Welcome to the best time of the year. It is cold outside for a majority of people, so why not warm up with some hot takes provided by myself and Zachary Szweras (@Zack_Szweras)! The takes are of a rapid-fire variety and can be not as detailed, but one thing is for sure: The takes are spicy

 

 

Group A

Canada

Pat: Connor Bedard spends a majority of the tournament healthy scratched

• He is great and he will be great, but facts are facts and head coaches always prefer the older players. Do not forget the all important #Size as he is just 5-9
• Spicy level: 4/5 Thai Chili Peppers

–OR the other take–

Zachary Szweras: Bedard ends up playing top line with Wright and Perfetti and leads tournament in points

• He is an exceptional player and will do exceptional things in this tournament
• Spicy level: 2/5 Peter peppers

 

Ridly Greig will not be suspended at all during the tournament

• This is the spicier of the takes for myself as I would bet good money on him getting suspended at least once during the tournament
• Spicy level: 5/5 Louisiana hot sauces

 

Olen Zellweger leads Canada in scoring

• “What, a young defenseman leading Canada in scoring, you must be crazy!” Is probably what you, the reader is saying, but Anaheim will prove all other team’s silly for passing on him until the second round
• Spicy level: 4/5 Tabasco bottles

 

Canada does not medal in the end

• Pat: During the first round of the playoffs Canada gets cold on the scoring front and ends up not being able to come back from an early game deficit to ultimately go home early
• Zachary Szweras: Cossa/Garand struggle in net and the defence is weaker than most years leading to a semi’s lose to Sweden or US and losing the bronze
• Spicy level: 3/5 Ghost Peppers

 

 

Finland

Topi Niemelä leads Finland in scoring

• This take is not that spicy as it is easily doable since Niemela is awesome: 1.5/5 Frank’s Red Hot

 

Pat: Brad Lambert gets scratched after the second game and does not get back in to a game

• Lambert has tumbled down the first-round rankings in many large scouting service rankings (at least Sportsnet got his Liiga team right though), and this causes him to be drafted in round four
• Spicy level: 4/5 Ring-O-Fire Cayenne Peppers

–OR Reversely–

Zachary Szweras: Brad Lambert leads all 2022 Draft eligibles in points in the tournament and brings his draft stock back up

• Spicy level: 4/5 Puya Chile peppers

 

 

Germany

Germany squeaks through to avoid what would be relegation

• Spicy level: 2/5 Habaneros

 

 

Czech Republic

Pat: The Czech’s finish second in Group A and medal in the end

• Spicy level: 3.5/5 Jalapenos

–OR Similarly–

Zachary Szweras: Czechia takes the 2nd spot below Canada in Group A

• With the help of captain Jan Mysak leading the tournament in points and a strong showing from 2022 Draft Eligible Jiri Kulich
• Spicy level: 3/5 Serrano peppers

 

Jan Myšák finishes top five in WJC scoring

• It can happen so this take is not as spicy: 2/5 Siracha bottles
• Side note: I am sure he would perform better if his younger brother Lic was invited though…

 

 

Austria

Austria scores six goals against Canada and less than six goals against the remaining three teams

• Spicy level: 4/5 Red Chili Flakes

 

 

 

Group B

USA

Red Savage, one of the best named prospects (ever), leads team USA in scoring by seven points

• Yzerman will look like a genius for drafting him in the fourth round
• Spicy level: 5/5 Carolina Reapers

 

Pat: Team USA fails to medal due to a collapse in goaltending

• USA is strong everywhere, and while they can take hits on forward and defense no team can recover when the goalie cannot stop a beachball
• Spicy level: 4/5 Fatalii peppers

–OR similarly–

Zachary Szweras: USA struggles to move past the first round

• Due to some inexperience down the middle in Logan Cooley and Dominic James, and questionable goaltending from Commesso
• Spicy level: 4//5 Bulgarian Carrots

 

Jake Sanderson underperforms on the backend and finishes fourth among USA defensemen in time on ice

• Sanderson’s development has been through the roof since being drafted but somehow on the WJC squad he severely underperforms and becomes a liability on the penalty kill
• Spicy level: 4/5 Tigerpaw peppers

 

 

Russia

Pat: Russia does not advance to play in the quarter finals

• Pat: Russia brought no players playing in North America, and while they awesomely have all left-handed skaters, they missed out on some names that could help them more
• Zachary Szweras: Russia lack of defensive depth results in them facing relegation. For the second straight World Juniors, Yaroslav Askarov struggles.
• Spicy level: 4/5 Red Savina peppers

–OR the other take–

Zachary Szweras: Russia wins gold

• Askarov and Michkov lead Russia to gold. Askarov has a redemption arc from last WJC and Michkov shows his star potential and takes the Russian team all the way
• Spicy level: 3/5 Kimchis

 

Shakir Mukhamadullin is named the defenseman of the tournament

• Based on previous scouting reports prior to his draft year, and discussions after he was selected in the first round, it would be interesting to see how people change their draft perceptions if he blows everyone away
• Spicy level: 4/5 Trinidad Scorpion peppers

 

Russia does not give Matvei Michkov more than 20 minutes, for the entire tournament

• It is Russia with an older line up and a young player on the roster. Just like the KHL, MM gets to see 2-4 minutes a game
• Spicy level: 3/5 Hot Bowls of Chili

 

 

Sweden

Sweden does not lose a game all tournament, including the gold

• Winning in the round robin is easy for Sweden, as long as covid does not impact them to lose games, but winning the gold is much harder than
• Spicy level: 5/5 Moruga Scorpion peppers

 

Alexander Holtz only registers three goals for the whole tournament

• All of a sudden the Swedish goal machine goes ice cold, again
• Spicy level: 4/5 7 Pot Chili pepper

 

 

Slovakia

Slovakia “wins” the silver medal

• Pat: They become the most exciting team to watch all tournament but ultimately fall short in the end
• Zachary Szweras: They have a ton of talent upcoming with Slafkovsky, Mesar, Dvorsky and will rely heavily on Knazko and Nemac on the back end
• Spicy level: 4/5 Spanish Naga peppers

 

 

Switzerland

The Swiss shut out two of Russia, USA and Sweden

• A stingy and structured team gets hot and shuts down the favorites in Group B
• Spicy level: 3.5/5 Dragon’s Breath peppers

 

 

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Thanks for reading this years’ hot takes. Now get ready to go enjoy some World Junior Championship hockey!

 

Pat Quinn

Follow my twitter while you are at it: @FHPQuinn