Chicago Blackhawks – Prospects in Memorial Cup Final

Chicago, IL — The 2017 MasterCard Memorial Cup crowned a champion yesterday. Congratulations to the Windsor Spitfires and Graham Knott on defeating the high powered Erie Otters 4-3 in what was about as closely contested final you could get.

I would also like to congratulate the Erie Otters on an amazing year and winning the OHL Championship. Alex DeBrincat congrats on being named CHL player of the year and what a year it was for both the Otters and DeBrincat.

So in the final DeBrincat had one assist on his buddy Dylan Strome’s goal but he had numerous chances. He hit the post and missed a wide open net so he did get his chances in the game just couldn’t bury them. He had seven shots on goal in the game so he was getting his chances.

DeBrincat finished this tournament with 2 goals and 8 assists which was good for third overall in scoring in the tourney.

Graham Knott enjoy the championship at any level it is an achievement and to do it against a great team like the Erie Otters is quit a feat.  Knott tallied a goal and like DeBrincat had numerous chances that just didn’t go in. I can remember one he was in all alone on the goalie thanks to a great pass by Jeremy Bracco but just didn’t bury it.

Knott ended this game with 1 goal on 3 shots on goal and was 3 for 5 in face off dot. He ended this tournament as the 14th overall scorer with 3 goals, 1 assist in 4 games.

Now I’m sure both DeBrincat and Knott would tell you it doesn’t hurt playing on lines with talented linemates. So now what is next for these two Blackhawks prospects is questions and a lot of work.

Can they make the transition from the OHL/CHL to the NHL or will there be time spent in the AHL? I specifically wanted to see how their 2-way game was, their speed, net front presence and forecheck/board work.

Let me start with Knott. He has really good speed because of his long stride. It doesn’t take him much to get from one end of the ice to the other.

I love his game because it will I think translate well to the way the NHL is going. He just goes straight to the net and with his big frame he makes a great screen. As I said previously he does so much that does not show on the stat sheets because he is wrecking havoc at the net.  I would say the strength of his game is his speed and net front presence along with his physicality.

I have not seen Knott play that much but I do think Knott will need seasoning in the AHL to work on his two way game. I want to see more backchecking and being more defensively aware. I would say he may need board work on the forecheck with his big body.

As with all young players I want to see more shooting work on that and deflecting pucks since he is always parked in front of the net. Knott is a LW and his size and straight to the net game is something the Blackhawks need more of for sure I just think he needs to develop more on the defensive side but he may surprise with hard work in this off season.

Good Luck in camp and congrats again on Memorial Cup.

Alex DeBrincat we all know has tremendous potential offensively yes even in the NHL. His shot is lethal and his hockey IQ is off the charts and NHL ready. He knows exactly where to go to find quiet ice space even in front of the net. Now he will not get this kind of time and space in the NHL but I’m betting it doesn’t take him long to figure out where to go.

If I was DeBrincat I would be studying film of Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin and lets throw in there Brad Marchand, Viktor Arvidsson and Cam Atkinson. Just my two cents. In camp I would definitely be watching 88 & 72 and if you can pick 88’s brain 72 maybe hard to understand unless you speak Russian otherwise ask him too.

DeBrincat does seem to be able to take hits and even deliver some too.

His two – way game is also NHL ready. There have been numerous times I’ve seen him high tail himself back to chase down a player on a break. I’ve seen him cover for his dmen pinching in and I’ve seen him block shots.

He plays both ends of special teams which any team can use more of and the Blackhawks particularly have not been good on either side. I loved that the Otters use DeBrincat in the high slot on the power play with his shot and he has great hand eye co-ordination for tipping and deflections.

I doubt in the NHL DeBrincat will be put on the penalty kill but if he is at least it won’t be foreign to him. So I would say his two way game is very good coming out of juniors .

What I think DeBrincat should work on is his board work and forechecking and learning how to avoid hits or balancing so you can use bigger players size and weight against them.

Out of all the prospects I can see DeBrincat making the jump straight to the NHL but if he has to spend time in the AHL that would not hurt either but I don’t think he would be there long.

It is really hard to tell how and how quickly prospects can transition to the NHL but I have been really impressed with how these guys hockey sense is and can’t wait to see them develop and for them to start their professional careers.

Good Luck boys!

 

 

 

Chicago Blackhawks – Prospects in CHL’s Memorial Cup recap

Chicago, IL — So how have the Chicago Blackhawks prospects done in the CHL Memorial Cup?  Well lets start with Nathan Noel and Matthew Highmore and their Saint John Sea Dogs whose journey has now come to an end.

In a battle of teams that had not won a game between the Sea Dogs and the Seattle Thunderbirds the Sea Dogs dominated in a 7-0 landslide which earned them the right to go to the Memorial Cup Semi Final. Noel had an assist in this game and Highmore ended the game with two apples.

Unfortunately they had to face the fire power of the Erie Otters again and while they had a better game versus the Otters than the 12-5 drubbing they took they none the less were eliminated from the tournament 6-3.

Nathan Noel ended the event with one goal and one assist in four games and Matthew Highmore ended the tourney with three assists. Congrats boys on a great season and being QMJHL Champions.

My overall thoughts on Nathan Noel was that he is all heart. He reminded me of Andrew Shaw, smaller yet plays a physical game especially in the corners and along the boards. Noel is more of a defensive player used on the penalty kill and he was centering the third line for Saint John which is the checking line.

I see him going to the IceHogs and there everyone will love this guy as he projects a team first all the way.

Matthew Highmore was centering the first line and was used on the power play. The thing about Highmore’s game is he is physical and is always by the oppositions net which is always a good thing.

He ended the tournament with a 50% face-off percentage but it was noticeable in the last game against Erie he won almost every face-off in the defensive zone which everyone can use that skill.

I think Highmore will need some seasoning in Rockford but can be an impactful net front presence and power forward if he works on it. He has really good speed which is a huge asset.

The next game was a battle of the unbeaten teams when the Erie Otters took on the host team Windsor Spitfires for the opportunity to get a pass to the Memorial Cup Final.

I was hyped to see this game. I wanted to see how well both Graham Knott and Alex DeBrincat did against a familiar OHL foe that is very good. Now neither player hit the score sheets and the Spitfires totally frustrated the high powered Otters.

The Spitfires totally blanketed the Otters forwards and their goalie was insanely good that night. DeBrincat had a rough game physically as he was targeted for sure. In fact he had to leave at one point but did make it back into the game.

Since we get a rematch of these two teams for the final I am curious to see how DeBrincat will now make adjustments to deal with no space and time and his response. Welcome to the world of Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin.

This is great preparation for the NHL, becauses believe me there will be even less time and space there and the physicality will be even more ramped up and if your lucky enough to make NHL playoffs that is off the charts intensity so best get ready now if you want a championship at the highest level of hockey.

The encouraging thing for Blackhawks fans is it seems that DeBrincat can take the physical play pretty well and even dishes it occasionally. He and the Otters seemed ready for battle when they downed the Sea Dogs 6-3 in the Semi final to punch their ticket to the final.

We all know how talented DeBrincat is offensively but what I’ve been impressed with is his two way game and his defensive responsibility. In fact in this game he managed to clear a puck away from his crease that got past his goalie and was sitting there ripe for the pouncing.

Good on you Alex for being that down low as a forward acting like a defenseman that will endear you to coach Quenneville for sure. It is little things like that the coaches notice and will keep you in Chicago.

DeBrincat is used in all situations but really shines on the power play where they use him in the high slot where he can tip or pass or just let that rocket of a shot he has go. What is very noticeable about DeBrincat is his hand eye coordination is top notch which explains the high slot positioning.

His line with Dylan Strome and Warren Foegele is just fun to watch as they work off each other. This line ended up this game with two goals one each by Strome and Foegle and four assists three of which came from DeBrincat.

Two of his assists were on Taylor Raddysh power play goals and the other apple was on Dylan Strome’s goal. I think it is highly likely that DeBrincat can make the jump straight to the NHL from the CHL.

I will have a more definitive opinion on him after the final and as I stated earlier how he bounces back and responds against a more NHL like defensive structured team with tight checking, blocking shots, great goalie and clogging up of the neutral zone.

The Erie Otters just have so many scoring threats and fire power it’s hard to keep them suppressed for too long. The final should be a good one against Graham Knott’s Spitfires who seemed like the only team that found a formula to slow them down.

Graham Knott is having a good tournament himself. He currently has two goals and one assist in three games played. Knott played in one less game due to their beating the Otters and not having to play a semi-final game.

Knott’s game is pretty simple he is straight up a power forward on the RW. He is big powerful and just a menace in front of the net with his 6’4″ frame. He screens a lot of shots and for that alone he is impactful in games that may not show up on score sheets.

I need to see more of Knott to give an opinion on if he is ready to go straight to the NHL or not. Sunday I will be watching him and DeBrincat closely. The game thankfully will be on NHL Network at 6pm CT. I would recommend tuning in if your interested at all about the future of the Blackhawks.

With the Blackhawks out of the playoff in what seems like an eternity since we saw them, I am so glad that the NHL Network broadcast the Canadian Sportsnet telecast in the United States of this Memorial Cup.

Not just because I’m not that interest in the NHL playoffs but because it gives us in the States a chance to see the CHL prospects for our teams that we don’t normally get a chance to see. I don’t recall the NHL Network ever broadcasting this before. We can see players on NCAA teams but not generally the CHL.

I’m sure I am not the only one who can’t travel to Erie, PA or Saint John or Windsor although I’m sure those are grand destinations work always seems to get in the way. So thank you NHL Network and Sportsnet so we can get to see these incredibly talented young men continue their journeys to making their NHL teams.

To all the Chicago Blackhawk prospects Good Luck! Those remaining in the tournament and those out we look forward to seeing you either in Rockford or Chicago hopefully.

I will do a final wrap up blog after Sunday’s game to put a bow on this tournament and give a final opinion on DeBrincat and Knott’s game and how they will transition to the NHL and some hidden gems that I spotted that maybe teams should consider drafting this June.

One thing we do know is that one of the Chicago Blackhawks prospects will be a Memorial Cup Champion what an accomplishment.

 

Chicago Blackhawks prospects in CHL Memorial Cup how are they doing so far?

Chicago, IL — Catching up on the events of the Memorial Cup games three and four, game three saw Graham Knott and his Windsor Spitfires down the Seattle Thunderbirds in a 7-1 Route.

Knott had himself a game. He ended up with 2G, 1A and 5SOG now that is establishing your presence in a game. Knott also has some very good line mates in Logan Brown (Ottawa Senators prospect) and Jeremy Bracco (Toronto Maple Leafs prospect).

Knott’s assist came on a goal by Bracco so to say this line can wreck havoc is an understatement. Knott was named second star of the game as his line mate Logan Brown was first star.

Bracco had 1G,1a and Brown had 1G,2A along with Knotts tallies the line ended up with 4G, 4A. I’d say they had themselves a game.

This line maybe the only one who can give the Erie Otters some trouble who they will be playing against on Wednesday.

Both the Spitfires and Otters are currently undefeated in this tournament so Wednesday’s tilt will be a good one to say the least and could be the decider of who wins the entire tournament.

As I have state before Knott is a power forward. He is big, physical yet skilled. He always seems to go to the net. I can’t wait to see how his line does against the Otters and their stellar defense.

Ah Alex DeBrincat and his Erie Otters what is there to say. The Otters are a well run team both offensively and defensively these kids are really good and fun to watch. They set up plays like a pro team. In fact I’d venture to say they may play as well if not better than some pro teams.

In game four they took on Matthew Highmore and Nathan Noel’s St. John Sea Dogs but this game was finished almost as soon as it started with the Otters thrashing the Sea Dogs 12-5.

It was hard to notice anyone other the DeBrincat and his Otter team. His line mate Dylan Strome (Az Coyotes prospect) set a record for most points in a game with seven 4G,3A. DeBrincat had an assist on three of his goals and tallied a goal of his own for a four point night.

All year long these two along with either Taylor Raddysh or Warren Foegele have just been amazing. I can’t say enough about DeBrincat his shot is heavy and accurate but maybe his passing is even prettier than his shot.

There was a play in particular where he set up Strome on a rush up the ice I swear it looked like Panarin to Kane or Kane to Panarin it was that pretty.

Chicago get ready, not to put pressure on this kid but I can foresee him coming straight to the Blackhawks or if he is in Rockford it will not be long.

His scoring instincts are unreal he is always in an area to score or set up his line mates. Now this isn’t NHL defenders he’s playing against but I’m excited to see his development.

DeBrincat also plays on special teams both power play at the point and on the penalty kill which is great because it is rounding out his game early.

His defensive awareness if high end and his stick work is NHL ready he may just need some strengthening in the wrists but we will have to see.

The goal DeBrincat scored was a blast from the high slot that was accurate because he looked liked he was just trying to get the whistle to blow as there was a delayed penalty call coming and the Otters were already on the PP so he wanted to get a two man advantage.

I guess when you are hot and a goal scorer everything just goes in.

So far in this tournament DeBrincat is third in points, assists, goals and first in power play goals. Now that is production.

Graham Knott is third in power play goals, first goals and plus minus. Again we can see the balance in Knott’s game.

Tonight the St. John Sea Dogs and Highmore and Noel play against the Seattle Thunderbirds and both teams are desperate so this should be a good tilt.

The one to really watch though is Wednesday when the Otters take on the Spitfires in an OHL showdown. I’d say though if you can tune in to all these games.

Good Luck to all the Blackhawks prospects in their games.

Chicago Blackhawks – IIHF Men’s World Championships Panarin gets Bronze, Kruger gets Gold

Chicago, IL — The final day of the IIHF Men’s World Championships set out with Team Russia taking on Team Finland for the bronze medal which would be followed by Team Sweden taking on Team Canada for the gold and silver medals.

I was sad to see the close of this two-week event for several reasons. It was still giving those of us whose teams were no longer in the NHL playoffs a last chance to see some of our players before summer starts.

As a huge international hockey fan I always love seeing the teams in the countries sweaters compete for rights of whose country really is the best. Now more than ever I won’t be passing up opportunities to see international hockey competitions.

With the NHL foregoing PyeongChang, South Korea Olympics in 2018 this maybe the last time we get to see some of these players on the international stage.

I am still holding out hope the NHL changes their mind but I don’t know. If the NHL does not go one would have to think that Russia will be the favorite to win gold with the majority of their players being from the KHL.

I personally loved watching this Russian team play, of course I am partial to Artermi Panarin as a Blackhawks fan. Bias aside, they were just flat out fun to watch. Because of Panarin I was rooting for Russia to get the bronze and they did not disappoint.

Panarin was again on the third line with Nikita Kucherov and Evgeni Kuznetsov. If nothing else Team Russia is consistent with their lines thanks Oleg Znarok.

Team Russia ended up winning the game 5-3 and the Bronze but the game was not as close as the score seemed until the third period where Team Russia started to do a bit of an implosion like they did against Team Canada. Today however their skill prevailed.

Panarin had a relatively quiet day with one assist but he did have plenty of opportunities that just didn’t get finished off. There were a couple of times he was in the slot area and deferred to shot by passing. I was screaming at my TV SHOOT Artemi.

His assist came on the lethal Russian power play where to say he exercised patience in getting the defender to go down and slid the puck to Gusev for the tally which again showcased Panarin’s vision and hockey sense.

Panarin knows more about hockey than I do and he is a skilled playmaker but in the NHL I would like him to shoot more especially in the slot with an open line to the goalie.

It will keep goalies guessing and defenders won’t know what he is doing which may open up ice space. Patrick Kane had to learn this as well and look how things have worked out for him.

So Panarin ended the game with 1A, 1SOG and ended the tournament with 17 points – 4G, 13A in one less game due to injury good enough to be the leading scorer points wise in the entire tournament and was named top forward.I’d say the little Breadman did pretty well for himself and his team. He will probably be named to the All Stars one would think.

The one thing in watching this tournament it was very apparent that for Panarin to develop more he needs to play in the NHL on the smaller ice because on the big ice and against none NHLers Panarin just dominates and the game is just too easy for him.

Congratulations to Team Russia and Artemi Panarin on winning Bronze.

The final game of the tournament had Marcus Kruger and Team Sweden taking on Team Canada for Gold.

The game was a very close affair with the goalies taking center stage. You would have to say Team Canada dominated the play until Viktor Hedman scored on a really weird knuckler from the point that he got past Canadian goalie Calvin Pickard to put Team Sweden up 1-0 late in the second period but Team Canada tied it up in the third.

The game went tied late into the third period and was forced into overtime it was just an awesome game and fitting that it was the gold medal game and it would go to overtime that was just end to end exchanges of chances. The only bad thing is that this game was decided by a shoot out which don’t get me started on that.

That is my only complaint about how these international IIHF tournaments are structured. I just don’t think medal rounds should be decided by non-hockey skills competitions. Still be that as it may it was Sweden who walked away with the Gold leaving Canada with the Silver.

Kruger had himself a good tournament he ended up with 3A. We all know what Kruger does for a team is not measured on the score card or stats sheets per say.

Congratulations Team Sweden on being Golden.

Again I’ve got to think this tournament was a success the crowds were good the competition was great. There were some upsets like the Swiss beating Canada and the USA getting beat by both Germany and Finland.

The European crowds look like one big party with their singing, whistling, flag waving, banging drums and dancing in their seats and along the concourses. They seem to have more fun than we do over here in North America. I actually prefer the whistling to goalie chants just a side note.

After seeing this and the World Juniors I now have this on my bucket list to go to an IIHF event either Men’s Worlds or World Juniors because even on the TV it comes across as a blast. Well done.

Congrats to Artemi and Marcus you guys were awesome I would’ve preferred watching you in Chicago Blackhawks uniforms but glad I at least got to see you a little while longer. Enjoy your summers and I can’t wait to see you in Blackhawks training camp.

Is it September yet?

Chicago Blackhawks – Game two of CHL Memorial Cup Alex DeBrincat and Otters win 4-2

Chicago, IL — The CHL’s Memorial Cup round robin tournament continued Saturday with its second game between OHL Champion Erie Otters featuring the Chicago Blackhawks 2016 2nd round pick Alex DeBrincat against WHL Champions Seattle Thunderbirds.

I have listened to the Otters games on the radio both in the regular season and their playoff because of DeBrincat but to say I was excited to see him play was an understatement.

Alex had a goal and assist in the game and was named first star of the game. What really impressed me though was when he had to back pedal to catch a defender when Erie was on the power play and they poked the puck to center he was fleet a foot enough to tie up the opponent and never really let him get a shot off. Now that son will endear you to Coach Quenneville. He loves his players to be defensively responsible.

The other thing that was very noticeable is DeBrincat is equally adept at passing as he is scoring. He has good on ice vision and really good hockey sense. He actually is good without the puck too.

DeBrincat’s shot though is a snipe he has a quick hard release that is NHL ready. He gets to the tough areas of the ice and doesn’t back down from physical play at all.

Now he won’t get that kind of time in the slot in the NHL but when you can score goals from anywhere and are a danger every time your on the ice some time your bound to get open.

His goal was a pure goal scorers goal. The hand eye coordination is unreal. He was at a bad angle with a knuckling puck but got enough on it with power to get it past the Thunderbirds goalie.

His assist was with his usual line mates Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh with DeBrincat getting the secondary assist. These guys just work together so well. In fact the entire Erie Otters teams is so well ran they are a well oiled machine.

DeBrincat and the Otters next take on St. John Sea Dogs on Monday night which should be a blast as St. John has two more prospects in Matthew Highmore and Nathan Noel. So this should be fun to watch how all the guys do.

Good Luck to al.

Tonight Graham Knott of the Windsor Spitfires takes on these Seattle Thunderbirds. Tune into NHL Network to catch Graham Knott.

 

 

Chicago Blackhawks prospects in CHL’s Memorial Cup

Chicago, IL –Yesterday the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup tournament got underway with a good match-up for Blackhawks fans. The game between the favorite St. John Sea Dogs and Windsor Spitfires featured three Hawks prospects.

For the Sea Dogs 1st line center Matthew Highmore who the Hawks recently signed as a free agent and third line center Nathan Noel were featured. On the opposing Spitfires side was 2015 2nd round draft pick Graham Knott.

I have to admit I really enjoyed this game. Thank you NHL Network for showing the Canadian Sportsnet feed.  I wasn’t the only one enjoying the game in the house was Connor McDavid. McDavid the former Erie Otter seemed to enjoy the game.

This was the first time I actually got to see Highmore and Noel and let me just say I was impressed with these kids speed and two-way play.  I can’t wait to see them live.  Highmore controls the play well in the offensive zone but what really impressed me was he was very defensively responsible.

He had a glorious opportunity where he stole the puck from a defender in the offensive zone and took it to the net he just could not get it past the goalie. He also had another chance put couldn’t get the puck under control and missed a wide open net that would’ve tied the game.

Highmore went 13 or 24 in the face-off circle which anytime your over 50% you’re doing pretty well.

Nathan Noel oh my that boy is fierce he is a human fireball. He reminded me of Andrew Shaw how he battled along the boards and he has no regard for his body as he flings it into the boards and opposition.

This kid has speed to burn as well. He is fast and all over the ice. Like Highmore he is also a very good two-way player which coach Quenneville will be thrilled with. What the Blackhawks will like as well is Noel can play both sides of special teams penalty kill as well as power play.

He also scored a goal on the power play from about 25 ft. out. Noel is more of a set up man as you can tell his passing and on ice vision are very good for a young player.

Noel also did very well in the face-off circles he went a remarkable 10 for 13 or 73% Yeah alrighty kid you keep doing that I bet you will see ice-time in the NHL.

Now the host Windsor Spitfires pretty much dominated the game and ended up winning 3-2 as they survived the Sea Dogs late game heroics. Graham Knott gave me the best laugh of the game.

He snuck up on the Sea Dogs on ice huddle to hear what they were saying late in the game much to the displeasure of the Sea Dogs. Oh Graham you are special I see HA.

Seriously Graham Knott is a power forward in every sense of the words. He is big, strong and does skate with a powerful stride. He has a very long reach and uses his long reach well to dig out pucks in the boards.

He likes to get to the middle of the ice slot area, smart guy. He plays very physically and is like a one man wrecking ball. He has the type of size that again the Hawks are sorely lacking.

All in all I thought all of the Blackhawks prospects were very good and very involved in plays and noticeable on the ice. If you get a chance to tune into these games I would suggest doing so as this is the future of the Hawks.

Tomorrow I will have another recap on the Erie Otters game which is currently going on against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Alex DeBrincat already has a goal in the game. I will also finish up the IIHF Men’s Worlds with Artemi Panarin of Russia going for Bronze and Marcus Kruger of Sweden going for Gold.

 

Chicago Blackhawks – IIHF Men’s World Championships Semi-Finals

Chicago, IL — Heading into the Semi Final games today there were some classic rivalries scheduled with Team Russia taking on Team Canada and the second tilt Team Sweden taking on Team Finland. Now you could not ask for any better match-ups as far as rivalry goes.

The best of these was the Team Russia vs Team Canada match-up. It featured the classic opposite styles with Team Russia playing the European puck possession game vs Team Canada and their straight ahead north south North American style physical game.

Although I thought Team Canada would win simply because Team USA seemed to handle Team Russia pretty well and they really did not match up well against the North American game I was still rooting for Team Russia because of Artemi Panarin.

Sorry Team Canada you don’t have any Chicago Blackhawks on your team it’s nothing personal.

Panarin was on the third line with Nikita Kucherov and Evgeni Kuznetsov. Namestnikov was in the game but Russian coach Oleg Znarok decided to stick with the same line that ended last game when Namestnikov was replace due to injury.

Canada was the home team and thus had last change so Jon Cooper pitted a line of Alex Killorn, Sean Couturier and Matt Duchene to keep in check Panarin’s line as they were the only true NHL line.

The Canadian line did a pretty good job of keeping the Kurcherov, Panarin, Kuznetsov line in check but with all that skill you knew it would only be a matter of time til they busted through.

Watching the Russian passing plays is like watching the Bolshoi ballet it is so rhythmic and beautifully orchestrated and on this day the choreographer was Artemi Panarin.

There was a gorgeous tic tac goal play from Kucherov to Panarin who went cross ice to a waiting Kuznetsov by the side of the net for easy tap into an open net to get the scoring started.

Team Russia had a lot of chances on the power play early and were stopped however they finally broke through when maestro Panarin got things rolling into the Canadian zone setting up another tic tac goal play. This time it was Panarin to Shipachyov to Guzev and just like that it was 2-0 Team Russia.

The third period however was all Canada as they mounted what has to be a heartbreaking comeback for Russia to win the game 4-2 in regulation. The partisan Russian crowd looked very disappointed and can you blame them Russia led through most of the game.

So Team Russia will now be relegated to playing for the Bronze medal tomorrow against Team Finland. Team Russia should be favored in this game but you never know.

Panarin added two more assists to his total which keeps him in the lead in scoring but I’m sure Artemi would’ve rather won the game.

So Panarin ended the game with 2 apples, 2 SOG and 16:45 TOI. Panarin has 4G and 12A so far in the tournament with one more game to go. Panarin was named one of three players of the game for Team Russia.

His ice time was limited in the third period with all the penalties Team Russia took while Canada did not score on them they did however keep out of the game their more skilled offensive players as they were forced to penalty kill.

Seven penalties is too many and this is something Team Russia needs to clean up as they ran into the same problem against Team USA.

The second Semi Final game saw Team Sweden easily defeating Team Finland 4-1. This game was a typical Sweden vs Finland game tight checking and defense first type game. Yet Team Sweden managed to close this out pretty easy.

Marcus Kruger got on the score sheet with an assist on old buddy Joakim Nordstrom’s goal. Kruger and company have now punched their ticket for the opportunity to play Team Canada for the Gold medal tomorrow.

The Bronze medal game will be first at approximately 9:00 Am Chicago time and then the Gold medal game will be 1:00pm CT. You can catch these games on either NHL Network or the NBC sports app.

Good Luck Artemi and Marcus!

Video taken from YouTube IIHF