Analyzing Minten for Team Canada
Fraser Minten - Totals - 5GP 1G 2A 3P 17:31 aTOI 23 SOG +1
Minten, Canada's Captain, was one of 2 first line forward regulars, alongside Columbus Blue Jackets Winger Jordan Dumais. Arizona Coyotes Prospect Conor Geekie played 3 games on the first line, with projected 2024 1st Overall Pick Macklin Celebrini at Center for the last 2.
Offensively, it was obvious much was expected of Minten as Canada's captain, being the leader of Canada's first World Juniors since Connor Bedard stole the show, breaking tournament records at home.
No one in this draft is Connor Bedard, but every year it's expected that Canada is meant to contend each year, and someone had to step up. Minten, both a Toronto Maple Leaf and team Captain, was poised to be placed on a mantle on top of the podium of expectations alongside Macklin Celebrini.
I'll start here by noting the easiest portion, the results. Minten had 3 Points in 5 Games for Canada, including a 2 point effort against Latvia. On his goal here, Minten (#12, White) does a good job setting up Ty Nelson, finding an open area down the middle to shoot off the return from Nelson. It shows that Minten can create in opposing defensive zones in tight areas.
Other examples show that Minten showed some ability to self-create and gain good chances while removing space from defenders, but what is lacking, and what Mitch Brown's data shows, is a lack of play in transition.
In terms of passing, what stood out is that Minten was more than able to execute stretch passes, but also passes from close range in the opposing team's end.
A lot of his plays show Minten harnesses good vision and awareness as a playmaker, but couldn't create many chances as you'you'd like. Minten is tracked with 91 Complete Passes vs 26 incomplete passes via accessed data tracking. in comparison, Easton Cowan had a completion rate of 83/24. Minten's teammate Jordan Dumais fared much better with a rate of 139/22. Macklin Celebrini had 111/25.
Turnovers appear to be a slight issue for Minten, who had a few pass attempts that led to turnovers, misreading his shot to a teammate.
Dumais also struggled with turnovers as well, although the two continued to stay as teammates throughout the tournament. The big difficulty for Minten was executing accurate passes, misplaying chances, leading to losing posession to defenders. Turnovers happen, but it was clearly a notable concern at times.