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World Cup

the team that delielberately chose gritsy leaderbeans over skill goes winless. and then goons it up after being eliminated.

perfect.
 
zeke said:
the team that delielberately chose gritsy leaderbeans over skill goes winless. and then goons it up after being eliminated.

perfect.
Click to expand...
Yep. If you're a fan who actually likes watching good hockey, what happened to the US this tournament was the best possible result. Hopefully US hockey learns from this, keeps the dummies away and next time they actually bring their best possible team. Because when the States actually does that, US/Canada games rival Canada/Russia games for the title of "most awesome matchup".

Just for the hell of it, I thought I'd put together Team USA: BPA edition (assuming the TNA-aged guys still aren't available):

Max Pacioretty - Joe Pavelski - Patrick Kane
Zach Parise - Paul Stastny - Phil Kessel
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Johnson - Kyle Okposo
Brandon Dubinsky - Derek Stepan - Blake Wheeler

Keith Yandle - Dustin Byfuglien
Ryan Suter - Kevin Shattenkirk
Nick Leddy - Justin Faulk

Cory Schneider
Ben Bishop

That team may not be better than Canada, but in a one-game matchup, I could see that team beating Team Canada. And they sure as hell would've been more fun to watch.
 
Team World

Tarasenko - Malkin - Ovechkin
Panarin - Backstrom - Kuznetsov
Steen - Sedin - Sedin
Datsyuk - Kopitar - Zetterberg
(Forsberg - Krejci - Voracek)

Hedman - Karlsson
Chara - Ekman-Larsson
Josi - Stralman
(Kronwall - Hjalmarsson)

Lundqvist
Rask
Mrazek




Team North America

McDavid - Crosby - Kane
Benn - Tavares - Seguin
Gaudreau - Pavelski - Thornton
Wheeler - Getzlaf - Stamkos
(Pacioretty - Toews - Giroux)

Suter - Doughty
Pietrangelo - Subban
Keith - Burns
(Letang - Ekblad)

Price
Schneider
Holtby
 
LeafGm said:
Yep. If you're a fan who actually likes watching good hockey, what happened to the US this tournament was the best possible result. Hopefully US hockey learns from this, keeps the dummies away and next time they actually bring their best possible team. Because when the States actually does that, US/Canada games rival Canada/Russia games for the title of "most awesome matchup".

Just for the hell of it, I thought I'd put together Team USA: BPA edition (assuming the TNA-aged guys still aren't available):

Max Pacioretty - Joe Pavelski - Patrick Kane
Zach Parise - Paul Stastny - Phil Kessel
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Johnson - Kyle Okposo
Brandon Dubinsky - Derek Stepan - Blake Wheeler

Keith Yandle - Dustin Byfuglien
Ryan Suter - Kevin Shattenkirk
Nick Leddy - Justin Faulk

Cory Schneider
Ben Bishop

That team may not be better than Canada, but in a one-game matchup, I could see that team beating Team Canada. And they sure as hell would've been more fun to watch.
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yep. even oshie/foligno/ryan ahead of dubinsky would work for me.

either way they could have iced a team full of legit 1st lines and top pairings. still not as good as canada but definitely the kind of team that could beat them on any given night.

and yeah - schneider is imo their clearcut #1 and cut above anyone else they have in net.
 
That Center depth is still junk compared to Canada.

They really need Matthews and Eichel to develop into top flight players.

Anyone else feel like this :joy anytime they watch Matthews play?
 
zeke said:
yep. even oshie/foligno/ryan ahead of dubinsky would work for me.

either way they could have iced a team full of legit 1st lines and top pairings. still not as good as canada but definitely the kind of team that could beat them on any given night.

and yeah - schneider is imo their clearcut #1 and cut above anyone else they have in net.
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Their fatal problem is that they're thin up the middle. You win with strength at centre. Pavelski is talented but not great down low - in sj he supports the breakout as a c and uses the whole ice in the o zone but often rotates high in the d zone with JT doing the dirty work down low and around the net.

Stastny is good defensively but not great offensively.

They're the weakest team up the.middle athe the tourney imo. Slow and small.

Austin m will make a huge difference for them
 
I've come to really like Pavelski. I'd even put him on a Team North America at center I think.

and Johnson and Stepan are underrated too.

I think all 4 of those guys are at least borderline #1 centers.
 
Team Canada should go back to picking guys like Rob Zamuner just to make these tourneys more competitive.

Ever since they figured out they should just take all 1st liners they've just made a mockery of international competition.

It's pretty boring.

Put Bobby Clarke back in charge so other teams have a chance.
 
zeke said:
I've come to really like Pavelski. I'd even put him on a Team North America at center I think.

and Johnson and Stepan are underrated too.

I think all 4 of those guys are at least borderline #1 centers.
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Borderline is key. Crosby getzlaf and stamkos are top 10 centres.
 
Didn't they bring Kris Draper in 2006 too?

maybe Team USA will figure out the same thing we figured out.
 
They still haven't learned to take the most talented dmen. Guys like Vlasic, Bouwmeester, Weber and Muzzin are excellent NHL dmen but they don't belong on Team Canada over guys like Subban, Letang, Giordano...
 
That's true - but still at the same time all the guys they brought are guys getting top minutes on their NHL teams, so they're not just gritty checkers.
 
zeke said:
Didn't they bring Kris Draper in 2006 too?

maybe Team USA will figure out the same thing we figured out.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure they brought Draper AND Kirk Maltby to that tournament. And in 1998, we brought guys like Zamuner, Corson and a finished Trevor Linden.

It seems like it takes an embarrassing crushing or two before the old boys and their stupidity finally get purged.
 
mbow30 said:
Borderline is key. Crosby getzlaf and stamkos are top 10 centres.
Click to expand...

I find it harder and harder to make those categorizations - I don't know if Getzlaf and Stamkos are actually that level anymore, given they're not so great defensively.

Here's last 2yrs PPG:

1. Crosby 1.08
(McDavid 1.07 - only 45gms played)
2. Seguin 1.05
3. Malkin 1.02
4. Tavares 0.98
5. Backstrom 0.94
6. Thornton 0.92 (starting to become more of a winger at this stage)
7. Pavelski 0.90
8. Giroux 0.88
9. Getzlaf 0.86
10. Kopitar 0.86
11. Stamkos 0.86
12. Sedin 0.82
13. Johansen 0.81
14. Spezza 0.80
15. Krejci 0.79
16. Monahan 0.77
17. Stepan 0.77
18. Toews 0.77
19. Couture 0.77
20. Bergeron 0.76
21. Johnson 0.75
22. O'Reilly 0.75
23. Little 0.74
24. Brassard 0.74
25. Duchene 0.72
26. Scheifele 0.72
27. Kuznetsov 0.70
28. Plekanec 0.70
29. Barkov 0.69
30. Eichel 0.69
31. Stastny 0.69
32. Ribeiro 0.69
33. RNH 0.69
34. Turris 0.68
35. MacKinnon 0.66
 
Hello all, long time no see.

one of the reasons there are still different football governing bodies for the nations of the UK is that they each have a seat on the International Football Association Board, which governs the laws of the game, and if you are tiny organisation like the FAW or the IFA, you would never ever give that up.

:swishes cloak:
 
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