2013 U18 WJC Playoffs: Canada, Russia could renew gold medal rivalry Photo: Forward Vladimir Tkachev has been the scoring star so far for Russia at the 2013 U18 World Junior Championship (courtesy of Derek Leung/Getty Images) The preliminary round has come and gone at the 2013 U18 World Junior Championship, and Groups A and B each featured one fairly dominant team. 2013 U18 WJC Preview: Canada hopes to improve on last year’s bronze finish Photo: Team Canada’s U18 squad will feature the usual complement of offensive talent, perhaps none more talented than OHL Rookie of the Year Connor McDavid (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images) Canadian national team coach Don Hay is heading to Sochi as a man with a great deal of experience ranging from the NHL (Calgary and Phoenix) right on down to over 20 years of experience in Canadian juniors, having won the Memorial Cup on three separate occasions. Now it’ll be his duty to quickly turn an extremely talented group of young men into a championship caliber team. Brassard heads decent goaltending prospect crop from QMJHL Photo: Now that Louis Domingue has turned pro, Quebec Remparts goaltender and Ottawa Senators prospect Francois Brassard is taking advantage of his status as that team's #1 goalie (courtesy of Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images) The development of goaltenders in Canada has been a cause of concern for quite some time, especially with how it affects international competitions like the World Juniors. Ouellet heads NHL-drafted defensmen in the QMJHL Photo: Blainville-Boisbriand Aramada defenseman and Detroit Red Wings prospect Xavier Ouellet has had a memorable 2012-13 season, likely his final QMJHL season before turning pro (courtesy of Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images) The QMJHL may not be traditionally viewed as a fertile development ground for defensemen. But recent history has proved the opposite, with the league producing NHL talent such as Florida's Dmitri Kulikov and Pittsburgh's Kris Letang as well as top prospects like Montreal's Nathan Beaulieu and Phoenix's Brandon Gormley. Scout’s Perch: NHL Draft observations from the road Photo: Erie Otters phenom forward Connor McDavid has been one of the few bright spots for an Erie club that is in rebuilding mode (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images) Thoughts accumulated on a two-week trip that took me through eight states and four provinces. Lots of snow and lots of coffee. |
