2016 WJC displays elite Finnish, U.S. draft-eligible talent

Led by tournament MVP Jesse Puljujärvi and Arizona product Auston Matthews, the top NHL draft prospects from Finland and the United States stole the show at the 2016 world junior championship. 

The tournament is a testament to how the Finns and Americans have both produced bumper 2016 NHL draft crops. It’s not as though the two countries were handed the draft’s spotlight because of a weak pool of Canadian talent, either. Canada has a handful of elite prospects such as Sarnia Sting defender Jakob Chychrun and Mississauga Steelheads forward Michael McLeod, but they are a step behind the Matthews of the world.

“I don't consider it to be an especially weak Canadian crop,” says McKeen’s Hockey head scout Grant McCagg. “I consider it to be exceptionally strong in the US and Finland at the top of the draft. This is shaping up to be one of the strongest top 10s in draft history.”

The 6-foot-2, 194-pound Matthews, who netted seven goals and 11 points in seven games, remains the draft’s consensus No. 1 prospect. He showed he has tools and composure to develop into an elite No. 1 centre at the NHL level in the Finland-based tourney.

“I think he did solidify himself as the probable No.1 pick, but it's not a big margin between him and the next best two or three,” says NHL Central Scouting’s Thomas Roost. “Matthews was very strong on the puck, he did win a lot of battles in the corners and along the walls and he could easily hold off opponent d-men who attacked him. In addition, he did put himself often in good shooting positions and his shots were quite dangerous most of the time.”

Even though Puljujärvi led the way with an amazing 17-point (5G-12A) effort, Patrik Laine may have boosted his draft stock the most between the two Finnish forwards. The 6-foot-4, 209-pound winger netted seven goals and 13 points while showcasing his impeccable offensive instincts, high-end shot and imposing presence.

“Both played excellent and in my ranking they didn't go up because they were already near the very top, but I guess that they did go up in other rankings, especially Laine who was just around 10 or so,” says Roost. “I think Laine is now in most rankings’ top five. In my eyes, his upside is even a bit higher than Matthews’ upside. Laine has probably the best potential of these three players. He is a monster, and wow, he really can shoot the puck. But Matthews and Puljujärvi are more of a sure thing with a little bit smaller question marks.”

Ollie Juolevi, who notched nine assists, shone on Finland’s back end. Some scouts feel the 6-foot-2, 183-pound London Knight’s strong performance put him in the discussion with Chychrun as the draft’s best blueliner.

“I feel that Ollie Juolevi helped himself more than any other high-end prospect at the tournament,” says McCagg. “Going into the competition I had him ranked as the fourth best defenceman available for the draft... following his performance through five games he is now in the discussion as the top blueliner in this draft, and a serious candidate for the top five. His tremendous hockey sense, poise and natural skating ability were all on display... he reminds me in some ways of Nick Lidstrom.”

Juolevi’s OHL teammate, U.S. winger Matthew Tkachuk, did his part to solidify himself in the draft’s top 10. He tied Matthews in points with four goals and seven helpers and showed great hustle and top-end playmaking abilities, but did struggle at times with the speed of the game.

“Tkachuk produced as he always does and showed his high-end hockey sense, playmaking and puck skills in addition to his raw power,” says McCagg. “The only concern is his skating, but that's an important concern, and he was struggling to keep up with the speed in this tournament even if he was deadly from the blueline in.  He remains a solid 6-10 ranked prospect in a draft with a highly competitive top ten because of the grit and all of the things he brings offensively.”

Canada’s lone draft-eligible player, Val-d’Or Foreurs winger Julien Gauthier, who mustered two assists in five matches, made an impact despite battling the flu in the latter half of the tourney. His intimidating 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame helped him standout as a force in front of the net and along the wall.

“I was very impressed with Gauthier early in the tournament and thought he might be making a strong statement to be a top seven prospect in this draft, but unfortunately he got sick and I didn't see the same jump from him after that,” says McCagg. “He also didn't get a great opportunity in later games that may have been there if he'd never taken ill so I'm not going to penalize him too severely for subpar efforts in later games."

With his brother, Toronto Maple Leafs pick William Nylander, out for the most of the tourney with a head injury, Swedish forward Alexander Nylander stepped up his game. The Mississauga Steelhead led his country’s offense with a team-leading nine-point (4G-5A) effort.

“Nylander had a very strong tourney,” says Roost. “To be honest, I didn't expect that much from him. I did think that he might get a bit overwhelmed from bigger, stronger opponents, but he did prove me wrong. I did expect from him a 0.8 points-per-game performance at best. His skill-set is just off the charts. I always did think that William is more skilled than Alexander, but now I know that the skill-sets of these brothers is quite close and they have similar handskill-assets and both are significantly better skaters than their father was."

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen