The World Juniors are underway in Edmonton for some reason and a handful of Ottawa Senator prospects are poised to play key roles on their respective teams.
For Team Finland, both Roby Järventie and Leevi Meriläinen will be leaned on heavily for a Finnish team that should contend for a medal. Järventie got plenty of power play time in game one and picked up an assist while Meriläinen started for the Finns and turned aside all but one of Latvia’s shots.
Tyler Kleven (United States) and Tomáš Hamara (Czech Republic) are both patrolling the blueline for their respective teams and will get plenty of ice time.
Kleven was unusually quiet in the opener and by that I mean, he didn’t lay an particularly devastating body checks on unsuspecting opponents. It’s only a matter of time though. He finished game one with 16:44 of ice time and was a +2.
And while those four will get attention from Sens fans over the course of this surprise World Juniors (seriously, what the hell is going on here? Why are they playing this thing in August?), it’s pretty clear that the two members of Team Canada are going to steal the show.
Zack Ostapchuk, the 39th overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft, was a last minute addition for the Canadians and is already making his way up the depth chart. In early practices, Ostapchuk appeared destined for 13th forward status but he’s already found his way onto the team’s third line. And based on his performance against Latvia in the opener, he’s in the lineup to stay.
Ostapchuk was all over the ice for Team Canada, playing with a noticeable edge and generating quality chances. While Canada wasn’t particularly impressive in the opener, Ostapchuk was noticeable throughout.
Some serious “Nick Paul after Nick Paul figured it out” vibes on that shift.
And while Ostapchuk was great, it was his teammate (and linemate) that really stole the show.
You want to be careful about overreacting to World Junior performances but I’ll do it anyway because this is my site and you can’t stop me- Ridly Greig has clearly taken his game to another level here.
He was dominant in all three zones, making a handful of really strong defensive plays in his own end of the rink and then flashing some of that vision and offensive potential at the other end.
Greig is getting a reputation as a bit of a pest, and that’s just perfect, but it’s pretty clear that he’s much more than that. It’s pretty rare that you find a player that can mix that level of prickishness (sp?) with hands like this.
It’s just one game of course but it’s safe to say that Ridly Greig is going to be a household name by the time this tournament is over, even if nobody really knows how to spell his name. Greig took home Player of the Game honours for the Canadian side, finishing with a goal and an assist.
When Training Camp rolls around next month, don’t be surprised if Greig is one of the guys that kicks the door down and forces his way onto the Opening Night Roster.
Loading …