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FaraDian · 11-01-2022, 01:38 PM

This week, I on the J takes a look at a different J: the World Junior Championship! This seasonal competition has experienced some instability of late, but a new regime is looking to get it back on track as a premier highlight of the best up-and-coming talent the world over. Brand new commissioner @By-Tor has established new GMs for every team and the whole head office has done yeoman's work to balance rosters.

Purists might be feeling a bit of heartburn seeing a German on Team North America and players from Britain and the US skating for UCORCAL, but I have no doubt this will pass as soon as players hit the ice. We all need to remember that this tournament is more about the players than the logos on the front. With the ever-shifting pool of junior talent, the WJC has long featured amalgamated teams like DACH and UCORCAL, plus the more recent North America, World, and ICE teams. If national pride is your driving focus, the senior IIHF tournament is the one to watch. But the WJC, like the SJMHL, is all about giving players a chance to work hard and be seen. Case in point, the world J continues to ensure roster spots for undrafted players who won't show up on SJMHL teams until next season, making this their first taste of action and a showcase ahead of the J draft.

Defending two-time champions DACH are bringing another strong team this year. A whopping 10 players are at their J cap, with an 11th falling just a few points short. With seven more at their 2nd-year cap, there's no weak spot to be found here. One of those 2nd-years is August von Hecht returning to anchor the team in goal, and he'll be paired with S69 tender Copernicus Doomslatter. I guess the other teams will be hoping for an opportunity against the backup, but they'll still have to get through DACH's formidable defense.

The USA were runners-up last time and they're the only team made entirely of players born in their respective region. Outstanding center Tommy Thompson returns to lead the offense. The loss of goalie Justin Time would be concerning if they didn't have maxxed keepers Alvin Towne and Caleb Hayden waiting in the wings. This team is filled with S66 and S67 standouts who might already be thinking they have a chance for back-to-back cups this year and next.

Canada is always in the hunt as well and I doubt they'll be satisfied with another 3rd place finish this season. Ben Waters Jr. will be vying for most points in the tournament, no doubt, and one wonders if Edwin Elric will make a move up the lines after his superb showing in the S66 round robin. Like DACH, Canada will have a youngster in goal, with Sea Jebus backing up Anthony Dionne. And though always a country with a lot of homegrown talent, we look for the fourth line to feature wingers from Sweden and Ireland.

The leadership of UCORCAL might feel the most pressure from outside, as they topped the round robin table last go-around but ultimately finished outside the medals after losing to Canada in the third-place game. Center Sophie Bordeleau of Latvia tallied 15 points in the round-robin to lead all skaters, but then managed just one goal and one assist in the knockout rounds. We figure a move to the top line is warranted and the support of 11 other maxxed teammates is good support. But this team also features four S69 draftees and two S68 goalies, so good strategy will be needed to maximize results.

Finland finished in the top half of the round-robin in S66 but had the bad luck to draw DACH in the first knockout round. Their native cohort is fairly small, so the team is a bit of Frankenstein's monster this year, drawing in players from DACH, Canada, the USA, and Norway. They'll come out strong, with Shiny Shuckle returning in goal and a maxxed top line led by this season's top SJMHL point-getter Bnana NWaffles. Likely top pairing Nino Di Giuseppe and Nash Topalo round out a strong starting five, but there will be questions lower down the roster. A lot of S68 players will be leaned on heavily and their play will determine if Finland can reach for the top again.

Perhaps the most up-and-coming team will be the British Isles, featuring 11 players from S68 and then 2 just arriving for S69. This is clearly a region with a growing hockey interest and it looks like they might be a real force in a season or two, but I'm not sure it's in the cards for them this time out. They can field a maxxed top defensive duo of Seamus O'Slapahan and Rocky Baljoa and their two S68 netminders (Alexis Texas and Jeff Newman) are a strong though young 1A and 1B tandem. Combing through this roster, every player is good but it's hard to say if any will be great right now. But if you want a far-too-early preview for WJC S69, it's that I'll be keeping my I on the Isles.

Sweden is a top-heavy team whose fortunes will rise and fall based their tactics. Goalies B Jobin and Tummy Hurts should be more than solid and five S65 players are here for leadership. But a whopping 6 players from S69 could be difficult to incorporate. How many minutes will they be asking of their top players and will that be sustainable? If the S66 and S67 players show up and catch some breaks, Sweden could be a threat, though I won't be surprised if this team struggles to find it's feet. Like Britain, this is a team to watch for the future but maybe not the present.

The World team is once again primarily populated with players from Norway and Japan, though rounded out this year by UCORCAL, USA, Canada, and Dach. It's a defense heavy team that will struggle to field an impactful fourth line. Both of last season's goalies have moved out of the J, but replacements Isabella Bouchard and Jackson Cannon are no slouches and they'll have a solid defensive core ahead of them. A dearth of S65 leadership and a lack of center depth certainly aren't ideal, but the last minute transfer of M'Baku Olubori offers some hope for a team that returns very little of its scoring core from the last tournament. They say that defense wins championships and this World team will be leaning on that adage in every game.

Team ICE has always been an odd mix and this year's team is no different. They only feature a single maxxed player with seven 2nd-year maxxes. Four S69 draftees will get some nice ice time, but don't do a lot for the team's chances. Sturdy goaltenders Walter Sobchak and Otter Von Bismarck will be relied on to keep the team in games, or outright steal a game if they can. Since it's inception, ICE has been a place for players without a home and in that idea they may best represent what the WJC is all about. Expectations for wins will be low, but opportunities will be high. This is a team that always keeps it eye on the future, offering hope and a chance for surprises.

Last competition, Team North America surprised everyone with an opening night win over Canada, but that would turn out to be their only victory of the round-robin, leaving them out of the knockout stages. There may be nowhere to go but up for this team, though I'm not sure they'll be much upward moving just yet. They are built almost entirely out of players from the USA and Canada, with a single DACH inclusion, and feature an astounding 16 players from S68. This has been one of the strongest classes in recent memory so it does mean the team is incredibly balanced with no weak links. But they also have few superstars, with only Don Juan fully maxxed and Rush Justice at the 2nd-year max. Building the right lines will be a big job and maybe we'll see a lot of experimenting during the round-robin. They'll likely have the strongest 4th line in the tournament, but is this amount of balance the right recipe to reach the knockouts after three straight seasons of last place finishes?

And that, as they say, is that! We may yet again see the same final four of DACH, Canada, the USA, and UCORCAL, but I think the round-robin will be a real barnburner this time. The new leadership at both the tournament and team levels is working hard to give us a more competitive WJC with lots of opportunities for surprises. I'm very excited to see what effect the strong S68 class has on the tournament and if anyone can stop the DACH three peat. Until next time, I will be seeing U!

- Ignatius P. Freally