from Gare Joyce of Sportsnet,

In a day jammed-packed with action at the World Junior Hockey Championship, here are some early scouting returns from the quarterfinals:

1) After the American loss to Russia in the quarters, a few NHL scouts were lamenting USA Hockey’s selections for its under-20 roster. It seems like at every world junior tournament it’s a sore point with scouts—they’ll say that good players get left behind because of politics rather than merit.

The one American player left behind who scouts most frequently cite is Michael McCarron of the London Knights. Said one scout (not affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens who drafted McCarron in the first round of the 2013 draft), “Based on last season I could see that they’d be down on him. McCarron really struggled. But he’s been really good this season. [The U.S. team] really didn’t have anything past their first couple of lines. Maybe McCarron wasn’t going to be a big difference maker, but he was better than guys on the third and fourth line.”

2) With the under-20s going to Finland next year, it might be a showcase event for Jesse Puljujarvi, a big 16-year-old right winger who looks like a lock to be a top-five pick in the 2016 draft....

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Gare Joyce on Team Canada,