NFT: IIHF Hockey World Championships Start Today (Hughes/Kakko)

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In comment 14453349 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 14453334 Jay in Toronto said: Quote: Georgie played? 2 games, 2 shutouts. Russia has only allowed 7 goals in 7 games.

I know it's a small sample size, but I'd REALLY hate to lose Georgie because of Henrik's contract

a couple crossbars, outshooting US 10 - 2.

Hughes being knocked off the puck. Even looked like he was tripped twice - and usually INTL hockey is called much tighter than NHL, but no calls.

US has any hope they need some PP's

a bullshit penalty on Gaudreau. Figures.

Hughes gets knocked off the puck VERY easily, whereas Kakko is so strong and well-built that he can withstand the harassment so to speak.

In comment 14453394 Anakim said:

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Hughes gets knocked off the puck VERY easily, whereas Kakko is so strong and well-built that he can withstand the harassment so to speak.

Watching in this tournament Kakko looks strong obviously but the skating gap is MASSIVE. Doesn't mean it's a predictor of NHL success or not, but Hughes can fly.

converts on the bullshit PP, Sergachev goal from the point (tipped by Eichel)

In comment 14453398 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 14453394 Anakim said: Quote: Hughes gets knocked off the puck VERY easily, whereas Kakko is so strong and well-built that he can withstand the harassment so to speak. Watching in this tournament Kakko looks strong obviously but the skating gap is MASSIVE. Doesn't mean it's a predictor of NHL success or not, but Hughes can fly.

Is it speed or is it more technique? Hughes looks fast to me, but he doesn't have BLAZING speed (like a Hagelin or a Kreider). However, he can cut the corner and wiggle through traffic with the best of 'em.

edge work, vision.

reminds me of Crosby without the puck.

He and Kane look like the best players for the US so far.

Hanifin from Kane.

Cuts the lead to 2 - 1.

with a late and dirty hit on Hughes. Goes to the box.

Russia definitely targeting Hughes.

US on PP, much better period so far

spoon feeds Kunin and Kunin misses the net.

Larkin being out hurts the US.

robs Gaudreau.

what I thought would be a blowout turning into a good game.

Russia back to dominating, like a shooting gallery, Schneider keeping US in the game after the past couple shifts.

In comment 14453443 pjcas18 said:

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Hanifin from Kane. Cuts the lead to 2 - 1.

Sorry that was Skjei, not Hanifin

turns it over, Suter out of position, Russia scores on a 2 on 1.

on the set up from Jack Hughes.

3 - 2.

Werenski can't man up Dadanov and he feeds it over to Grigorenko

out, Hughes with the steal, Kane to Denrincat to cut the lead to 1.

Russia challenges, for goalie interference

one goal game, 2:50 left in the 3rd.

hosed majorly, Russia turned the puck over to JVR down the slot, refs called offsides.

hangs on, wins 4 - 3, better effort for the US than I thought. Hughes impressed, Kane, Eichel, Gaudreau.

Just not enough size or D.

Could have used Seth Jones.

I remember I wanted Grigorenko a few years ago when our C depth was shit...and we ended up signing Desharnais.

avoids another embarrassing elimination (for now) and ties Switzerland with .4 seconds left.

3 on 3 OT coming up right now.

it in OT for Canada.

but from reading on twitter it sounds like Hughes was one of the better players on the ice for the US today. Shame he didn't get more ice time in this tournament.

In comment 14453738 Stu11 said:

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but from reading on twitter it sounds like Hughes was one of the better players on the ice for the US today. Shame he didn't get more ice time in this tournament.

Today showed the good and bad with Hughes.

he set up 2 of the US three goals, one with a steal from Kucherov, but he was also physically manhandled - even seemed Russia had a plan to physically man handle him.

At the end of the day the two assists, and other offense was impactful, but it will be a learning experience for him,

He and Kane US best players.

In comment 14453748 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 14453738 Stu11 said: Quote: but from reading on twitter it sounds like Hughes was one of the better players on the ice for the US today. Shame he didn't get more ice time in this tournament. Today showed the good and bad with Hughes. he set up 2 of the US three goals, one with a steal from Kucherov, but he was also physically manhandled - even seemed Russia had a plan to physically man handle him. At the end of the day the two assists, and other offense was impactful, but it will be a learning experience for him, He and Kane US best players.

Thanks PJ as always for a great re-cap. "Russia had a plan to physically man handle him" Man put yourself into a time warp back to the 70's and imagine that happening .

Michael Russo
@RussoHockey
Penguins, #mnwild in trade talks surrounding Phil Kessel.

@JoshYohe_PGH
has confirmed what I reported Tuesday about potential Jason Zucker-Victor Rask for Kessel-Jack Johnson swap. Lots of details in this story + other possible landing spots for Zucker

In comment 14453847 Anakim said:

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Michael Russo @RussoHockey Penguins, #mnwild in trade talks surrounding Phil Kessel. @JoshYohe_PGH has confirmed what I reported Tuesday about potential Jason Zucker-Victor Rask for Kessel-Jack Johnson swap. Lots of details in this story + other possible landing spots for Zucker

He’s being moved. Apparently he’s a bit of a prick whose insubordinate to the coaches and downright treats the equipment and other support employees like shit.

Always had that exhibition/consolation prize type feel.

But I’m curious, would the winner of the Worlds beat the Stanley Cup champs in any year? I’d think Canada, maybe Russia and US?

One supposes this is easier accomplished v. a 17 year old boy than the man he will become in several years. Hughes is going to be a Pat LaFontaine type pro and that's scary good. He went #3 overall in '83 with Yzerman going #4. They'd go 1-2 in a redraft. LaFontaine had a 148 point season in '93 to cap one helluva ten year run before concussion issues derailed the backend of his career.

With today's rules Hughes could be even better. His ceiling is higher than Kakko's imo though the Fin will pay dividends sooner by being more physically prepared to contribute.

in OT, didn't see it, Kakko off the scoresheet.

sets up an interesting Fins vs Russia Semi
opposite
Canada vs the high scoring Czechs in the other semi

I think Russia and the Czechs should move on, but Canada is never an easy out. Though they are "missing" the most talent.

US probably missing the 2nd most - from what their teams could be.

Could the winner of the Workds beat either of the cup finalists?

the coach of Russia I'm reminded of the Soviet (era) Red Army team of Tikhonov, Tretiak, Fetisov et al., something about his mug, his wide red tie, it's all of a past era.

Some rule in these quarter- and semi-finals that no penalties shall be called on teams playing Finland? Numerous open ice tripping on Fin players by Swedes and Russians, none of them called, most in plain view.

It has been a very competitive, interesting, wide open game, Finland-Russia, with the team in red dominating in spurts but unable to break through (I'm about an hour behind in my recording), so this may have changed.

a no-name, offensively challenged team from Finland beating a Russian squad led by Ovechkin, Malkin, Kucherov, Orlov, Kuznetsov, etc. Anttila's game winner remarkably similar to his only other point in the tournament, thus far, beating Lundquist on a scramble/rebound from in front to send that game into OT.

In comment 14455500 ColHowPepper said:

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a no-name, offensively challenged team from Finland beating a Russian squad led by Ovechkin, Malkin, Kucherov, Orlov, Kuznetsov, etc. Anttila's game winner remarkably similar to his only other point in the tournament, thus far, beating Lundquist on a scramble/rebound from in front to send that game into OT.

No it isn't.

Not even close.

More than half the Fins are professional hockey players.

The only draft eligible player they have is Kakko.

Everyone else is in their late 20's or 30's.

Upset, yes, no doubt about it, a huge upset, but Miracle on Ice is beyond hyperbole.

The USA team was a younger team of unknowns, many of whom went on to NHL careers, NHL. That win came completely out of the blue, but it began to make a bit more sense once the talent of that group was better understood. The Finns may be composed largely of professionals, but not top ranked league(s), maybe a 3rd tier (guessing, not knowing)? For their keeper this is his first int'l competition. I don't think in the minds of Finnish fans that such a comp is beyond hyperbole, not that they give much of a hoot for 1980.

Separately, my impression is that in the last hectic minutes of the game, maybe the last 5, Kakko got very little ice time...more seasoned vets out there to try to preserve the win.

was hands down the best team on the planet. they played together for years.

They beat the US team two weeks before the olympics 12 - 2.

the Russian worlds team had the most talent and were the favorites, but had literally never practiced together and had one warm up game.

it's not in the same vicinity of an upset but yes, it's a massive upset.

Consider this, the US went to OT with Finland before winning, and the Russian team squeaked by the US. The Fins while maybe had less NHL talent, were not much less talented of a team.

I don't know how they view it in Finland, I am sure they have a lot of National pride about it, but it's not close to the upset of 18 college kids beating the best hockey team on the planet.

not nostalgia from me, simply an opinion, but I'm confident it's the right opinion.

I like the discussion though. And what is interesting is as you mention Kakko on the bench down the stretch and with the US needing a goal to get close to Russia with the net empty, Hughes was on the ice. Different situations of course, one less reliant on responsible D, but just showing a juxtaposition.

"finish" the job, beat the canucks 3 - 1 for the gold.

Kakko, at the age of 18, has won a U18, U20 and WC. I wonder if anyone else has done that, at any age.

beat the Czechs in a shootout for the bronze.

They were an amazing story and worthy of much of the praise they get... BUT, any talk of that win being on the same level as the USA win in Lake Placid is pure nonsense. That's too much for me.

But that doesn't mean they weren't phenomenal. They were and it was a really fun story. Congrats to them.

and being pistol whipped by you! (:

At the end of the day, I agree, and I did use the word 'tantamount', which should suggest almost, but not quite....These Russians were not the well oiled and schooled Russians of the Red Army team, no doubt, even if talent-wise this group might match up well to Fetisov and Tretiak.

Some further color on the lack of high profile of Gold Medal winners, as the p-b-p team kept mentioning, only two Fins (Finns?) on the roster played in the NHL this year, and neither scored a goal the entire season...not.one.goal.

Anttila, crazy tournament story, no points until the quarter finals, then four goals, game-tying or winning, each. And to repeat, Jukka Jalonen!

How do you select Vasilevsky over Lankinen for the all-tournament team?

I didn't mean to come on strong, and I love your contribution to hockey threads.

The Russian team was not that far from the top 6 teams in this tourney.

They had a great top 6 (Ovi, Malkin, Kucherov, Kuznetsov, Dadanov, even Kovalchuck who is far from great. Their D was lacking though, and their bottom two lines lacking.

Look at their results after the prelims. they were not dominant (offensively) like you'd expect.

3 - 0 vs the Czechs
3 - 1 vs Latvia
3 - 0 vs the Swiss

and they struggled in the medal round.

there is no comparison with the Soviet team in 1980 and the Russia team in the 2019 IIHF World Championships.

That said the Fins accomplishment is remarkable and their country should have a lot of pride for winning.

In my annual coaching clinic they always bring up Finland.

The Fins are ahead of most of the rest of the hockey world in "breeding" NHL players.

They, because I live in MA, will show that Finland a country with just over 5M people, has 49 current NHL players, and Massachusetts, a state with almost 7M people had 26.

Explain it? It's partly why the ADM model was invented. To emulate the Fins and it's why the US emphasized the USNDTP (which is less state focused obviously and more country focused).

it's easy for the more casual fan (compared to you most fans must be classified as casual) to be blinded by the names at the top two lines or so, and their keepers were certainly strong. But the prelim numbers GF/GA are revealing.

Speaking of d-men, as the Canada game went on, I kept muttering to myself, in wonder more than anything else, how the hell is it that Lankinen is not getting beaten, same vs Russians, so began focusing on play in front of the net for stretches. By and large the Fin d-men were really good keeping traffic clear of the crease, not always, but mostly Lankinen had pretty good line of sight on shots from the point, of which there were many, in both games. Henrik would have been jealous, if he could see. That said, the Fins had some puck luck: how many shots off the post, three, more?

Finland went to more skill development model and got away from team play and structure development early. Ironically, it was the team play that was praised all tournament and what led to the win this year. But I think that's the point, focus on skills early and you still have plenty of time to implement systems, structure, etc when the players mature.

Sweden and Finland practice waaaay more than we do in Canada and there is supposedly a lot more "unstructured play". Something I think Canada would be wise to adopt for elite levels. I still think North American kids play too many games at the sacrifice of development. Just my opinion though.

Andy and some US programs still don't get it.

USA hockey recommends a 3 to 1 model, three on-ice practices for every 1 game. Some times they'll even recommend 3 - 2 - 1 - three on-ice, 2 off-ice (agility, cross-training, etc.), for every 1 game.

Some teams (cough cough, my daughters team two years ago) played 75 games from September to March (before playoffs). that's an average of 3 games per weekend. At most they had three on/off ice practices per week, sometimes less due to travel. that's 1:1 at best.

Last year they started getting the message.

And the focus, like you say, is not like when I was growing up through youth hockey. Skate for 10 minutes (mostly sprints, no edgework or fundamentals) and then work on breakout or fore check. Half the kids leaning on the boards or punching each other in line waiting for their turn.

ADM model is all station based, no standing around, each drill (if properly crafted) incorporated individual and game concepts. A ton of small area drills. 1 on 1 puck battles, 2 on 1 puck battles, 2 on 2, things that make kids get creative and not be robotic.

It's fun to watch the kids grow with this model and I think the US will catch up. Finland only reevaluated and adjusted their approach in 2009, so the US is not far behind.

This draft the US could have as many as 5 of the top 10, and as the ADM model (USA hockey version) permeates to the lower levels, states like MA should be better represented in the NHL.

but ultimately their hockey players will be better fundamentally.

Yes, both countries play too many games (parents insist on it) but I "borrow" a ton from the US model in my practices and I know hockey Canada has as well. You were the leader (I think) in emphasis on small area games, and that alone has been a huge boost to development models in NA.

Also, your practices growing up sounded just like mine. I wish I was growing up in this era, its a ton of fun.

Nice post.

In comment 14456540 Andy in Halifax said:

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Yes, both countries play too many games (parents insist on it) but I "borrow" a ton from the US model in my practices and I know hockey Canada has as well. You were the leader (I think) in emphasis on small area games, and that alone has been a huge boost to development models in NA. Also, your practices growing up sounded just like mine. I wish I was growing up in this era, its a ton of fun. Nice post.

Same here. My daughters first coach was Joe Hulbig - former 1st round draft pick and brief NHL career (knee injury) and he was like 6' 6". He ran a great practice especially for beginners. My daughter fell in love with the sport. I asked him one day, I said Joe when are these kids going to start hating hockey like I did (i asked it half joking)? He said I hope never. Things are different than when "we" grew up, he said. And he's right.

I hated my first coach. Mr. Tito. I was 5 years old. He just made us skate (fast on the first whistle, slow down on the second, two whistles switch direction) and screamed and yelled.

Anyway, different era and I think it's a good balance between the competitiveness and definitely not "everyone gets a trophy" - these kids work their asses off and there are no prizes for 2nd place (well sometimes 2nd place gets a trophy, but it's a 2nd place trophy and they cry when they get it). 3rd or later get nothing and I like that.

The USA hockey app is great - if you can get it, some great drills.

I like the Canada app too, but one of them i needed to pay for and didn't want to pay for another app. I think it was maybe the Canada app to watch a video of the drills.

on the Athletic. He was a former Penguins scout when they took MAF, Malkin, and Crosby in successive drafts (#1, #2, and #1)

His comment on Cole Caufield:

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“He’s the best goal-scorer in the draft. His ability to get to spots, get open and get the puck on the net is just remarkable. And the size factor is not an issue. He has a lot of similarities to Alex (DeBrincat), and he has a very, very strong lower trunk. He has no fear. Like Alex, you probably least suspect him to be involved in the scrums, but then when you go back and look it up, he’s one of the leaders in scrums. He’s so competitive. He doesn’t feel like he has any kind of a size disadvantage and he’s proven that.”

since it's behind a pay wall I won't post the rest, but wow. that kid did himself some favors this year.