Illo still adjusting to NCAA game Photo: Bemidji State winger and Anaheim Ducks prospect Radoslav Illo, shown here playing for Slovakia, has so far experienced a lengthy adjustment period to the NCAA's brand of hockey (courtesy of Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images) When the Anaheim Ducks drafted Radoslav Illo in the fifth round (136th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft, the organization thought it would be getting a potential pure goal scorer. Canadian players head list of top Ivan Hlinka performers Photo: Belleville Bulls defenseman Jordan Subban was one of the top performers for Canada's gold medal team at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Tournament (courtesy of Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
The annual Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, considered by some to be the most prestigeous international hockey competition of players under eighteen years of age, was held last week in Břeclav, Czech Republic, and Piešťany, Slovakia. And as is usually the case in the world of hockey, some results and statistics were simply surprising. Jurco, Ouellet among Wings prospects to enjoy long post-seasons Photo: Tomas Jurco is among the few Red Wings prospects to see an extensive post-season. (Brace Hemmelgarn/Icon SMI)
Success in Hockeytown is measured in Stanley Cups, but unfortunately, the Detroit Red Wings and their local affiliates came up well short of their intended goals this past season. The Red Wings made the playoffs but failed to advance past the division rival Nashville Predators in the first round. The AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins missed the playoffs altogether. They won just three of their final 10 games down the stretch and missed the playoffs by nine points. At the ECHL level, the Toledo Walleye posted the third-worst record in the league as they were unable to clinch a postseason berth for the second straight season. It was a disappointing spring for most Red Wings prospects abroad as well, though there were several notable exceptions. 2012 World Championship: Medal Day Wrap-Up
 Photo: Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk helped lead the Russian squad at the 2012 World Championship to a gold medal win (courtesy of Bob Frid/Icon SMI) Sunday was Medal Day at the 2012 World Championship, with Russia coming away with the gold medal following a 6-2 win over Slovakia at Hartwell Arena in Helsinki, Finland. Slovakia took home silver while the Czech Republic scored the bronze medal with a 3-2 win over Finland. Hockey's Future spoke with some of the players taking part in these two games following those matches, with those interviews being presented below. BRONZE MEDAL GAME Czech Republic 3 vs Finland 2 Read more» 2012 World Championship: Semi-Final Interviews Photo: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Andrej Sekera has been patrolling the blueline for Slovakia at the 2012 World Championship. Sekera and his teammates will go for gold on Sunday vs. Russia (courtesy of Bill Streicher/Icon SMI) HF caught up with a few of the principals from today's contests, with those interviews being presented below. Russia 6 vs Finland 2 Joonas Jarvinen, Defenseman, Team Finland Read more» |
