There were many players who impressed at the latest U16 four nations tournament which was held in Finland. Russia won the tourney after defeating Sweden and Czech Republic, plus Finland in shootout. Vladislav Kotkov led scoring for Russia with four goals and two assists. He skates well for someone who’s 6’4 and has impressive offensive skills. His shot is really quick, whether it be wrist shot or one-timer. He made some nice passes and right decisions most of the time.
Among Finnish players, KooKoo center Rasmus Kupari was terrific at face-offs throughout the tournament, winning 31 of his 47 draws. The smart, responsible center added one goal and one assist against Sweden. Kristian Tanus and Sampo Ranta, two forwards who didn’t play in the previous event, played well on 1st and 4th line, with Tanus scoring pair of goals against Russia. Goalie Henrik Tikkanen continued his great season by being very solid in net, including the game against Sweden in which he made 37 saves.
Also, Czech goalie Daniel Dvorak was really good against Finland. Amir Miftakhov won both of the games he played for Russia and made many important saves in 5-4 over Sweden.
Swedish defenseman Adam Boqvist scored two nice goals against Finland. A smooth-skating defenseman with terrific lateral agility, Boqvist was active offensively with his strong vision and crisp passes. Another right-handed defenseman Filip Johansson did a good job of getting puck on net, especially against Russia, and also appears to have two-way potential. Forward Nils Höglander was quick, tenacious and made some nice passes, while Linus Pettersson and Filip Hållander also had some good moments.