Well, another World Junior Championship is in the books for the British Isles, and a familiar pattern has emerged once again as the upstart Brits fell short of the cutoff by two points. This was not an unexpected outcome for them this season, with only five skaters with more than 300 TPE, there was clearly a talent gap between the British and the more talent-rick teams, who often boasted much more high-end talent. For example, fifth place team ICE boasted eight players clearing 400 TPE alone and sixth place team USA White boasted 12 players with 424 or 425 TPE. With that context and given the very raw depth players at the British Isles’ disposal, it was actually a remarkable tournament from the outmatched Brits, who continued to battle throughout the tournament.

Game 1 - North America 2, British Isles 3
This was a good night from the Tommies, taking advantage of some discipline issues from the North American side, allowing them to score on one of their five powerplay opportunities which gave them the one goal edge. Elly Snow-Leopard got on the board with the British third goal and also assisted on the power play, getting off to a hot start which they would carry through the tournament, being the only Brit to finish the Tournament on a point-per-game pace. Both goalies turned in solid performances, with North American netminder Anastasia Soderstrom maintaining a .910 SV%, and Lee Harrison showing out with a remarkable .920.

Game 2 - British Isles 1, World 5
This was a much more ugly game for the good guys as the Brits had an undisciplined night, giving up lots of great quality chances to a very good World squad. Elly once again proved to be the bright spot, breaking the Song Ju-gong shutout bid with two seconds left on the assist by Panda Jr and Hometown kid Oliver Cornwall, who despite his assist had a rough night with two penalities, one of which culminating in a PPG against.

Game 3 - British Isles 3, United States Blue 9
In what would prove to be a chippy game all night, despite being the only team to capitalize on one of the twelve total powerplays of the game, the British got absolutely shelled by the very strong Blue American squad. After chasing McStopper midway through the third with seven goals, Harrison stepped in and gave up two more in a game where the British just had no answer for the relentless American pressure.

Game 4 - United States Blue 5, British Isles 4 (OT)
The British put up a much better fight in what was a heated game throughout, ending with a total of 16 powerplays distributed over the night. Lead once again by the phenomenal Snow-Leopard, the British pushed back hard against an American team who had stolen their lunch the previous outing. Unfortunately, the American attack once again proved too much for the inexperienced Brits, who failed to complete the upset in Overtime.

Game 5 - British Isles 3, Norden 6
In what, by this point, has become a repeated result, the British fell to the best team of the round robin in Norden. Despite a solid offensive showing including two assists from rookie defenceman Cornwall, the British defensive imperfections once again shone through as they allowed Harrison to be shelled for 60 shots in 54 minutes, as he was chased after 5 goals while still holding a very impressive .900 given the circumstances.

Game 6 - Rhine 2, British Isles 6
In undoubtedly their best game of the tournament to date, the British stomped on a very respectable Rhine squad. Lead by Panda Jr and with supporting offensive performances up and down the lineup including two more assists from Cornwall, the British embarrassed Rhine goaltender Losanov who ended the game with a .790 SV%. With both teams giving up two powerplay markers, there is definitely some tidying to be done but this game showed what the Brits are capable of when they are firing on all cylinders.

Game 7 - British Isles 3, Rhine 4
This game immediately reversed the promise of the previous outing, as the Tommies fell to the Rhine’s vengeance performance. Falling into a 4-1 deficit in the third period proved to be too much despite two late goals from Jagerson and Thompson-Smythe, as they attempted late game heroics which at least made the final score respectable. The British powerplay continued to operate at a mediocre pace, scoring only one goal despite six opportunities.

Game 8 - United States Blue 4, British Isles 2
In a relatively calm rematch between these two rivals, the Americans once again asserted their superiority over this edition of the British isles. Despite McStopper’s best efforts, which earned him a .920 SV% in this outing, the Tommies simply could not stop the relentless American pressure, as they gave up two quick goals in the first six months, ending the game outshot 40-31 and with a final score of 4-2.

Game 9 - British Isles 3, North America 2 (SO)
In what was one of their most exciting games of the tournament, the British came to play as they took the fight to their opponent, walking away with the win for the second time against the North Americans. McStopper stood on his head, giving up only two goals the entire evening and ending the night with an eye-popping .960 SV% as he bailed out his team and stole two points. Snow-Leopard and Jagerson once again showed off their offensive prowess, tallying two goals in the third to give the British a lead which would stand until the last ten seconds of the game when Slurpe tied it up for his squad. With nothing settled in regulation, this was the first British Shootout win of this tournament.

Game 10 - World 7, British Isles 1
Well, there’s no other word to describe this game from the Tommies but UGLY. The Brits were on the back foot all night, regularly giving up high-danger opportunities which shattered McStopper’s stellar tournament save percentage this tournament, giving up 7 goals on 32 shots for an abysmal 0.780 SV%. This was one which you just want to put behind you as a player as the British coaching staff burn the tape to try to rally the lads to save their tournament over their last two guaranteed games.

Game 11 - British Isles 2, United States Blue 5
Whatever the squad did to try to rally for a late tournament push, it did not work as they once again lost a battle for a game to the American squad. Despite that there were no glaring deficiencies in the British attack this game, the talent game was just obvious as the Americans moved the puck and attacked the net with a confidence that the British could not match. As they left the ice, the lads knew that they had one more opportunity to save their tournament against a powerhouse Scandinavian squad.

Game 12 - British Isles 1, Norden 2
In what turned out to be their last game of the tournament, the British lost a battle against the top-ranked Norden team. McStopper did all in his power to give them a chance, stopping every shot after the first period and ending with 37 saves and a .950 SV%. Despite an Oliver Cornwall goal midway through the third to pull the British within one, the Brits could find no further answers to an incredibly hot Milasch, who saved 24 of 25 tonight to break the hearts of British hockey fans everywhere. The Norden squad’s commitment to team defence must also be applauded as they held the Brits to 6 shots in the second and 7 shots in the third, suffocating the British attack and ensuring that was where their tournament ended.


OVERVIEW
With the tournament in the rear-view mirror, we can take a look and get a good picture for where the British Isles stand right now and where we might expect to see some change going forward. Over the tournament, the Brits averaged 2.58 goals for per game versus 4.42 goals against, for an average deficit of 1.84 goals per game. This is borne out by their shot numbers as the British goaltending tandem faced a monstrous 36.58 shots against per game versus a poor 24.33 shots generated per game by their skaters. This is obviously not a recipe for success as you can only score when you’re getting pucks on net. The advanced statistics also point to them getting mauled as far as possession, with only two British players boasting positive Corsi numbers and no British player achieving a positive fenwick for differential. Essentially, there were only two players (Elly Snow-Leopard and Red Panda Jr, to nobody’s surprise) who were on the ice when the British had more shot attempts than the other team, and there were no British players on the ice for more unblocked shot attempts than the other team. Lastly, the British were clipping along at a slow 15.4% on the powerplay, while having a respectable 79.5% on the penalty kill, for a total special teams efficiency of 94.9%, meaning that they lost the special teams battle as well over the course of the tournament.

Ultimately, this all indicates that the current British junior roster is just overmatched against its opposition in its current form. However, with a whole lot of raw talent on the team, the British Isles are primed for an explosion in the next couple of seasons as they continue to develop their talent. There is nowhere to go but up for this squad, and next we will look at one example, British rookie defenceman Oliver Cornwall.


Player Analysis
It was an encouraging tournament from the young British defender as he continued to develop his offensive game while still being a relatively positive contributor on the defensive side of the puck. While he, like most of his teammates, don’t have very good counting stats to point to, Cornwall has shown that he can eat decent minutes against high level competition and not get caved in. Cornwall was third in both overall CF% at 49.8% and in CF% Rel (basically a measure of how good his team was with and without him on the ice) at +8.9%, and was third in the team in overall FF% at 46.1%, but second with respect to FF% Rel. He also posted a PDO (addition of his team’s shooting percentage while he was on the ice, with the save percentage of the opposing goalie while he was on the ice) of 95.8%, which is traditionally viewed to show he was “unlucky” as average “luck” should mean a PDO of 100% flat. However, this may also show that the British were taking low-danger chances with him out there while giving up high-danger opportunities, so I hesitate to take any concrete findings from that stat.

Ultimately, from the perspective of Cornwall’s SMJHL teammates and SHL management, this was an encouraging but inconclusive showcase of Cornwall’s performance against the best of his peers. Over the coming season, fans can get excited as they continue to watch their youngest players grow into bigger and more significant roles with their club as these players have nowhere to go but up. And British fans can look forward to a defensive corps with a new top ten SHL draft pick who has something to prove.

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