Canadian players celebrate their victory over Sweden in Saturday's final of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament at Breclav, Czech Republic. (Photo by Darren Winkler)

They were unorganized and out of sync. And one after another, they skated to the penalty box in a stream of infractions. The result - an opening game loss to Sweden and a tournament title in jeopardy. 

But since the defeat, Canada is a changed team. The Canucks have gelled as a group, playing intense "in your face" hockey. On Saturday they stormed all the way back to the top, winning the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament for the fourth straight year.

Here is the disputed game winning goal that the Swedes felt never crossed the line, as well as the last five seconds or so of the championship.

Filip Forsberg played hero for Sweden all week scoring several clutch goals. If we are talking about the tournament's best player, he is the man.

Right up there with him is Andreas Athanasiou. Canada's top pivot zipped around the ice constantly hunting for the puck and pressuring defenders to create turnovers. 

When you think Athanasiou has hit top speed, he seemingly has another gear. With a pinpoint shot and off-the-chart hands, Athanasiou is a big-time draft riser. With a premium on finding elite centres that can score the Ontario native sure looks like a high pick. He reminds me a little of Mikhail Grabovski.  

In this video clip you get a taste of his wheels. In the second part of the clip, watch as he jumps onto the ice and drives straight to the net to score.

American Cristoval Nieves is another blazer with pro potential. When I saw him last year playing prep school hockey in Connecticut, he immediately stood out for being bigger and faster than anyone else. 

Fast forward to now and his game has grown. While still raw, he is able to jet past defenders at will and is seeing and using his teammates more. Heading back to Kent School for another year, Nieves could be a first rounder with a strong season. On this delayed penalty, you get a good look at his powerful skating stride.

So what else did we learn this week? Canada's defence delivered as advertised.  All seven are legit prospects. My sleeper of the group is Michael Matheson.  In limited playing time, he showed there aren't many flaws in his skill set. 

Swede Ludvig Bystrom is a blue-liner who scouts are anxious to track to see if his above average Hlinka performance carries over into league play

Mikhail Grigorenko didn't dominate like expected. But there were flashes of brilliance. Enough to keep him in the mix for top spot come June 2012 when the next group of future NHL stars get drafted in Pittsburgh.

For all the latest news and scores from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, you can follow Darren on Twitter: @TheVideoScout.