USA Hockey defeated Team Finland in the World Under 18 Championships with Hurricanes GM Ron Francis in attendance.
Sunday’s finals in the IIHF U18 Championship was a dream game for all the NHL scouts and General Managers. Hurricanes fans I bet are more interested in who Ron Francis and his staff are taking notes on. Like I had stated in a earlier article this past week, the Finns have some interesting prospects.
The Gold medal game was being played in Poprad, Slovakia featuring the reigning Gold medal champions Finland against The United States. Both teams came into Sunday’s championship being the top two teams in the tournament. Both teams were undefeated and the top two teams in scoring with 31 (Finns) &30 (USA).
Key Players in the Game
The US held off a strong Finnish charge start at the beginning of the game. Finland’s top player (F) Kristian Vesalainen who led the tourney with 6g/7a had a great first period with four shots. After that the USA shutdown Kristian the rest of the game. Vesalainen finished the game a minus 1 and never was a factor after the first period. Other Finnish players that GM Francis was watching (D) Miro Heiskanen was left scoreless too. Miro did finish a +1 on the stat sheet but everyone was hoping to see more of his booming shot. Many were disappointed to only see it 3 times the whole game. With both of the Finns two big stars shutdown that left (D) Urho Vaakanainen to impress everyone. Urho was one of my who’s who players on my “got to see list” from last week.
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Ron Francis did get to see Urho impress with one goal and a +1 for the game. He ended the tourney with 3g/3a and a +4. Only time will tell if Carolina’s staff got a good look and were impressed with Finland’s stars.
That Leaves the Americans
The United States except for the beginning of the 2nd period kept Finland in check. One of the outstanding players of the game for the US will not even be a draft pick this year. (F) Brady Tkachuk because being born one day too late can not be drafted until 2018. Brady is of course son of Keith and brother to Calgary Flames Matthew Tkachuk. This kid will be someone to watch next year. for sure. Not only did Brady have one dandy of an assist for the first goal but he did have 1g/6a for the tourney. What is more impressive is his leadership and the reason he wore the “C” for the Americans.
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After an early second period goal by Finland’s (F) Eemeli Rasanen to finally get the Finns on the board. (F) Grant Mismash scores on the second Power play of the period for the USA to make it 4-1. Mismash had an excellent tourney for the Americans. His 3g/5a and +4 was second on the the US team. This young man could really be someone the Canes are looking for. He really compares to Brock McGinn with grit and physical play.
What Ron Francis got to Watch
This championship game is why many of the NHL scouts and GMs came to watch IIHF U18 hockey. These young hockey player played some of the best hockey their countries have to offer. Team Finland with their size and skill never really looked like the team on the losing end of the game. Team USA, played a hard fought game using their speed to overpower the Finns.
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For what it was worth, Ron Francis and the Canes scouts saw a week long exhibition of excellent hockey. All these undrafted players showcasing their talents on a world stage for pride of their country. The championship game lived up to the billing and the U18 tourney was a big success for Slovakia. Now comes the hard work for all the Hurricanes scouts and management staffers. They have only a short time to sort over their notes and get ready for the draft.