Photo Credit: Rebecca McCormick
Team Canada slaughtered Slovakia 11-1 yesterday at the WJC. Slovakia couldn’t hang with Mason McTavish (4g,2a), Connor Bedard (1g,1a), Joshua Roy (1g,3a), and Tyson Foerster (0g,1a).
Foerster didn’t have his best game, but he played a strong game. His skating is noticeable (In a good way), but most would like more separation. He needs longer strides to develop more separation, and maybe that will come with more confidence. Foerster has worked hard this Summer with a skating coach Slava in Voorhees, NJ, and this is the one area that he has worked that hardest.
One thing I would like to see from Foerster in this tournament is his confidence to shoot more. Yesterday Foerster only shot the puck on net twice, which is very low for him. Foerster is a first shot mentality player that is something most rave about, so give the people what they want.
He just doesn’t appear to have that confidence that most have seen, and the same goes for Elliot Desnoyers. Desnoyers just hasn’t found his niche in the first two games of the tournament. He logged 12:13 of ice time, as compared to Forester’s 12:09 of ice time.
Much like Foerster, Desnoyers is used to making quick decisive decisions with the puck, and I just haven’t seen that crispness yet from him. Again it’s only two games, but they were against lower level teams (Latvia, Slovakia), so I personally was expecting more.
Brian Zanetti
Zanetti struggled a bit with Switzerland, but he actually faired a bit better than his team. Switzerland was pummeled yesterday 7-1, and Zanetti finished the game with a -2 after logging 12:38 of ice time. He did register an assist, but he should be more relied upon for the Swiss.
This young 19-year-old in Zanetti is 6’2 and weighing 181 pounds in Zanetti needs time to develop. Like most prospects he has to get bigger and stronger, he’s a bit lanky. Zanetti’s body will fill in time, so I’m not concerned about that, especially with playing for renown program in the Peterborough Petes in the OHL. However, Zanetti likes to join the rush, and is a smooth skating defenseman. These are some things to keep an eye on as the tournament progresses.
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It’s still early in the tournament so anything can still happen. Both Foerster and Desnoyers should rebound in a big way after this off day, as well as, Zanetti. The only Flyers prospect in action today is Emil Andrae of Sweden.
Schedule of Flyers Prospects today at the WJC:
Sweden vs. Austria 2pm EST (Andrae)
