Kings Prospects in the 2025 World Junior Championship: Performance Analysis and Updates

Stick on puck – forced the shot high up off the glass. Nice pull and drag shot attempt – wrist shot into the pads. Made a nice play, stick on puck with second hand following through to separate his man from the puck – the opposition just made a nice, timely, pass off the boards which resulted in a goal against. Never made it below the top of the faceoff circle in the Offensive Zone. True stay at home Defensive Defenseman. Not a bad skater but could add some speed to his game. Nice pull and drag. - Keith Fries

Staying back in the play. Off the draw, picked his spot and darted to open ice, unleashing a solid wrist shot for a goal top left corner – heat on the shot. On the ice for a 5-on-3 disadvantage – goal scored against him in this sequence but he did a nice job of directing traffic while eliminating space covering four defenders. Got a bit jumpy on Kazakhstan's second goal of the game, biting to the player in the middle than sticking with the eventual goal scorer on the wing. - Keith Fries

Using his stick to eliminate space. Nice job stepping up in the Offensive Zone to grab the puck and keep the play alive. Solid connection on a one-time slap shot, had some heat, blocked – player who blocked it went to the ice. Immediately tried another slap shot and another block – player limping to the bench. Good back skating. On the ice for quite a few goals for. Goal against, 6-on-3 – tight triangle formation in the slot allowed too much room on the wing for a one-timer. - Keith Fries

Goal against, could have dropped down for a blocked shot, tried to go stick on puck. Playing down low on the penalty kill, directing traffic. - Keith Fries

Nice slight movement, low glove, save – kept the puck moving. Good vision through traffic with a nice glove save from the point, down in the butterfly. Drops to the butterfly on shots from long range. Another long shot save, glove side, down in the butterfly. Hugged the post and took away any opportunity on a sharp angle shot. Not afraid to take a shot at the pads. On a two-on-none breakaway, he read the situation correctly and didn't give up a goal – almost made the glove save but bounced off. Shoulder save, stick side. Really good poise with the opposition hacking and whacking – dropped down and sat on the puck. Shoulder save in tight, backdoor, on the penalty kill. Another big penalty kill save in tight – good puck tracking down in the butterfly. Long shot, beat, but rang off the post. Another pad save, mid-range, in the butterfly. Goal against – initial shot over the net, rebounded out front, second player skated to the right and drew Slukynsky away from the net, finish on the left by a third skater – bang, bang play – Slukynsky was down in the butterfly and the goal was scored top left corner, over the shoulder, stick side. - Keith Fries

Good puck tracking, quick drop down for a pad save. Nice stretched arm glove save. Good vision through track, drop down pad save. Baseball catcher glove save standing up. Very nice positioning with heavy traffic – kept his eyes on the puck, save in tight, didn't get spooked and lose his position when the puck rebounded out. Glove save off a long shot tipped in traffic. On a breakaway attempt, George stayed with shooter, never left his crease, and barely moved when making a casual save. This kid is calm, cool and collected. Used his blocker-side shoulder to bat a puck down in traffic before covering it for a whistle. Trusting his teammates to block shots. Another shoulder save from a mid-range shot. Held his position on a sharp angle shot. Nice glove save on a shot off the faceoff. Even when faced with moments where he needs to move to make a save, he never gets jumpy or over skates the play. - Keith Fries

Drop down save on a dump in shot. Drop down torso save on a quick shot off a turnover. Didn't panic when down on his butt, puck still active. Shoulder save on strong shot from mid-range. Good positioning forced a shot off the post – same sequence, George with good vision through traffic, another post save. Playing low and finishing on a save with the drop down technique. Hasn't left his crease. Not jumpy, holding his position. Glove save from distance making it look routine. Nice save through traffic. Really good, quick shot reflexes. Hugging the post. Primary assist on an empty net goal. - Keith Fries

Standing glove save with ease. Catch off a high rebound like a baseball infielder nabbing a fly ball. Trusting his positioning with shots wide left and one that rang off the right post. Puck tracking well. Absorbed a shot into his torso. Not overskating the play. Power play goal against, stick side – Canada couldn't clear the zone, pressured. Post save. Nice breakout pass. George's teammates have really tightened up in the second period – he's still engaged but you can tell he's trusting them to hold their own. Big pad save, tracking the puck going tic-tac-toe. Good puck tracking glove save. Stretched out the pads – George isn't overly flexible relative to the Jonathan Quick's of this world and really excels with limited movement, but nice to see he can use those mechanics at opportune moments. Power play goal against, puck low to high, quick wrister top-corner stick side. Nice poise to stop a shot on a player absolutely flying to the net, feet on the posts. Post save. Power play goal against, top of mid-range, stick side. - Keith Fries