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Hotstove: Predicting Breakout Players At The 2016 World Juniors |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
In this edition of the hotstove we predict a player not getting a lot of talk that will breakout and/or be an impact player at this year's World Junior tournament.
Todd Cordell
I'm going to go with Swedish winger, and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, Dmytro Timashov.
He has excellent puck skills, vision, skating ability and is a threat every time he touches the ice.
Combine his talent with a very good crop of forwards to work with - he played the first game on a line with the Nylander brothers - and a handful of offensively gifted blue liners moving the puck to him and he should have little trouble piling up the points.
I was high on him during his draft year but he slipped to the 5th round (presumably) due to size concerns. I think he should have been chosen much higher and believe he'll show why in this tournament.
Honorable mentions: Oscar Lindblom (Sweden), Brandon Hickey (Canada)
Jason Lewis
Draft eligibles? Alexander Nylander.
There are a ton of guys on Sweden, but I think A. Nylander is really going to have a solid tournament. He will have his brother there to help make him comfortable and guide him a little bit. He is also a second tier player on this roster, and may not get as much attention from top shutdown units of opposing teams. He is already high up on a lot of draft lists, but I think this tournament is going to really vault him into relevance if he is not there already.
As far as already drafted guys go, I think Noah Rod with Switzerland is going to have a good tournament. He has made improvements in the NLA this season versus last, and he might just be a standout on Switzerland's roster. Should see plenty of ice time and opportunity. Also, kind of a homer call being a Kings writer, but watch Alex Dergachyov with Russia. He is a mule on the puck, is built like a tank (6'5 225), and has been playing in the KHL this season. Hopefully that experience pays off in muscling around smaller and less mature players. He looked very strong in the Russian's opening game against the Czechs.
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