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Final Individual Scoring - Top 12
Some final Notes Final Islander Stats Blake Comeau led Team Canada in scoring with 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 6 games played with 8 PIM's. He was a +7, scored a GWG and had 13 shots on goal. Ryan O'Marra recorded 2 assists in 6 games with 18 PIM's. He was a +1 and had 4 shots on goal in a defensive role. Sergei Ogorodnikov had an assist in 6 games with 6 PIM's. He was a +2 and had 4 shots on goal. And Jaroslav Mrazek was scoreless in 7 games played with 8 PIM's. He was a -6 and had 5 shots on goal. islesinfo.com believes that both Comeau and O'Marra have very good chances of playing for the Islanders in 2006-07. Ogorodnikov could see time in Bridgeport if the Islanders decide to bring him over. Apparently the Islanders scouts have visited Ogorodnikov in the last month or so and have discussed options with him. Mrazek was in training camp with the Islanders at the start of this season but time will tell if the Islanders think he is good enough to add to their system as a defensive d-man. USA Don't Like Bronze The Americans had their dream year in 2004 taking home the Gold for the first time in Helsinki, Finland. Unfortunately, sandwiched around that are three 4th place finishes in which they failed to take home a medal by losing the Bronze Medal game: 2003 they lost 3-2 to Finland, 2005 USA lost 3-2 to the Czech Republic in OT, and in 2006 they lost 4-2 to Finland. Finland Wins Bronze without Nokelainen Petteri Nokelainen has not seen action with the Islanders since the first week of November. His injury may have kept him out of the WJC's if the Islanders saw fit to send him. Still, the Finns went on to win the Bronze Medal with Nokelainen's old linemates Lauri Tukonen and Lauri Korpikoski. Unlike the U.S., Finland has shown they like the Bronze, taking it home in 2003, 2004, and now 2006. 2007 WJC's in Sweden The 2007 tournament will take place in Leksand and Stockholm Sweden. For a History of the WJC's check out TSN.ca's site. Obviously Canada is the focus but it's still very good.
Canada Wins 2006 World Junior Title Teams like Russia and the United States had a wealth of talent on paper going into the 2006 world junior hockey championship. But when all was said and done, it was good
old-fashioned teamwork that won the gold medal - for Canada. The back-to-back titles are the first for Canada since 1996 and 1997, when the country capped a run of five straight. It was also Canada's 12th title since the tournament's inception in 1974. Despite having a younger and less-experienced roster compared to last year - defenceman Cam Barker was the only returning player from the 2005 team - head coach Brent Sutter's no-nonsense philosophy of hard work and attention to detail shone throughout the tournament. The end result was impressive. An aggressive defence saw Canada allow just six goals in six games, with only one at even strength. Only one Canadian player - Comeau - cracked the top 10 in scoring, a testament to the work from all four lines. Sutter improved to 12-0 in his two years at the helm of the national team and is now the winningest Canadian coach in the history of this tournament. "I really felt comfortable with the team that we had," Sutter told TSN. "They stuck together as a team, played hard, competed and stayed with the program. Tonight showed their commitment. "A lot of people underestimated the skill we had on this team." Canada was then able to capitalize as Downie and Comeau scored two quick goals for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Television replays in the opening minutes of the second period showed the puck getting across the goal-line behind Pogge. The Russians had a long discussion with American referee Brian Thul, but the score remained 2-0. With the gold medal win, Canada has tied the Soviet Union winning a medal for the eighth consecutive year (1999-2006). The Soviets accomplished the feat from 1974 to 1981. Canada also won gold on home ice for the first time since 1995, when Red Deer hosted the event. Canada had lost to Russia on home soil by one goal in the final of the 1999 tournament in Winnipeg and in the 2003 final Halifax. Twelve players from this year's roster are eligible to play at the tournament next year in Sweden, but Sutter was non-committal on whether he'd want to coach the team again. "I can't answer that," he said. "Next year is a long ways off. "Tomorrow night I'm coaching the Red Deer Rebels."
For the second straight year, Canada is on top of the junior hockey world. In a 5-0 victory over Russia at Vancouver’s GM Place on January 5, the Canadians succeeded in neutralizing super sniper Evgeni Malkin and fulfilling Head Coach Brent Sutter’s defence-first plan to perfection. Michael Blunden led the way with a pair of goals, Blake Comeau had a goal and an assist, and Steve Downie and Kyle Chipchura also scored. Cam Barker and Andrew Cogliano added a pair of helpers apiece. With the victory, Brent Sutter’s all-time record for Canadian World Junior coaching wins now stands at 12. He has never lost a game behind Canada’s bench. The five-goal margin of victory was the same as last year in Grand Forks, when Canada won 6-1. It was the fifth gold game between these two rivals since 1999. Russia won in 1999 (Winnipeg), 2002 (Pardubice), and 2003 (Halifax). It was also Canada’s fifth straight appearance in the gold medal game. Russia entered this contest with eight returning veterans, while Canada had none, as Cam Barker did not play in last year’s tilt due to mononucleosis. Evgeni Malkin streaked around the defence during an early power play and zinged a wrister on net that Justin Pogge gloved down. The Russians controlled the puck for much of the man advantage, until Alexei Emelin was dinged for hauling down Ryan O’Marra in the neutral zone at 2:02. Canada exerted some good pressure on its own power play but couldn’t get its first shot on goal. Luc Bourdon threw a bone-crushing hit on Sergei Ogorodnikov along the boards that drew a roar from the crowd with under five minutes left in the first period. At 17:13, Steve Downie came around the net to Khudobin’s right and slid the puck through a tiny gap in the Russian goalie’s five-hole to give Canada the lead. Canada had been outshot 15-4 at that stage. It didn’t take long for the red-and-white team to muster more offense. At 18:56, Canada went up 2-0 when Staal came over the blueline and fed Comeau a neat pass from left wing. Comeau banged home his own rebound underneath Khudobin. He also assisted on Downie's opening goal. This was Canada’s 12th IIHF World Junior gold medal, marking its first back-to-back championship since 1997. Starting in December 2006, Canada will go for a golden three-peat at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden.
The game is currently between the first and second period and Canada has jumped out to a 2-0 lead off goals by Steve Downie and Blake Comeau less than two minutes apart. For Comeau it was his third goal of the tournament. Stay tuned for more as it happens. 8:45 pm: It's now in the second period and Canada has taken a commanding 4-0 lead on two powerplay goals by Michael Blunden.
With a gutsy effort, Finland defeated the USA 4-2 to claim third place Thursday afternoon at GM Place. It was Finland’s fourth bronze in the last five years at the IIHF World Junior Championships. Jesse Joensuu led the way with two goals, while Lauri Tukonen had a goal and an assist. Jari Sailio had the other Finnish tally, and Lauri Korpikoski added two helpers. Bobby Ryan and Jack Johnson replied for the USA. More... VANCOUVER (CP) - The world junior hockey championship was not supposed to end this way for the United States. They entered as a team highly touted on paper with nine first-round NHL draft picks but failed to win even a bronze medal on the ice. The Americans were serenaded with chants of ''over-rated, over-rated'' while jubilant Finns threw helmets, sticks and gloves in the air at the end of a 4-2 loss in the bronze medal game on Thursday. Read
the rest here....
The Lowdown on Blake Comeau: He started playing with the Kelowna Rockets as a 16-year-old and was also selected to play for Team Canada in the 2003 Under-18 tournament, taking home the gold medal. In 2003-04, Comeau scored 33 points and helped lead host Kelowna to a Memorial Cup win. The New York Islanders selected him in the second round of the 2004 draft a month later. His best statistical season came in 2004-2005, when he scored a career-high 47 points and took the Rockets to the Memorial Cup tourney for the second straight year. Stats through Dec. 5: 25 GP, 11 G, 23 A, 22 PIM The Lowdown on Ryan O'Marra: Selected 15th overall by the New York Islanders in 2005, O'Marra already has plenty of international experience. He was invited to attend the 2005 Canadian National Junior Development Camp in August, and was selected to represent Canada at the 2005 Under-18 World Championships in the Czech Republic this past April. O'Marra also played for Canada at the Under-18 Junior World Cup in 2004 and helped Team Ontario to a Gold Medal at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Stats through Dec. 5: 27 GP, 11 G, 21 A, 71 PIM
Ogorodnikov recently had a very good showing at the 2005 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge in which he scored 3 goals and 6 points in 6 games against all-star teams from the OHL, WHL and QMJHL. He served as captain of his Russian team.
In the 2004 tournament Mrazek was held scoreless in 7 games played with 6 PIM's.
Islanders 2005 second round pick D Dustin Kohn was passed on by Canada's head coach Brent Sutter. He was invited to their summer evaluation camp and played for Team WHL in the 2005 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge in late November, but did not receive an invitation to Canada's selection camp in early December. Most likely he was left off the team because of his poor start to the 2005-06 season. After scoring over 40 points last year with the Calgary Hitmen and subsequently getting drafted by the Islanders, Kohn's offensive production has dipped this season. Kohn's attributes his drop in offense to a more concentrated effort on defense. The fact that he wasn't selected and his lack of offensive production should not have Islander fans worrying. Kohn still had a very good camp with the Islanders back in September and is still a top prospect on the blue line.
Petteri Nokelainen was good enough to make the Islanders this season and showed great promise until he injured his knee in a game late October. He's been on the injured reserve since early November. Depending on how well he played this season if he had not gotten hurt, Nokelainen may have been released to take part in his third WJC's. His former linemates, Lauri Korpikoski (NYR) and Lauri Tukonen (LA), will both suit up for Finland in the tournament.
Standings
Exhibition Schedule
C Phil Kessel, USA: Another phenom who is slated to go #1 overall in the
2006 NHL draft. He dominated in the 2005 tournament and is a good
reason why the Americans are favored this year. LW Michael Frolik, CZE:
Many believe that if anyone is going to compete for the #1 selection overall
in 2006 it will be Frolik. He was a step behind Kessel at the 2005
tournament and his performance this year could go a long way in June 2006. C Jonathan Toews, CAN: Toews is currently
starring for North Dakota and is considered a better defensive player than
both Kessel and Frolik. He's also no slouch offensively. LW Jesse Joensuu, FIN: The top rated Finn's stock
has dropped over the last year or so as many scouts are concerned about his
offensive upside and heavy feet. Some compare him to a Mikael Renberg type,
but he sounds more like a Jani Rita at the moment. LW
Peter Mueller, USA:
Known for his two way game as he hones his skills with Everett of the WHL. D Mark Mitera, USA:
Has already moved into Michigan's top four defensemen as a freshman and is
considered the upcoming draft's second best d-man behind fellow American
Erik Johnson. D Erik Johnson, USA:
Currently plays for the U.S. under 18 team and will need to pick a school
for next year. But many scouts say he has size, mobility and two way skill
that makes him the top defenseman for the 2006 draft, in a draft that is
projected to be not top heavy for blue liners. C Tomas Kana, CZE: Plays a fearless game, likes
to hit, and goes to the net. D David Ruzicka,
CZE: A good two way d-man that needs to put on more muscle. Considered a
raw project. C Nicklas Backstrom, SWE: Considered a good all
around player that is already producing in the Swedish Elite League. C Igor Makarov, RUS: Has high speed, plays with
energy and could have his stock rise if he adds an offensive touch. RW Tomas Sinisalo, FIN: The son of former Flyer
Illka Sinisalo.
You can only carry so many players on a team so Canada had to close the door on a few talented youngsters. 2006 Draft hopefuls Bryan Little and Derick Brassard did not make it after getting invited to the selection camp. Angelo Esposito, an early favorite for the top selection in the 2007 draft, was also left off the squad. Little is currently the second rated OHL'er for the 2006 Draft behind Perterborough's Jordon Staal, who also was not selected for the Candian Team. Brassard is the top rated QMJHL player. He's considered to be a very skilled offensive player and had a good showing at the 2005 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.
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1998-2006 Tom Mascioli
