A great night for hockey fans in North America last night – the gold medal game of the 2010 World Juniors was one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time. A last minute comeback, some beautiful goals and a thrilling overtime finish reminded everyone watching why this tournament should be one of the highlights of the holiday sports season. A back and forth battle was tied with 20 minutes to play when the US scored 2 early goals in the 3rd, chasing Canadian netminder Jake Allen, and setting up a furious finish. In the waning minutes, Jordan Eberle notched two goals, one on the powerplay and one at even strength to tie the game and give him 14 career goals at the tournament, one more than John Tavares, the previous record holder.
With all the momentum in Canada’s favor, overtime was absolutely riveting to watch. Both teams had great scoring chances, but American backup goalie Jack Campbell (17 years old) was up to the task, making some huge saves, none more important than his last one on Alex Pietrangelo’s blast from the circles that rebounded out to set up a 3-1 for the US. Capitals’ prospect John Carlson carried the puck down the left wing boards and scored a beauty, looking cross-ice for a pass the whole time and wiring it short side under the crossbar to beat Martin Jones. While myself and the rest of Hockey Canada fans were crushed to see the red lamp lit at our own end, the game was absolutely incredible to watch and you gotta take your hat off to the Americans for sticking to their game plan and battling right through everything the Canadians threw at them.
Jerry D’Amigo had a great tournament for the US, finishing tied for the team lead in goals with 6. He scored 3 of those goals in the Americans’ final two games, and had a goal and an assist in the gold medal win over Canada. He also finished an impressive +7. His 12 points were tied for 3rd in the tournament with Taylor Hall, who is the frontrunner for first overall pick in this year’s draft. For a kid drafted in the 6th round of the 2009 draft and was not even mentioned as one of the early candidates for the US Junior team, I’d say the youngster has more than shocked his critics. In the draft, D’Amigo’s goalscoring and playmaking ability was never questioned – his size and his skating were. But at 5’11, 196 lbs, he certainly looked more than capable of handling himself on the ice, and was flying around the ice with some of the fastest and most talented young skaters in the world for the past two weeks. I’m jumping on the bandwagon on this one, I think the kid’s got a bright future ahead of him, and with another year or two of play in the NCAA at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Marlies, who knows where his game could be by the time he gets to the NHL.
The “other” Leafs prospect at the tournament, first round pick Nazem Kadri, had a very solid showing of his own. Kadri finished the tourney tied for the team lead in shots with 25, scoring 3 goals and 8 points along the way. Not the best results in terms of stats on paper, but I was particularly impressed with Kadri’s play away from the puck. He played the whole tournament with a bit of a mean streak, which should endear him even further to Brian Burke. He showed no fear in driving to the net, and was constantly planting himself right in front and drawing additional attention from opposing defensemen and keepers. Kadri’s scoring ability has never been questioned, and on a Canadian team loaded with scorers, it’s not surprising to see the goals spread around a little. Aside from Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall, no Canadian had more than 3 goals – imagine if the Oilers somehow ended up with the first round pick and got both! (Eberle was drafted by Edmonton in 2008) A healthy injection of grit and toughness is a great addition to Kadri’s game, and I am very excited to see him play next season.
All things World Juniors aside, is anyone else dying for the Olympics to start?? I can’t wait, and let’s hope the Canadian senior team has a little better luck on home ice. GO CANADA!