WJC: 2015 — Canada Roster Talk (Part IV)

[KCC]

I hate Virtanen, seriously , I never saw a guy having a hockey sense as bad as him. He shoots the ****ing puck from the corner when he is on a 3 on 1 . It´s pathetic , I hope someone will tell him before the end of the tournament that he cannot do it all by himself...When you are on a 3 on 1 with McDavid and Lazar: pass the puck!

I see, so because you feel he tried to do it "all by himself", he's a bad player with bad hockey sense? The guy made one bad play and you're all over him. A reality check. Eichel of the US tried to do it all by himself as well against Finland and didn't fair very well at all. Does that mean he's a bad player as well and has bad hockey sense? Come on now.

 

[crazychimp]

The fact you compare him to Malhotra shows why he should not be on this team. This is team Canada. We have the ability to put elite players in that role. Reinhart and Lazar are both more than good enough defensively to be in that role and they can actually pitch in offensively.

Having said that, if he continues to play like he did yesterday, I have no problem with his inclusion.

I disagree in a short tourney like this the offensive/elite players shouldn't have to play the pk I'd rather them focus on the offence more and the defensive players focus on there own end. Take last nights game for example with all the penalties Canada took would you rather have elite players killing those penalties and gassing themselves out or have them fresh on the ice once a guy like Gauthier is done pk-ing?

 

[ManoWarrior]

The fact you compare him to Malhotra shows why he should not be on this team. This is team Canada. We have the ability to put elite players in that role. Reinhart and Lazar are both more than good enough defensively to be in that role and they can actually pitch in offensively.

Having said that, if he continues to play like he did yesterday, I have no problem with his inclusion.

The big problem is his horrendous passing and skating. Elite defensive players have to be able to skate to be compared to Malhotra. He's looking more David Steckel than Manny Malhotra.

EDIT: Sorry for beating a dead horse lol. Just skimmed over more of this thread

 

[lawrence]

I see, so because you feel he tried to do it "all by himself", he's a bad player with bad hockey sense? The guy made one bad play and you're all over him. A reality check. Eichel of the US tried to do it all by himself as well against Finland and didn't fair very well at all. Does that mean he's a bad player as well and has bad hockey sense? Come on now.

He hates him probably because of the team he was draftded by. There is no question about it. Anyone who "hates Jake Virtannen" is truly a Canuck hater. Probably jealous of all the good words towards him even by non Canuck fans. There is absolutley no way anyone can Hate Jake Virtannen right now.

I disagree in a short tourney like this the offensive/elite players shouldn't have to play the pk I'd rather them focus on the offence more and the defensive players focus on there own end. Take last nights game for example with all the penalties Canada took would you rather have elite players killing those penalties and gassing themselves out or have them fresh on the ice once a guy like Gauthier is done pk-ing?

Gauthier shouldn't have made team Canada. I can't believe we selected him with all the players that were available for Team Canada to chose from. I really don't understand, Ritchie we understand, he is the strongest player, he's big, he's tough and he does have offensive skills, but Gauthier? This guy helps the other team, by killing offensive chances team Canada Generates or any offensive time substainted by his line mates 5 on 5. Sure he's ok pk ing.

anyways, there's nothing we can do to change the roster, I hope the coaching does his best to dress the best players.

 

[crazychimp]

The big problem is his horrendous passing and skating. Elite defensive players have to be able to skate to be compared to Malhotra. He's looking more David Steckel than Manny Malhotra.

Just to be clear I wasn't comparing him to Malhotra I was comparing their roles.

Edit: Probably my last response in this thread no point in arguing who should have made this team or who shouldn't have, this is our team GO Canada Go!

 

[Kirk Mclean]

Lol Gauthier hasn't been that bad! For pete's sake we've outscored the opposition 12-0 so far...

 

[Snippit]

When was the last time fans focused on a 4th liner more than anyone else on the team?

I didn't agree with the selection either but still...won't change a whole lot.

 

[ManoWarrior]

When was the last time fans focused on a 4th liner more than anyone else on the team?

I didn't agree with the selection either but still...won't change a whole lot.

The fact that he's Leaf prospect and is noticeably bad with the puck, combined with the fact that he's anchoring (not in a good way lol) a Canuck prospect who should be playing on a higher line according to his play. A perfect storm really.

 

[lawrence]

 

[Eye of Ra]

When I see Nurse play, I think of Pronger.

 

[sda]

Gauthier seems to be doing much better than some posters think. Good corsi and highest faceoff % wins

 

[DanrikCarter]

I disagree in a short tourney like this the offensive/elite players shouldn't have to play the pk I'd rather them focus on the offence more and the defensive players focus on there own end. Take last nights game for example with all the penalties Canada took would you rather have elite plaayers killing those penalties and gassing themselves out or have them fresh on the ice once a guy like Gauthier is done pk-ing?

I would absolutely have my best players on the pk. I think Lazar should be the team's #1 pk guy and I wouldn't have even taken Gauthier. If they wanted a defensive guy there was loads of better players they could've taken.

 

[StrictlyCommercial]

Gauthier seems to be doing much better than some posters think. Good corsi and highest faceoff % wins

He had a much, much better game against Germany. If he plays like he did against Germany then he justifies his spot as a 13th forward. However, there's no denying he was atrocious against Slovakia.

 

[Flair Hay]

People need to take a step back here. Holy crap.

Quit ******** on our 19 year old players because of what they arent. They are all here for a reason - what they CAN do.

NHL politics have no place here. I'll leave it at that.

 

[drax0s]

Canucks fan here -- Gauthier is fine, guys. He's an experienced WJC vet, he's winning faceoffs and has been fine on the PK -- I mean hell, we haven't even been scored on yet. Is he the most skilled player, or the player I would've chosen? Maybe not, but I can understand the reasoning and more importantly, what's done is done -- He's on the team and I'll support him.

No, he's not the ideal center to see Virtanen rip things up and make a big splash, but Jake's doing well and is making things happen on his own. He's also one of the younger guys on the roster (I think only McDavid and Crouse are younger than him) so of course he's not getting top line minutes. The fact he's managed to play his way up the lineup is a huge deal, IMO, and I'd almost guarantee if he's back next year he's coming back as 1st line wing.

We're all rooting for team Canada in the end, right?

 

[chunkylover53]

Don't worry, if Canada loses everyone will bame Gauthier's selection anyways, even though there were some other questionable choices are well....=\

 

[Zaddy91]

Virtanen needs to play with Fabbri and McDavid, case closed

 

[Get North]

Haven't given up a goal on the PK and the PP is clicking.

Something the Americans and Fins need to get going.

 

[Pip]

Gauthier was exactly what he was meant to be to this team tonight. centre the pk, win draws, cleared puck. Nothing special but not a liability. Could someone else be there? sure. They aren't. shut up about Gauthier.

Yep, as long as he is the 13th forward for faceoffs and PKing, then whatever. I didn't like the selection but it's not a huge deal.

We'll see how he plays against tougher competition I guess.

 

[Mehar]

This obsession with Gauthier is weird, really, really weird..

I disliked the Ritchie selection more than Gauthier. Dal Colle should have made the team over both guys. He would look good next to McDavid right now. Anyways- what is done is done. I hated cutting a guy like Dal Colle in favour of Ritchie or Gauthier, but is it time to move on.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

It's surprising that the Domi/Duclair/Reinhart line hasn't been as dominant (statistically) as they've looked on the ice. They must have had a bad game against Germany (Corsi-wise), because they looked the best line in Game 1.

 

[sda]

I disliked the Ritchie selection more than Gauthier. Dal Colle should have made the team over both guys. He would look good next to McDavid right now. Anyways- what is done is done. I hated cutting a guy like Dal Colle in favour of Ritchie or Gauthier, but is it time to move on.

Dont understand why people want Dall colle on the team. He had trouble keeping up to the pace in the exhibition games and looked much slower than Gauthier

 

[STC]

Haven't given up a goal on the PK and the PP is clicking.

Something the Americans and Fins need to get going.

Between my Blackhawks and the Americans I feel like I haven't seen an effective PP since last spring.

 

[Phrasing]

It's surprising that the Domi/Duclair/Reinhart line hasn't been as dominant (statistically) as they've looked on the ice. They must have had a bad game against Germany (Corsi-wise), because they looked the best line in Game 1.

All the players have positive corsi which is a good sign. The first line has a negative relative corsi because the fourth line has really high corsi scores compared to everyone else. This doesn't really take into question of the quality of competition, which would explain why the fourth line's corsi is so much better than the first line. Corsi also only measures shots, not time of possession, and given the fourth line has shoot-first players like Virtanen who will shoot from anywhere, it will skew the numbers. Can't conclude all that much from the chart above without more context.

 

[bruinsfan46]

It's surprising that the Domi/Duclair/Reinhart line hasn't been as dominant (statistically) as they've looked on the ice. They must have had a bad game against Germany (Corsi-wise), because they looked the best line in Game 1.

Their relative numbers are worse because of how good the team has been. They're getting much tougher match ups against teams that aren't very deep as compared to the fourth line with Canada only playing Slovakia and Germany so far.