WJC: 2015 — Canada Roster Talk (Part II)

[Atomos2]

Discipline and composure was a big problem last year. Drouin taking a 10 minute misconduct was not needed. Hopefully this year's team has it.

Its always the important games is when emotions run high. Are we getting hyped up and taking 10 min majors against secondary competition? Its similar every year. Like Jenner that one year against the Russians. Or drouin last year. Its not just the loose cannons its all of them that need to have a talk about intensity and emotion

Sure, but if Ritchie is already playing slightly over the line with just the CIS allstars, it doesn't really bode well for us in the coming weeks.

 

[Skip2myBordyloo]

I'd say with the cuts that my team would look like this:

Robby Fabbri- Connor McDavid- Jake Virtanen
Max Domi- Sam Reinhart- Anthony Duclair
Michael Dal Colle- Nicolas Petan- Brayden Point
Lawson Crouse- Frederik Gauthier- Nick Paul
Rourke Chartier

Josh Morrissey- Madison Bowey
Darnell Nurse- Shea Theodore
Samuel Morin- Joe Hicketts
Haydn Fleury

Zachary Fucale
Eric Comrie

That'd be my team now too, I think Fleury is a step ahead of either Morin or Heatherington so I'd surprised to see him cut, Heatherington is the man out for me, but I've been mostly wrong so far.

 

[xxxx]

I think the right cuts have been made so far. No complaints from me.

Yeah. It's always tough, I think we shouldn't be so upset, there are 3 high-level junior leagues with a ton of elite players and creating just a 13-forward roster must be really difficult. The coaching stuff obviously knows thing we don't and it must be even harder for them imo.

Chartier, Dickenson, and Gauthier are all centers. I'd imagine at least one, if not two, are cut

I would say that the final cuts are going to be two of (Paul, Chartier, Crouse, Dickinson, Ritchie) and one of (Fleury/Morin/Heatherington).


My Team Canada:

Duclair - McDavid - Fabbri
Domi - Reinhart - Virtanen
Dal Colle - Petan - Chartier
Ritchie - Gauthier - Point
Crouse

I can see Ritchie/Crouse or Chartier being the 13th guy. I'm curious about Duclair position (LW/RW) and if he's paired with McD or SR. I would personally play Duclair on the left wing with McD and Fabbri as the RW there. I can also see Virtanen playing on each of those 4 lines, tough to say. I would take the risk and bring Ritchie, I somehow believe in my intuition here. Chartier is a maybe, and you might want switch him with either Paul or Dickinson, neither of the three is a bad option IMO.

Nurse - Theodore
Morrissey - Bowey
Morin - Hickett
Fleury

The top-four here is set, and the 7th position may change a bit as the tournament goes on.

Comrie
Fucale

I think it's great the team is going to face Russia and Sweden, so the goalies should be tested pretty well.

 

[TheLeastOfTheBunch]

As a Leafs fan, it's nice to see Gauthier penciled in the lineups

Team looks solid, but we will see how they fare vs the likes of Sweden, USA, Russia. I'm looking forward to seeing Virtanen play alongside a C like McDavid

 

[Love]

Gauthier's skating worries me...

Im not a Gauthier expert by any means, but I always thought his skating issues were a myth.

 

[Tripod]

I didnt say every Flyers fan, im saying most, and what you just said is an opinion not fact. If he was that good he would at least have made it through the FIRST round of cuts and at least play a couple exhibition games. If what you said was true , then why was he invited in the first place?

So read what others have said.

He is 18 year old, LHD that plays the PK and PP in Calgary. Here, he got thrown on the right side and wasn't used to his strengths. And that's ok. That's TC right.

We know this tournament is a 19 year tournament and Canada has lots of options and experience on D....especially one that are LHD.

You won't see any Flyers fans complaining about Sanheim and his year this year. He has already doubled his goal total and passed his point total from last year....in only 30 games compared to 67 games last year.

31 points in 30 games is pretty good for a 18 year old dman.

 

[sda]

Im not a Gauthier expert by any means, but I always thought his skating issues were a myth.

Gauthier is very fast. He may not have great acceleration or agility but he can really fly. Working with Barb Underhill has made him a much improved skater

 

[Tv9924]

Talk about making assumptions. I've watched more Calgary Hitmen games than Flyers games this year. He's a very consistent player.

Coming in to camp, he had to play his way on to the team and by many accounts he didn't. He wasn't going to play top 4 minutes and their are other guys better suited to be role players. I thought he would have gotten a look as the 7th D considering his versatility, but HC was looking for a safer player it seems-Heatherington, Fleury, Morin.


Wow.

If you don't mind, could I pick your brain about Virtanen? How's he looked this year?

I really wanna see a line of Duclair-McDavid-Virtanen, but I doubt it'll happen.

 

[GuillaumeLetsundress*]

I like how they kept chartier around even though he hasnt done much, they are respecting his goal scoring ability that he has displayed in the whl and will get another look and chance to provide that.

 

[Starry Knight]

I don't agree with the Klimchuk and Baptiste cuts, one of the few wingers with speed we have. Should have been Dickonson imo as he doesn't bring much in a bottom 6 role. It's obvious one of Paul and Ritchie is getting cut I wasn't for Crouse to make the team before the games but if he shows well why not. I just think it's incredibly stupid to make cuts after two games against weak competition. Some players play up to higher levels of competition and I feel the old model of inviting players that can fill two teams and having them play against each other is the best way to gauge the players. 3 or so games would give you a good indication of who can play at this level and their various strengths than make the rest of the cuts after pre-tournament games.

Dickinson is one of the best defensive forwards in the OHL who played on the wing for two years prior to being drafted.

 

[FLYguy3911]

If you don't mind, could I pick your brain about Virtanen? How's he looked this year?

I really wanna see a line of Duclair-McDavid-Virtanen, but I doubt it'll happen.

Physical tools off the charts. Fastest skater with the puck in the league. Can really flip the rink. Can blow by pretty much and defenseman in the league. Big shot but accuracy has been off this year. Thought he would be a bigger threat on the PP than he has been- finally saw him pound a one timer in the last game before camp. OK passer, but I wouldn't call him a playmaker. Not much of a defensive guy.

 

[BigBen]

I'd say with the cuts that my team would look like this:

Robby Fabbri- Connor McDavid- Jake Virtanen
Max Domi- Sam Reinhart- Anthony Duclair
Michael Dal Colle- Nicolas Petan- Brayden Point
Lawson Crouse- Frederik Gauthier- Nick Paul
Rourke Chartier

Josh Morrissey- Madison Bowey
Darnell Nurse- Shea Theodore
Samuel Morin- Joe Hicketts
Haydn Fleury

Zachary Fucale
Eric Comrie

That's what i see it being too. I wouldn't be upset if Dickinson made it over Gauthier, either.

As for those complaining about Bigras being cut, Team Canada is sorry for not wanting an average team this year. All guys in that top 4 are better than him, and the remaining defensemen outplayed him the last 2 games. Bigras had about 3 give-aways today and doesn't make the best decisions with the puck, and he's proved that last year.

Love this line-up. I really hope they cut Ritchie.

So 2 more cuts on forward and 1 on d? It'll likely be Ritchie and Dickinson/Chartier on forward and Heatherington on D.

 

[Tv9924]

Physical tools off the charts. Fastest skater with the puck in the league. Can really flip the rink. Can blow by pretty much and defenseman in the league. Big shot but accuracy has been off this year. Thought he would be a bigger threat on the PP than he has been- finally saw him pound a one timer in the last game before camp. OK passer, but I wouldn't call him a playmaker. Not much of a defensive guy.

Thanks!

 

[TrueBlueStorm]

Today's fun fact

This is supposed to be a 19 yo tournament- but most HF fans have McDavid (17) and Fabbri (18) on the first line.
Don't misunderstand me, I agree both should be there, and will be a treat to watch!

 

[xxxx]

This is supposed to be a 19 yo tournament- but most HF fans have McDavid (17) and Fabbri (18) on the first line.
Don't misunderstand me, I agree both should be there, and will be a treat to watch!

thats why I think Duclair will get a shot with them, he's quite experienced from the NHL

 

[Canucks LB]

What exactly does Virtanen need to do so that HF boards actually stops this anti Virtanen movement just because he is a canucks prospect.

What 6 points in 2 games not good enough?, His awful hockey IQ with 4 assists, and toronto media making articles on him.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hocke..._early_favourite_for_juniors_team_canada.html

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I like how they kept chartier around even though he hasnt done much, they are respecting his goal scoring ability that he has displayed in the whl and will get another look and chance to provide that.

I think Chartier looked very good today showing the speed and quickness that is needed to excel against the very formidable competition that Canada will be facing. It appears that Hockey Canada is trying to avoid being 'caught too slow' this time around. Having watched various iterations of Canada's junior teams since 1979, this team impresses me as being one of Canada's fastest. As the Russians like to say: when you can skate, everything is possible.

 

[King In The North]

Where is this anti Virtanen movement

 

[ChesterNimitz]

What exactly does Virtanen need to do so that HF boards actually stops this anti Virtanen movement just because he is a canucks prospect.

What 6 points in 2 games not good enough?, His awful hockey IQ with 4 assists, and toronto media making articles on him.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hocke..._early_favourite_for_juniors_team_canada.html

You have little to worry about. Just ignore the naysayers. This kid will be a force in the NHL.

 

[pahlsson]

Where is this anti Virtanen movement

in his head

 

[Canucks LB]

in his head

Where is this anti Virtanen movement

Virtanen hasn't played his best but he does have 6 points in the 2 games.

Virtanen might have 6 points, but his goals were not even that good 2bh

Virtanen was okay in this game but he always leaves me wanting more whenever I've seen him play. He has a good shot but is pretty predictable with it, shooting primarily from the outside and lacks the creativity and puck skills to beat defenders one on one, and really doesn't have the foot speed. He has a good top end speed but his acceleration leaves a bit to be desired.

Just from this thread alone.

 

[pahlsson]

wow 3 posts, this movement will surely shake the nation

 

[CanaFan]

Just from this thread alone.

Man this thread is heaven compared to our own boards. Posters here have been pretty fair re: Jake, plenty of positives and a few pointing out things he could be doing better still. Nothing wrong with wanting players to be better when they are representing your country. Unlike our boards where there are literally posters pissed because they can't complain about Virtanen for a day.

 

[Canucks LB]

wow 3 posts, this movement will surely shake the nation

I am just saying, it seems like people refuse to watch the games and just make points following off others.

The Low IQ thing is badly overblown, and his IQ is not poor at all. just my two cents

 

[BigBen]

The only surprising cut for me was Bigras, just because he was a returnee. I think Fleury stuck around just in case Hicketts is hurt. If Hicketts is fine, I think Fleury is final cut on defence.

Up front, there are still 3 cuts to go. I see a group of 6 on the bubble, that being, in order from most likely cut to least: Paul, Ritchie, Dickinson, Chartier, Crouse and Gauthier. I would have left Gauthier out, but with Bigras getting cut, Hockey Canada clearly isn't putting much stock in past experience, nor should they considering that team finished fourth. If Chartier and/or Dickinson clearly outplays Gauthier in the next pre-tournament game and during practices throughout the week, then I think one or both of them could stick around. Ritchie didn't do himself any favours with dumb penalties and Paul has been the least noticeable from that group so far. Those 2, Ritchie and Paul, will need a BIG week to stick around. Crouse is the other interesting guy, being an under-ager, but it sounds like they really covet his size and "heavy" game, so he might get the nod over a somewhat similar player in Ritchie.

It'll be another interesting week, but that's how I see things shaking down. This would be my updated depth chart:

Forwards

Domi-Reinhart-Duclair
Fabbri-McDavid-Virtanen
Point-Petan-Crouse
Dal Colle-Gauthier-Dickinson/Chartier
Dickinson/Chartier

Defence

Morrissey-Bowey
Nurse-Theodore
Heatherington/Morin-Hicketts
Heatherington/Morin

Goalies

Fucale
Comrie

Petan is fully capable of playing centre, I believe it's his preferred position. Chartier is also very versatile with past experience on the wing. I would probably give him the edge over Dickinson, but I'm a bit biased being Kelowna-based and seeing more of him throughout the season.

Your thoughts...again?

There's only 2 cuts left on F since they'll take a 13th F, and 1 cut left on D. I think Heatherington will be the last cut on the blueline and it'll be Ritchie and one of Dickinson/Chartier on F. I want it to be Gauthier and Ritchie for the forward cuts but I think TC is sticking with Gauthier. I think Paul makes the team but he could be a cut if they want to keep Dickinson and Chartier.