Some thoughts on the recently completed World Junior Championships:
 
1) Attendance- There were numerous reasons for poor attendance, all
mentioned in previous posts -- students on break, games not in central
locations, lack of marquee names, etc. I don't think marketing was a major
factor; I'm not sure how much more the organizers could have done to get
the word out. They used T.V. ads with NHL tie-ins, posters at college
rinks, newspaper ads, etc. -- judging from the people in attendance, the
organizers had no problem attracting Boston-area hockey folks. If you
can't sell out a Team USA game at Matthews Arena, you probably don't
deserve to host the tournament again.
 
2) Jason Botterill and Mike Watt - Like most of the Canadian players, they
accepted the role they were given (largely defensive) and worked their
tails off to help Canada win the gold medal. Botterill received more ice-
time because of his experience in the tournament and was a media favorite.
 
3) European hockey - One of the most interesting aspects to me was the
way the European teams played a different game against Canada and the U.S.
compared to games against each other. The bronze medal game between Czech
Republic and Russia, for example, was a "no-hitter" with more weave and
flow in the attack than dump and chase. The teams were much more patient,
usually to their detriment (IMO). The general consensus among the media was
that the all-European games were a bit dull. The Canada-Russia game, by
contrast, was much more physical and intense. Russia attacked more
aggressively and generated many more shots as a result. The European teams
have also adapted the North American strategic devise of interference --
Sweden and Finland, in particular, built their breakouts around picks and
screens.  The international referees never called it, probably because
they weren't looking for it. It was also interesting to see the lengths
of the European shifts; Sweden was taking 2 to 2.5 minute shifts in the
semifinal game against the Czech Republic, but dropped to 1.5 minutes
per shift against Canada.
 
4) Team USA - Minnesota-bound Ben Clymer was the player of the tourney
for Team USA, IMO. He didn't play a flashy game on defense, but he
generally played mistake-free hockey and showed great poise with and
without the puck. No other defenseman, except maybe Mike McBain, came
close to matching Clymer's consistency. Up front, Mike Sylvia (one of
three USA players of the tournament, along with Bryan Berard and
Marty Reasoner) was one of the few players to provide consistent
offense. Almost evey forward had his moment of brilliance - maybe
Reasoner and Chris Drury more than most others, but they all struggled
defensively. Way too many breakdowns in the neutral zone leading to
odd-man rushes, particulary in the first three games of the tourney.
 
5) Composition of Team USA - For all the anti-major junior complaints
against Parker, I haven't heard of any player he "overlooked" EXCEPT for
Sean Haggerty. Were there others? If not, it just sounds like a problem
between Haggerty and Parker. As between the two, I'd tend to believe
Parker based on his track record for saying what he thinks. On the other
hand, I didn't think Team USA showed anywhere near the cohesiveness of
Canada, Sweden, Finland, or Russia. Team USA was often disorganized and
flat, but had enough talent to finish 5th - even beating Finland, a
very good team, twice. We'll have to see if next year's squad can
build on the 3-1 run to end the tournament. Youth and inexperience,
as much as anything, hurt the US -- no other top 5 team had as few
players born in 1976 (US 11, Czech R. 16, Sweden 16, Russia 15, Canada
15). At least compared to the Canadians, the US also had far less
game experience when you consider a Major Junior schedule in contrast
to a collegiate schedule. Of course, Berard was the most experienced
US player and he was also the least disciplined...
 
Team USA stats (goals-assists-points/PM/plus-minus):
 
Mike Sylvia (2-5-7/39/even); Marty Reasoner (3-2-5/10/-3); Bryan
Berard (1-4-5/20/-3); Matt Cullen (3-1-4/0/+1); Chris Drury (2-2-4/2/-1);
Mark Parrish (1-3-4/2/-6); Ben Clymer (0-4-4/14/-3); Jeremiah McCarthy
(2-1-3/2/+2); Brian Swanson (2-1-3/29/+5); Reg Berg (2-1-3/33/-6);
Tom Poti (0-3-3/0/+1); Jeff Farkas (1-1-2/6/-1); Michael McBain
(0-2-2/2/even); Matt Herr (1-0-1/0/-6); Mike York (1-0-1/0/-2);
Brian Boucher (0-1-1/0/3.55 ga, 88.9%), Wyatt Smith (0-1-1/2/even);
Jeff Kealty (0-1-1/6/-5); Erik Rasmussen (0-1-1/16/-4); Marc
Magliarditi (0-0-0/0/5.45 ga, 78.3%); Chris Bogas (0-0-0/25/-4);
Casey Hankinson (0-0-0/25/-2).
 
All-Tournament Team:
Goalie - Jose Theodore (Can)
Defense - Nolan Baumgartner (Can), Mattias Ohlund (Swe)
Forward - Johan Davidsson (Swe), Alexei Morozov (Rus), Jarome Iginla (Can)
 
Directorate Awards
Best Goalie - Theodore
Best Defenseman - Ohlund
Best Forward - Iginla
 
Team Canada Top Three Players (selected by team officials)
Baumgartner, Theodore, Iginla
 
Team USA Top Three Players (selected by team officials)
Reasoner, Berard, Sylvia
 
Tournament leading scorers (goals-assists-points)
 
Jarome Iginla, Can (5-7-12)
Florian Keller, Ger (4-8-12)
Marco Sturm, Ger (4-6-10)
Miika Elomo, Fin (4-5-9)
Johan Davidsson, Swe (3-6-9)
Ruslan Shafikov, Rus (1-8-9)
Alexei Morozov, Rus (5-3-8)
Dimitri Nabokov, Rus (3-5-8)
Markus Nilsson, Swe (3-5-8)
Juho Jokinen, Fin (3-5-8)
 
Final Team Rankings
 
1) Canada
2) Sweden
3) Russia
4) Czech Republic
5) USA
6) Finland
7) Slovakia
8) Germany
9) Switzerland
10) Ukraine (relegated to B-Pool for 1997)
 
Geoff Howell
Drop the Puck Magazine
 
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