>+𝐿𝐼𝒱𝐸•Wjc’’• “Russia vs USA”(Livestream) — 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship FREE, TV channel 2021
By: Russia Vs Usa Live
Tags: USA, Russia, Iihf, Tsn, Live

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Scoring and goaltending shouldn’t be a problem for the Russians, but there will be questions surrounding their defence as well as a general lack of experience throughout the roster. And while Larionov is a hockey legend, you have to consider his inexperience behind the bench as this will be just his second year coaching at this level.

As a hockey powerhouse, Russia will have their eyes on another medal at the 2021 World Junior Championships, though it certainly won’t be an easy task given the competition. Drawn into Group B, Russia will face off against fellow powerhouses in the United States and Sweden as well as the Czech Republic and Austria.

Backing up Askarov will be Maple Leafs 2020 draftee Artur Akhtyamov. The athletic goaltender has bounced around all three of Russia’s hockey leagues this season, playing primarily in the second-tier professional league, the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). Through eight games for Bars Kazan he’s put up a strong 1.58 GAA and .935 SV%. Although Akhtyamov shouldn’t see a ton of game action behind undisputed №1 Askarov, he’ll be a capable backup if called upon.

If Russia is going to medal at this year’s event, it will likely be on the back of a stellar performance from the 6-foot-4 netminder, who may face a lot of rubber behind that inexperienced defence.

Hyped up as one of the next great Russian goaltenders, 18-year-old Yaroslav Askarov will be back in the crease for the second consecutive World Junior Championships. He featured in five games at last year’s tournament as a 17-year-old, posting a 2.71 goals against average (GAA) and .877 save percentage (SV%) — poor numbers by his lofty standards. The Nashville first-rounder seems to have taken another step forward this season, putting up a ridiculous 0.96 GAA and .962 SV% through seven games for SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.

Behind Mukhamadullin, other notable names on the preliminary roster include Semyon Chistyakov (NSH), Roman Bychkov (BOS), and Yan Kuznetsov (CGY). Although Chistyakov will likely play further down in the lineup, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic rates the 5-foot-10 blueliner as Russia’s best defenceman right now thanks to his well-rounded 200-foot game. We’ll see if he can truly live up to that title at this year’s tournament.

The inexperienced defence may be Russia’s weak spot, meaning their goaltenders will be asked to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Luckily they’ve got the right guy between the pipes for the job.

The closest thing to a №1 defenceman for Russia will likely be New Jersey Devils 2020 first-rounder Shakir Mukhamadullin. The 6-foot-4 defender has a rare combination of physicality and mobility, collecting two goals and nine points through 30 games for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL this season while boasting a passing accuracy of 93 percent. The 18-year-old will be relied on to munch a fair amount of minutes on a Russian defence that lacks experience at this tournament.

With an even more drastic changing of the guard than the forward group, Russia’s defence will see an all-new contingent as last year’s crop of 2000-born players is phased out. The loss of their defensive stalwart, Alexander Romanov (MTL), will definitely hurt as Russia doesn’t have a clear successor going into this year’s World Juniors.

At 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-7 respectively, the choice doesn’t come as much of a surprise given Russia’s history of bringing a bigger lineup to the tournament, but you’ve got to wonder if they’ll regret leaving out two of the more skilled players available to them.

Although Russia’s forward group should have no trouble finding the back of the net, it’s worth mentioning that there were a couple of notable snubs left off the team’s preliminary roster in Danil Guschin (SJ) and Alexander Pashin (CAR).

The bottom-six will likely see more of a battle for roster spots between players like Vasili Ponomaryov (CAR), Vladislav Firstov (MIN), and Ilya Safonov among others. With nine points in as many games for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Ponomaryov is a rare non-homegrown player on this Russian squad. His relentless work ethic and two-way presence are hard to ignore, making him a lock for a role in the top-nine.

The team’s top-six is pretty well balanced with plenty of size in 6-foot-4 Podkolzin and 6-foot-3 Yegor Afanasyev (NSH), combined with the finesse and playmaking touch of Amirov, Chinakhov, and Mikhail Abramov (TOR). The powerful Podkolzin has struggled at times in the KHL, with just two goals and six points in 24 games, but his professional and international experience should make him a key producer at this year’s tournament.

Amirov is coming off an excellent showing at the Karjala Cup in early November where he tallied three goals in three games en route to being named the best forward of the tournament. The slick two-way winger will need to carry that momentum forward as he’ll be relied on as an offensive catalyst for Russia.

With only two returning forwards in Maxim Groshev (TB) and Vasili Podkolzin (VAN), Team Russia will see an influx of new talent in this year’s tournament. Leading that group will be 2020 first-round draft picks Rodion Amirov (TOR) and Yegor Chinakhov (CBJ), who have both impressed in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) as 19-year-olds this season.

With that bitter taste of defeat still fresh, the Russians will look to bounce back in this year’s tournament with an overhauled lineup both on the ice and behind the bench.

Of the team’s 28 players named to the preliminary roster, only two forwards and one goaltender are returning from last year. Meanwhile, head coach Valeri Bragin has moved on from the U20 team after leading Russia to seven World Junior medals in eight years since 2011. Stepping in as his replacement is Hall of Famer and three-time Stanley Cup winner Igor Larionov, whose leadership will be key for a relatively inexperienced Russian squad.

The Americans will still enter the tournament with one of the best forward units and best goalie tandem of any nation. Their defense is a bit of a mystery, but with several top prospects to choose from, it too will be a highly-skilled group. With their top-six averaging under 6-feet, it will likely fall to the defense to make up the difference.

Don’t expect management to go all out on big, strong, defensive defenders — last year’s team didn’t get a lot of offensive help from the blue line, which may encourage the selection committee to look for players skilled at playing both ends of the ice, like Sanderson or Thrun.

A number of other forwards were invited to the evaluation camp but will have a hard time securing a spot in the top-12. That includes lone WHL forward Lukas Svejkovsky, as well as Owen Lindmark and Josh Nodler, who both play in the Big 10 conference. Matthew Knies, another 2021-eligible prospect, was also invited. He has great size, but so far he’s off to a slow start in the USHL and may not quite be ready for the U20 roster.

Other high-offense players competing for a spot on the roster are 19-year-olds Sean Farrell and John Farinacci, and 18-year-olds Thomas Bordeleau, Sam Stange, Luke Tuch, and Brett Berard. It will be difficult to choose, and given Farrell is off to a hot start in the USHL, he may have the advantage.

However, the Americans may want a more defensive, experienced bottom line, which will give Patrick Moynihan, Judd Caulfield, Michael Gildon, Dylan Peterson, and Landon Slaggert the upper hand. Caulfield is the biggest of the bunch, coming in at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, but Peterson isn’t far behind, also standing 6-foot-4 but just a hair lighter at 192 pounds.

Then there’s Matthew Beniers. He’s a 2021-eligible pick who’s projected to go in the top-10 and it’s easy to see why — at just 17 years old, he’s already played two full seasons with the USNDP and was the U18 alternate captain last season. He was second among U18s in points with 41 in 44 games and ranked first in goals with 18. The Americans usually take one or two draft-eligible players, but only if they are generational talents — the last undrafted players to make Team USA were Jack Hughes, Spencer Knight, Brady Tkachuk, and Quinn Hughes.

If size does become a concern, then Sam Colangelo may have an upper hand. By no means a huge player, his 6-foot-2 frame would still make him one of the biggest players in the top-nine. He also has great offensive instincts; last season, he played alongside Brisson on the USHL’s Chicago Steel, and together, the pair tore up the league. Colangelo finished just one point behind Brisson, but scored four more goals. Relying on past chemistry may be a strategy the Americans use this year since their development and evaluation time has been severely limited.

The rest of the bottom-six is wide open. The two best bets are 2019 second-rounder Matthew Boldy and 2020 first-rounder Brendan Brisson. Brisson was second in scoring in the USHL last season with 59 points, just one shy of tying the leader. Boldy was left off the 2020 American squad based on the belief he wasn’t ready yet, and since then, he’s become one of the NHL’s top forward prospects. Last season with Boston College, he finished tied for fourth in points among NCAA freshmen.

Robert Mastrosimone is another player who has a good chance to make it this year after being left off of the 2020 team. He has a decent nose for the net, demonstrated by his seven goals and 10 assists with Boston University as a freshman, but he excels through his tenacity and vision. The only thing that could hold him back is that he is a bit undersized, and the Americans may not want to add another sub-6-foot player to their forward corps.

That gives the Americans an incredibly dangerous top-six. At last year’s WJC, Zegras led all players with nine assists despite an early playoff elimination, and Kaliyev was top-ten in goals with four. They’ll join fellow returnees Cole Caufield and Bobby Brink, who both had a relatively quiet 2020 tournament but will be relied on heavily this year. Caufield was a point-per-game player as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin last season, and Brink was third in goals with the University of Denver.

The final returnee is John Beecher, who likely will slot into a depth defensive role and provide veteran stability to the bottom-six. That’s not to say he couldn’t be an impact player; the 2019 Boston Bruins’ first-round selection had nine goals and seven assists in his first season with the University of Michigan, and in 2018–19, he was a key player for the U18 Americans. Altogether, the group of returnees were huge for the Americans last year, and they’ll be even more dangerous in 2021.

Here’s where things get really interesting. With the delay in the NHL season until Jan. 1, at the earliest, Zegras, Turcotte, Kaliyev, Robertson, and even Jack Hughes are free to return to the 2021 WJC. However, each of them would need to be loaned to compete, as the Blackhawks did with Kirby Dach. While none of their teams have made official announcements yet, it’s likely that all but Hughes would be granted the opportunity to play at the tournament.

The final three defensemen invited were all-around defenders Brock Faber, Marshall Warren, and Mitchell Miller. The first two are on the smaller side but offer very intriguing upsides if given the opportunity; they may end up just outside of the cut-off line. Despite a very good 2019–20 season with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, Miller is unlikely to be considered for a spot after the recent controversy about his past actions, which led to his dismissal from the Arizona Coyotes and the University of North Dakota.

Also on the defense is future University of North Dakota teammate and fellow Senators pick Tyler Kleven. A big 6-foot-4 defender, he’s more mobile than his size suggests, but his best attribute is his physicality and he loves to throw big hits, a skill which the Americans don’t have in spades. However, he’ll have a tough time asserting himself over Henry Thrun, a 6-foot-1, all-around defender who was fifth in scoring in the NCAA among U20 defensemen with 21 points. Thurn is much more balanced than Kleven and his skill set can fit into any situation, much like Johnson and York.

Being right-handed has become increasingly valuable among defensemen and the Americans may also want to capitalize on the trend, which would create a spot for either Case McCarthy or Hunter Skinner, two of just five right-handed shots invited to the October evaluation camp. Neither project to be impact defensemen at the NHL level and are still fairly raw. However, McCarthy was one of the best defensemen at the U18 in 2019, and Skinner had 32 points in 62 games with the OHL’s London Knights last season, so don’t count them out completely.

If the Americans choose a more solid, defensive focus, then Jake Sanderson would be their best choice. The fifth-overall selection by the Ottawa Senators in 2020, Sanderson established himself as one of the best skaters entering the draft and shot up the rankings thanks to a huge second half in 2019–20. He’s excellent at putting the right pressure on his opponents and is able to transition seamlessly from defense to offense.

Outside of those four, rounding out the defense will depend on what the Americans want to get out of their defenders. For a more dynamic offense, 19-year-olds Jackson LaCombe and Jayden Struble would be two of the better choices. LaCombe played the 2019–20 season and scored 13 points with the Golden Gophers, while Struble played just 21 games, but registered three goals and 10 points at Northeastern University. Domenick Fensore, a 2019 third-round pick, has excelled at every level he’s played at, but at 5-foot-7, he may have a tough time jumping over some bigger, similarly-skilled players.

Fourteen other defensemen were invited to the Evaluation Camp, but with up to eight spots to fill, the competition will be high. Buffalo Sabres’ 2019 first-round pick Ryan Johnson is a safe bet to make the team. He was a late cut in the 2020 tournament, but has since shared the Golden Gophers’ Mike Crupi Most Determined Player Award and is looking more and more like a future top-four defenseman. Like York, he can excel in all situations and will be relied upon to lead the American defense.

Drew Helleson and Alex Vlasic, both 19, also have good a good chance to make the team. They have similar resumes: they are products of the USNDP, have played for the Americans internationally at the U18 level, were second-round selections in 2019, and are stay-at-home defensemen. Vlasic’s 6-foot-6 frame will be hard to cut, especially on a team that’s shaping up to be on the smaller side. With Helleson, the duo could form a deadly shut-down pairing.

As opposed to their goaltenders, the Americans won’t have a wealth of experience on the blue line. Top defensemen Mattias Samuelsson, Zach Jones, and K’Andre Miller have all aged out, leaving Cam York as the only eligible returnee. However, the team won’t be without skill, as there are several players who just missed the cut last year and are eager for 2021.

Starting with York, Team USA will likely look to him to lead their defense thanks to his experience at last year’s tournament. Although he was a depth defender in 2020, he’s made some big improvements to his game and will be a key member of the team in 2021. Last season at the University of Michigan, he had five goals and 16 points in 30 games but has really stepped up this season, scoring four points in as many appearances. There’s a chance he could earn a letter on his jersey, too.

It’s unlikely either will get in any games at the tournament, however. Behind the duo of Knight and Wolf, who could be one of the strongest pairs at the WJC this year, the Americans’ third-string option will be no more than an insurance policy.

Two more goalies were invited to the National Junior Development Camp in October and will be competing for the final spot on Team USA. Drew Commesso is the likely favorite. A product of the National Team Junior Development Program, he was the team’s best goalie last season and became the second goalie selected at the 2020 NHL Draft, taken in the second round by the Chicago Blackhawks.

The other goaltender is Logan Stein, who has an age advantage over Commesso but is still a dark horse to make the team. He’s put up good numbers as the backup for the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks but hasn’t been drafted despite being eligible in both 2019 and 2020. Still, he has good size and has done well in a role with limited exposure, so the Americans could go with him as their third option to draw on his extra experience, which they have a habit of doing.

In 2020, Knight was one of the best goalies of WJC, recording a SV% of 0.913 and a GAA of 2.49. If it weren’t for the upset by Finland in the quarterfinal, he might have been named the best goaltender of the tournament. Instead, he’ll return for his third shot at a gold medal with a chip on his shoulder. He’ll be one to watch for the Americans, and he could steal a few games.

Knight will be backed up by Everett Silvertips phenom Dustin Wolf, who also was at the 2020 WJC. He’s been one of the best goalies in the WHL for the past two seasons, posting the lowest GAA in the league with a 1.69 in 2018–19, and a 1.88 in 2019–20. His one game at last year’s tournament was a rough showing — the upstart Germans bombarded him, slipping three goals by on just 20 shots. But, like Knight, Wolf will be eager to help the Americans advance and his experience makes him a very solid second option.

The one position that Vanbiesbrouck won’t have trouble selecting is goaltending. Spencer Knight is a lock to return as USA’s starter for the 2021 tournament. A first-round pick by the Florida Panthers in 2019, Knight was a brick wall for Boston College last season, posting a 1.97 goals-against-average (GAA) and a 0.931 save percentage (SV%), and helped propel the Eagles to first in the Hockey East division before the postseason was cancelled.

The rest of the team will also have experience, with several key returns after last year’s disappointing sixth-place finish, which will be more valuable this year than ever before. Experience and a group of highly talented players will make Team USA one to watch.

But it’s not all bad news for the USA. With the NHL still preparing for the upcoming season, several top players who would have been competing for a roster spot are now available to their national junior team, including Alex Turcotte, Trevor Zegras, Nicholas Robertson, and Arthur Kaliyev, who played for the USA in last year’s tournament in the Czech Republic. They’ll bring a ton of experience and talent if they can attend.

But the biggest change is that, with the NHL, AHL, much of the CHL and NCAA not fully operating, national teams will have precious few opportunities to watch players before they make their selection. This will be especially hard on the American team, who draw largely from college players across the United States, many of whom have not played a competitive game since last March.

Americans will be allowed to enter the Edmonton bubble on Dec. 13, which will only give Team USA general manager John Vanbiesbrouck and co. four to six games to evaluate college players, and no games for those playing in the Canadian junior leagues.