Scouching's 2023 World Junior Recap

... Are we all okay? The 2023 installment of was an incredible series of hockey games in an incredible pair of host cities that I can only hope helps usher in a new era for Hockey Canada while we continue to excise the deep wounds that have afflicted that organization in this country. This year's tournament was bolstered with a great crop of young players and a couple of teams that clearly showed up and punched above their weight class. I felt some teams could surprise and they definitely did, some even more than I expected. The round robin was predictably unpredictable, as one wrong move can put you on your heels as we all saw here in Canada. I didn't expect the Czechs to win their group, and I certainly didn't expect Switzerland to win three times in overtime to really pressure the Finns and Slovaks potentially into a tougher quarterfinal matchup than they may have expected. I thought it was promising that just one team came out of this tournament with no wins to speak of at all, but I also do think this tournament's level of competition suffers without the addition of Russia and Belarus, the latter of which are in a great period of youth development currently and could potentially have pressure the middle of this group of teams a bit more. On that note, the Norwegians will replace the Austrians next year, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the beginning of a good run for Norway over the next few years with talented names like Petter Vesterheim, Mats Bakke Olsen, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Markus Røhnebæk Stensrud and Martin Johnsen all returning for at least next year, and talented players not on this year's world junior team in Felix Granath, Elias Straume Vatne, and Liam Sætre all being impressive in my viewings. Shout out to the Japanese U20 team landing themselves in the Division 1A tournament as well!

Back to the World Juniors at hand, I certainly worried most about my health there for a bit as the medal round went on. Three of the final four matches went to overtime. That is hilarious on it's own, but both medal games were an absurd back and forth flurry of activity and intensity and we are all the more better for it. Did the right team win the Gold? I'd argue the Canadians were the best team on paper, and gosh dangit they found a way to win it... again. Their flair for the dramatic is almost laughable at this point, but it worked! The Czechs may have lost the gold medal, but they won my heart. My damaged, bloated heart after watching this for the last two weeks, but it's still my heart! The Swedes and States gave us arguably the most bonkers medal game in a very very long time with their 8-7 overtime jaunt, and I before getting into the team recaps, I want to give a thumbs up to the team from Slovakia. Their gutsy, offensive heck of a tournament blew me away, and it's entirely possible we see almost three full lines eligible and likely to return, as well as Adam "Where the Hell is Chippewa" Gajan doing whatever sorcery he did eligible to return. I always love seeing skilled, aggressive and unafraid teams punch above their weight class, and the Slovaks didn't disappoint.

Relegated - Austria
MVP - David Reinbacher (D)

Well, the Austrians got completely deconstructed. I thought maybe there was a chance they squeak out a win somewhere to land in the quarterfinals, but they were not a team likely to stick around. Normally they would've been relegated by now, and I'm almost certain the Norwegian team of this year could have easily handled the Austrians at this tournament. They didn't have the skill, pace of physicality to play ball with pretty much anyone, and unfortunately they're off to earn their way back in the Division 1A tournament and I'm not sure they're likely to earn their way back.

David Reinbacher was about the only Austrian I noticed in this tournament. He's an interesting defensive player with good habits and a willingness to use physical play to close out gaps and drive good defensive results. He's a decent outlet passer but on a team like this, it can be hard to hit targets because the targets are just not quite up to snuff. I was hoping he'd put more on his own back quarterbacking rushes and driving offense himself, but that area has also never been a strong suit.

I don't know what else to say. They came, it's a great achievement to be here regardless of the outcome, but this was a tough go for the Austrians and hopefully there's a wave of Austrian potential on the way at some point in the future.

Saved in Relegation - Latvia
MVP - Sandis Vilmanis (LW)

The Latvians were certainly scrappy and pushed other teams around enough to make them work to earn their wins. Sandis Vilmanis' skill and shooting ability was there, I like Dans Locmelis' resilience and determination in open ice and under pressure, and Bogdans Hodass used his preference for shooting to help drive offense. They came away with a win, and they were an overtime result or two away from a quarterfinal appearance, so it really seems like things weren't as bad as it may seem for a team in the relegation round. There are some interesting Latvians that could be on this team next year and helping the Latvians get into their second quarterfinal appearance ever in 2024. They played as a unit, they played hard, grinded out some close games to make Group B even more interesting, but came up just short of their goal. Lick your wounds, and we'll see them again next year.

8th Place - Germany
MVP - Nikita Quapp (G)

If Austria weren't here, Germany would've probably been relegated. Again, without Tim Stutzle, Lukas Reichel and JJ Peterka, this team was rudderless and would've been completely evaporated from the universe without Nikita Quapp. I didn't think many players stood out on Germany, but Quapp certainly did. Luca Hauf had a wicked shot to make an 11-0 game 11-1 in the quarterfinals, and Veit Oswald and Julian Lutz had some decent moments, but the Germans as a whole were a bit of a struggle in this one. I'll never take anything away from a goaltender who manages to stay above a .900 save percentage while still allowing an average of over four goals a game. Think of it this way: Quapp played 128 fewer minutes than the States' goaltender Trey Augustine but faced just 6 fewer shots in those minutes. Wild stuff, and he deserves commendation.

7th Place - Switzerland
​MVP - Lian Bichsel (D)

The Swiss were a team that went into this tournament with relatively limited expectation on my end, and I considered them a dark horse to be relegated against Germany or Austria, but they came together as a group with some impressive individual performances to sneak out a few wins in extra time against teams they probably should've had more trouble against. Mischa Ramel, Lorenzo Canonica, Louis Robin, and Liekit Reichle all brought skill and pace to the game that the Swiss were desperate for, and Lian Bichsel was a rock on skates with some flashes of the offensive potential I've seen over the last two years from him. He's huge, and he definitely relies more on the physical and defensive side right now, but his shot is a legitimate threat at times and his activations from the blueline to take on a bit more responsibility was a little more of what I was hoping to see from David Reinbacher. Kevin Pasche played well enough in net when necessary, and while I still believe the Swiss program has seen better days, the even depth of this group up and down the lineup got the job done. Dario Sidler played decently well with the puck on his stick, and further down the lineup I was impressed with what I saw of Mats Alge, Livio Truog, Jeremy Prada and Miles Müller all chipping in with their own high pace, energetic games.

Unfortunately, just 8 skaters are eligible to return for next year's team, but luckily those players include some key names like Lian Bichsel and Rodwin Dionicio that could help keep Switzerland underrated and competitive. They certainly were a team that outperformed my expectations like a few other teams here, pulling off some surprising victories. Are there any Swiss players coming in the future that could really give them a boost? I don't really think so, at least not in the near future, but you can't count out their ability to come together, play selfless, energetic hockey, and I'm hopeful that we see more of these surprises next year.

6th Place - Finland
MVP - Oliver Kapanen (C)

The Finns were a team I expected to fade into the middle group this year as a team of heavier, surgical precision up front and a skilled defense group that lacked the pace of some higher quality teams with uncertainty between the pipes, and the Finns really struggled to move the needle this year. The Finns finished with an even 50/50 GF%, scoring just two more goals than the Swiss and falling behind Slovakia's offense in the same amount of games. It was a tough tournament but Jani Lampinen surprised with one of the stronger goaltending performances this year with calm effectiveness every game.

While he wasn't named one of the best players of the tournament, I went with Oliver Kapanen for my pick on this team. I felt like he was playing the style Finland was trying to play to a tee. Smart puck movement in transition, not a ton of pace, but effective when called up on and physical when need be. It's always a very entertaining conundrum to see as an evaluator when you see Oliver Kapanen play almost a polar opposite brand to his NHL cousin Kasperi who seems to be highly reliant on skill and pace almost to a fault, but Oliver exemplified strong leadership on the ice in my view and while I'm not sure of huge NHL upside, he was often the one providing a jolt of offense at the right times for the Finns. With Lenni Hämeenaho being nearly invisible in this tournament and Kasper Haltunnen being absent and not particularly promising in my viewings, Finland's future as an international program at this level may be a little lean for a while. Yes, there's Aron Kiviharju and Konsta Helenius who should headline the team, but I really felt as though the Czechs and Slovaks made their mark relative to the Swedes and Finns as highly competitive programs in this tournament.

​What's the prognosis on improvement? I look at Brad Lambert being almost alone on this team as a high pace player who can drive possession into the offensive zone and pressure opponents out of their comfort zone and was often left with little support as the first man in on offensive rushes. In turn, this leads to turnovers and limited offensive potential, and in turn he landed himself once again in the coach's doghouse. I see the rest of the team playing and being too easily closed out on rush entries, relying on winning physical battle and quick passes deep in the offensive zone with big physical net front players there to try and finish, but these chances were few and far between against better competition. The days of names like Puljujarvi, Kapanen, Laine, Barkov and others flying down the wing with skill, intensity and pace seem gone, and even the echoes of those players in... well... Brad Lambert and Aleksi Heimosalmi just didn't seem to be able to move the needle enough offensively to push them over the edge.

5th Place - Slovakia
MVP - Adam Gajan (G)

I warned you! The Slovak team was loaded with young, offensively talented players that carry size and a willingness to use it. They very, very nearly bounced the Canadians in the quarterfinal round and that is absolutely something they need to carry forward for next year. 12 skaters can return next year. Those names include Mesar, Nemec, Sykora, Ciernik, Misiak, Honzek, Strbak and Dvorsky. I'd bet everyone but Nemec will be there. Adam Gajan will almost certainly be back if he keeps playing like he did in this game. Gajan may very well be the story of the tournament for me. He wasn't even on the opening roster and was a last minute replacement, took over in net, and never looked back. Huge workloads, huge saves, constantly keeping them in games where they were underdogs. A remarkable performance from Gajan headlined a remarkable performance as a team. The team-first, multiple wave approach of the Slovaks was admirable to watch. Yes, Simon Nemec was a principle contributor, but Libor Nemec, Filip Mesar, Servac Petrovsky and others all chipped in responsibly with physical play from Martin Misiak and Adam Sykora. There was so much to like about this team, and their hard forechecking style with excellent goaltending from Gajan pushed excellent teams to the brink. 

What's really interesting is that there's more talent coming for Slovakia. Martin Chromiak's brother Jakub will help shore up their defensive weaknesses, Ondrej Molnar will add even more of an offensive punch, and the possibility of talented 2025 eligible Tomas Pobezal adding more fuel to the fire, the Slovaks could be a major threat next year. If Gajan isn't the answer long term at the World Juniors, Damian Slavik and Samuel Urban are talented goaltenders with a very strong track record back in Slovakia. It isn't outside the realm of possibility that this team adds a third medal to their trophy case in the next couple of years considering how loaded with offense and goaltending this program could be.

4th Place - Sweden
MVP - Filip Bystedt (C)

I don't think it's controversial to say that this generation of Swedish talent has been underwhelming for a few years now. Just three medals at the World Juniors since 2015 isn't ideal for a powerhouse nation, and again, their offense was stifled in this tournament before scoring a whopping 7 goals in their bronze medal game and still lost in overtime. It was a strange tournament for the Swedes, as I felt their higher pace and skill players took a bit of a backseat for long stretches in Noah Ostlund, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Liam Ohgren, and Isak Rosén all struggled to drive possession and score as expected. Filip Bystedt and Leo Carlsson brought far more threatening offensive play more often with their size and skill in combination, working off each other, keeping things simple but effective. Ludvig Jansson was impressive as well with his skill level and shot quality which I didn't expect, and Carl Lindbom was performing extremely, extremely well right up until that absolutely wacky bronze medal game. Filip Bystedt stood out the most to me. Sharks fans were a little panicked when he was selected in the first round, but I was curious about the big, skilled centre that really just felt like he needed a bit more confidence in his ability and a little more strength on his frame to really unlock what he can do, and he's on that path already. He was physical, skilled, drove to the outside and took defenders with him well, and I felt he took a big step from what I remember last year at the junior level.

Again, the prognosis for this Swedish team moving forward is similar to the Finns. Fabian Lysell was moving his feet, driving up the ice with speed and pace, and while he wasted possessions, overthought and overhandled many puck touches and got himself thrown out of the bronze medal game, I still think he easily could've landed strong production in this tournament, especially with similar footspeed and pace from the other undersized scorers, but in his case many problems were far more self-inflicted than Lambert's. It still doesn't pass the smell test that the Djurgarden boys and Simon Robertsson specifically couldn't find more ways to take over possessions and earn more dangerous chances more frequently,  but we'll have to see how things change for next year. The addition of Otto Stenberg, Elias Salomonsson and Alexander Suzdalev should help change things for the better perhaps, but Sweden certainly struggled more than I expected them to this year, especially when it came to the offensive side of the game.

Bronze Medalists - United States
MVP - Logan Cooley (C)

The United States had a team that on paper looked like a ton of fun. Great shooters, some great skilled players with tons of pace, lots of depth and some talented youth that I felt stepped up extremely well in this tournament. Logan Cooley quarterbacked arguably the second most devastating duo in the tournament with Jimmy Snuggerud, connecting often and in remarkable ways. The US was a team willing to take their chances off the backs of their talented shooters, with deceptive skill off the blueline from players like Lane Hutson and the surprising Ryan Ufko.

Their largely excellent round robin phase earned them a breeze of a quarterfinal over the Germans, but their win led to a nail-biter of an 8-7 overtime win in the semifinals against a Swedish side that all of a sudden found their offensive muscles and were a thorn in the States' gut until Chaz Lucius, another talented shooter and goal scorer, buried his second goal of the game and earned the team their hardware this year. This was a team marked by their goal scorers, and with reasonably dependable goaltending from Trey Augustine, their somewhat underwhelming group of defenders was masked by a "wanna see me hit dingers" group of forwards that certainly got the job done. The semifinal against Canada may have ended 6-2, but that game was about as close a 6-2 as you're going to find. A disallowed goal to tie the game somewhat took the wind out of their sails and killed a bit of momentum, and Canada capitalized, but for quite a stretch there, Canada was on the ropes... again. This tournament is definitely another positive one for the Americans to lean on as they continue challenging Canada's hegemony with their National Team Development Program.

Before moving on, how about Gavin Brindley? I had somewhat limited expectations but have always been a big fan of his 200-foot transition game and defensive work rate combined with his puck distribution and skill level, but this tournament I felt he was exceptional for a draft eligible player. He was quick, tenacious, battling for good space in the offensive zone, and drove transitions in ways that many of their shooters just couldn't do on their own. Without Cooley and Brindley, I'm not sure this team has nearly as much offensive output as they had.

Silver Medalists - Czechia
MVP - Tomas Suchanek (G)

The Czechs are another team where I thought they could surprise us, but I didn't expect this. The Czechs came to play. I don't think there was a single enormous standout in front of Tomas Suchanek outside of David Jiricek, Stanislav Svozil, Jiri Kulich and at times David Spacek, but as a unit this team came together, played strong, responsible and physical hockey and made opponents pay for their mistakes time and time again. Tomas Suchanek is my pick for goalie of the tournament, even if Adam Gajan performed as he did. Suchanek came up huge when called upon, especially after a big injury spook in the gold medal game against Canada. A heroic performance in that game saving 35 of 38 kept the Czechs in the game to the very end, with them very nearly pulverizing Canadian hearts nationwide near the end of the game and early in Overtime. It just goes to show that sometimes when you have a goalie who may not have a great save percentage can be misleading as Suchanek has spent two years behind a poor defensive team in Tri-City and facing big workloads previously in Czechia. I would imagine there's a draft pick coming his way this summer in Nashville.

I'll have an update on Substack regarding draft eligible players in the tournament specifically, but I felt Eduard Sale was a bit better than people were letting on. He is not flashy, and his weaknesses with his footwork and speed were certainly on display, but he's remarkably smart with his placement in the offensive zone and can quickly execute on the right plays at the right times and find himself on the scoresheet multiple times without looking like he should've been. He had a few really impressive high hockey IQ moments baiting defenders and goalies a bit longer than expected, juggling that with quick thinking and no-nonsense playmaking that drove dangerous offense here and there. He's a bit lower on my board than he was in October, but he certainly won't fall much further.

The Czechs should hold their heads high after this one. It was a gutsy, wild final game after a remarkable tournament where they actually ended up with a higher GF% than the Canadians, and the Canadians and Czechs stood alone in that measure after the tournament over 10% higher than the next contender, dropping the 3rd most total goals in the tournament. I get the feeling things in Czechia may not quite match up to their success this year in the next year or two, but you never know. This team came together and played extremely well, countering speedy offenses extremely well with excellent goaltending, and I certainly won't count them out. I didn't expect much of David Spacek, Marcel Marcel, Petr Hauser and Gabriel Szturc, but here we are, and they all played well. I can't wait to see them try to follow this up next season.

Gold Medal Champions - Canada
MVP - Connor Bedard (C)

Ahhhhh the Canadian national junior team. I said before the tournament they had a flair for the dramatic and they certainly did not disappoint. A frankly embarrassing loss to the Czechs to start the tournament, two meaninglessly insane games against Austria and Germany culminated in a dominant and humbling win over the Swedes to close the round robin put them in a difficult quarterfinal matchup against Slovakia that they almost botched, but pulled out in hilarious fashion thanks to the most insane story of the tournament, at least for a skater in Connor Bedard. I thought he would be the MVP of this tournament but I didn't expect him to put up over 3 points a game. Granted, he scored in piles against brutal German and Austrian defenses, but nobody else kept up with him on Canada, and his diverse ability to both score and distribute the puck was on display almost every time he touched the puck. Yes, you can nitpick certain details in his game that you just don't see much of in the NHL working out, but Connor Bedard is a legitimately unpredictable threat from anywhere in the offensive zone, and the offensive potential so far outweighs the defensive issues that frankly I don't care anymore. He's my #1, he's moved into a tier of his own, and that is 100% not an indictment of Adam Fantilli, who I felt had a very promising tournament himself.
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Thomas Milic took over for Ben Gaudreau early on and never looked out of place or off his game in my opinion. Has he earned himself a draft pick? Probably! He was pivotal in key moments to say the least, and this tournament often brings out the most spectacular goaltending any young goaltender will produce in their career. Big thumbs up to Milic for his efforts to say the least.

The Canadians may have once again given me an arrhythmia that nearly put me on the floor, but they got there. It wasn't pretty, they got pushed around, and to many teams, this tournament is about dethroning the North American teams. Frankly there was a part of me that wanted Adam Gajan and his merry men to overcome the Canadian tsunami of talent, but that overtime goal from Connor Bedard will be played on highlight reels in this country to an annoying degree right up until the day I die, probably, and seeing my home country take home the gold never gets old. The Canadians are going to be a problem for opponents moving forward. Even without Bedard next year, there is an insurmountable amount of talent on the way, especially from out west next season. Zach Benson, Andrew Cristall, Caden Price, Jayden Perron, Luca Cagnoni, Riley Heidt, Nate Danielson, Quentin Musty, Brayden Yager, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. It's going to be awesome to watch these guys and more work their way through the next few World Junior tournaments, and they will be tough nuts to crack. Rest assured I'm already counting down the days before we see the next iteration of this illustrious program, even if they literally are the source of most of my acute health issues over the course of a calendar year. I'm sure they'll find a way to get their backs on the wall, and I'm sure they'll find a way to just barely either scrape their way back into the ring, or have their tournament end in a stunning upset. There is no in-between. There is no salvation. There is only the Canadian World Junior Hockey Team.

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This tournament was such a refreshing timewarp back to simpler times pre-COVID. Halifax and Moncton seemed to be absolutely top-notch host cities, and I'm just going to come out and say it. I would very much welcome a gutsy move to put the NHL in Halifax somehow. It's a growing city full of vibrancy and youth in a beautiful location with an extraordinarily rich hockey culture. I love it out there, and the fans would be there every single night. It'd be the smallest NHL market, but gosh dangit it'd be incredible. The fans, the coverage, the quality and insanity of the games themselves, it was top notch and I missed it desperately during my holiday season.

The 2024 tournament is shaping up to be very interesting. Canada, Sweden and Finland are all in a group together, while the United States gets Czechia and Slovakia. In a funny way, Canada's group may turn out to be the easier group to work through considering how Sweden and Finland have performed at this tournament with this crop of players relative to the Czechs and Slovaks. I believe Norway will do some damage and keep themselves in the tournament, and hopefully begin a bit of a bull run back home in a country with an underrated hockey culture. I can only dream of my favourite non-top level team to do some damage in the 1A tournament in the Japanese group as well. I'm also hoping to actually be able to attend next year's installment in Gothenberg, so if anyone else will be there, maybe give me a shout! Yes, Connor Bedard may not be there, but there will be no shortage of great talent from all around the world blowing our minds with their skill, speed, physicality and at times, mistakes that can completely upend the tournament. In my view, it's the best hockey tournament on the calendar, and the best part of all this is that the fun isn't over! The Women's Under-18 tournament is already underway with plenty of fun to be had at a level where the geographical gaps in women's hockey are closing every year.

With that, thanks so much for your attention and feedback on my coverage of the World Juniors this year. As I mentioned earlier, there will be a Substack post covering the draft eligibles that were notable, so stay tuned for that as I comb through some video and finalize my thoughts on those players, so get subscribed over there if you haven't already!

Toodles,
​- Will