Although the Anaheim Ducks did not have a great game in their 3-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, the three Ducks prospects in the 2015 IIHF Under-20 World Junior Championships are in a celebratory mood. All three prospects finished in the top four of their respective groups and will advance to play in the elimination round when the quarterfinals begin on Friday. The prospects played on two separate national teams: Team Canada and the Czech Republic. Both had monumental matchups on Wednesday.
Game 1: Switzerland vs. Sweden
Result: Sweden defeats Switzerland 5-1
Ducks Prospects: None
Goals:
Yannick Rathgeb (SUI, 1) – 2015 NHL Draft Eligible
Adrian Kempe (SWE, 3, PP) – Los Angeles Kings (2014 1st round pick, 29th)
Oskar Lindblom (SWE, 1, PP) – Philadelphia Flyers (2014 5th round pick, 138th)
Oskar Lindblom (SWE, 2) – Philadelphia Flyers (2014 5th round pick, 138th)
Oskar Lindblom (SWE, 3, PP) – Philadelphia Flyers (2014 5th round pick, 138th)
Jens Looke (SWE, 2, PP) – 2015 NHL Draft Eligible
Game 2: Canada vs. USA
Result: Canada defeats USA 5-3
Ducks Prospects:
Nick Ritchie (2014 1st round pick, 10th) – Scoreless, -1
Shea Theodore (2013 1st round pick, 26th) – Scoreless, +4
Goals:
Max Domi (CAN, 3) – Arizona Coyotes (2013 1st round pick, 12th)
Josh Morrissey (CAN, 1, PP) – Winnipeg Jets (2013 1st round pick, 13th)
Anthony DeAngelo (USA, 1, PP) – Tampa Bay Lightning (2014 1st round pick, 19th)
Curtis Lazar (CAN, 3) – Ottawa Senators (2013 1st round pick, 17th)
Dylan Larkin (USA, 4) – Detroit Red Wings (2014 1st round pick, 15th)
Sam Reinhart (CAN, 3) – Buffalo Sabres (2014 1st round pick, 2nd)
Dylan Larkin (USA, 5) – Detroit Red Wings (2014 1st round pick, 15th)
Max Domi (CAN, 4) – Arizona Coyotes (2013 1st round pick, 12th)
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Game 3: Russia vs. Czech Republic
Result: Czech Republic defeats Russia 4-1
Ducks Prospects: Ondrej Kase (2014 7th round pick, 205th) – 1 G, +1
Goals:
Patrik Zdrahal (CZE, 1) – 2015 NHL Draft Eligible
Pavel Zacha (CZE, 1) – 2015 NHL Draft Eligible
Ivan Barbashev (RUS, 1, PP) – St. Louis Blues (2014 2nd round pick, 33rd)
Patrik Zdrahal (CZE, 2) – 2015 NHL Draft Eligible
Ondrej Kase (CZE, 1) – Anaheim Ducks (2014 7th round pick, 205th)
Game 4: Finland vs. Germany
Result: Finland defeats Germany 2-0
Ducks Prospects: None
Goals:
Julius Honka (FIN, 1) – Dallas Stars (2014 1st round pick, 14th)
Mikko Rantanen (FIN, 3) – 2015 NHL Draft Eligible
The sixth and final day of the round-robin brought many good games. For the Ducks, it also brought the first goal in the tournament from any of their prospects. Kase scored an empty net goal late against the Russians to seal the victory and send the Czech Republic to the quarterfinals. Because of how the Sweden vs. Switzerland game ended, the Czechs needed a regulation win to advance (an overtime win would have given the Czechs four points, and they would have lost the three-way tiebreaker to both Switzerland and Denmark). Kase was very active, recording six shots on goal. With the win, the Czechs jumped from last in the group to second.
Sweden’s win over the Swiss did not immediately eliminate Switzerland, but the Swiss were unable to hold onto an early 1-0 lead. Sweden eventually just overwhelmed the Swedes, and Oskar Lindblom scored a natural hat trick in the second period. The Swedes had already locked up the top spot in Group B because of the Swiss’ overtime loss to Denmark on Tuesday.
As for Finland vs. Germany, the Finns scored two more goals, bringing their tournament total to five, which is the second worst total in the tournament. Fortunately, the Finns were facing the Germans, who only have two goals (both against Slovakia). The Germans suffered their third shutout loss of the tournament and will face Switzerland in the relegation round, beginning on Friday. The loser in the best-of-three series will be replaced by Belarus in the 2016 WJC, which will be held in Helsinki next year.
Finally, the game of the day was between Canada and the USA. Both sides had clinched top-two berths in Group A, but this was a heated rivalry game and a chance to showcase phenom prospect against phenom prospect. Connor McDavid of Canada and Jack Eichel of USA are seen as the two best prospects in the 2015 NHL Draft, and this would be their only time to compete against each other this season (unless these two teams meet in a medal round).
Both prospects finished with an assist. Eichel tallied a secondary assist on DeAngelo’s power-play goal that cut the Canada lead in half, while McDavid logged an assist on Lazar’s controversial goal in the third that restored the lead to 3-1. Ducks prospect Nick Ritchie took his third minor penalty of the tournament, a charging penalty late in the first period. Shea Theodore was terrific, as he was on the ice for all four of Canada’s even strength goals. He was quick with the puck and made nice passes and decisions. Ritchie got to use his size a bit more in this game, but Team Canada and the Ducks are continuing to look for him to get on the scoresheet eventually in this tournament.
The tournament will be taking a break on New Year’s Day, but the first relegation match and all four quarterfinal matchups will begin on Friday. The WJC has three terrific rivalries lined up in the quarterfinals, with the Czech Republic taking on Slovakia, Sweden and Finland facing off in a rematch of last year’s gold medal game (won by the Finns in Sweden in overtime), and USA against Russia.
Group A Standings:
1. ^ – Canada (4-0-0-0, 12 points)
2. + – USA (2-1-0-1, 8 points)
3. + – Slovakia (2-0-0-2, 6 points)
4. + – Finland (1-0-1-2, 4 points)
5. x – Germany (0-0-0-4, 0 points)
Group B Standings:
1. ^ – Sweden (4-0-0-0, 12 points)
2. + – Czech Republic (1-1-0-2, 5 points)
3. + – Russia (1-1-0-2, 5 points)
4. + – Denmark (0-1-2-1, 4 points)
5. x – Switzerland (1-0-1-2, 4 points)
^: Won group
+: Clinched quarterfinal berth
x: Eliminated
Relegation Round:
Switzerland vs. Germany – 8:00 a.m. PT, Air Canada Centre
Quarterfinals:
Canada vs. Denmark – 5:00 p.m. PT, Air Canada Centre
Czech Republic vs. Slovakia – 2:00 p.m. PT, Bell Centre
Sweden vs. Finland – 12:00 p.m. PT, Air Canada Centre
USA vs. Russia – 10:00 a.m. PT, Bell Centre
The winners of the top two matches will face off in one semifinal, while the winners of the bottom two will face off in the other. Canada and Sweden get to play in Toronto, while USA and the Czech Republic will play their quarterfinals in Montreal.