Subject: USA U-18 Team

The short answer is that the division is tough (like it always is), but the U.S. has a chance to move on. The U.S. probably has two of the top goaltenders in the tournament. Elite goaltending has been enough to carry some otherwise mediocre teams in past tournaments. The U.S. will also be able to conserve energy with two of them.

I intend to put together a longer post about the tournament at some point - perhaps I'll even see if I can get an article posted with some stats and rankings.

I received the scouting information for Latvia yesterday night and will get the updated or projected Russian and Canadian team shortly.

The more the young teams good the better the senior team does later on. Plus I am starting to find some really good guys who can add to the senior team. I am hoping next season the senior team will be better then ever before and better then others in the field.

Do you think the team is good enough to medal?

It's possible. A brief look over the rosters and team strength numbers shows that the U.S. is probably close to most of the teams except for a few top teams. In addition to top goaltenders, the U.S. has a few lines that are capable of competing with anyone - the difference is that the top teams have 4 lines like that.

The tournament has been very unpredictable in the past. The United States has upset stronger teams numerous times. On the other hand, a strong Hungarian team demoted last season and a strong French team demoted two seasons ago. A Portugese team that looked like it should relegate managed to win the whole thing two seasons ago (beating the U.S. in the semifinals).

The one difficulty is that the group 1, which would combine with the United States' group in the qualifying round, seems to be the strongest in the tournament with a strong Czech, Polish, and German team. Sweden also shouldn't be discounted. It's going to be important not only to get past the preliminary round but to get as many wins as possible to carry over to the qualifying round.

I went through the rest of the teams and made a list of players I want to scout. I can't scout the following by the deadline (the leagues are current and (t) indicates a player from the team's transfer list in one of the past 3 seasons):

II.3)
Gamblers: Burrell

II.4)
Detroit Slackers: Cortez/Love/Zimmerman/Huntley(t)

Buffalo Lasers: Wegner/Abu/Bouchard/Mossner

San Crispino: Reedy/Michel/Santos/Dewitt/Plummer(t)

I've put together a list of the best 15 year olds pulled or drafted so far this season that I could use help scouting for next season. Scouting reports from the managers of the players or help scouting would be appreciated:

15 year olds:
I.1)
9) Bohemians: Peters/Jordan (t)
10) Sticky Toads: Asher/Blair/O’Toole
11) Slatington Serpents: Rock/Mecier/Penner
12) Goldfish: Benedict
13) The Updog Brewer: Tacey
14) Montana Miners: Sosa/Brown (t)/Christie (t)
15) Spirit Crushers: Robinson/Gustafson/Fryzel
16) Bouncing Pucks: Yu
17) Salt Lake Karma Police: Salmon/Lowery
18) Bombsville Atomics: Pyle/Forbes/Tovar
19) Razorback Thugs: Phelps/Amaya/Liu

II.1)
20) Dinamo1983: Langston

II.2)
21) Shugar Daddies: Breece/Wesley

II.3)
22) Detroit Red Wings: Chang/Burnside/Lucas
23) Miami Revenants: Burrill
24) Brad’s Icebreakers: Sauvage (t)

II.4)
25) Buffalo Lasers: Dexter
26) Detroit Slackers: King/Burks/Abernathy
27) Smart People: Gates/Sheridan/Williams/Clayton

I've got Sticky Toads covered.

Also working on Gamblers and Detroit Slackers

I will send over my guys.

Hey cap shoot me a list and I'll do a few no problem.

Could you cover the Buffalo Lasers - as many as you can finish by day 13 of the next season:

1) Hyman Wegner
2) Bret Abu
3) Andy Bouchard
4) Milllard Mossner
5) Ramond Dexter

Thank you to smithe26, Headhog, Ziggy00, mmessner9, zomg, and draco26 for sending or promising to send scouting information.

Updated list:

15 year olds:
I.1)
9) Bohemians: Peters/Jordan (t)
12) Goldfish: Benedict
13) The Updog Brewer: Tacey
15) Spirit Crushers: Robinson/Gustafson/Fryzel
17) Salt Lake Karma Police: Salmon/Lowery
18) Bombsville Atomics: Pyle/Forbes/Tovar
19) Razorback Thugs: Phelps/Amaya/Liu

II.1)
20) Dinamo1983: Langston

II.3)
22) Detroit Red Wings: Chang/Burnside/Lucas
23) Miami Revenants: Burrill
24) Brad’s Icebreakers: Sauvage (t)

II.4)
25) Buffalo Lasers: Dexter
26) Detroit Slackers: King/Burks/Abernathy
27) Smart People: Gates/Sheridan/Williams/Clayton

You got it cap! I'll start on them

Bradley Kearney, the second best goaltender in the top division this season, led the United States to a 2-0 shutout against rival Canada! The shots were even at 27-26 in favor of the United States. Penalties were 4-5 with no powerplay goals.

The first goal and gamewinning goal were scored by Arnold Darby of the War Pigs, assisted by Bryan Funk of HC Chita Vsetin (Czech Republic, from Medvescak Zagreb) and by Jamie Richards of the Detroit Red Wings.

Calvin Chapman of the Westchester Red Wings added the insurance goal. Dale Arnett of HC Hakali (Finland, from the Razorback Thugs) and Andy Ledford of the Salt Lake Karma Police provided the assists.

In the other game, Latvia beat Russia 5-3. Poland beat Sweden and the Czech Republic beat Germany in group 1.

After the first game, the United States by far has the strongest goaltender in the group. Even the backup, Matt Dowell, is better than the other starters. The United States has a slim lead over the other team in shooting as well. The United States is more or less tied with Russia for second in defense. Offense is the weak point - the United States is in fourth Overall, the United States is in second after Latvia in team strength, though the difference aren't enough to guarantee a win against Russia or a loss against Latvia.

Excluding teams that are only 1 point better than the United States, there are 4 teams (Poland, Germany, France, and Latvia) that are less than 7 points better than the United States (this much can be overcome by clinching the playoffs early and conserving energy or by being lucky or good with tactics), and Slovakia is by far the strongest team in the tournament. It is not impossible that some teams held back a little in their first game.

2 other goaltenders earned a shutout today. Kearney made the most saves among the three.

Since I've not been able to post as often as I have in the past this season, I put together an article with various rankings that coldmountainrebel published today.

Tomorrow, the United States plays Latvia. A win, even in overtime, would allow the United States to clinch the qualifying round.

Great article btw. How long did it take you to write it up?

Thanks - I might have spent 5 hours or so on Wednesday, though I wasn't focusing exclusively on the article the whole time. Most of the time was spent researching for information to include.

Good luck today against Slovenia.

The game against Latvia will be challenging, but I believe it is very winnable.