By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff
Boston University freshman forward Charlie Coyle has been named to the US squad that will compete in the World Junior Championship in Buffalo from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. Freshman defenseman Adam Clendening and freshman forward Matt Nieto were two of the seven players who were invited to camp but left off the final roster.
Clendening was reportedly injured in last night’s exhibition shootout loss to the Czech Republic when he went down to block a shot. It’s unclear how severe the injury is, but that likely factored into coach Keith Allain’s decision to leave him off the team. He was a plus-2 in the team’s first exhibition game against Rensselaer, also a shootout loss.
Nieto was believed to be a bubble player heading into camp. He was held scoreless against RPI and did not dress last night.
Coyle was expected to make the team from the get-go. He did not dress against RPI (neither did seven other players who ultimately made the squad) and registered an assist and two penalties against the Czech Republic.
To see the entire roster, click here. There’s a media conference call with Allain at 2 p.m. today, so I should have more info on the decisions to cut Clendening and Nieto after that.
Oh man, that’s rough. Based solely on their performances for BU this season, I would have expected Clendening and Nieto to have gotten in before Coyle, actually. But Coyle’s a big, physical kid with loads of talent, and that might have factored into it, too.
Strongly disagree… although I agree with Coyles selection and would have liked to see Nieto make it as well, but Clendening looks lost out there at BU. He is good for 3-4 major mistakes a game (many more minor ones)and frankly seems to be over his head much of the time. I know the kid is young, but when matched up against older more experienced college players, his youth and inexperience show clearly. He’s with the big boys now, not the U-17-18 all star teams
Coyle is clearly the best all around player and physically gifted of the three.Coyle may not be scoring 3 goals a game but he is working hard down low and setting up his linemates whoever they are at the time. Nieto has been solid as of late. I agree that Clendening has looked young out there on the ice. It drives me crazy when he takes the puck out in front of the net or forces a pass but hopefully he gets better with experience out there
No disrespect to Wey, but either he or Leddy got their slot on the team after Clendening – who has been HUGE for team USA over the last 12 months and is their best 92 defenseman – went down with an still as of yet unspecified injury in the loss last night to CZE. Prior to that, he had one nice PP chance where he opted to make an extra pass but would probably had been better off shooting, but was clearly one of the four most dominant D-men in camp. Shame for USA, Adam that he will not be going … hope USA can win without him – hope he is back quick for BUs sake … Still think Allain made a mistake in NOT TAKING Grimaldi … he may have only lit the lamp on night one on his penalty shot, but a combination of he and Bourque killing penalties and Grimaldi on Power Plays would have lead this team to more goals – which right now seems to be its achilles.
You must be seeing a different Clendening than I have this college season. He seems lost out on the ice and has been burnt far too often. The “injury” just seems like an excuse being used to why he didn’t make the team. It seems to me the more likely reason he didn’t make the team was because the other players were better.
I don’t want to seem like I’m overly bashing a player, but the hype that Clendening came in with vs. what I’ve seen to date is so far apart it’s unreal. I thought he was supposed to be some kind of messiah. He looks like a frightened deer in the headlights most games and virtually every shift. My opinion at this point, is that he is certainly not “The Answer” for BU, and is causing more of the problems and issues than he was supposed to solve. I am very dissapointed. Put MacGregor in more, I’d like to see what he can do. If Rosen wasn’t playing so well at his new center position, I’d want him back on d as well (but he is so forget that one and keep him up front).
I’m glad for Coyle, he deserves the spot on the team, sorry for Neito though.
MacGregor played against Brown and looked nowhere near as skilled as Clendening and didn’t see the ice in the third in that Brown game. Clendening hasn’t played well either but no one on defense has played well in the first half. NiCastro has looked awful at times and Escobedo has gotten tossed in three straight games at one point. Warso has gotten beaten his share of times too. Noonan has been the best defender on the team and he has had his freshman moments as well.
Certainly, Clendening has been disappointing so far, but you need to remember that he’s a 18 year old freshman defenseman. They usually don’t play very well. I remember that Shattenkirk had a less than stellar freshman year and he turned out fine same with Ryan Whitney. Not to mention Clendening has been playing with other inexperienced defensemen that have not helped him out. I’d like to see him go back to playing with Warsofsky to help build his confidence again
Warso is a terrible partner for Clendening. Warso is terrible defensively but good offensively. Having the two of them out there together is a sure goal for he other team.
Based upon performances as a Terrier I saw Coyle as a lock. Great talent, great work ethic and great kid in the locker room. Nieto falls somewhere in the middle and Clendenning isn’t there yet. Call it age, arrogance and intangibles Clendenning has the furthest to go despite his physcial talent. I think the coaches generally got it right.
I don’t know if Warso and Clendening is a sure goal but I prefer Clendening with a stay home guy like Noonan and Warso with Ruikka and leaving NiCastro and Escobedo as the third D line.
As far as I’m concerned, NiCastro is a bum. I still cant get over how badly Kreider owned him in the Beanpot last year.