The Tape: WJC Dominance

The dust has settled on the biggest U20 tournament of the year and after all four Avs prospects at the tournament played in the final match, the USA brought home the gold over Canada. The Avs players ranged from rock-solid to downright stunning throughout and on this edition of The Tape we breakdown some of their top plays.

1. Justin Barron. Arguably the weakest of the four Avs prospects Barron still had moments that popped throughout the tournament and showed off quite a bit of talent in a nice frame for a 19-year old. While he disappeared at times as the tournament went on some of that may be attributed to his limited role on Team Canada.

• Smooth. Yet another Avs prospect with skating prowess, Barron moves quite fluidly for his frame. Add a calm demeanor with the puck and you have a recipe for a solid defenseman. As Germany begins a sloppy breakout, Barron enters at the bottom of the screen and smoothly traces and adjusts to the fumbling puck in front of him before recognizing his window to snatch it. From there he spins back to the blue line out of danger before calmly walking the line protecting the puck with his body extending Canada’s zone time significantly

• Intelligence. When at his best, Barron’s reads in the offensive zone are superb in knowing where to be and when to get there is key for any defensemen who wants to produce with regularity. On this play, you’ll see Germany scrambling as Canada misses a shot from the slot and Barron has crept up into the open space on the far side to collect the puck and keep the pressure on for Canada. Sending the puck back in behind the net keeps Germany chasing and he is rewarded with a secondary assist.

• Physicality. Probably the most encouraging play of the tournament from Barron for me. Barron picks off a stretch pass in the neutral zone and collects the puck. As a German forward closes on him, his attempted pass is a bit errant but as he’s making it he absorbed the contact, easily shrugs off the attacker, and is able to recollect the puck. In a tournament where he was often too passive at the blue line a play like this shows he has the physical ability to stand people up if he’s asked to do so.

 

2. Drew Helleson. The gold medal-winning Av of the tournament, Helleson was solid throughout and improved as the tournament went on. By far the least flashy on this list Helleson will rarely wow you but his game remains extremely effective, particularly in his own zone.

• Simplicity. As the US forward gets beaten at the blue line, Helleson is able to fill behind and close the gap giving no angle to the attacking forward to do anything dangerous. Helleson is able to maintain pace with the attacker and give a couple of stick checks as they go behind the net where he is rewarded as the forward slides off his edge. The key here is that the play doesn’t stop there for Helleson; he collects the puck and uses his feet to get up the ice into the neutral zone before making a basic but effective pass to help push Team USA into the offensive zone. Textbook modern NHL defensive play.

• Blue Line Offense. This should be a bread and butter play for every defensive defenseman in the offensive zone. Helleson receives a pass at the point from deep in the zone and has significant room to step into as traffic crashes towards the net. He’s able to fire off a low shot with decent enough oomph to create a rebound and, more importantly, he is able to get it through to the goalie. The Avs are no stranger to relying on point shots to create offense and a play like that no doubt got their attention.

• Instincts. Helleson’s defense was something those who have watched him were confident in coming into this tournament; the question was how much he had to give in the offensive zone. This clip is the same play as above with a bit more added on to the end. Ignore how the puck goes in on this play and focus on how it develops. After making the pass Helleson drifts behind his forwards but stays engaged in the rush. Realizing he’s beaten his man up the ice he cruises into the open space created by his forwards pushing the defenders back. His puck skill comes up a little bit short as he tries to kick it to his stick but he still put himself in a spot to create a high danger scoring opportunity before all the nonsense happens.

 

3. Alex Newhook. Since being drafted by the Avs, Newhook has been a highlight reel darling. This tournament was no different but we also saw an engagement level on the defensive side that we hadn’t really seen before. With his raw talent, the sky is the limit for him as he pushes toward the NHL potentially as soon as the end of this season.

• Speed. Newhook can fly, everyone knows that. Usually, it’s downhill towards the opponent’s goal, but this time it was a big effort to get back into a play defensively and help break up what could have been a dangerous odd-man rush. Newhook begins the play in behind the net but as the other two Canadian forwards continue to engage on the forecheck he gets on his horse having closed the gap before even crossing Canada’s blue line. He tracks his man well and is able to sweep the puck out of danger net front.

• Vision. Newhook’s jaw-dropping highlights are almost always goals but don’t sleep on his passing ability. He’s fully capable of reading defenses at a high level and if not at NHL speed certainly at a level higher than many of his peers. Newhook is playing the far side on the PP, as he receives the puck he is tracking the seam pass the whole way without telegraphing with his head or eyes. Once he gets the close and high forward drifting toward him he slides it across to Suzuki who now has all the time and space in the world.

• Shot. Really a great clip all around as Newhook flies through the neutral zone and creates a low percentage chance that skitters wide, a funny puck bounce allows him to get to a dangerous area and find a bit of a gift. Even with a bit of luck, it’s not easy to juice a roofer that tight to the goalie, and he got enough behind this one that no one was even sure it went in.

• Dominance. Here is probably a good spot to acknowledge the varying quality of competition at this tournament, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that Newhook roasted an entire hockey team.

 

4. Bowen Byram. Get used to this one, there’s a good chance you’ll be hearing the name Byram and watching clips like these but with him in an Avs jersey quite a bit this season. It’s time for Byram to graduate to professional hockey.

• Recovery. Defensemen, especially rookies, can be mistake-prone, a fact a team has to be willing to accept. Here Byram coughs up the puck as he tries to walk the blue line but his recovery more than makes up for it. It shows off not only his excellent skating but his strength as well. After he chases down Peterka (No random German slouch) he makes out-positioning and muscling him off the puck look easy.

 

• Skating. The clip above shows off Byram’s speed but he can also be effective in more technical situations as well. Here he sends a Finnish forward to the shadow realm as he slams on the breaks heading toward the near boards and curls back to the blue line creating 15 feet of space before sliding to the middle of the ice and getting a shot through.

 

• Puck Poise. The one through-line about every league and tournament Byram has ever played in: When he has the puck on his stick, he’s the best player on the ice. He seems to have that sixth sense of when to hold it, and when to get rid of it. Here he opts to hold it and while it’s a bit of a soft goal, the fact that Byram had the patience to wait and the ability to get that puck through is the makings of something special.

 

• Physicality. Nikita Zadorov who?

 

• Beast Mode. Sometimes all the other team can do is watch as Byram does whatever he wants.