

I can't disagree with the main point your making, while I to absolutely love the World Juniors I do agree that losing players for a month or more is a huge blow to a teams season.

I think the world juniors should take the mould of the Olympics, not in the sense that it's every four years, but in the Sense that the roster is selected based off a summer evaulutation camp and that seasons play. No need for a two week training camp prior to the tournament. I mean usually only one or two guys shockingly make the team. That would cut the time players are away from their team to 3 weeks at most. If the OHL then shutdown for two weeks, having players miss simply a week.. Aka 2/3 games wouldn't be as harsh as 10/11/12 games away from their team.

Guelph's situation is just as bad as the Gens, they lose Fabbri, Dickinson, Baltisberger an Suter. Arguably could have also lost Bertuzzi an Harpur if the Canadians went with a larger roster.

London lost almost half a roster last year, an should have lost Max Domi to.

The World Juniors is a great tournament that I wouldn't give up for the world. But some changes need to be made to allow the CHL teams to flourish as well.

I disagree totally - Every player who participates in this event comes back a better player. As far as losing 4 -  Cassels was lost to us until Dec 30 anyways and may not be a lock - U S prefers NCAA players

Our schedule is not as bad as it could be - Niagara - Erie minus Baptiste  - Guelph minus 3 or 4 - North Bay minus Nick Paul

Dec 28 - Petes - 30 th vs Kingston - Jan 1 North Bay

And so how would this impact our season if we went 2 - 5  - HELP me here - if we finish by 1 point or 15 points in First - we still play the 8 th seed in the conference - anything can happen - PETES upsetting Kingston last year - 3 VS 6 But it can happen

Players could get hurt in any game or practice or walking to the rink - Ask the players selected they are honoured to be there.

This event is fantastic in building the sport and developing players on and off the ice for the future. The C H L is after all a developmental league.

The WORLD Junior evaluation camp is 5- 7 days - then cuts are made - the team is then playing 2 university teams - to build line combos - then 3 exhibition games to have the players can use to each other.

Thanks for your views guys , I know it's a tough one , keeping my fingers crossed we don't lose in the long run

My focus is our OHL season , not a week long tournament , I'm sure the players that go love the experience

As for me it sucks !

The funny thing is there really is no need for an evaluation camp. Hockey Canada already has its team picked.

Gens Camper, My personal views where not basely directly on the Generals or this season.

Put yourself in the shoes of a middle of the pact team, say Guelph. Guelph loses Fabbri and Dickson to Canada, Baltisberger and Suter to Switzerland. Arguably their two best forwards, a top 3 defender and another top 6 forward who plays on their top pk unit. They're battling for a top 4 seed, these 4 losses make Guelph extremely thin, with all 4 of the aforementioned players likely to make their respective countries teams, they'll be gone for the 1 week of camp plus the 2 weeks of the tournament. Guelph could arguably lose every game while their gone because that's how huge those guys are to that Storm team, dropping 8,9,10 games would drop Guelph from as high as 3rd to as low as 8th, that's a big swing. An for Guelph it would make a difference between a first round matchup with Erie or the Soo or against a more evenly matched team like Kitchener or Owen Sound or even Sarnia.

I agree the tournament often only makes players who go better players when they return to the OHL. I also 100% agree a player is equally as likely to get injured in an OHL game as they are a WJC game, that has not barring effect in my opinion. Although I see how some could be concerned with it.

I am in know way saying scrap the tournament or make it once every 4 years. I just think the OHL could lengthen their break from one weekend to two. I mean half the time rinks are way more empty while the world juniors are on anyways because people would rather stay home an watch them. This way players only miss one weekends worth of games.

When do the players leave their ohl teams for the try outs ?

The gens are playing like an amazing cohesive unit . Losing 3 or 4 guys is going to at least thro a wrinkle in the teams play when they get back , as far as injury is concerned I see a huge difference losing a player in an ohl game rather than the world tournament .

Fortunately the tournament this year is on familiar rink sizes in Canada . And travel time change won't be a factor .

This team is playing amazing hockey right now . Great team defence , amazing momentum , don't like seeing get interrupted , but it is what it is

Another point I'd like to make is how many games does a guy like Dal Colle have in his legs during a hockey season . Nhl training camp , ohl traing camp , ohl season . World juniors traing camp and tournament . Ohl season , ohl playoffs , memorial cup ???? Hmmmm interesting ......it all adds up guys , and the memorial cup is my 1st priority , that's tge one you remember over the years , cuz it's so hard to get to and win

I don't think the wear an year effects guys as much at the junior level as it does at the NHL level. Guys like Griffin Reinhart, Curtis Lazar, Anthony Mantha, Kerby Rychel, Bo Horvat, Josh Anderson, they where all just as effective during the Memorial Cup last season as they where doing the regular season, and World Juniors. All those players went to through a team canada summer evaluation camp, NHL an OHL/WHL/QMJHL training camp, NHL an OHL/.../.. pre season games, OHL/.../...regular season, subway super series, world juniors, playoffs an so forth.

Again I mean points can be made about cohesiveness and chemistry an teams on hot streaks. But at the end of the day pretty much every team loses one or two of their top guys sometimes 3/4. It won't effect the Gens, they could go 0-10 an while the guys are gone an would probably sill finish first in the East.

My view an proposed idea, is meant to help teams in the middle of the pack that are fighting for seedig for the playoff as home ice is a big deal during playoff time as is who you match up against

well the NHL is not going to the olympics anymore !!!!! ?

Tobias Lindberg is not geting an invite to team sweden. Guess either the team is completely loaded with stars or they haven't scouted Tobias this year.

Well hear is a little bit of good news for the Gens The Generals will not lose Tobias Lindberg to the World Juniors. He was not named to Team Sweden

I may be mistaken , but wasn't he going to team Denmark ? I thought Hertzberg was Team sweden ?

Sonny is from Denmark. Tobias is from Sweden.

Well we only lose 2 1/2 maybe - 1 for sure - Cassels is lost to us until Dec 30 and the World juniors are finished on Jan 5

Hertzberg will make Denmark as they don't have as many to invite and we HAVE enough on defence we can manage

Dal Colle should and I hope will make the team - with Linderg staying with the GENS he will get more ice time and flourish

The World Juniors has become a BIG event in Canada and the CHL supports it and so do all teams - The only way around the teams

being short is to play more games before and after the World Juniors - I know London missed 4 players last year at the Worlds

so we should be OK - We are having a GREAT run but these 3 - 4 weeks will not ruin our year - Guelph MAY NOT LOSE ALL OF THEIR PLAYERS - and can still have a good playoff run

Here's a link to the Czech Republic World Junior Selection Camp Report, http://imaginesportsmedia.com/?p=2328

A report on the Finn's, Swede's, Russians, Americans, Swiss and brief reports on the Slovaks and Germans will follow in the coming days. As will reports from Team Canada's Selection camp following practices on Thursday and Friday.

Gens Fans I've been taking in the World Junior Selection Camp the past few days, just a quick couple comments on Michael Dal Colle.

Let me first say, these comments are with the awareness that these are the first two days of camp an they are only practices. With that being said, Michael Dal Colle has been invisible other then when he been noticeably poor. In lots of flow drills ie, 2 on 1's, 3on2's etc etc he's made poor decisions with the puck, lost control of pucks resulting in the drill being messed up. Lost battles during 1on1 forechecking drills. It will be interesting to see how he does this evening in practice an tomorrow in practice an the game vs the CIS All Stars. As of this moment I don't see him as the lock he once was.

Further notes,
The Goaltending battle is wide open, was able to get into the post practice interview with Benoit Groulx. Neither goalie was really tested/hard to evaluate based on the type of Practices they've gone threw. However Fucale looks extremely poised, Comrie looks thrilled to be there, very attentive, the first to jump in net for drills. Both look impressive.
Defensively, Nurse was praised by Groulx and IMO could be the team captain. Josh Morrissey looked great, fantastic skater, excellent decision making, crisp outlet passes, fantastic offensive vision. Really liked Samuel Morin as well, smooth skater for such a big body, understood the team systems well, smooth passes, injects himself physical. She Theodore and Chris Bigras look to be locks. Joe Hicketts, amazing skater, great offensive instincts, was dominated by Crouse and Ritchie an bigger forwards in 1on1 drills. He looks to be in tough to make the squad. Dillon Heatherington, physical defensive d-man, got under the skin of Nick Baptiste during 1on1's. I like his game but I don't no if his foot speed will allow him to compete on this level.

Forwards,
The line of Domi-Reinhart-Duclair looked fantastic, lots of speed, smarts an skill. Nic Petan showed great puck possession skills, highly skilled, very smart. I was impressed with Crouse, he skates very well for a big guy, protects the puck well, just an overall treat to watch. Jake Virtanen combined his size, skill an speed well. Brayden point is undersized but tenacious, has a great shot, very quickly release, hard to contain. Morgan Klimchuk was another guy who's two way ability was really impressive.

Oh an Connor McDavid looked fantastic, skating, conditioning as if he hasn't missed any time at all. Hands are fine, shot is fine it's the in tight stuff he's looking to regain prior form. An even that looks better then most guys. He will be fine come opening night.

As of now my five forward cuts would be Chartier, Baptiste, Elie, Ritchie and Dal Colle. Two D cuts, Heatherington and Hicketts. Up front it's going to be Crouse or Ritchie for that big power forward role an Crouse has looked much better. Baptiste and Kilmchuk are competing for a similar role, while Elie an Chartier are in competition with Point, Paul and Dickinson and right now Point Paul and Dickinson look better.

I'll have another report followin tomorrow nights game vs the CIS all stars.

Feel free to tweet me any further questions @macker61

Generals Fans, I did tweet yesterday afternoon that Dal Colle was out of the lineup against the CIS All-Stars meaning he likely had secured a roster spot. However following the game, I found out, as many of you know now he was held out due to a nagging injury.

Throughout the CIS game and training camp, not including today Dal Colle has not looked himself, the speed of the camp and his teammates seems to be overwhelming him just a bit. An that seems to have him doubting his confidence at times, as he's looked very tentative. Dal Colle made his way through the first round of cuts based largely on what he's done in the past for Hockey Canada at the U-17's, Ivan Hlikna and so on. As well as what he's done the past 3 seasons with the Oshawa Generals. At this point he is a bubble player. Playing on a line with Dickinson and Chartier today in camp, the whole line in my opinion is the "bubble line". Nick Ritchie and Nick Paul skated on regular lines, however based on there play to date, I have to think their roster spots are in question.

With Bigras and Sanheim being cut, they weren't surprising in the sense that they outplayed guys who where kept around. Bigras was surprising mainly because he made the team last year. But given his play he was one of the less noticeable guys out there. I've seen him play numerous times and he's just a guy that does everything well but nothing outstanding. So for him its hard to stand out in a camp like this. Sanheim, he was impressive at times, but was inconsistent with his top flight play. He seemed nervous at times, forced some passes and made questionable decisions at times. Sanheim will have his day with Team Canada as when he was on you could see why he was a 1st round NHL pick. Just with so much competition someone had to go.

With one more cut to be made, it's down to Dillon Heatherington, Joe Hicketts and Haydn Fleury. I personally have liked Heatherington's game, big, physical defender, with good mobility, rarely out of position, active stick and can contribute offensively, although on this team that won't be asked of him. However it seems he's the odd man out at this moment. Joe Hicketts was impressive, although he has trouble in the corners with bigger offensive opponents, other then that he's been great. Fantastic offensive instincts, makes a good first pass, great skater, high hockey IQ, great vision. I can't see how a team didn't pick this kid in the draft. Should be a 7th D guy with the change to move up. Will be effective on the power play. Fleury, I know he's skilled, I just haven't been wowed by his game at this camp.

Elie, Klimchuk, Baptiste being cut. The most shocking for me was Remi Elie, we all know he can score and create offense, but he looked great in penalty kill situations, was tenacious on the forecheck, was buzzing in the offensive zone, and just looked good overall in camp. Obviously there was something the coaching staff didn't like, but I think he deserves to be there. Especially over a kid like Rourke Chartier. Klimchuk, he looked fairly good in the practices but struggled in the game, had a few noteworthy turnovers, couldn't get much offense going, an seemed to be struggling with the systems. Baptiste was a guy I was neutral on, I like what he does in the OHL, but he like Ritchie is more effective when using their physicality as well as their skill. He wasn't doing so. Baptiste took a few bad penalties, wasn't physical, looked like he was going through the motions.

In my opinion 9 spots up front are filled, leaving 4 spots open. I have Domi, Petan, Reinhart, McDavid, Gauthier, Virtanen, Point, Duclair and Fabbri as my locks. Dal Colle, Ritchie, Paul, Dickinson, Chartier and Crouse are fighting for those final 4 spots.

Chartier was not noticeable on the ice. He's a very talented player as his play with Kelowna of the WHL shows. However I firmly anticipated him being cut over Elie. He's some what undersized, and needs to play in a top 6 role to be effective, an he's not going to get that on Team Canada. I expect him to be cut. Between Crouse, Ritchie, Paul, Dal Colle and Dickinson, its a toss up.

Crouse has been unreal, I've become a huge fan of his the last week. Such a fantastic skater for such a big body, physical, great offensive and defensive instincts, effective in all 3 zones. Can be a net front presence, both 5 on 5 and on the PP. Great anticipation, high hockey IQ, good vision. He can be useful in so many ways. I don't care if he's underage for the Tournament, he needs to be there.

Ritchie, he shows glimpses of being fantastic, but throughout camp, he hasn't been dominating at all. He's taken a couple bad penalties, the way he chargers at opponents to hit is unquestionably going to earn him a major at some point of the tournament if he makes the team. To me if you take Crouse, Ritchie becomes expendable. Even more so if you also take Nick Paul.

Dickinson, he's very versatile, he is a top line player on the Guelph Storm, with potent offensive ability. But he is also their best penalty killer. He's a very smart player, shows great anticipation skills, just a solid all around player. I think Scott Walkers familiarity with Dickinson's game helps him, but he should be on this team without Walker's input.

Paul, to the naked eye he wouldn't stand out to the average fan. But the small things he's been doing, make him very effective. He shows he can produce offensively, but his role would be as a checker on Team Canada an he has been doing that effectively. Similar to Bigras in the sense he doesn't do anything spectacular, but does everything well, I think Paul is more useful in the gran scheme of things then a Nick Ritchie at this point.

My final Team Canada Roster and projected line combos,
Domi-Reinhart-Duclair
Petan-McDavid-Fabbri
Point-Paul-Virtanen
Dal Colle-Dickinson-Crouse
Gauthier

Nurse-Theodore
Morin-Bowey
Morrissey-Fleury
Hicketts

While I think Heatherington an Fleury are a toss up, judging from the camp and the games, Team Canada seems to favour Fleury over Heatherington.

Bo Horvat will not be released to team Canada, while Curtis Lazar may still be loaned to Canada.

Macker, again a person of few words.... You really need to learn how to express yourself.



I really enjoyed reading this follow up post. Especially the first person evaluations. Great job!