GDT: 2013 World Junior Championships

[Artemis]

Your favorite Habs fan here who keeps defending your Bruins prospects....please stop me I'm having a headache....

Anyway, just wanted to say something about this Canada vs USA and the world stupid thing. Who cares which sport is ours or yours. I'm tired of that stupidity....it's everybody's sport who can play in it.

One thing though....I don't agree with Don Cherry on most of the things he says, but I,m not sure how his comments are off the track. I'm a big NCAA fan but mostly for the show it provides....not for the development aspect of players. So what he says is that it's normal to see players from every country improves when they join the best development league of them all. Now.....obviously, if you are able to play in the SEL or the KHL and play often, chances are you will develop better than in the CHL. But other than that and for everybody who can have the chance to play regularly in a men's team, the CHL is the way to go and players from all countries will improve and improve their own team. And there's nothing wrong with that....at least as far as I'm concerned.

As far as the Bruins prospects, as I keep saying Subban is not at fault. At worst, blame him just like you'd blame everybody else. But not on top of them. I wished he'd challenge the shooter on the 4th goal. And maybe on the 3rd though he had a US player right in front of him. Couldn't do a thing on the 1st goal, and on the 2nd, could have tried to move around Rielly to see what's coming yet, he was screened also. I hope we use hi against Russia as I think he's still out best bet to win. Think we'll have a great game from him. As far as Hamilton, I think he had a pretty average tournament. Not cause of the incredibly large amount of glaring mistakes he made but because people were expecting a rock defensively and some offensive to go with that and he wasn't able to provide with any of this. But then people already question his future? Come on...he will be a Bruin, not as tough as you'd probably want him to be, but he will be playing on your top 6 real soon. Will probably not be that offensive, but won't be Hal Gill either.

Pro scouts judge players over a course of a couple of years, not a couple of weeks. It's always amusing to see fans suddenly convinced that a player is either the greatest in the world or a huge bust after seeing him play a handful of games on TV.

I'm seriously considering posting a poll if the season ever starts up over how long it will take the first "Hamilton is a bust!" thread. One week? One game? One shift?

 

[Pie O My]

Your favorite Habs fan here who keeps defending your Bruins prospects....please stop me I'm having a headache....

Anyway, just wanted to say something about this Canada vs USA and the world stupid thing. Who cares which sport is ours or yours. I'm tired of that stupidity....it's everybody's sport who can play in it.

One thing though....I don't agree with Don Cherry on most of the things he says, but I,m not sure how his comments are off the track. I'm a big NCAA fan but mostly for the show it provides....not for the development aspect of players. So what he says is that it's normal to see players from every country improves when they join the best development league of them all. Now.....obviously, if you are able to play in the SEL or the KHL and play often, chances are you will develop better than in the CHL. But other than that and for everybody who can have the chance to play regularly in a men's team, the CHL is the way to go and players from all countries will improve and improve their own team. And there's nothing wrong with that....at least as far as I'm concerned.

As far as the Bruins prospects, as I keep saying Subban is not at fault. At worst, blame him just like you'd blame everybody else. But not on top of them. I wished he'd challenge the shooter on the 4th goal. And maybe on the 3rd though he had a US player right in front of him. Couldn't do a thing on the 1st goal, and on the 2nd, could have tried to move around Rielly to see what's coming yet, he was screened also. I hope we use hi against Russia as I think he's still out best bet to win. Think we'll have a great game from him. As far as Hamilton, I think he had a pretty average tournament. Not cause of the incredibly large amount of glaring mistakes he made but because people were expecting a rock defensively and some offensive to go with that and he wasn't able to provide with any of this. But then people already question his future? Come on...he will be a Bruin, not as tough as you'd probably want him to be, but he will be playing on your top 6 real soon. Will probably not be that offensive, but won't be Hal Gill either.

uh oh. What do you mean? Define tough. Haven't watched the WJC's so I've not seen him play. If you're saying he's not a fighter then folks can live with that, not everyone is cut out to do that.

Are you saying he won't stick up for team mates? Are you saying he won't take a hit to move the puck? Are you saying he'll refuse to play in pain? If that's the sort of toughness he lacks then he'll have a problem here.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Hamilton has plummeted in value on the main boards for having an average tournament.

 

[BergyDGD]

USA totally outplayed Canada.

Is Canada the best hockey nation? I think so.

Is the gap getting smaller? it sure is.

The gap sure is getting smaller but I think that can be said of many sports that are globally embraced like hockey, soccer, etc. Look at the USA in basketball, ya they're back on top but they went through frustrating years when the rest of the world was closing the gap and that can still be seen as Spain really gave them a run in the Gold Medal game in the Olympics. Soccer you're seeing more and more Americans playing at high levels overseas. Baseball is constantly getting better in Latin American countries as well as Asia (although I do feel the World Baseball classsic doesn't really give an accurate picture of who is best). With technology the world is becoming closer, and with that more people are finding their way into sports that are less traditional in their country (I'm not sure if that's worded right but I hope you understand what I'm saying). Hell, I never though I'd see the day where I'd willingly get up at 7am to watch a Premier League soccer match, I love watching but was never exposed to it when I was younger. It seems many sports are becoming the world's game, not just soccer anymore and I personally think that is great.

 

[Eddie Munson]

Hamilton has plummeted in value on the main boards for having an average tournament.

Both Malcolm and Dougie had rough tournaments and people are going to beat them up for it but in the end it's such a short sample size with so many variables that don't really translate to the NHL. Also the only two players on Canada that really wowed me were RNH (rightfully so seeing as how he's played professional hockey for a year and a half now, but still didn't show up when needed) and Jonathan Drouin. The Canadian defense was woefully bad. Murphy looked awful, Hamilton needs more structure in his defense and needs to hit the net, Reilly showed off some good skill but tried forcing a lot of pucks on the PP and tried to do too much on his own (kid coughed up the puck a lot on offensive zone entries), Ouelette wasn't bad, Harrington probably looked the best of them all, Wotherspoon and Reinhart didn't impress much.

In the end the B's still have a top defensive prospect with a great future. He's still learning the game in every facet and is going to have his ups and downs. Bobby Mac had some great things to say about Subban on the radio this afternoon and said the B's still have a top goalie prospect in their cupboard.

All and all people tend to overrate this tournament as the be all end all of hockey development and a look into the future as to who will be the next great in the NHL, yet many seem to forget our best scorer, Stanley Cup champion, Spengler Cup champion, NHL ALL-Star and 7th player award recipient was cut by team Canada U20 team in 2009 & again in 2010.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Hockey Canada Live ‏@HC_TeamCanada

Goaltender Jordan Binnington gets start for Canada in bronze medal game vs. Russia #2013WJC

 

[ODAAT]

completely underwhelmed with Hamilton, thought he was not good at all during the entire tournament...as for Subban, I think he is getting unfari treatment...he had no chance on 3 of 4 goals today and played quite well before that.

Outside of Drouin, haven`t seen one highly touted player on any team, do anything overwhelming... yet that means nothing at the end of the day in regards to their future.

 

[Whitesnake]

uh oh. What do you mean? Define tough. Haven't watched the WJC's so I've not seen him play. If you're saying he's not a fighter then folks can live with that, not everyone is cut out to do that.

Are you saying he won't stick up for team mates? Are you saying he won't take a hit to move the puck? Are you saying he'll refuse to play in pain? If that's the sort of toughness he lacks then he'll have a problem here.

Tough mostly as a guy who will continuously initiate the physical contact. Yes, he will take a hit. Refuse to play in pain...that's obviously a feature I don't know, yet if you're playing hockey, I hope you cand o that. But my B's friends love their team to be tough, they will have to think the after Chara era soon, and some at one point thought that Giant Hamilton was coming to take that place. Well not in fighting. Not even à la McQuaid. But I also don't believe that he's a wimp either like some on the main board loves to pretend. He will be a fine d-man for you guys that will be tough to play against because of his smarts and positional play.

 

[TMac21]

Hockey Canada Live ‏@HC_TeamCanada

Goaltender Jordan Binnington gets start for Canada in bronze medal game vs. Russia #2013WJC

Makes a lot of sense Spott, if you are going with Subban go all the way with him. Now Binnington goes in completely cold into the Bronze medal game.

 

[ODAAT]

Makes a lot of sense Spott, if you are going with Subban go all the way with him. Now Binnington goes in completely cold into the Bronze medal game.

Haha, maybe Camara/Mackinnon and anyone else on the 3rd or 4th line who`ve seen limited action will now too be given more than a handful of minutes too

This isn`t a blaming of Spott but seriously a headscratcher why the team even brought over a 3rd and 4th line when they essentially were cheerleaders

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Count me as completely unconcerned about Dougie's future. I don't think he'll be a force for a while as I believe he'll have a fairly big learning curve transitioning from Niagra's system (if they have one?) to a very structured one. By all accounts he's incredibly smart, his measurables are off the charts, has a great offensive skillset, it will just be a matter of refining that hockey sense which may take a while. The number of d-men who can come in to the NHL and be dominant right away is miniscule, so I hope the fan base isn't too hard on him as I doubt he'll come fully into his own until his mid-20's.

 

[ODAAT]

Count me as completely unconcerned about Dougie's future. I don't think he'll be a force for a while as I believe he'll have a fairly big learning curve transitioning from Niagra's system (if they have one?) to a very structured one. By all accounts he's incredibly smart, his measurables are off the charts, has a great offensive skillset, it will just be a matter of refining that hockey sense which may take a while. The number of d-men who can come in to the NHL and be dominant right away is miniscule, so I hope the fan base isn't too hard on him as I doubt he'll come fully into his own until his mid-20's.

Good pts, to add as well, far too many put way too much stock into a tournament such as this where guys who are unfamiliar to one another don`t dominate as far too many expect them to.

Can`t list all those players who over the years had way too many predicting great things from based solely on a strong WJHC`s and are now MIA

I kept hearing about how incredible Jones was/is. Well, the kid played a nice game against TC in the Semi`s but honestly, I saw him play a tough one in the first game consistently out of position and giving the puck up but......no way would a short sample size such as the WJHC`s have me wavering in an opinion about whether or not the kid has an NHL future.

These kids will be just fine when they get to the pro`s playing alongside solid vets with high talent levels

 

[whitetape]

Meanwhile, Khokhlachev has been playing great -- going into the dirty areas with speed and quick hands, responsible on defense, always seems to be in the right place-- named player of the game for the Russians in the semi-finals.

 

[ODAAT]

Meanwhile, Khokhlachev has been playing great -- going into the dirty areas with speed and quick hands, responsible on defense, always seems to be in the right place-- named player of the game for the Russians in the semi-finals.

continue to be impressed, ironically, playing the exact opposite of Yakupov, using his teammates, doing everything to help the team etc....I had only seen him play a handful of times previously and although I liked his game, it was a much smaller sample size

 

[Numbah4]

Meanwhile, Khokhlachev has been playing great -- going into the dirty areas with speed and quick hands, responsible on defense, always seems to be in the right place-- named player of the game for the Russians in the semi-finals.

Would it be in Koko's best interests to get traded to the worst junior team in Canada? Get his season over as quickly as possible. Sign with Providence and see what he can do.

 

[Neely08]

Makes a lot of sense Spott, if you are going with Subban go all the way with him. Now Binnington goes in completely cold into the Bronze medal game.

I don't see why. Subban had no chance on anything but the 4th goal, where he looked a little too far back in his crease. The others he was clearly screened.

 

[cat400]

Hockey Canada Live ‏@HC_TeamCanada

Goaltender Jordan Binnington gets start for Canada in bronze medal game vs. Russia #2013WJC

Could Spott's decision be based on Malcolm gesture with his arms after the 2nd of 3 screened goals by USA. Some may surmise that he was putting blame on his mates for the goal or he was just frustrated at not being able to see the puck.

I seem to recall Don Cherry getting on goalies for showing up their dmen when they inadvertently deflected a shot into their own net.

It is a team game and you win and lose as a team.

 

[Artemis]

Could Spott's decision be based on Malcolm gesture with his arms after the 2nd of 3 screened goals by USA. Some may surmise that he was putting blame on his mates for the goal or he was just frustrated at not being able to see the puck.

I seem to recall Don Cherry getting on goalies for showing up their dmen when they inadvertently deflected a shot into their own net.

It is a team can and you win and lose as a team.

Justin Bourne has a fascinating breakdown of the first goal Canada allowed.

Five of the six on-ice Canadians are packed into a lane slightly wider than the net, along with three Americans, putting eight of the 12 humans on the ice in an area about seven feet wide. Actually, if we feel like drawing those lanes down 200 feet, nine of the twelve were in there. Presumably, this was not the game plan before the puck dropped.

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/...st-us-goal-in-the-semi-final-was-all-of-them/

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Justin Bourne has a fascinating breakdown of the first goal Canada allowed.

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/...st-us-goal-in-the-semi-final-was-all-of-them/

Fascinating how Justin Bourne has no breakdown of Subban getting on his knees, committing to the butterfly on a shot he can't see and on which he makes no effort at all to see the puck. He was actually hoping to get hit by the shot while his net was wide open for the shooter. I'm OK with giving him a pass on that one, but on the next 3 goals it was pure bad goaltending technique.

 

[Artemis]

Fascinating how Justin Bourne has no breakdown of Subban getting on his knees, committing to the butterfly on a shot he can't see and on which he makes no effort at all to see the puck. He was actually hoping to get hit by the shot while his net was wide open for the shooter. I'm OK with giving him a pass on that one, but on the next 3 goals it was pure bad goaltending technique.

Bourne was a forward and is breaking down the play from a skater's POV. There are plenty of analyses of Subban's play available elsewhere.

 

[BruinsBtn]

Bourne was a forward and is breaking down the play from a skater's POV. There are plenty of analyses of Subban's play available elsewhere.

Don't even respond to him.

 

[Shaun]

Would it be in Koko's best interests to get traded to the worst junior team in Canada? Get his season over as quickly as possible. Sign with Providence and see what he can do.

Sweeney said a couple weeks ago that as soon as his junior season is finished (assuming he comes back to NA) he will likely play in Providence.

 

[Rookie Chargers]

Fascinating how Justin Bourne has no breakdown of Subban getting on his knees, committing to the butterfly on a shot he can't see and on which he makes no effort at all to see the puck. He was actually hoping to get hit by the shot while his net was wide open for the shooter. I'm OK with giving him a pass on that one, but on the next 3 goals it was pure bad goaltending technique.

That is what goalies have been doing for the last decade just about.

All that says is that there was no communication between the goalie and the D.

Edit: #21 I think is McNeil has no business being where ever he goes. I have no idea why he does not jump up to McCabe to block the shot or make him rush it.

Edit 2: #21 is actually Danault.

 

[GodTukka*]

Where did we find this idiot coach anyway?

He got embarrassed and outcoached by Housley, he further proves his stupidity by benching the only goalie to play for most of entire tournament for a guy who hasn't played at all.

Not only that, Russia has to be motivated as all hell to not end the tournament with something in terms of a medal.

It was fun watching that game against the US though, half-drunk and yelling obscenities at the TV. Gotta love parties, lol.

The media also has to shake this whole "We are entitled to win everything hockey" because that simply isn't the way it is no more.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I don't see why. Subban had no chance on anything but the 4th goal, where he looked a little too far back in his crease. The others he was clearly screened.

Reasoning may simply be the stat line. 4 goals on 16 shots vs. 1 goal on 23.

To be honest, I'd make the same play. Binnington has yet to have an awful night... And despite being manhandled, Canada played tie-game hockey with him between the pipes against the Americans.

Of the four players we have in this tourney, Koko has been by FAR the most impressive of the bunch. Camara, I've liked (despite rarely being able to see him play) - while Dougie and Subban have notably underwhelmed me. I know it hurts to see our guys get the shaft (and I believe the criticisms of how Spott has employed his lineup are completely valid), but sometimes the call has to be made whether the player deserves to sit or not.

Starting Binnington is the right move.