Team USA started this year’s World Junior Championship exactly how they started last year’s. They put a group play-opening win up on the board against heavy underdog, Latvia. This victory was their tenth straight World Junior-opening win and it seemed to come easy on the scoreboard.
However, despite being outshot 30-12, Latvian Head Coach Eriks Miluns’ squad kept the deficit at one goal until 1:15 left in the second period when Clayton Keller scored his first of two goals on the day to make it 3-1 before the middle stanza was out. Three goals in the span of seven minutes in the final ten minutes of the game put the game out of reach and made Head Coach Bob Motzko’s group feel better about themselves.
Here are some brief observations on the Americans’ play.
Observations from Team USA’s 6-1 Victory Over Latvia
Penalty Kill Picking Up Where They Left Off
The greatest strength of last year’s squad that was led by current NHLers Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Christian Dvorak, Brandon Carlo, and Zach Werenski had to be the penalty kill. It stood as the best in the tournament killing off 18 of 19 opportunities in the seven games they played. This resulted in a bronze medal that served as valuable experience for this year’s leaders such as Keller, Colin White, Luke Kunin, and Charlie McAvoy. Motzko appears to have high-level trust in Kunin, McAvoy, and Ryan Lindgren, especially in penalty kills that saw the trio play a key role en route to a perfect 6-for-6 day allowing 0 shots.
The patience of McAvoy that the Bruins highly valued when they drafted him at 14th overall in the 2016 draft was on display here. He almly positioned himself to stick a puck out of play from the side of his goalie’s crease on one shorthanded shift, and executed an impressive read in blocking a pass in the left face-off circle on another. Kunin also played a key role in winning some defensive zone face-offs, leaving his mark on the day with a memorable block on a one-timer from the right circle for which he laid it all on the line.
Clayton Keller Is *That* Good
Keller constantly made himself noticeable for all the right reasons. It was Keller, the 7th overall pick in 2016, living up to the qualities that made him so sought after in last year’s draft. Fresh off a 107-point season that shattered records for the U.S. National Team Development Program, he was dominating for the Boston University Terries, scoring seven goals and 15 points in 10 games played, having to deal with a knee injury in the middle of it. The effects of that injury were nowhere to be seen in the opening game of this year’s tournament.
His skating, said to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest strengths to his game, was fully on display, seen as he spun on a dime from the left circle around the net to the right circle in looking for a passing lane. His ability to pull the break and look for a play to be made was seen on a certain chance that he created from his speed starting in the neutral zone before pulling to a snail’s pace and finding White down low to his left on the side of the net.
He nearly finished a give-and-go with White that saw him one-time it from the slot just outside the crease before it was blocked. His playmaking skills were seen on a slick backhand pass he made to fellow first-rounder Tage Thompson for a breakaway from the neutral zone to the opposing blueline. And on a power play he fired a pass down low from the right boards to Jordan Greenway behind the net. He was rewarded for his great play with two goals, one on account of going to the net, and another that needs no introduction:
Nasty wrist shot by Keller (Coyotes 7th overall). His 2nd 4-1 ?? https://t.co/VLXnutca5V
— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) December 26, 2016
Jack Ahcan Has Good Start in Raising Stock for 2017
The only draft-eligible skater for the upcoming draft, one can believe that all the scouts were keeping an eye on the 18-year-old defenseman. Only carrying one tournament of experience on the national stage for Team USA’s U-19 team in the 2015 World Junior A Challenge where he went pointless, he carries an offensive pedigree that saw him score 14 goals and 44 points in 56 games for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders of the USHL.
He’s had an impressive start to his collegiate career with St. Cloud State scoring three goals and 13 points in his first 15 games. He even registered an assist yesterday on the opening goal by Patrick Harper in an impressive outing on both sides of the puck. He may not be flashy, but there were some key moments Ahcan helped his team to victory in terms of facilitating play.
On one shift, he made three key keep-ins that generated increased offensive zone pressure, capping the time he had on the ice off with a play from his knees at center ice to a forward at the opposing blueline. His defensive prowess got into the act through a key skate block of a pass on a two-on-one before USA eventually pulled away.
Tage Thompson Will Get a Great Shot to Make Blues in 2017
Though Thompson went 26th overall in last year’s draft, the dividends are already paying off for the Blues in the form of him playing at a high level. In 2015-16 playing for the UCONN Huskies, his freshman year produced a solid result of 14 goals and 32 points in 36 games. This season has represented his rapid development, as he’s already totalled 12 markers and 20 points in half the amount of games for the Huskies. He also leads the nation in power play goals with nine showing off his patented hard wrist shot. Against Latvia, one could see the advantage of his hulking size (6’5″, 185 lbs) at the net front and on the fly, using his reach and hands to pull off his hard shot from the middle, resulting in two assists in the win.
Love the Tage Thompson pass. He might be ready for Blues next year. Ottawa will sign White after BC season https://t.co/Sp8bwVfeK8
— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) December 27, 2016
His playmaking skills were on display with a slick backhand pass to White from center leading him on a mini break for a goal. His body positioning and havoc caused at the front of the net resulted in Keller’s first goal. Though Keller’s second goal went unassisted, Thompson forced problems down low with a check on the boards to free up the puck moments before Keller took matters into his own hands with the steal.
The trio play on a line together, and looked quite efficient complementing each other on size in the middle and speed on the wings. He was able to use his size to create a lane on a neutral-zone drive for White from the left circle after he dished a pass to him upon zone entry at the blueline.
Team USA will be back in action Tuesday night against Slovakia at 7:30, a team that went quarterfinal before bowing out to eventual bronze-medal finalists Sweden 6-0 last year.
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