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A Raiders Perspective on the WJC
#1

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Apologies to all the Raiders for the delay on this article. Had some irl stuff I was dealing with. WORDS = 1,285

It was an exciting offseason for the Halifax Raiders players and recent draftees, as several were able to skate for their national teams and compete on the ice in the Season 49 World Junior Championship taking place in Bratislava, Slovakia. A diverse international mix, as you would expect from most hockey teams, Halifax had eight returning players, two new draftees and eight recent alumni represent all eight national teams during the offseason tournament.

Starting with Team Great Britain Uk (or British Isles if you prefer), were Halifax alumni Jon Forty-One (@C9Van) and recent draftee Abel Skinner (@"kc Philip"). Forty-One, one of the leaders of the British Isles, led the team in scoring during the round robin play and propelled the team into the medal round where they upset highly touted Canada enroute to earning the silver medal. Skinner, a recently drafted defenseman, made his debut with Great Britain, and earned a respectable 1 goal and 2 assists while earning 15 minutes a game on the third defensive pairing.

Team Canada Canada , had the highest number of Halifax players and recent alumni playing for them. Representing the team from the Great White North (cue Bob and Doug McKenzie – google it if you are too young, it is worth it) were four Raiders: Halifax team captain Atlas Rush, Conor Tanner (who was recently traded in the offseason), and a pair of defensemen, Haley Knight and Adam Barron. Both Rush (@Rublic) and Tanner (@Keygan), who was the alternate captain for Team Canada, earned respectable playing time while holding down the second line with both players finishing the tournament with 4 goals and 3 assists a piece. Haley Knight (@satf) also had a decent showing for team Canada, earning a first line pairing nod and finishing the tournament with 3 goals and 4 assists herself. The final Raiders player in the Canadian lineup was highly touted Adam Barron (@charlieconway). Barron, who was recently selected first overall in the SHL draft and who is competing for a first line pairing in Halifax, finished tournament play with 1 goal and 3 assists while playing on the fourth line. While this may seem like a disappointing result for the young defenseman, it shouldn’t be. Especially when you consider just how stacked Team Canada was with such perennially great defensemen as Lyle Odelein (@Huck24), Delver Fudgeson (@Massive Coiler) and the Canadian captain Gabriel Johnson (@Gwdjohnson). Even with meager minutes, Barron showed his quality and will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with in the near future for Team Canada.

The two Scandinavian teams, Finland Finland and Sweden Sweden, had two and one Halifax Raider a piece on their roster. For Finland, center Timmo Kyllonen finished the tournament with 5 goals and 5 assists and defenseman Jaako Jarvinen finished with 8 assists and lead the team in blocked shots with 17 while playing on the first line. While neither player achieved the medal result they were looking for, both played very well and showed the caliber of player they are. For Sweden, the single Raider on the roster was recent alumni and SHL call-up Ricky Spanish (@Whikadoodle). Spanish, a stalwart in Halifax for several seasons, scored 4 goals and had 5 assists during the tournament while anchoring the Swedes’ first line.

Team UCORCAL, or the United Countries of Russia Russia , Czechia Czechoslovakia and Latvia Latvia , had two Halifax alumni playing their final World Junior Championship action before heading up to the SHL for good. Both winger Josef Kubinec (@"marc bradford") and defenseman Oliver Klozoff (@Alex Mack) led UCORCAL in scoring as they played their way to a hard earned bronze medal game. On arguably one of the most gifted teams in the tournament, both Kubinec and Klozoff played extraordinarily well and paced the team with 7 goals and 6 assists and 1 goal and 12 assists respectively. While ultimately, they didn’t have the outcome they desired, losing in overtime during the bronze medal game to the World team, both players left it all out on the ice in their final WJC play.

The Raiders on the USA Usa team comprised winger Cody (@Winter is Coming) and defensive stud Noah Tedla (@tedlamotors). Both players are recent alumni with Cody being traded during the offseason and Tedla moving up to the SHL. Although neither player is with Halifax anymore, both are worthy of praise as they both played exceptionally well on a solid US lineup. Cody, a high-flying forward, finished the tournament with 7 goals and 5 assists while earning second line minutes. Tedla also played extremely well, leading the US defensemen in points with 1 goal and 11 assists and anchoring the first defensive pairing.

Team World World had three current and former Raiders on the roster with centers Esa Parmborg (@Steelhead77), Julien Villeneuve (@adamantium) and winger Suzuki Namokato (@Thejaff) on the squad. Parmborg, who recently moved up to the SHL and is known for his delicious chicken parms, may have earned best forward honors this tournament as he paced the World team with 9 goals and 13 assists enroute to earning a bronze medal. Suzuki Namokata, the Japanese-born second-year winger, also earned considerable praise during the tournament as he accumulated 6 goals and 7 assists during the tourney while playing less than 17 minutes a game. Finally, the young, tough Monaco-born Villeneuve, who was recently drafted in the first round by Halifax, had a respectable tournament while playing less than 10 minutes a game, finishing the tournament with 1 goal and 1 assist. While earning only minimal minutes, the best outcome for the young Villeneuve is his being surrounded on team World by other young and impressive players like Hariken Urawa (@uhh) and Akira Ren (@Velevra). Being exposed to such a talented roster early on bodes well for Villeneuve as he experienced first-hand the commitment needed to make it big.

Finally, representing the combined DACH Switzerland Austria Germany team, comprised of players from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, were left winger Krash Krashwagen (@CementHands) and defenseman FR Finn-Rhys. Both Krashwagen and Finn-Rhys represented themselves well as they both held down the second line defensive pairing on the way to a gold medal. Both players were incredibly impactful for the DACH team. In fact, Finn-Rhys led the DACH team in scoring during the tournament, finishing with 4 goals and 16 assists. While Krashwagen did not light it up on the scoring side finishing with 1 goal and 6 assists, even though he is an incredibly talented winger. Instead, Krashwagen showed his prowess on defense by playing on the blue line for the duration of the tournament and finished with a team-leading +17 rating. This bodes well for Halifax as it shows that not only could Krashwagen be converted to a defenseman and play well in a pinch, but more importantly how committed the second-year player is to winning, by selflessly playing out of position to help the team.

All told, the representation the Raiders had at the recent World Junior Championship bodes well for the franchise as Halifax looks to build upon recent success, both in the SMJHL and the WJC, and define itself as a franchise that can contend season in and season out. With players consistently using their offseason to earn more experience in the WJC, it is easy to believe that the vision Halifax is driving towards will come to fruition.

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#2

Nice write up!

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#3

raiders raiders raiders

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#4

Uk Uk Uk

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#5

Austria Germany Switzerland

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