Well another World Juniors is in the books and given the way it ended, who isn't jacked for next year? Besides re-affirming that this country won't accept losing when it comes to hockey, here's a list of things that I took away from this year's party in Saskatchewan...
10) It's amazing what a year does to a player. Stefan Della Rovere grew up a lot from last year and it showed. He knew how to straddle that line and was an impact at both ends. That's why people say its a tournament for 19 year olds.
9) This was a friendly reminder that Special Teams can decide a short tournament... perhaps another reason why Mike Green would be worth the risk in Vancouver.
8) Taylor Hall needs to keep his head up. He's a helluva skilled player, but you can't keep getting pasted along the boards like that at that size.
7) Jordan Eberle could date any hockey dad's daughter right now.
6) Willie Desjardins made the right call to pull Jake Allen. Allen will fight another day, but he wasn't right on Tuesday and it showed.
5) Nazem Kadri should be a star in Toronto. He plays with what Pat Quinn calls 'crust' and also plays with emotion. He won't always make the right play - emotion works against you sometimes - but he cares and wants to win, and who doesn't want that on their team?
4) Benjamin Conz is for real.
3) The Canucks have some great young players in Schroeder and Hodgson on the way.
2) Destiny is a lazy dog.
1) Finally there's a good reason to visit Buffalo next year besides hitting a Target store.