Hickey, Teubert win gold

Well, good for Hickey and Teubert.

Otherwise, I'm pissed. I wanted Sweden to win. Or atleast I wanted a closer game. Sweden didn't play well enough to win, very weak on the boards and didn't support the puck well at all.

I'm curious to see if there will be any changes in Mollers game when he comes back to the Kings. Poor kid played his little heart out.

Tell me if I am wrong but Hickey was on the team that won gold last year as well.

You are correct dmh012. He won it with Doughty and Bernier last year.

Yeah, this was Hickey's 2nd gold medal, and Moller's 2nd silver medal.

From what I hear, these two are like brothers.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a232/thosesavages/0105092007.jpg

Good for the boys... all of the Canadians. That Swedish goalie (Florida-draftee Jacob Markstrom) made me ill with his dives and complaining.

Hickey played well, though Subban seemed to be the defensive spark for the team. Not sure about Teubert.

Just wanted to shar this with you guys dwon there in the States who haven't watched a lot of World Junior hockey tournaments. This is from TSN.ca regarding the semi final against Russia, and just shows how important this tourney is to everyone up here:

"MORE THAN 1.8-MILLION WATCH CANADA-RUSSIA ON TSN"

Overnight data from BBM Nielsen Media Research confirmed Monday that 1.855 million Canadians watched TSN's coverage of Canada's shoot out victory over Russia on Saturday night - making it TSN's 9th most-watched program of all-time.

The World Juniors semifinal was the most-watched program overall on Canadian television on what was also a very competitive day in the world of sports broadcasting. The Canada-Russia game on TSN won the day in all key demos with a total audience more than doubling CBC's Hockey Night in Canada - Ottawa at Toronto (857,000). TSN's broadcast of the Slovakia-Sweden semifinal at 3:30 p.m. ET attracted 473,000 viewers, more than CBC's Hockey Night in Canada late game - Dallas at Edmonton (422,000).

Audience levels for the Canada-Russia semifinal peaked at 2.668 million viewers from 10 p.m. to 10:25 p.m. ET, as the two hockey powers pushed through the overtime and shootout. TSN's has averaged 1.324 million viewers for the five Team Canada games throughout this IIHF World Junior Championship.

TSN has been televising the IIHF World Junior Championship since 1991, and eight of the Top 10 programs of all-time on TSN have been IIHF World Junior Championship broadcasts."

I even thought that was pretty crazy that the Sweeden-Slovakia semi final game drew more than the late Hockey Night in Canada game did. I'll try to post the numbers for the gold medal game once they're available. Anyway jusat wanted you guys to see that this tourney is almost more important than the Stanley Cup finals up here. What a great tourney.

PS - I'll be watching Hickey on Wednesday night when his Seattle Thunderbirds come to town to play my Kelowna Rockets. Should be pretty cool as there will be 3 gold medal winners here with Hickey, Benn and Myers....and supposedly we'll have Backlund playing for us too!!

Anyone know what kind of numbers they put up? Not sure if they are posted online anywhere.

all the stats, etc can be found through the iihf site: http://www.iihf.com/channels0809/wm20.

BTW- Hickey and Teubert were both -3 for the tourney, the only -'s on canada.

-J said: BTW- Hickey and Teubert were both -3 for the tourney, the only -'s on Canada

that happens sometimes when your matched against the opponents top line(s)

Note to Rich, if the back of his jersey is any indication, it's "VOINOV"

I just thought I'd post this again since Canada plays this way:

http://deanbrownblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/ducks-are-right-kind-of-dirty.html

Thanks to the Battle of California (BOC) for the link.

EatTheRich:

Stop your pathetic whining...you guys lost fair and square, then you lost to the Slovaks so it's over. Did you happen to watch the game tonight? Canada had all the calls go against them, and were fighting an uphill battle all game against the refs. But they didn't whine about it, they kept playing hard and battled through everything and won the Gold. I'm pretty sure the rest of your country isn't as bad as you are crying about the refs. How about congratulate Team Canada on winning the Gold, despite icing our "B" team, since we had another 8 guys playing in the NHL that could have played for us....

The thing that impresses me the most is that the Kings have the captains of the gold (Hickey), silver (Moller) and bronze (Voinov) medals. Maybe now we should call the WJC Kings Prospects Camp.

No.
We didn't lose fair and square.
But we didn't win.
That's ok - we'll win our share, and you were terrified of us.
I'm just trying to pass on good information, insightful analysis, and the truth.
Quit shaking in your tuuks.
The world is gonna take you down sooner or later and when you can't cheat anymore you're going to have to take your lumps just like you've been dishing out.
Russia was better than you.
And the US was better than you.
If you didn't know I'm correct, you wouldn't care what I said.

It's looking good for the Kings in terms of leadership. I wonder when the last time the captains of the top two teams were property of the same team as was Moller and Hickey.

Eat, give me a break. Really. "If you didn't know I'm [sic] correct, you wouldn't care what I said"?? Getting a rise out of someone doesn't equal admitting that you're right about anything.

I'm not pro-Canada or anti-US -- being from the US and all -- and I have to say Canada seemed objectively to be the best team in that tournament. They could have lost to US or Russia. They didn't. It was close. But they didn't.

There's really no measurable calculus by which Russia or the US was "better than" Canada, as you say. If they were "better" they would have won. That's really all there is to it. Canada was the better team on each of those given days. Do it again, it might turn out differently.

Anyway, each year it's a different team with different players. So I don't really know who the "you" is in your sentence, "you will get your lumps." Who are you addressing? The Canadian fan? He's going to get his lumps? Canadian kids? Canadians in general? The Canadian hockey program?

"The world is going to take you down sooner or later"?? How is "the world" going to do that?

Really, I have to say, your comments sound unhinged and, frankly, bigoted. Anti-Canadian bigotry. It sounds like a Saturday Night Live skit.

Unfortunately Hickey, Teubert and Möller all were very underwhelming this tournament. Voinov our only prospect who looked good. Very disappointing, to say the least. They looked like they were at least a couple of years away from being decent NHL players, even Möller who is supposed to already be one.

Eat.....

SCOREBOARD IS ALL THAT COUNTS....Like in tonights Kings Ducks game.

CONGRATS CANADA, FOR NOW WE ARE # 1 & Go Kings Go

This was the 1st time I ever really got into this tournament, mainly because of Hickey and Teubert, but I have to say I was impressed with how huge a deal this is in Canada. It may have been as big in other countries, but like I said...this was the 1st time I really got into it. The passion that the fans showed for their country and this sport was phenominal.

Canada was far and away the best team in the tourny. Their only "weakness" was Tokarski in goal and he played lights out last night.
I liked the play of Hickey a lot. He's not flashy at all, but he just makes the smart plays. He's going to be a really good NHL player. Teubert needs some more experience, but he's a big dude. I think he'll be playing in this tournament again next year. It would probably be the best thing for his development.
I'm amazed at how deep the Kings have become on the blueline. They certainly have the potential to become the best defensive corps in the NHL.

I wasn't as impressed with Oscar Moller..especially last night. He was caught flat-footed a number of times. I thought he played much better when he was up with the Kings.
I think it was the fact that Sweden as a whole was disappointing last night. Markstrom looks like he will be a good NHL goalie, but he better cut the theatrics out or he's going to get run by some big guys in the NHL when he gets here.
Hedman's a huge guy, but I wasn't thrilled with his play either. There were several other "weak" defenseman on Sweden. They were letting guys sit in the crease and bang away at rebounds for way too long. #6 was a prime culprit.

I was disppointed in the play of the US during the tournament. They need to improve a lot to compete with Canada and Russia.

It's never a smart thing to make judgements based on a few games, so take this for what it is....

Rich, any word on whether some Swedish player actually did bite Thomas Hickey during a scrum ?

"Note to Rich, if the back of his jersey is any indication, it's "VOINOV""

there is more than one "correct" spelling, when translated from Russian (Cyrillic alphabet) so it depends on who you believe.

team Russia and the WJC may have it as VOINOV but as far as the Kings and Monarchs are concerned, it's VOYNOV. he can always tell them to change it if he wants, but probably cared less:

http://kings.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8474594&service=page&tab=crs

from the 08 Draft, I thought I heard there might have been another available player named Voinov so maybe the Kings went with Voynov to avoid any later confusion? can't recall for certain, so just a theory

I'm a Kings fan too but I think some of you are evaluating Hickey through rose colored glasses. He played decent in the Gold Medal game but overall in the tournament he was pretty mediocre. Got burned too many times, was out of place defensively too many times and didn't play physical enough. That is an honest evaluation of his play in the whole tournament. Not saying he's not going to be a good player, just saying he didn't blow anyone away with his play.

"Frankly, bigoted. Anti-Canadian bigotry. It sounds like a Saturday Night Live skit."

This isn't SNL but it's certainly a classic!

Blame Canada!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWRdk8RGyNU

I was rooting for the USA big time but they blew it.

Jim Rome, back in '95 (or there about), cleared up any confusion about who the 'best' was in any given tourney. There is simply NO debate. Period.

As kingsince67 said:

SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD!

I'm sorry, did you say something?

SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD!

What? I can't hear you.

SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,
SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD,SCOREBOARD!

You could put any NHL regular out on the ice on any of the teams and he would look unreliable if playing with other incompetent linemates.I would rather judge Hickey Teubert Voinov and as we all know Moller in the NHL atmosphere as do the Kings brass.Not every prospect we have will turn out but a few will add to the mix.

I watched part or all of 4 games and I thought that Hickey played well. He wasn't dominant but definitely played smart. Teubert disappointed me, quite frankly.

Moller looked better last year but maybe that can be attributed to poor team play & coaching. The Swedish offense was jittery across the board. I guess if nothing else, he wasn't leading by example.

More than anything, this year's tourney was the coming out party for Tavares. I don't think there is any doubt now that he is going to be no 1. He made everyone around him play better too, including cough cough Angelo Esposito.

Xmas tourneys are a part of youth-junior hockey. A week or so of balls out, super-competitive playing. It's all about winning. There weren't huge skill differences between Canada, Russia, US and Sweden, but Canada WON. Aside from one player, they kept their cool and got busy on the offensive end each game.

Chris H -

I agree re Hickey. Hard to know without really understanding the match-ups exactly, and of course it's a team game and the team won the tournament; and he is the captain of the team. But I thought he was spotty.

Tournament play is not the same thing as playing on a team that actually plays together for a season (or for many seasons). Quinn used a very specific strategy with line-matching and four pairs of defensemen. It worked.

But I noticed that, basically, Quinn was playing a kind of run-and-gun style (the kind that leads to high-scoring games) while using Hickey for a predominantly defensive (shut-down) purpose. I'm not surprised his stats, and his performance, suffered for it.

If you're going to be used as a defensive "shut down" guy, it would be nice if the team was playing a defensive system, which it wasn't (not that I could see, anyway). Otherwise, it's like being the clap doctor at the brothel.

Since I don't think it was a given that Canada was going to win this tournament, you can't argue with the results. And I think Hickey would be the first to tell you, he would rather win the tournament and take the hit personally than lose the tournament but be singled out for stellar play in a losing effort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwRUpoaa4rI&feature=email

Quisp.

For the first time I think you're lying.
You couldn't possibly be an Amerc after the things you've said. At least not in your heart.
The display by the Canadians (the you) in the US and Russia game was borderline corrupt. The IIHF is such a weak body we'll never see an investigation but in any other sport officiating like that doesn't fly. Gambling on hockey...I wonder where the money line was...
This was an IIHF tourney and we saw the officials cow tow to money in almost every game. Even the Amercs should have had some ejections. If you think Della Rovere should have stil been in the tournament (a junior, IIHF tourney, not the NHL) you have no clue what international hockey is all about. Soon, with more exposure, things will be recognized for what they are: cheating.

Did you even read the article I posted?

Do you want to read this and tell me Teubert should play in a game in which he's shooting pucks at the opposing side before the game in a U-18 Tournament?

http://frozenroyalty.net/2009/01/02/lombardi-talks-about-goaltending-top-defenseman-prospects/

Objectively the best in the tourney? Canada? I can't say you're wrong, but it took cheating to beat both the usa and russia, and the ability to make it a hack-match rather than an ice-hockey game. The Amercs and Russians skated rings around the Canadians at even strength. I'd suggest you watch "40 years of Flyers" on the NHL Network to see how Philly dealt with the Soviets in a '76 EXHIBITION game. Total disgrace and it's amusing that the Canadian players always think their the better "hockey" players. HA.

Finally, if hockey is all you know, don't you think it's presumptuous to think you can judge sports objectively? The world is more concerned with other things and sports to take hockey as seriously as Canada does (which I respect, to a point). But you cannot allow such blatant favoritism to exist in the sport if you want the rest of the world to take you seriously and participate in the sport. Not to mention, if this sort of thing went on in European Football, the supporters of the countries that Canada takes liberties with would not stand for it. You think Della Rovere would be running the goalie and boarding people in an atmosphere like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfZRXeinYe4&feature=related

I don't think so.

Oh.
Tavares is a game breaker, but he was pretty non-existent in both the Russia and Sweden game in terms of "presence." Eberle and Hodgson stood out as the heart of the team, and of course without Toka they'd have gone out of the tourney easily. Canada has a do-or-die philosophy in hockey. That's why they play like a group of frenzied pirhannas constantly whacking, hacking, slashing, and agitating. If the refs don't call it then they'll continue...

I do admit they have more depth than anyone else, however. In that dept. there is no comparison.
The team they could have had in the tournament is ridiculous. Doughty, Stamkos, Toews...and more.

I wonder if anyone has the gambling no.'s from that tournament. And if the officials placed any bets.

Eat, if you wonder why I have no response to you from this point forward, it's because I will be skipping over everything you say. Which of course means it's time for you to change your name again.

Whatever.

didnt brown also win gold in 04?

Somebody has been watching Youngblood a little too much.

Congrats to Canada, Sweden, and Russia for their medals. It was a great tournament and I was thrilled to be able to watch it down here in the states.

For the record, Canada got lucky. They were down and out in the semifinal against Russia. The Russians were less then 1 minute away from sending Canada to the bronze medal game. But that Russia/Canada game was great. The best one of the tournament, even better then Canada/USA.

And speaking of the Americans, another choke job by team USA. They were the better team but clearly didn't take Slovakia seriously and paid for it by not playing for a medal.

Regarding individual players, Hickey and Tuebert played well. I don't care what their stats were. They were on the ice ALL THE TIME for Canada. I don't know what happened to Moeller. I don't know if he was hurt or what? He just didn't play well the whole tourney. Only 1 goal and that didn't come till an empty net goal against Slovakia in the semifinals is not the performance I expected from a kid with such a high amount of skill.

Finally, I thought it was in pretty poor taste how the Canadian fans booed Hedman all night after he clearly caught a high stick in the mouth that wasn't called. Hell, they sounded like arrogant Americans.

Quisp....Good take on Quinn's run & gun style of play, like you said it served it's purpose and got Canada the gold regardless of the effect it had on Canada's defense or any personal stats. That type of style really opened up the ice for Canada but left their defense vulnerable, putting much more pressure on Hickey & Teubert. Not exactly a "team defense" style of play. I don't recall seeing much backchecking by Team Canada.....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Now THAT was funny quisp.