We previewed the camp invites for Team Canada last week (I may have referred to it as the final roster, whoops, sue me). Now let's take a look at Good Old Team America.
To summarize in one sentence: this is not as good as team Canada.
Goalies
Alex Nedeljkovic, Hurricanes' #37 pick in 2014
Brandon Halverson, Rangers' #59 pick in 2014
Luke Opilka, Blues' #146 in 2015
One would think Ned figures to be the starter, though Halverson could get the nod just based on the fact that he's in the Rangers organization and is therefore an elite goalie.
Defensemen
First Round Talent
Zachary Werenski, Blue Jackets' #8 pick in 2015
Other Guys That Have Been Drafted
Brandon Carlo, Bruins' #37 pick in 2015
Ryan Collins, Blue Jackets' #47 in 2014
Louis Belpedio, Wild #80 in 2014
William Borgen, Sabres' #92 in 2015
2016 Prospects
Charlie McAvoy, ranked #15 by Hockeyprospect.com and #6 by McKeen's
Chad Krys, ranked #21 by ISS and #25 by Future Considerations
Casey Fitzgerald, not ranked but related to the Hayes and Tkachuk families (including Matthew, who you will see in about five-six minutes depending on how fast you read)
Brandon Fortunado, not ranked but plays for BU where the camp is being held
Forwards
First Round Talent
Sonny Milano, Blue Jackets' #16 pick in 2014
Nick Schmaltz, Blackhawks' #20 in 2014 (not to be confused with the Flyers' Nick Schultz, who is waaaay too old and bad to play in the World Juniors)
Colin White, Senators' #21 in 2015 (not the shithead who used to play for the Devils)
Brock Boeser, Canucks' #23 in 2015
Other Guys That Have Been Drafted
Paul Bittner, Blue Jackets' #38 pick in 2015
Ryan MacInnis, Coyotes #43 in 2014
Ryan Donato, Bruins' #56 in 2014
Christian Dvorak, Coyotes #58 in 2014
Anders Bjork, Bruins #146 in 2014
2016 Prospects
Auston Matthews, ranked #1 by Every Scout On The Face Of The Planet
Matthew Tkachuk, ranked #2 by ISS and #4 by Hockeyprospect.com
Kiefer Bellows, ranked #12 by ISS and #14 by McKeen's
Clayton Keller, ranked #12 by Hockeyprospect.com and #17 by ISS
Alex "The Cat" DeBrincat, ranked #16 by Hockeyprospect.com and #19 by McKeen's
Scott Eansor, not ranked but described as "scrappy" in the first news article I found about him
Ryan Hitchcock, not ranked but went to Yale and has an "impressive" hockey sense
Like Team Canada, the team loses the cream of the crop because their three most talented qualifiers (Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, and Dylan Larkin) are all contributing at the NHL level and will thus not be playing in the World Juniors.
Canada will draw the eye of Islanders, Coyotes, Panthers, Flyers, Devils, and Leafs fans because the team has multiple prospects from each organization. Team USA will draw eyes from Coyotes fans as well (what a time to be a hockey fan in Arizona), along with Bruins and Blue Jackets fans and anybody who roots for a team bad enough to have a chance at Matthews.
No comments:
Post a Comment