Each day throughout the World Junior Hockey Championship, TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button brings important issues and topics surrounding the tournament to the forefront.
Today he selects three all-star teams from the preliminary round.
TSN's extensive live coverage of the World Junior Hockey Championship continues with all four quarterfinals on Saturday, including Canada vs. Finland at 10:30am et/7:30am pt.
First Team
G: Linus Soderstrom (Sweden): Rock solid. He single handedly won game against USA
D: Ivan Provorov (Russia): Superb command in every situation
D: Olli Juolevi (Finland): Three- zone defenceman with skill, smarts and competitiveness
C: Sebastian Aho (Finland): The processor to maximize the skills of his two wingers
W: Jesse Puljujarvi (Finland): High-end skill, will, smarts and ability to dominate
W: Patrik Laine (Finland): High end skill combined with flair and imagination
Second Team
G: Alex Nedeljkovic (USA): You don’t have to be big to stand tall in the net
D: Zach Werenski (USA): Makes the game look easy with his skating and smarts
D: Andreas Englund (Sweden): A Swedish bull who is heavy and territorial
C: Auston Matthews (USA): Dominant centre who can beat you multiple ways
W: Matthew Tkachuk (USA): Will play any way the game dictates
W: Alexander Nylander (Sweden): Silky smooth skill with a quiet determination
Third Team
G: Ivan Kulbakov (Belarus): Stand-on-your-head brilliant in his three games
D: Christian Jaros (Slovakia): All-in competitor who is no joy to play against
D: Vili Saarijarvi (Finland): Brilliant mind with deception and puck play
C: Vladislav Kamenev (Russia): Drives significant play as a centre and leader
W: Adrian Kempe (Sweden): High-end skating combined with skill and finish
W: David Pastrnak (Czech Republic): Impact player throughout. Could have had 10 goals