U. S. A. won the gold in the World Juniors, but the Carolina Hurricanes won big as well.
Man beating Canada in hockey felt so good last Thursday night. I mean they still have us whipped in the big boy medals of the Olympics, but to think Canada doesn’t take the World Juniors seriously would be a mistake. Just look at Auston Matthew’s twitter feed when he showed support for his country. Man the salt in those responses was so high they could no longer support life. But the U. S. wasn’t the only winner at the tournament. The Carolina Hurricanes sent four of their own prospects to play in the World Juniors, and three of them were on team Canada. We’re going to break it down player by player and see how each prospect played in the tournament.
Julien Gauthier: 5 Goals 7 Points
Gauthier was a force in the World Juniors. While tied for fourth overall on team Canada in points, he led the team in goals. His goal total also placed him tied for fourth in the entire tournament with three other players. His play was a large reason Canada made the finals, even if he didn’t have the best game once they got there. To judged him on one game though would be silly, and he showed he has a nose for goals. Already 225 pounds, this tournament showed that Gauthier will be a menace in front of NHL goaltenders very soon. Grade: A-
Nicolas Roy: 3 Goals 4 Points
Nicolas Roy didn’t score a whole lot this tournament but the goals he did score were very memorable.
Roy also showed he could score when it counted most with his goal in the finals to take the lead. This tournament displayed maybe the scout’s opinions dropping him from a prospective first-round pick all the way to the fourth round were a big mistake. The more Nicolas Roy plays, the more he looks like outright thievery by the Carolina Hurricanes. When a player is already drawing comparisons to Jordan Staal, then a team knows they might have someone special on their hands. Grade: B+
Jake Bean: 0 Goals 2 Points
Bean didn’t find himself on the scoresheet as much as he probably would have liked. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a successful tournament for the Carolina Hurricanes first overall pick last year. Bean scored a primary assist on the Roy goal in the final and finished the tournament with fourteen shots on goal; good for second overall among Canadian defenseman. Even among the world’s best, Bean finds a way to get pucks on net. For someone with a shot as deadly as his, finding space to get shots off is crucial to his success on the next level. His play in this tournament just reinforced that he can. Grade: C+
Next: Fixing the Hurricanes Power Play
Janne Kuokkanen: 0 Goals 1 Point
The tournament was a big disappointment for Kuokkanen and team Finland overall. Finland won only one game and finished last in their group with a 1-3-0 record. That’s not to say Kuokkanen won’t bloom into a solid NHL player, but for this tournament, he didn’t play very well. Still, despite these results, Finland has one of the best youth programs in the world. Kuokkanen’s presence in the program shows Janne that his best may yet to come. But for this tournament he get’s the lowest overall grade of the four. Grade: D+
The more we see the prospects in the Hurricanes system, the more it looks like that maybe this Ron Francis guy knows what he is doing in regards to drafting players. Last year it was Sebastian Aho lighting up the tournament, and this year the Hurricanes have two players doing the same thing. The future looks bright Canes fans, and with the picks being stockpiled by the franchise it can only get brighter.