Jakob Chychrun: World Juniors a Perfect Showcase
By Max Marko
Jakob Chychrun is an A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting’s September players to watch list.
Photo: Metcalfe Photography)
Jakob Chychrun: 2016 World Juniors a Perfect Showcase
The 2015-2016 NHL season is two months in, and the 2016 NHL Draft is six months away. At the start of the year, the top three prospects seemed to be set in stone with Auston Matthews miles ahead of Jakob Chychrun and Jesse Puljujärvi, but with the streaks of efficiency from some players and the lack thereof from others, many scouting sites or independent services have changed the opinions on the best three players in the 2016 NHL Draft.
With the rise of other draft prospects, some may have forgotten about Jakob Chychrun.
As stated before, the OHL is the league where most of the top draft talent is playing. Along with Chychrun is London Knight forward Matthew Tkachuk. Tkachuk started his year off with a bang at the All-American Prospects game. He had already been highly touted and his three-point AAPG is now a mere throwaway highlight. Since then Tkachuk has dominated at the OHL level, scoring 14 goals and 45 assists in 29 games.
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Alex Nylander was the best forward at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and has continued that success into the season with Michael McLeod. The pair has combined for 36 goals and 55 assists in 33 games for the Mississauga Steelheads. Both have been dominant in the offensive zone and are both 5th and 10th in OHL scoring respectively.
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Chychrun has been impressive once again this season. 7th in scoring among defensemen in the OHL with 5 goals and 17 assists in 28 games. His gap control and defensive zone coverage have been noteworthy to boot; however, Chychrun seems to be shadowed by other draft prospects. It is without a doubt that he is the best defenseman in the draft, but could he possibly be slipping from his spot as the 2nd best overall player in the draft?
A stellar performance at the 2016 World Juniors could help cement Chychrun at the number two spot in the upcoming draft.
A great example of a draft prospect turning heads at the World Juniors is Timo Meier, at last year’s event. The Halifax Moosehead led all draft prospects in the tournament in scoring for the majority of games for the Swiss. That was until Connor McDavid helped Team Canada capture gold and finished the tourney at 7-3-8-11. Meier played in six games, scoring two goals and 4 assists.
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Meier went from a low-key, potential 2nd round steal type of prospect, to a top 10 pick. Not the same situation for Chychrun, but an efficient World Junior outing could add stability to what could be a potential scare for the Florida native.