Hey guys, this is estrogenacide, I just figured I'd get a more Yotes-centric handle given the site.

Anyway, while everyone's paying attention to the Coyotes' current hot streak, I figured I would go ahead and look into the future, and have this here to track the performance of two of the Yotes' top prospects in the IIHF World Junior Championship. These two young players happen to be our #1 pick in the 2009 draft, D-Man Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Mike Lee, the 08-09 USHL Goalie of the Year with the Fargo Force.

Oliver's appearing for his home nation of Sweden, and Mike's appearing in net for the good ol' US-of-A.

Sweden's in Group B, along with Russia, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Finland.

USA is in Group A, with fellow North Americans Canada, as well as Slovakia, Latvia, and Switzerland.

The opening day of competition was on Boxing Day, with both our future Yotes in action. Sweden took on the Czech Republic, and USA took on Slovakia.

Sweden vs Czech Republic 12/26
In a game that was absolutely not a contest, Sweden destroyed the Czechs, with the final score of 10-1. Oli was unfortunately out there for the Czech's only goal, but finished the game with a +/- of +2 for the game. No penalties by the Sweed, he had four shots and he got on the score sheet with an assist on a goal by Anton Rodin, Vancouver's second round pick.

USA vs Slovakia 12/26
Unfortunately, the score sheets don't have nearly as many details for the goal tenders as they do for the skaters, but what I can tell you is that the USA won, 7-3. All three of the goals Mike allowed were on the power play, with two of them coming quickly in the first period, at 2:15, and then again at 5:33. His last goal came at 13:14 of the second, with only eight seconds left in the power play. Lee stopped 17 of the 20 shots he faced, a .850 save percentage. Fanhouse's report of the game noted that Lee "...also showed a penchant for leaving rebounds and not always making the saves he should make."(nhl.fanhouse.com)

Sweden vs Austria 12/27

While closer than in their first game, Sweden still ran away with this game, taking it by the final score of 7-3. OEL lead the way with the scoring, assisting on Jacob Josefson goal a mere 45 seconds into the game. He finished the period with points as well, scoring a power play goal at 18:36, just 32 seconds into the penalty. Assists came from Adam Larsson, his defensive partner and Jacob Josefson, reversing roles on the original goal.

All three of Austria's goals were scored in the second frame. However Oli wasn't on the ice for any of them. He did get a +1 at the end of the period however, when Anton Rodin scored at 19:47 of the second. He finished the third period just as well as the first two, scoring his second goal of the game at 19:22. It was a power play effort assisted by both the Antons, Lander and Rodin. Oliver finished the game with 3 points, 2 power play goals and 1 assist, 6 shots, no penalties, and a +/- of +2.

USA vs Switzerland 12/27
Jack Campbell started, with Mike watching from the sideline. Nothing to see here, moving along.

Both teams were off Monday, but on Tuesday we'll see USA taking on Latvia, and in a full blown heavyweight matchup, Larsson and the Sweeds take on Russia. NHL Network will be airing both games, with USA vs Latvia airing at 4pm EST (2pm AZ time), and Sweden vs Russia at 6pm EST (4pm  AZ time)

Hope someone enjoys this. I'm particularly excited to see Oli develop and can't wait to see him playing as part of the pack, so I had no problem helping everyone follow the future of our franchise.