Ranking Canada's World Junior Players For Future NHL Success - Before Tournament - Too Many Men on the Site - A National Hockey League Fan Site

Home » NHL » Ranking Canada’s World Junior Players For Future NHL Success – After Tournament

Before the World Junior Championship Hockey Tournament I put out my rankings of Team Canada’s players in regards to future NHL success. I promised at that time that I would take a look back after the tournament to see if my opinion has changed.

Given that it is a very short competition with Team Canada playing only two exhibition and six tournament games it is not a surprise that I did not have many changes. However, there were a few players that I had a different opinion of after watching them in these games.

My pre-tournament and post-tournament rankings are displayed in the table below. The ones that have changed are in bold.

Name	Pos	NHL Team	Rating Before	Rating After	Notes
Ryan Nugent Hopkins	F	EDM	100	100	RNH was Canada’s best player and the best player in the tournament.
Nathan MacKinnon	F	Eligible 2013	100	100	MacKinnon did not see much ice time so it’s very hard to judge his performance. I still think he will be a star in the NHL.
Jonathan Huberdeau	F	FLA	100	100	Huberdeau along with RNH and Scheifele were Canada’s top players. He will be in a Panthers jersey if there is an NHL season this year
Jonathan Drouin	F	Eligible 2013	75	100	Benefitted from a lot of ice time and took advantage of it. I still like MacKinnon ahead of him, but Drouin looks like a star.
Ryan Strome	F	NYI	75	75	He has dominated in the OHL this year, he was very good at times, but invisible when it mattered most. I think he tops out as a second line centre, but I question whether he gets there.
Dougie Hamilton	D	BOS	75	75	I’m not in love with Hamilton as much as others. I thought he was below average in the tournament, but he has all the tools to be a top end defenseman.
Morgan Rielly	D	TOR	75	75	Did not get as much ice time in the tournament as I thought. I think that was a mistake. He showed flashes of what he can be at the next level. Great skater, very good puck mover.
Mark Scheifele	F	WPG	50	75	I was most impressed with Scheifele in the tournament. Big, strong forward with good hands. Made the transition to the wing with ease
Griffin Reinhart	D	NYI	75	50	Reinhart looked very slow on the big ice and I am not sure he has the puck moving ability to be a top four consistently at the NHL level
Boone Jenner	F	CBJ	50	50	Missed three games due to suspension, good depth player, most likely a third line center in the NHL.
Brett Ritchie	F	DAL	50	50	Ritchie struggled offensively in the tournament, but I like his skill set. I think he finds a niche in the NHL, but I don’t think he will be a scorer.
Phillip Danault	F	CHI	50	50	Danault is an underrated role player. He looks to be a player that can play a role in the NHL.
Xavier Ouellet	D	DET	50	50	Ouellet was probably Canada’s best defenseman in the tournament. Reminds me a lot of Carlo Colaiacovo.
Malcolm Subban	G	BOS	50	50	Despite the negativity surrounding his play I thought Subban was pretty good in the tournament. Very tough to project goalies this early in development, but as a first round pick you would expect an NHL career
Scott Harrington	D	PIT	50	0-25	Another defenseman I am not as high on as others. I was disappointed with his tournament and I’m not sure Harrington moves well enough on the back end to carve out a long career in the NHL
Ryan Murphy	D	CAR	0-25	0-25	Had a very bad tournament. A lot of skill from the back end, but not sure if team’s will want a PP specialist on their blue line.
Tyler Wotherspoon	D	CGY	0-25	0-25	Wotherspoon had a pretty good tournament, but he lacks mobility to be a consistent pro at NHL level
Anthony Camara	F	BOS	0-25	0-25	Camara is a guy that can find a niche in the NHL as a fourth line grinder with toughness like a Gregory Campbell.
J.C. Lipon	F	Undrafted	0-25	0-25	Lipon was essentially unnoticeable in the tournament. Still undrafted I’m not sure anyone uses a pick on him in June.
Ty Rattie	F	STL	0-25	0-25	Rattie moved up the lineup and finished the tournament on the top line. He’ll get a shot in the NHL, but not sure he becomes a scoring forward.
Jordan Binnington	G	STL	0-25	0-25	Binnington struggled in the Bronze medal game as the starter. Like Subban tough to predict goalies at this stage.
Jake Paterson	G	DET	0-25	0-25	Paterson never dressed for the tournament as the team’s third goalie. Like Subban tough to predict goalies at this stage.