World Juniors Dynasty

[st.cronin]

Hi, my name is Sean Treacy. I am the GM/Head Coach of the Kitchener Rangers. My cousin, Shane Lamb, has been put in charge of the US Under-20 Team for the upcoming World Juniors. Wish him luck!

[Blade6119]

Is this just one or is this going to cover it every year?

Good luck!

[st.cronin]

Is this just one or is this going to cover it every year?

Good luck!

Thanks!

For now, just the first year. I've actually already finished the tourney, but I'm a ways away from year 2.

[st.cronin]

Let's look at our roster, goalies first: (keep in mind that college players have fake names)

Joe Fisher, U-Mass, 14-7-1, 2.58, .906 19 years old; NHL rights held by the LA Kings; native of Zeeland, Michigan; 6'0", 178; very agile and athletic. He'll be the #1 goalie and may start every game.

Joe Palmer, NTDP, 22-2-3, 1.67, .945 17 years old; committed to Ohio State; native of Yorkville, IL; 6'1" 205; like Fisher, extremely athletic. Very promising young goalie! Will be interesting to see how he develops.

[st.cronin]

Our blueline crew:

Matt Lashoff, Kitchener, 34g, 6-22-28, +12 19 Years old; 1st round pick of the Boston Bruins; hails from Albany, NY; 6'2", 196; Good skater, very solid offensively.

Tysen Dowzak, Kelowna, 33g, 2-14-16, +10 17 years old; from Fergus Falls, MN; 6'5", 224x Punishing hitter, to go along with good offensive skills.

A.J. Thelen, Prince Albert, 37g, 11-22-33, -1 19 years old; from Savage MN; drafted by the Minnesota Wild; 6'3", 209 Extremely fast skater, with a good set of 2-way skills.

Brian Ratchuk, Michigan, 26g, 1-8-9, +2 18 years old; Hurriane prospect; from Danbury, CT; 6'1", 200. Brian is a skilled and nasty hockey player.

Doug Wilson, Chicago, 30g, 2-6-8, -19 19 years old; from Saratoga, California; interested in playing college hockey, but no offers yet; 6'2", 189. Steady player and a strong skater. Hasn't played great this year in juniors, but I like his skills, and I think he'll fit in well.

Jake Bauer, Sioux Falls, 31g, 8-28-36, +17 18 years old; playing in his hometown of Sioux Falls, SD; committed to Quinnipiac; 5'11", 227. Bauer is a fantastic defensive player.

[The Phat Eskimo]

oooo this seems interesting :D

[st.cronin]

And our forwards:

Jack Leach, LW/RW, Minnesota, 25g, 8-10-18, +11 18 years old; from Mankato, MN; Avalanche prospect; 6'2", 202. Just an ok skater, but has nize size and strength, and is a clever player on both ends of the ice.

Justin Murphy, LW/C, Michigan, 25g, 7-8-15, +1 18 years old; from Davison, MI; 6'0", 180. Justin is a highly skilled passer.

David Dwyer, C/RW, Minnesota, 25g, 10-6-16, +4 18 years old; from Mequon, WI; 6'0", 183. Very highly rated prospect. Terrific scoring skills.

Nate Howard, C/RW, Colorado College, 25g, 3-3-6, -9 18 years old; fro Drexel Hill, PA; drafted by the Maple Leafs; 5'11", 183. Flashy skater and creator who hasn't produced much this year.

Chris Moran, C, Omaha, 28g, 17-5-22, +11 18 years old; from Buffalo, NY; headed to Niagara to play college hockey; 5'11", 183. Solid 2-way player and our best face-off guy.

Robbie Schremp, C, London, 27g, 27-21-48, +30 Native of Syracuse, NY; future Oiler; 6'0", 183. You may have heard of this guy; he's a scoring machine and a fantastic skater.

Dan Collins, RW, Plymouth, 30g, 13-16-29, +11 Panther prospect from Carthage, MO; 6'1", 196. Strong skater and a physical scoring threat.

[st.cronin]

Forwards continued:

Dan Bourne, C/RW, Wisconsin, 25g, 9-3-12, +1 18 year old drafted by the Blackhawks; native of Binghamton, NY; 6'1", 202. Bourne has a REALLY hard and accurate shot. We will see if we can get him the puck with space.

Bobby Granato, RW/LW, Michigan, 22g, 5-2-7, -11 18 year old native of East Lansing, MI; future Mighty Duck; 6'0", 205. Fast and strong, he'll be relied on as a checking forward.

Jay Lingo, RW/C Harvard, 22g, 4-5-9, -1 18 years old; from Garden City, NY; 5'11", 169. Ivy Leaguer is a fast skater and hard worker, and will fill a checking role.

Adam Pineault, RW/C, Moncton, 30g, 15-15-30, +12 19 years old; from Holyoke, MA; drafted by the Blue Jackets; 6'3", 198. Unheralded prospect averaging a point a game in juniors; could find time on a power play line.

[st.cronin]

Rounding out the team:

Paul Welch, D, Montgomery, 25g, 6-17-23, +15 Baltimore, MD native is just 15 years old and very raw, but a horse: 6'2", 213. Dressing 22 players, we may find a way to work him into some special teams situations. Extremely intriguing talent.

Nick Jelitto, D, Blind River, 31g, 3-30-33, +24 19 years old, from Salt Lake City, UT; on his way to Minnesota-Mankato; 6'0", 178. Smallish defender, but physical.

Evan Stephens, D, Cedar Rapids, 30g, 3-6-9, -9 18 years old, from Bessemer, MI; 6'0", 183. Evan is a hard worker and a solid technical player.

Luke Lynes, LW, Brampton, 35g, 8-14-22, -8 18 years old, from Rochester Hills, MI; 6'1", 191. Solid all around hockey player and an excellent athlete.

Tom Page, RW/C, Colorado College, 24g, 4-9-13, -1 18 year old native of Fond du Lac, WI; skilled skater and passer, but may not find much ice time.

Jeff Rielly, RW/C, Miami-OH, 25g, 4-5-9, -2 19 years old; natie of Waterford, MI; drafted by the Blackhawks; 6'2", 196. Slick with the puck and solid defensively. Will be used mainly as a penalty killer.

[st.cronin]

Defensive lines will look like this:

Lashoff-Dowzak
Thelen-Ratchuk
Wilson-Bauer

Forward lines:

Murphy-Dwyer-Bourne
Leach-Schremp-Collins
Granato-Moran-Pineault
Lynes-Howard-Lingo

Jeff Rielly (F) and Paul Welch (D) will also dress and help out on special teams.

[st.cronin]

Tuesday, December 27: Norway vs. USA

Norway has some small, fast forwards which could give us trouble, but this should be a win for the US.

First shift of the game, David Dwyer draws a hooking penalty from Henrik Borge, Norwegian defenseman. Just a few seconds later (0:53) later, A.J. Thelen finds an open Brian Ratchuk above the circles... he shoots, he scores! Assist also to Justin Murphy.

11:04 Matt Lashoff blasts a slapshot over the glove of Lars-Simen Paulgarrd - 2-0 US. Assists to Leach and Collins.

26:50 Justin Murphy finds Dan Bourne in the slot, and he pops it 5-hole. Assist also to David Dwyer.

43:06 A virtual replay of the second period goal ... Bourne gets position in front of the net, and Murphy feeds him for the easy conversion.



Final Score: US 4 -Norway 0

Stars of the game:

Justin Murphy (3 assists)
Joe Fisher (14 saves)
Brian Ratchuk (1 goal, 27:28 minutes on ice)

US outshot Norway 30-14. A solid win to start the tourney!

edited to credit the proper goaltender for the shutout

[st.cronin]

Coming tomorrow: Showdown with Russia

[st.cronin]

Wednesday, December 28: USA vs. Russia

Russia is a very talented team, particularly at forward. Enver Lisin is the fastest skater in the tournament, and Alexander Radulov is as skilled as anybody on our team. Looking at their team, I feel the US is outclassed at forward, but makes up the difference with defense and goaltending. The top Russian defender would probably sit on our bench.

2:47 Chris Moran in the box for elbowing, Nikolai Lemtyugov WIDE OPEN in front of the net ... a sharp wristshot beats Fisher. Russia 1-0

9:46 This time Ratchuk in the box for charging, Karpov draws the faceoff to Prigaro, who slides it across to blueliner Nikita Nikitin, who snaps a crazy shot through the legs of Reilly and past Fisher, who probably never saw the puck. Russia 2-0 on two power play goals. Russia is now 2/2 on the power play.

14:43 Dwyer brings the puck into the zone, drops it for Lashoff on the left side, who spots Bourne flying in alone on the right side. A sharp pass and a hard shot and a GOAL!!!!!!! USA is on the board. Russia 2-1

17:25 Nate Howard behind the net, tosses a long pass to Thelen at the blueline. Ratchuk pinching in on the right, not picked up by the Russians, Thelen gives him the puck... wristshot, top shelf GOAL, we're all even.

2-2 after 1 period

20:22 First shift of the second period, Aleksandr Pluschyev takes a long shot that trickles through Fisher's legs. A bad goal... Russia 3-2

24:49 Jack Leach intercepts the pass in the offensive zone, gives it to Collins in the crease who stuffs it 5-hole. Sloppy play by the Russians, and we are once again all even.

3-3 after 2 periods

42:18 USA on the power play. Dwyer wins the faceoff, draws it to Thelen, who moves it over to Ratchuk. Slap shot and a GOAL! USA has our first lead! USA 4-3

56:33 With Russia turning up the heat, USA gets a clear. Murphy finds Bourne, who fires hard between the legs of Tryanichev. USA 5-3

57:00 Bourne scores his second goal of the shift, and the hats come flying! USA 6-3

Final buzzer ... A very good game, much closer than the final score. USA outshot Russia 34-29.

Stars of the game:

David Dwyer (4 assists)
Dan Bourne (3 goals)
Brian Ratchuk (2 goals)

Next up: Czech Republic

[Johnny93g]

the Norwaygame would have had me worried...only 4-0, but a a solid win against Russia....obvious question, how's Canada doing?