World Juniors 2016: Timashov’s Time To Shine?
With William Nylander injured at the 2016 World Juniors in Helsinki Finland, does Dmytro Timashov have what it takes to carry Sweden to victory? Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Hockey’s version of the NCAA’s March Madness is well underway with 3 days of World Juniors tournament play in the books and a 4th today.
We’ve seen a lot so far in this years tournament, with draft eligible players really taking the spotlight so far. Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine have been tearing it up for Finland, Julien Gauthier started as the 12th forward and has steadily risen through Canada’s forward ranks with each passing game.
Matthew Tkachuk has been a force on Auston Matthew’s wing and while the pair have yet to put up major numbers, they have looked great so far. Alexander Nylander has helped Sweden fill the scoring void left by the injury to his brother and Toronto Maple Leaf draft pick William Nylander.
If you haven’t seen why William Nylander was forced to leave Sweden’s 1st game late in the 1st period and hasn’t played since, watch this;
William Nylander’s head is up the entire time, but he doesn’t see that vicious hit coming. Switzerland’s Chris Egli was ejected and suspended for 3 games after the completely uncalled for attack on Toronto’s future star. What emerged from this terrible situation however, is a true understanding of just how good at his job Mark Hunter is.
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After William Nylander went down, it wasn’t Adrian Kempe (also injured by an illegal hit), Alex Holmstrom or Oscar Lindblom that took charge and led the way to an 8-3 thumping of the Swiss goon squad.
No, it was Toronto’s 5th round draft pick of last summer’s NHL entry draft Dmytro Timashov leading the way with 2 goals and an assist. He got some help from William’s younger and draft eligible brother Alexander Nylander, however it was Timashov that really led the charge.
Almost immediately after William was blindsided and stumbled off the ice, the Swiss scored and it seemed for a moment as if they would make a game of it. Then Timashov struck his first goal of the power play to end the 1st period up by one. Within the first 2 minutes of the 2nd period he scored again to make sure the Swiss knew who was walking out with the 3 points. Dmytro Timashov was recognized for his heroics by being named Sweden’s player of the game.
"An agile winger with very good puck-handling skills; his explosiveness opens up space for himself and teammates, giving him the ablility to create dangerous chances at top speed. All-in-all, a dangerous player that will shock audiences with his speed and creativity. – Elite Prospects.com"
After putting up 19 goals and 90 points, leading all QMJHL rookies in scoring in his draft eligible year. Timashov has taken off and has already scored 18 goals and 53 points in only 29 games played this season.
He has hands and speed to burn and in the very small window we got to see them together, Timashov looked like a great partner for William Nylander. Having a Russian sounding name – despite being of Ukrainian/Swedish descent – and being listed at 5’9″ and under 180lbs at the time of the draft likely contributed to this dynamic offensive force slipping so far in the draft, but it truly looks like Mark Hunter has found a gem for the Leafs here.
After putting up another assist on the games only goal coming from Alex Nylander in Sweden’s 2nd game against the USA, Timashov has all the markings of a breakout candidate for the rest of the tournament. Without William Nylander’s shadow for the next little while, he truly has the chance to make Mark Hunter and the Maple Leafs look like pure geniuses – which is a look all of Leafs nation could get used too.