Jan 9, 2023
thank you to the kid who asked me what college i go to in the subway east bound to kennedy today when the train just passed by the pape station. my 30 something old self really needed the confidence boost. bless you kiddo.
the u20 world junior championship never disappoints. this 2023 version was no different, it was fun to watch live because of so many unexpected tight games and upsets. not having russia in the tournament was still strange, but it was the most competitive world juniors i've ever seen. never knew what to expect game to game.
my favourite moments are czechia beating canada, czechia singing the national anthem, czechia bench celebrating, czechia making it to the finals, czechia winning silver.
lol ok ok, other than that, slovakia upsetting usa, austria scoring, that chaotic bronze medal game aka no defence game, and experiencing the new phenomenon of hockey on my laptop that was a whole new experience. please let him head to columbus and reunite with his buddy stanislav. if that's not possible, anywhere but chicago.
honourable mention - one of the most hilarious moments
gif credit: tumblr@zukirillo
liam öhgren,
minnesota wild 2022 1st rounder,
applying the A to his team sweden sweater just prior to puck drop
love that little smirk, like a kindergartner that just got a gold star lolol, he's going to fit in sooo well. NOT WEIRD, WILD.
do they need all the sponsors on their jersey by the way? terrible look with a full of damn ads to be honest.
personally, seeing some parity at the world juniors was great and that is entirely to be welcomed for the tournament and hockey in general.
parity is fun. oh yes, when czechia, slovakia, switzerland, and germany(getting there) are good and producing talent, hockey is better. this sport desperately needs more competitive countries. more competition is d e f i n i t e l y more entertaining o b v i o u s l y, and when the tournament is wide open, it would be a lot more enjoyable for fans of all countries and awesome for hockey.
canada, czechia, usa, sweden, finland, slovakia and russia(when they're allowed), any of these teams could push for a medal. it will be so much interesting when there are more competition, battles and fierceness.
absolutely loved seeing teams like switzerland, czechia, and slovakia beating powerhouses in the tournament. how can you as a hockey fan not be happy for the swiss win over finland, the czechs win over canada, and the slovak win over usa?
watching teams that aren't team usa or canada tasting the happiness and excitement of victory, though it ended with a devastating loss, was priceless to see.
if slovakia advanced to the finals, the slovaks and czechs would've been playing one another in the gold medal game exactly 30 years after the spilt.
on the other hand, i've kept thinking what if czechia and slovakia were still one country, would they win this thing already? i say yes, if there was a czechoslovakia team in the tournament, they wouldn't lose a single game.
lots of love for czechia and slovakia
it was easy to root for both of these two teams, quite impossible to cheer against them who played with a ton of heart and passion on the ice. the czechs and slovaks have shown they're no longer pushovers and i think that's wonderful for the future of the tournament.
it was also beautiful to finally see a new country in the mix for gold. the last time where a team that was not the big five hockey nations made it to the finals was 22 years ago, when czechia claimed their first ever championship triumph in 2001.
it's been the canadian, russian, american, finnish, swedish flags flying high during the medal ceremony over two decades except the year of 2015, when slovakia won the bronze.
wait, let me get this straight. so there were only three occasions where the teams other than the regulars stand on the podium ever since 2000?
2000 gold czechia
2001 gold czechia
2015 bronze slovakia
this is crazy. now that i'm stating the facts and only facts, i'm again insanely proud of my beloved czechia.
honestly the semifinal matchups are always pretty predictable, which is a combo of those five countries(four after russia suspension). and it's been exhausting watching the same countries fight for it every year. no fun.
so yeah, once again, well done czechia!!!!!!!!!!!
this tournament was a coming out party for the future nhl star defensemen. stanislav svozil, luke hughes, david jiříček, ludvig jansson, šimon nemec, denton mateychuk, etc. are all brilliant prospects in their own right.
the confident czechia's blue line being so active every game was a joy to watch. all tournament team could've feartured two czech defencemen in jiříček and svozil, both happen to be the columbus prospects, who were killing it throughout the tournament. jiříček looked like a pro playing against juniors, svozil was terrific too, how on earth were 68 players drafted ahead of him in 2021? still cannot believe columbus managed to pick him in the third round. are they going to pair for the blue jackets? can't wait for them to save the poverty blue jackets defence.
it turned out, denton mateychuk was also drafted by columbus in 2022. with mateychuk, jiříček, and svozil in the pipeline, the blue jackets are going to have a sick blue line in a few years.
their prospect pool is already looking really scary, what if they could miraculously add connor bedard here? uh oh.
umm mr. blue jackets gm, would you consider selecting gabriel szturc(can't wait to hear for all the broadcasters pronouncing his name ridiculously wrong) from czechia coming into the draft?
he was one of my favourite players i very much enjoyed watching at the wjc. he's such a fluid skater, smart, defensively responsible, tactically efficient, great pass reception, etc., just a good well rounded player who's spending 90% of waking hours smiling. i like him. i wanna see my favourites all in the same jersey so that i don't have to have hundreds of teams to follow.
uhhhhh if minnesota picks him, that would totally work for me too. well that would be better actually. i think szturc would look great in a green sweater, and maybe he could play centre.. alongside with kaprizov, oy oy oy oy oy!!!!!
speaking of the draft, i need the wild to draft jimi suomi. yes, jimi suomi, whom i've been made aware of an overager but still an nhl draft eligible. purely based on the name and the name alone, he deserves a shot. and i'm all for this because i like fun things. what's the point of being a mediocre team fan anyway? is it too much to ask? i need something that amuses me please.
nah, he's good. he's not the biggest guy, but a natural skater who sees the game well. worth taking a chance on him with a late round pick. just my opinions.
good luck to everyone! looking forward to seeing you all in the nhl!
the 2023 world juniors, to me, will be remembered by czechia and slovakia being back. all credit to them.
with the fall of the czechs and slovaks in the last two decades, there's been all the talk in hockey about the big five, however, both have produced strong 03-05 age groups.
it's pretty amazing to see two small countries like slovakia and czechia putting together some serious competitive teams that can legitimately compete with those five top dogs. both should be super proud of their hockey programs.
the slovak boys were so funny and tough as hell. loved to see them never backing down from a fight and standing up for each other. they were the youngest team but showed a lot of courage to put up one hell of a fight against the two north america giants. even though their ending was heartbreaking this year, 15 players including the captain nemec(unlikely tho) on the roster are eligible to return next year. the future looks extremely bright, this might be another golden generation for the slovakia national team.
photo credit: tumblr@extraliga-related
"no way this happened."
2022 nhl draft 2nd / 1st / 26th overall pick
šimon nemec / juraj slafkovský / filip mešár
team slovakia and team czechia can become an international hockey threat, and i badly want these teams to succeed and win something. seeing "small" countries excel would be immensely fun and greatly satisfying.
CZECHIA & SLOVAKIA ENTHUSIASTS AND ENJOYERS RISE UP
in that sense, i am all in for the czechia vs. slovakia gold medal game in the 2024 u20 world junior championship. after both make it to the finals, they should reunify as a country and then declare hockey war on the western powers.
sorry. i was just being silly.
honestly though, the final between the two would be a must watch, and i'm sure that will be a crazy, intense, and good one.
last but least, it didn't happen but anyway, i lowkey wished team czechia's david špaček, david jiříček, and david moravec all to score in the same game so that it would be a david hat trick, which would be brilliantly amusing, wouldn't it? ahhahahahahaah
it was close one time though, when špaček and moravec were able to get a goal while jiříček wasn't in their first game against canada. a david hat trick would've been fun.
NO it is ANYBODY's game.
i will pray on hockey canada downfall until the day i die
fuck hockey canada
