World Championships Update

The World Championships have moved into the qualifying rounds with Canada and the United States both winning today.  If you have not had the pleasure of seeing the games you have missed some really good hockey.  As for the Sabres that are playing in the tournament they have all played pretty well.  I would much rather the Sabres playing in the playoffs but it's great to see the Sabres players doing well.  When I was looking at the stats for Sabres players I was completely surprised to find out which Sabres has the most points.

Philip Gogulla (Germany)- 4GP  1G-3A-4P  2PIM  -1

Gogulla has been outstanding in the tournament thus far even though the German team has been marred with controversy.  Ex-Sabres defenseman Jason Holland began the tournament on the German roster but he was later declared to be an ineligible player and he is no longer allowed to play on the German team.

Ales Kotalik (Czech Republic)- 3GP  2G-1A-3P  0PIM  +1

Kotalik scored both of his goals while the Czech's were on the power play, not a surprising stat considering that Kotalik has become a power play and shootout specialist.  It is still unclear what the Sabres plans are for Kotalik who will enter the final year of his contract.

Jason Pominville (USA)- 3GP  1G-2A-3P  0PIM  -1

Pominville received some criticism for choosing the United States over Canada but his decision is paying off right now.  Pominville struggled in the first couple of games of the tournament but he seems to be much more comfortable now.

Derek Roy (Canada)- 4GP  1G-2A-3P  2PIM  +2

Derek Roy is playing just as well in the World Championships as he did in the regular season.  He is really becoming the player that I thought he would and I will definitely enjoy watching him develop further.

Drew Stafford, Dmitri Kalinin and Max Afinogenov have all been solid as well scoring two points each.  Afinogenov has one goal and one assist in only two games played while Kalinin and Stafford have two assists.  Andrej Sekera has yet to register a point but he is a solid plus one playing for Slovakia.

The tournament will continue over the next couple of days with two games tomorrow.  Canada is off until Saturday when they take on Germany and the United States will take the ice again on Sunday against Finland.