Day 7 – Sunday, January 4, 2009

1. JP Anderson (G) – Ontario
The tournament all-star team goaltender was at his best with the entire country watching on Sunday night, making 33 saves to help Ontario to another gold medal. Anderson made 17 of his saves in the second period, when Ontario was outshot 18-10.

2. Jacob Fallon (F/A) – United States
With all-star teammates Brandon Saad and Adam Clendining getting most of the ink it was Fallon took centre stage on Sunday, racking up a hat trick as the Americans claimed the bronze medal, the third straight medal for the U.S. at the U17 tournament.

3. John McFarland (F/A) – Ontario
The tournament’s leading scorer makes this list for the third time in seven days, as it was his goal in the first minute of the third period that ended any Pacific momentum and sealed the Ontario gold. McFarland was an easy choice for the all-star team.

Day 6 – Saturday, January 3, 2009

1. Alex Petrovic (D) – Pacific
Could it be anyone else? Petrovic got Pacific’s comeback started with a goal late in the second period to cut the Americans’ lead to one, and finished it with the overtime winner 5:35 into the extra period, sending his team to the gold medal game.

2. Sean Couturier (F/A) – Atlantic
The New Brunswick-born sniper saved his best for last, racking up three goals and two assists as Atlantic avoided a last-place finish with a victory over Finland. Couturier picked up more than half his tournament points (five of nine) in Saturday’s victory.

3. Tyler Seguin (F/A) – Ontario
Seguin may have scored only twice but he finds himself tied for second in tournament scoring, based on his tournament-leading eight assists, seven of which have come in the last two games. Seguin picked up four helpers in Sunday’s semifinal win.

Day 5 – Friday, January 2, 2009

1. Tom Kühnhackl (F/A) – Germany
Germany’s best player was its best player on Friday, scoring twice and adding an assist to help the Germans to a tight one-goal win over Russia and send them to Saturday’s fifth-place game, a game they haven’t played in in more than a decade.

2. Brandon Saad (F/A) – United States
Saad did his part in the Americans’ big win over West that wrapped up first place, setting up a pair of goals in the second period to give the U.S. some breathing room at 3-0, and then adding a goal of his own as the offence came alive in the third period.

3. John McFarland (F/A) – Ontario
The first overall pick in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection continued to show his promise, picking up a goal and two assists in Ontario’s 13th consecutive U17 tournament win. McFarland is tied for the tournament lead in scoring with nine points in four games.

Day 4 – Thursday, January 1, 2009

1. Guillaume Asselin (F/A) – Quebec
Asselin is the first player to make two appearances on the 3 Stars list, picking up his second hat trick in three games to lead Quebec to a win over Finland. Asselin scored a quarter of the Canadian side’s preliminary round goals (six of 24).

2. Emerson Etem (F/A) – United States
The speedy forward was all over the ice in the Americans’ third consecutive win, picking up a goal and an assist on the same shift in the opening period and adding another goal in the second. The American offense has scored 22 times in three games.

3. Troy Rutkowski (D) – Pacific
Rutkowski’s second goal of the tournament might have been the biggest of his young career, as his wrist shot from the slot snuck through Atlantic goaltender Julien Daigle for the overtime winner and kept Pacific’s first-place hopes alive in Group A.

Day 3 – Wednesday, December 31, 2008

1. Brandon Hynes (F/A) – Atlantic
Hynes did it all for Atlantic on Wednesday, scoring three times – including the overtime winner – and setting up two more in an extra-time victory over Germany. With Atlantic facing the 2-0 Americans Thursday, the strong play will need to continue.

2. John McFarland (F/A) – Ontario
Ontario was nursing a one-goal lead entering the third period of its game against Russia when McFarland took over, scoring twice in the period’s opening six minutes to complete his hat trick and propel the defending gold medalists to victory.

3. Dylan Wruck (F/A) – West
Wruck was the driving force behind West’s playoff-clinching victory, scoring twice in the second period to give his team the lead and adding two assists in the third period as the Canadian squad pulled away from Slovakia in the game’s final frame.

Day 2 – Tuesday, December 30, 2008

1. Vladislav Namestnikov (F/A) – Russia
Namestnikov racked up four goals in the win over Atlantic to record the first such game at this year’s U17 tournament. His offensive outburst helped the Russians recover from Monday’s heartbreaking last-second loss to Pacific.

2. Jordan De Pape (F/A) – West
The West captain was a force with the man advantage in the win over Finland, recording a trio of goals and adding an assist, with all four points coming on the power play. If the PP continues to click, West could be ready to make some noise.

3. Guillaume Asselin (F/A) – Quebec
Asselin racked up three points in the final 20 minutes – scoring twice to complete his hat trick – as Quebec staged a third period for the ages, scoring seven times to come back and beat Slovakia, evening its record ahead of a big game Wednesday.

Day 1 – Monday, December 29, 2008

1. Charles Inglis (F/A) – West
Inglis was a one-man wrecking crew in Monday’s win over Quebec, scoring twice – once on the power play and once shorthanded – and adding an assist as the Westerners took the first step towards improving on 2008’s bronze medal.

2. Chase Balisy (F/A) – United States
He didn’t score one of the Americans’ 12 goals, but Balisy racked up three assists in the first period, sparking the American offence to a six-goal opening frame. If the U.S. continues to score seemingly at will, a third gold medal could be in the future.

3. Brett Connolly (F/A) – Pacific
The Prince George Cougars sniper scored one of the biggest goals of his young career, snapping a shot under the crossbar with just 17 seconds to go to give Pacific a thrilling win over Russia. Connolly also added an assist in the victory.