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.

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1. Taking Care of Business – You can’t really take much from Canada’s first two games against Germany and Slovakia.  Although both teams play hard and have a few very good players, they are clearly on a lower level than Canada and the other top nations. There were some things that I liked and some things that I didn’t like with Canada’s game in the two contests, but there is no need to praise them or be critical for those performances as they did what they needed to do.

2. Secondary Scoring –After watching the two exhibition games I had a feeling that secondary scoring would be an issue and I submitted the idea of moving Mark Scheifele into the second line center role to spread out the offense.  Given how dominant the RNH-Huberdeau-Scheifele line has been, I thought that coach Spott would not want to mess with their chemistry. Even when the team had a lineup of 11 forwards he did his best to keep that line intact while mixing up the other units.  However, he boldly switched things up for the team’s final preliminary game against Russia adding Jonathan Drouin to the top unit with RNH and Scheifele and dropping Huberdeau down to the second line with Ryan Strome and Ty Rattie, pushing Brett Ritchie down to the third line.

I was concerned with both Strome andRitchie anchoring the second line after watching the two pre-tournament contests, but both players have produced early in the tournament.  Strome has six points , while Ritchie has three.  Against the USA, with a lineup of 11 forwards and Ritchie playing banged up, Strome was often centering Jonathan Drouin and Nate MacKinnon.  Whether coach Spott keeps the current lines together or if he reunites the big three on the top line, the second unit will need to produce in the medal rounds as they have been getting nothing from their bottom two lines.  That could change with the return of Boone Jenner to the lineup, he was very good against Russia, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

3. Establishing the Top Four –  The Canadians have actively been playing all seven defensemen keeping them all involved, but as the tournament has gone on it appears as though coach Spott has established his top two pairings.  Dougie Hamilton was paired with Scott Harrington and Griffin Reinhart was paired with Xavier Ouellet, while Morgan Rielly, Ryan Murphy and Tyler Wotherspoon were rotating through on the third pairing.

Rielly started the tournament on the pair with Hamilton, but has since been supplanted in the top four by Reinhart.  It will be interesting to see how Reinhart handles going against better competition in the medal round.  In my opinion he has looked slow on the big ice and I would prefer to have another puck mover in the top four.

4. Goaltending – Goaltending was the biggest question mark for this team coming into the tournament and after the first two games the focus was even greater on starter Malcolm Subban as he allowed 3 goals against both Germany and Slovakia.  However, he responded in the game against the United States with 36 saves in a 2-1 win.  He was Canada’s best player and was named the player of the game.  He followed that up with another very solid performance in a 4-1 win over Russia.

Spott named Subban the starter before the tournament and said he was going to ride him the whole way.  Although it is a short tournament, I am not sure I agree with this philosophy.  I’m surprised he did not get backup Jordan Binnington  a start against Germany or Slovakia to keep him sharp in the event he was needed later in the tournament.

5. Full Roster–With a number of suspensions, Monday’s game against Russia was the first time that Canada had their full roster available for a game in the tournament.  This allowed coach Spott to mix up his line combinations.  This was Canada’s best game of the tournament thus far and it will be important to see if these new groupings can find that same chemistry in the medal round.

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March 22, 2012; Tampa FL, USA; Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) shoots during the first period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Tampa Bay Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

I sent out a tweet yesterday saying that I would breakdown Team Canada after its two exhibition games, but I had a commitment come up on Saturday so I will not be able to watch the game against Sweden. Instead I can only write about Thursday’s game against Finland.  Canada lost the game 3-2 in what was a very sloppy contest.  Since it was both teams first game there was sure to be some issues with chemistry and it showed as there was no real flow to the game. A parade to the penalty box didn’t help things either. Here are five things that caught my eye:

1. A “Good” Loss – There aren’t many good losses when it comes to elite level sports.  The days of “it’s all about the effort” are long gone when you reach this level.  However, a loss in the first exhibition game could just be what Team Canada needed to motivate them going forward.  They only has one true NHL player (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins), but if it wasn’t for the lockout there would be a few more players that would be in the NHL and not on this team.  This group was full of confidence and maybe even a little cocky coming into Thursday’s contest. There is nothing wrong with that, but they need to realize sooner rather than later that they aren’t going to cruise to a gold in this tournament. They were sloppy and undisciplined and at this level you just can’t play that way.  Thursday’s loss was a rude awakening and should provide all the motivation coach Steve Spott needs going forward.

2. The First Line – One of the interesting decisions coach Steve Spott will have to make in this tournament will be who plays on his top line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  Jonathan Huberdeau is likely to be on the left side, but who will occupy the other flank is unsettled.  With Huberdeau out of the lineup on Thursday due to a suspension, Mark Scheifele and Ty Rattie were set beside RNH.  Scheifele appears to have the inside edge, but he’s a natural center and although he did manage to score a nice goal and had a decent game overall, he might be better suited for the second line center role.  Ryan Strome, who currently centers the second line, struggled in the game and if that continues into the tournament I think we could see Schiefele slide back into the middle on the second unit.

3. Nathan MacKinnon – MacKinnon is a consensus top two pick in next year’s NHL draft and has started out as the thirteenth forward on Team Canada.  This is a bit of a surprise as his Halifax Mooseheads teammate, Jonathan Drouin, looks to be entrenched on the second line.  However, given MacKinnon’s explosiveness and dynamic skill, I expect him to move up the lineup rapidly and it would not shock me to see him up on the top line in place of Scheifele at some point in the tournament.

4. Penalties – We have to remember that this tournament is being played in Europe and that likely means we will see more penalties than we are used to.  The exhibition game was littered with them as the Canadian’s took nine minor penalties and a 10-minute misconduct.   Steve Spott made sure that speed was a key component of this year’s team, which may have been lacking in the past.  Utilizing that speed should help them avoid games like this in the tournament.

5. This is not 2005 – I know that it has only been one exhibition game, but it is clear that this team does not compare to the lockout team in the 2005 World Junior Championships.  This is not a surprise as that team was packed with NHL stars and is thought of as the best team ever to participate in the tournament.  In 2005, Canada was dominant outscoring its opponents 41-7 in six games.  This team won’t come close to that, but with the Russians and Americans expected to be very strong and the Fins and Swedes always competitive, it should make for a great tournament.

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