UCORCAL had a disappointing run throughout the course of the Season 73 World Junior Championships, finishing dead last with a .222 point percentage with 2 wins and 2 overtime losses. Assembling a younger team with multiple S73 first years and even a young Olivija Agate, who was yet to be drafted into the SMJHL, was a good learning experience for all involved but did not turn out to produce a medal for the United Countries. The United Countries of Russia, Czechia and Latvia had issues scoring goals and generating shots. As a squad that averaged only 1.92 goals per game and 25 shots per game and last medaled in Season 68, the new management of UCORCAL is dead set on earning a medal with a switch up of the roster.

Their Last Dance: Season 71 Class

With a switch up in players, comes the last chance at these UCORCAL mainstays earning a medal for their home country. With a team that consists of 3 full nations expectations are always a little bit higher as if you win a medal you don't just win it for your home country, you win it for 3 countries. UCORCAL has been fortunate enough to have some great players come through the squad and hopefully we can get a medal with them this season. These players are:

The Murray

After coming off a Four Star Cup win with Detroit, with UCORCAL teammates Marek Carda and Wayne Holloway, The Murray was second on the team in goals with 7 in 17. The playmaking winger is entering their third season being selected for UCORCAL, as one of the 6 425 TPE capped forwards on the roster Murray will hopefully continue his great two way play that he had in the playoffs and cap off his junior career with both a cup and a medal.

Dan Craig

Dan Craig has been one of the top scorers on Newfoundland the past couple seasons, tallying 120 goals in 164 games.  Craig put up his third season with over a point per game and broke the 40 goal mark for the first time of his junior career this season, scoring 43 goals which was 3rd in league scoring. He was also tied for 10th in points this season with fellow UCORCAL teammate Rence Sykut with 81 points. Spending his world junior career with UCORCAL has seen him score 16 points over the 36 career games with the club. As he enters the final year with UCORCAL, he will look to earn his first medal with them as well.

Arnost Hlemyzd

A tough defender that has been on the UCORCAL squad for the past 3 seasons, Hlemyzd played over 260 minutes last World Juniors and will most likely be doing a lot of cardio this year. With a great giveaway to takeaway ratio in his junior career and averaging over 140 blocks per season, this defender can be trusted in all situations to keep the puck out of the net. Combined with an average of 110 hits, he will be one of UCORCAL's best defensive defensemen.

Wayne Holloway
A staple in net for the Detroit Falcons and posting insane numbers throughout their series, Holloway will reprise his role in net for the UCORCAL for the second season in a row. Holloway is a great goaltender that kept UCORCAL in many games throughout last world juniors but couldn't do it all himself. Putting up a .905 save percentage despite going 1-7-1 in his UCORCAL debut was a great showing from him, a prime example of why goaltenders shouldn't be judged based solely on goaltender wins as he stood on his head and led the tournament in saves. If he plays as well as he did in his SMJHL finals appearance, UCORCAL has a great chance at a medal.

New Faces in New Places Defense:

UCORCAL will be having quite a few new faces on the team this tourney, with 4 players not returning and 4 players aging out. The defensive core will see an almost complete overhaul, with the only returning players being Oranj Konhe and Arnost Hlemyzd. Unfortunately a couple first and second season players will be the odd players out this season as UCORCAL will have a strong defensive core with 3 425 TPE defenders and 3 350 TPE defenders this time around. The new defenders will be as follows:

Ondrej von Stoodrick, a 6'2, offensive defender with 425 TPE from the Newfoundland Berserkers. The Czechian defenseman is going to be an important part of the newly built defensive core, with his ability to shutdown opposing players while sending a crisp breakout pass to one of the forwards. This Newfoundland defender has put up 50+ points twice in his 3 season career, tallying 16 goals and 35 assists this past season enroute to 63 takeaways and 125 blocked shots. UCORCAL should be happy to have picked him up as they push for a medal.

Jean-Francois Bokassa, is a 6'9 425 TPE defender from the Anchorage Armada. Coming from the Central African Republic to represent UCORCAL, Bokassa is very similar to Niklas Kronwall. He is an expert at shutting forwards down at the line, whether it is with his stick or his shoulder. With hsi 16 Checking and Defensive Read, if you're skating over the blue line with your head down you will be feeling it for the next couple days. A penalty killing mainstay for the Armada, hopefully he can replicate his success for UCORCAL. A solid defensive defenseman who had 46 takeaways, 107 blocks and 89 hits, Bokassa will be entrusted with the responsibility of denying other teams' top lines opportunities.

Leo Roze was a defensive anchor for Quebec City this season, being top 10 in almost every defensive stat while QCC allowed the fewest goals of any team. This 6'6 defender with 350 TPE led the league in +/-. Having a solid takeaway to giveaway ratio of 3.3, this big bodied defender isn't known to throw his body around but rather for his swift and accurate poke checks which denies the opponents entry to the zone. Roze isn't afraid to sacrifice the body for his goaltender tallying 192 blocks in the regular season, UCORCAL admires the commitment to his teammates and look forward to him doing the same for the national team.

The final addition to this stacked defense core is UCORCAL's newest team captain, Troy McClure IIII. Captain Troy will lead the charge towards the gold medal, though he keeps mentioning something about a large wooden horse at the medal ceremony? Not sure what that's about, but UCORCAL will help him with whatever he needs I am sure. An absolute puck magnet, 197 blocks this past season by the 6'6 defender lays it all on the line for the Regina Elk, but he also has impressive stick work putting up 53 takeaways this season. Another great defensive defenseman that put up a lot of penalty killing time this past season, a defensive pair that includes McClure IIII could be a solid PK unit.


New Faces in New Places Forwards:

UCORCAL has added a solid 4 new forwards to the squad this season, with all coming from the Season 74 draft class. With these players making their debuts for UCORCAL, I am sure they will all make their impact known to the opposing teams as they punish their opponents.

Cal Juice, a dynamic offensive winger that skates fast and puts the puck in the net. Exactly what the team needed in the last tournament. After tallying 73 points and 36 goals for Nevada this past season, this 6'2 350 TPE Left winger should be a welcome addition to the squad. Not afraid of physical play, Cal put up 121 hits and punished opponents. He doesn't shy away from the scrums after the whistle either evidenced by his 50 PIM he had this season. UCORCAL will be happy to have Cal in this run for the gold medal.

Deep Thought, another addition from the Anchorage Armada as this sniper finished tied for 8th in scoring with 37 goals. Offense in Anchorage ran through the duo of Joseph Reed and Deep Thought as he finished 7th in league scoring with 85 points. Finishing second in hits this season, Deep Thought calculated the best way to win hockey games was to put the puck in the net and your opponent through the boards. This supercomputer turned hockey player had a solid takeaway to giveaway ratio for a forward, finishing with a .64 ratio. Putting up 59 points at even strength this season, Deep Thought's ability to put the puck in the net will be a solid addition to the squad that struggled to score and generate shots last season.

Roger Murdock, the 6'11 giant from Carolina will be a solid two way player for UCORCAL. Putting up a positive takeaway to giveaway ratio while playing center this past season, Murdock put up 40 points with 25 assists with the majority coming at even strength. This 350 TPE forward will be relied on to shut down opposing teams with his high Defensive Read stat and defensive positioning. A role every team needs filled if they want to win, Murdock will utilize his big frame in order to get the job done.

Brandon Gilleyes, the 5'5 left winger with just under 350 TPE is a solid player picked up and will be relied on in a depth role for UCORCAL. One of the best clutch players on the roster, Gilleyes popped off for Colorado in their deep playoff run this season, tallying 18 points in 19 playoff games. Another fast offensive winger that likes to forecheck, Gilleyes put up 122 hits and 32 takeaways for Colorado while scoring 22 goals this season. Gilleyes has already expressed his desire to beat Team Canada Black and is excited to get underway with UCORCAL.


New Faces in New Places Goaltenders:

UCORCAL has brought in a new goaltender this season to become a duo with Wayne Holloway, and that is Anchorage's Stun Gun.

Stun Gun, is a solid starting goalie for Anchorage, winning 37 games last season and putting up a 2.89 goals against average with a .913 save percentage. Winning the Ideen Fallah trophy last season for the Regular Season MVP, Stun Gun will be a welcome addition to the squad as they hope to win a medal. Stun Gun has another solid season in Season 74, putting up 21 wins with a .887 save percentage and a 3.78 save percentage. With the addition of Stun Gun, UCORCAL has arguably the best goaltending tandem in the tournament.

Expectations for the Squad:

UCORCAL has not had a medal since season 68 with 4 players on this roster being in their final World Junior Championships tournament. Personal expectations for this squad is to earn either gold or silver. However, even making the medal rounds would be an improvement over the past couple seasons which saw UCORCAL get knocked out in the first round or miss the knockout stages entirely. There is possibly 1 more season with over half the roster having 425 TPE but this could be the best chance they have in order to win it all.

Personal Expectations:

Building Squidwardo Tentacles as a two-way force that can lay the body well, I am hoping that I can help keep the puck out of the net as often as possible while punishing players on the forecheck. Playing with other heavy hitting players like Deep Thought and Lily Jin Morrow should help intimidate other teams and force them to give up the puck. With multiple players finishing at the top of the league in scoring, like again Lily Jin Morrow, Deep Thought, Dan Craig, and Rence Sykut, as a pass first player, Squidwardo will be looking to feed them the puck as often as possible so they can work their magic. I look to improve on last tournament which saw me finish with 5 points in 12 games, enroute to a last place finish. Having current Yukon Malamute teammates Vyacheslav Shevchenko and Bobby Tkachuky on the squad is great, and we hope to beat the other Malamutes' teams throughout the tournament. One player in particular we will have to watch out for is Malamute linemate Langston Hardison-Laurent, who finished second in league scoring and 1st in goals. Playing for Team USA Blue, he will have to keep his head up when he plays UCORCAL.


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