Some final World Junior thoughts, buy low on Wheeler, buy low on Marleau even harder and more…

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What.

A.

Game.

Kudos to the Russians, who had alligator blood. Canada couldn't get rid of them.

Darnell Nurse had one heck of a tournament. I didn't love some of the decisions he made through the first couple of periods last night jumping into the rush but he had been good at the earlier. More importantly, Nurse played an All-World third period to help Canada cling to the lead. I mean, he went vintage Pronger in that period.

I doubt we see Nurse putting up many points early in his career but his upside in multi-category leagues is as high as any prospect out there. He's #1 defenseman material but I wouldn't be totally shocked if he Jay Bouwmeester-ed his way out of fantasy relevance in points-only leagues.

Nic Petan was one of the forwards I was most impressed with in this tournament because I expected him to put up points and he did just that. He's a smaller player so skill is his calling card but throughout the tournament he displayed a tenacity and willingness to compete in the tough areas on the ice. Last night was the first time that was brought into doubt for me.

That game was easily Canada's most physical affair of the tournament so it's no surprise that things were tougher for Petan but after taking a hit in the first he became very shy and perimeter oriented. It's only one game but if that's what happens when the heat gets turned up then Petan will struggle in the pros. Definitely looking like a longer development path for him as there's going to be a learning curve facing that kind of physicality night in night out as a pro.

Josh Morrissey was Canada's most impressive blueliner from an offensive perspective. It's tough to see where he'll fit in for Winnipeg with the endless list of defensemen they have there but if you remember that Morrissey might spend a couple years at the AHL level then you can start to see where he might fit in.

Looking at the contract situation for Winnipeg (courtesy of NHLnumbers.com, the new go-to for cap info now that CapGeek has shut down, get well Matthew!) you can see that Dustin Byfuglien's deal is up in the summer of 2016. Maybe Byfuglien re-signs but that's the earliest any of Winnipeg's top four defensemen come off the books (assuming the Jets lock up Jacob Trouba to a long-term deal, which they would be stupid not to.)

I haven't spoken much about Connor McDavid because, really, it's pointless. He's ranked #1 for a reason. If you came away from that tournament thinking anything but that McDavid is the best prospect in hockey then nothing I can say will dissuade you.

Nikolai Goldobin jumped out to me the most for Russia. No nonsense to his game. Some of Russia's other big-name forwards (Pavel Buchnevic, Ivan Barbashev) came and went depending on the game. Goldobin brought it every time I watched. That consistency is something I value a lot. It will serve Goldobin well as he pushes to make the Sharks in the future. And he's got legit offensive skills too so it's not like he's capped out as a third-liner.

Buchnevic and Barbashev did finish the tournament with one more point than Goldobin but if I was betting on one for my farm team it would be Goldobin.

Look to DobberProspects for plenty more World Junior thoughts.

Update: They have a massive new ramblings up as well, so head on over!

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And then there was that other game last night…

The Sharks edged the Jets with Marc-Edouard Vlasic's goal coming with just five seconds remaining.

No Joe Thornton for the Sharks last night as he was placed on IR. He'll miss tonight's game against the Wild as well but the Sharks are optimistic that he'll return soon.

Melker Karlsson joined Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski on the top line scoring a goal. I can't imagine you have any openings in your lineup tonight but if you do Karlsson could make for a nice filler. That's about it for his relevance though, I suspect.

Patrick Marleau put an end to a nine-game scoring drought that dated back to December 9^th. I've been hearing lots of frustration about Marleau's lack of production the last month.

"Oh waaaaahhh!"

Dude goes nine games without a point and is still on pace for 56 points this season. He's shooting just 5.7% but is firing the puck as much as ever (on pace for 245 SOG.)

Don't you think that maybe this is just a slump? And that this is the absolute worst time to give up on Marleau? Hasn't he earned the benefit of the doubt? This isn't 2007-08 where Marleau stopped shooting the puck.

Consider Marleau a huge buy-low candidate because if that shooting percentage gets back to normal, he'll go bonkers. Consider that if he was shooting his career average (13.6%) that he'd be at 16 goals and no one would be saying boo. Even if he was shooting 10% he'd be at 12 goals, which would still be acceptable.

We can safely debunk the once prevalent notion that Marleau is a second half guy because:

But that doesn't mean he can't have a huge second half this year.

BUY! BUY! BUY! BUY! BUY! BUY! BUY!

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