This week the Eastern Edge takes a look at players who should have gained some confidence with their performances at the recent World Championship.

The IIHF World Championship has always been thought of in a lesser light by most Canadian fans and that feeling is only amplified in an Olympic year. One of the benefits of the tournament is that it typically gives younger or less established players a chance to shine on the world stage. I’ll try to focus on some younger and/or less well known players who had a memorable tournament.

Heading in to this competition, did anyone give Joel Ward much thought as a scorer?  All he did was lead Team Canada in scoring with nine points in eight games and tie Cody Hodgson for the team lead in goals with six. Ward also finished plus-7 and was voted one of the top three players on his team by his coaching staff.

For fantasy purposes, will this performance mean an increase in his scoring? Not likely, as Ward just recorded career highs in goals (24) and points (49) with the Caps. I just can’t see him scoring more than 50 points in the NHL, at least not with a Barry Trotz coached Caps squad. If they deal some of their more “talented” offensive players for defensive help, then Ward might have a shot at repeating his totals from last year.

Fresh off his Hobey Baker win, Johnny Gaudreau finished second in team scoring for Team USA with 10 points. The pint-sized forward is hoping to bring that type of offensive punch to the Flames next year. He won’t automatically be given top-six ice time, but he proved that he could be stand out amongst professional players while receiving over 17 minutes of ice time per contest. We’ll find out if he can handle the rigours of the NHL come September.

Fellow fun-sized Tyler Johnson led all American forwards in ice time, averaging 20:35 minutes per match. He had a team leading six goals and placed third in team scoring with nine points. Johnson was also voted as one of the top three players on the team by his coaches. This guy’s fantasy stock is about to shoot even higher if he can secure a regular spot on a line with Steven Stamkos next season.

Nashville’s Craig Smith may be one happy camper now that defensive-minded head coach Barry Trotz is no longer behind the bench for the Preds. Smith had a very good tournament, recording eight points in eight games and was voted one of the top three players on the team. The 24-year-old registered a career season with 52 points, but only 10 of those came via the power play. With a new head coach and his pending restricted free agent status following next season, he could be in for a breakthrough campaign in 2014-15.

Brock Nelson didn’t look out of place amongst more established veterans. The Team USA forward recorded seven points in eight games, was a healthy plus-5 and logged 20 penalty minutes. He’ll warrant consideration for a top six spot on the Island next year, but will likely settle in to a top nine role with the occasional top six duty.

Detroit’s Tomas Tatar finished second in team scoring for Slovakia with eight points in seven games and was a respectable plus-5. The 23-year-old was the AHL Playoff MVP in the 2012-13 season and recorded 39 points in 73 NHL games last year. The problem is, he only averaged 14:21 minutes in his NHL games, including 2:17 on the power play. Tatar could improve on his 39-point season, but last year was horrific for Red Wings with many players spending long bouts on the IR list. Unless some of the older players are shuffled out or there are significant injuries again, Tatar is not likely to see an increase in his NHL point totals next season.

Dallas forward Antoine Roussel proved he could do more than be a washing machine (agitate) by scoring a team leading 11 points for France. He also found time to sit for 16 penalty minutes, finished a respectable plus-6 and was named a Media All-Star forward. That said, I don’t see his role in Dallas changing as a result of this performance. He is still a valuable contributor to the Stars, but not as a top six player.

Even without Shea Weber playing for Team Canada, the Predators still had four defensemen with outstanding performances.

Team USA had a relatively successful tournament at least on the scoreboard, due in no small part to Seth Jones and his team leading 11 points in eight games. He also led the team in plus/minus with a plus-8 rating. Jones was a top three selection by his coaches, a media All-Star and voted Best Defenseman of the tournament. With no Barry Trotz behind the bench, although I would argue that Trotz was good for development of  the 19-year-old and this World Championship experience, Jones is a good candidate to significantly surpass his rookie 25 point campaign.

Roman Josi led the Swiss in scoring with seven points in as many games, earning him top three recognition from his coaches. Josi started his NHL year slowly with only four points in his first 17 games and then finished strong, recording 36 points over his last 55 games, a 54 point pace. All signs point to Josi surpassing the 40 points he registered last season.

Ryan Ellis garnered the third most time on ice of all Canadian players, behind only Kevin Bieksa and Jason Garrison. Ellis was the top scoring Canadian defender, recording five points in eight games as well as holding the top plus/minus rating on the team at plus-9. Amongst Predator defensemen, Ellis ranked only seventh in average ice time, but still managed to record a career high 27 points. This is a guy who scored 101 points in 58 games in his last season of junior hockey. With a new bench boss in Nashville, the 23-year-old is just scratching the surface of what he has to offer at the NHL level.

Mattias Ekholm averaged the fifth most ice time for Preds defensemen and with Kevin Klein now with the Rangers, one of Ekholm or Ellis has an opportunity to step up and take on a top four role. Ekholm led Swedish defenders in the tournament with seven points in 10 games and was voted one of the top three players on the team by his coaches. The big (6-4, 204 lbs) Swede has yet to show his offensive side in the NHL, but will surely improve on his nine points in 62 games that he recorded last year. The season before that, he notched 32 points in 59 AHL contests. Of course, a new coach is going to make predictions difficult, but 25-30 points does not seem like a big stretch.

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