I actually intended to do several WJC posts, but, well... I forgot, and didn't feel like cobbling together ill-timed previews in the middle of the round-robin stage. I also intended to post something angry about the lockout, but I left my anger in my other pants.
Anyway, here's a look back at the Flames prospects' performances at the World Juniors. Flames fans should be pretty happy with it.
Tyler Wotherspoon: D, Team Canada
D Tyler Wotherspoon sports battle scars from Canada's 4-1 win against Russia
A steady, reliable stay-at-home defenseman, Wotherspoon displayed fine decision making, excellent reads, and a much-improved puck movement game for the disappointing Canadian squad. There is, quite literally, nothing more Wotherspoon could have done for this team. He was easily 1 of Canada's top 3 defenders in the tournament.
Wotherspoon's game has come a long way since he was drafted. He's calmed down quite a bit in the defensive zone which, though it has hampered his physical game slightly, has allowed him to become a far more complete defensive zone player. He makes smart decisions and reads without the puck, and makes safe plays with the puck. He also possesses a tremendous 1st pass.
Grade: A+
Johnny Gaudreau: LW, United States
LW John Gaudreau handles the puck for the USA
Johnny Hockey really showed why the Boston College crowd is so exited (Gaudreaubey Baker!!). He's a slick, offensively-minded playmaking winger with a dangerous shot and quick hands. Throughout the tournament, he displayed a willingness to engage the play along the boards, and to backcheck (though he wasn't extremely effective in either capacity, it was nice to see the battle in him). My only complaint is that he only had points in 3 out of 7 games. I'd have liked to see more consistent scoring, but he probably didn't deserve all 4 goose eggs, anyway. I remember 1 play against the Swedes where he made a perfect pass to someone (I can't for the life of me remember who, though) in the slot, who squandered the scoring opportunity by passing to the other forward in the corner for no apparent reason.
Grade: A-
Markus Granlund: C, Finland
C Markus Granlund of Finland shoots the puck
Quite aside from finishing 3rd overall in scoring (behind Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and linemate Joel Armia), Granlund had an... interesting tournament. Scoring 12 points is certainly impressive, but the fact that 7 of those points were scored in 2 relegation round games bears notice. It's not that I think Granlund had a bad tournament (12 points!), it's that he really didn't do enough during the group stage. Just a single additional point would have had Finland in the medal round playing against Russia in place of Switzerland.
While the 12 points in 6 games are encouraging for a center prospect who hasn't been scoring for HIFK, he was supposed to lead Finland, and he just didn't do enough when it mattered. He also scored too many of his points on the Power Play.
Grade: B+
Pat Sieloff: D, United States
D Patrick Sieloff of Ann Arbor, Michigan surveys the play
A somewhat similar player to Wotherspoon, Sieloff came exactly as advertised. A mobile shut-down defenseman with a punishing physical game who doesn't do much with the puck on his stick. He jumped into the play more than I expected, but I figure that's mainly because Phil Housley was the coach. When Shayne Gostisbehere was suspended 1 game for canning Matus Matis (SVK), Sieloff moved up onto the "2nd" pair with Jacob Trouba--and he never gave the spot back to Gostisbehere. Sieloff didn't get much icetime in the later stages gold medal game for some reason (and I think he got credit for a Tyler Biggs assist, stealing a + from Gostisbehere in the process), but he definitely deserved to be on the team, and he solidified a top 4 slot for next year.
Grade: B (he was fine from what I saw. Most of the grade is for stealing the spot from Gostisbehere)
Jon Gillies: G, United States
G Jon Gillies stops F Tobias Rieder (EDM) while D Jake McCabe (BUF, #19) looks confused
Yet another American (the USA clearly won because they had the most Flames on their roster), Gillies was limited to 20 minutes (which, frankly, I'm surprised he got) against Germany (stopping 7/7 shots), playing behind the best goalie in the tournament--pretty much ever--John Gibson. Gillies is probably the starter next season, and he likely needed the rest since he had been starting every game for Providence this year.
Grade: N/A (limited viewing. He looked fine against Germany, and did a great job opening the door for his teammates at the bench)
ALSO: The NHL appears to be back..
Apparently Gary "Herod the Great" Bettman finally admitted that Jesus is "the Christ, the Great Jesus Christ"
(NOTE: it's possible I'm mixing up Gary Bettman and Rik Mayall)
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