Tuesday, December 24, 2024

WJC news, previews, TV schedule; Hutson & Celebrini keep putting up points; Looking far ahead?

 Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukah, Terrier Nation

Celebrate Hanukkah - Northeast Ohio Parent 

World Junior Championships

Cole Hutson recorded an assist in Team USA’s 5-2 win against Finland in their final pre-tournament exhibition in Cornwall. Hutson has four assists in two games. Team USA begins preliminary round action on December 26 against Germany. Puck drop is at 2:30 ET for the game that will air on NHL Network.

● USA Hockey Tournament TV Schedule

The Athletic’s Cory Pronman’s recap of Canada’s 4-2 win over Sweden on Saturday in a pre-tourney exhibition included this:

In what was a tight-checking game, the play of Swedish defenseman Tom Willander (Vancouver) was notable. He’s an excellent skater, and closed on a lot of Canadian forwards to break up plays and nullify scoring opportunities. His puck-moving was good enough, too. I don’t think it’s his calling card, but interestingly he was on Sweden’s first power-play unit. I’m unsure whether that will be his spot all tournament, though.

Willander scored a power-play goal in Sweden’s 11-1 exhibition game win over Germany on Monday. Daily Faceoff's Steve Ellis commented on his performance:

#24 Tom Willander, D (Vancouver Canucks): From an overall standpoint, I thought Willander was Sweden’s best defender. He scored a goal through traffic later in the second, but he also drew a penalty and landed some nice hits. I like Willander – he’s not a future top-pairing defender, but he’ll be a do-it-all second-pairing option who isn’t afraid to land the body. And with a shot like his, I hope he uses it more when the tournament kicks off.

►FloHockey.tv's Chris Peters's and Cam Robinson's Hockey Prospects Podcast:   2025 World Junior Championships Team by Team previews and predictions

Looking ahead

McKeen’s Hockey’s latest 2025 NHL Draft Rankings has Terrier recruit Jack Murtagh at #20. The 6’1” left-shot forward has a 10-12-22 scoring line in 20 games and is second on the U18s in points despite missing nine games due to an injury.

►We usually don’t address players who are (yet) committed to BU, but will make an exception due to some strong Terrier connections.

2009 forward Carter Meyer, son of BU All-American and captain Freddy Meyer, is the leading scorer in New England Prep hockey with 10-12-22 in nine games for Rivers School, which Freddy coaches. Second is Carter’s linemate Finn Sears (9-9-18), while their center, Sam Pandolfo, is seventh (4-11-15).

Looking back

 Alex Vlasic Made Another Strong First ...

Alex Vlasic, now in his second full NHL season, has a 2-14-16 line matching his goal and points totals of last season, while playing nearly 24 minutes per game.

● NHL.com Vlasic ready to go from backyard rink in Chicago suburb to WinterClassic

 

Charlie Coyle scored his ninth goal and added an assist in the Bruins’ 4-1 win against Washington. Charlie McAvoy recorded his 11th helper on Coyle’s tally.

Lane Hutson scored his second goal in Montreal’s 5-4 loss to Columbus. He has a 2-24-26 scoring line, including 2-13-15 in his last 13 games (1.15 ppg).   

Macklin Celebrini assisted on a pair of goals and had  24:11 TOI in the Shark's 4-3 loss to Vancouver. He has 25 points (11G, 14A) in 25 games and leads all rookies in December points with 13, two more than Hutson's 11.

In the rookie points race, Hutson is second, a point behind the Flyers' Matvei Michkov, while Celebrini is third. Celebrini and Michkov each have 11 goals, tops for first-year players. 

AJ Greer scored his fourth goal—a shorthander—in Florida’s 4-2 win against Tampa.

Greer’s perseverance is particularly commendable. He appeared in fewer than 50 NHL games combined in his first six years post-BU, but made 120 starts the past two seasons. Now, he’s an everyday player with the Panthers.

The game also marked a milestone for Greer’s Terrier teammate, Evan Rodrigues: his 500th NHL game.

Clayton Keller scored a pair of goals, his 12th and 13th, in Utah’s 5-4 shootout loss to Anaheim. 

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