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WJC: 2015 — USA Roster Talk

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Mehar said:
Bracco will be back and his time will come. I thought Cassels should have been the 13th forward. I think the fact he had to miss the tournament's opening two games with a suspension (his suspension was not reduced), and played for the OHL in the Super Series (essentially a showcase for potential Team Canada players);

along with saying in an interview back in November that he would lean toward playing for Canada (since he is a dual citizen of Canada and the US) in the WJHC, did him no favours with USA Hockey. If i was with USA Hockey if it came down to two players for a 13th forward position- i would reject the guy that represented Canada in the past (Under 17 World Hockey Challenge); and who said just last month, that he would be excited to wear the Canada jersey or the USA jersey, but was leaning toward Canada.

That being said- as a fan of Team Canada, i must say that the USA is right there with Canada in the conversation for Gold. I love how deep this team is, and they actually have better goaltending from my perspective. Fucale did not overly impress me last year. USA's top forwards are just as talented as Canada's. Anyone denying that USA does not have the team to win Gold are kidding themselves.
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Cassels suspension was reduced to 8 games, that had nothing to do with the decision.
 
Breakers said:
Cassels suspension was reduced to 8 games, that had nothing to do with the decision.
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I just read an article that his suspension was not actually reduced. He is eligible to come back on December 30th. The suspension was still 10 games. It was on the Oshawa Generals own twitter as well.
 
It'll be interesting to see who ends up with Eichel-Tuch now. I really liked the Milano-Matthews-Schmaltz line, who put on a puck possession clinic tonight, so I'd be a bit surprised to see them break that up. Motte could be back up there but he seemed to make a lot of sense with Larkin-Fasching so I'm not sure that'll happen. Louis? De Leo? Wood? All a bit 'meh' for that big a role IMO. Maybe they'll do something purely to please me and put Compher up there.

It's a good thing the offense looks like it could be really good because I have a feeling this team will be giving up scoring chances and goals. There really is no clear rock on defense and I doubt we'll see an MVP performance in goal.

I also don't really have a clue what they plan to do on the powerplay at this point. It seems like they were constantly trying different combinations out there so I hope they plan to put some serious work into it before the tournament begins.
 
dlawong said:
I know most of the eyes in this year's WJC will be on McDavid and Eichel, but my biggest interest will be watching how Austin Mathews play at this level. I am really impressed by what the scout is already saying about him and although he will not be as elite as McDavid and Eichel, but I see big upside in this player that may end up as 1st overall 2016 pick.
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I think he's in the conversation with McDavid and Eichel.
 
Just got home from the game. My goodness, the Americans are loaded. Such great overall team speed/skill and have a tenacious work ethic. They honestly could have probably had 13 or 14.

Unfortunately Eichel only played the first half of the game. I don't know if he has a minor injury they're keeping an eye on, but I felt it was odd how he didn't play at all after what seemed like the halfway point of the 2nd. He seemed to have trouble kicking it into 1st gear, but he showed some flashes of brilliance. One absolutely gorgeous drop pass that almost lead to a goal, a few nice dangles, strong puck protection down low, and one burst of speed up the middle that made the Swedes look like they were standing still. Hopefully he's 100%. He has a beautiful release as well.

Auston Matthews looked great. Strong skater, had 2 nice goals, very soft hands, really knows how to find the soft spots. He looked better than Eichel tonight, but I just have a feeling something wasn't right with Eichel.

I thought Tuch was the best player on the ice tonight. Had the hat-trick. Terrific skater, great speed, big body, excellent release. Was making things happen almost every time he was on the ice. I think the Wild got a steal with him at 18th.

Milano was very strong. The hands on this guy are a sight to behold. Deceptively fast, great skater. Would close on the Swedes before they knew it, and regularly forced turnovers.

Bracco had a few nice plays, but didn't stand out too much. I think next year will be his time.

Compher was good. Very tenacious, great skater. Basically the whole team is great skaters.

Defensively, I thought Werenski was better than Hannifin. Hannifin is good, but I liked Werenski's overall game better. Seemed to have a stronger hockey IQ. Hannifin has him on the skating, but I think Werenski played a more cerebral game, and isn't exactly a bad skater himself.

Was disappointed Santini wasn't playing, as he'd really bring a punishing element to their D. Hopefully he's ready to go once things start up on the 26th.

I guess all those USNDP grads paid off. They really have a great feel for each other out there.

Canada really seems to be coming into their own, too. The New Years Eve game should be SPECTACULAR. I could see it being 5-4, 6-5, 7-6, one way or another. Both teams have an obscene amount of talent upfront.
 
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TheJuxtaposer said:
I'm waiting for Canucks fans to complain about Cassels being cut with just as much vitriol as Habs fans when McCarron was cut. :laugh:

Bracco is unlucky this US forward group is so skilled. I think he'd have easily made last year's team if he were this age. Probably in 2013 also.
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Yeah I was rooting for Cassels to make the team.

I only watched the game against BU. The first thing I noticed was how fast the USA players were. USA is stacked up front.

Cassels clearly had a hard time keeping up with the pace. But his strength is his smarts, 2-way game and grit. He is not going to stand out with sheer speed and skill.

With Eichel/Matthews thats 2 potential superstar C, add Larkin and Cassels's only hope was the 4th line C anyways.

The USA coach seems to prefer going for a team speed/skill game where 4 lines attack, so I can definitely understand why Cassels didn't make the team.

But I think it would have been the right decision to keep Cassels as the extra forward. He would be a versatile C, with experience playing against the Team Canada players.

Either way, Cassels will be a good pro for the Canucks. Once he gets stronger with more experience, looking for him to be a Bolland-like, 2nd-3rd line C.
 
Garyboy said:
Just got home from the game. My goodness, the Americans are loaded. Such great overall team speed/skill and have a tenacious work ethic. They honestly could have probably had 13 or 14.

Unfortunately Eichel only played the first half of the game. I don't know if he has a minor injury they're keeping an eye on, but I felt it was odd how he didn't play at all after what seemed like the halfway point of the 2nd. He seemed to have trouble kicking it into 1st gear, but he showed some flashes of brilliance. One absolutely gorgeous drop pass that almost lead to a goal, a few nice dangles, strong puck protection down low, and one burst of speed up the middle that made the Swedes look like they were standing still. Hopefully he's 100%. He has a beautiful release as well.

Auston Matthews looked great. Strong skater, had 2 nice goals, very soft hands, really knows how to find the soft spots. He looked better than Eichel tonight, but I just have a feeling something wasn't right with Eichel.

I thought Tuch was the best player on the ice tonight. Had the hat-trick. Terrific skater, great speed, big body, excellent release. Was making things happen almost every time he was on the ice. I think the Wild got a steal with him at 18th.

Milano was very strong. The hands on this guy are a sight to behold. Deceptively fast, great skater. Would close on the Swedes before they knew it, and regularly forced turnovers.

Bracco had a few nice plays, but didn't stand out too much. I think next year will be his time.

Compher was good. Very tenacious, great skater. Basically the whole team is great skaters.

Defensively, I thought Werenski was better than Hannifin. Hannifin is good, but I liked Werenski's overall game better. Seemed to have a stronger hockey IQ. Hannifin has him on the skating, but I think Werenski played a more cerebral game, and isn't exactly a bad skater himself.

Was disappointed Santini wasn't playing, as he'd really bring a punishing element to their D. Hopefully he's ready to go once things start up on the 26th.

I guess all those USNDP grads paid off. They really have a great feel for each other out there.

Canada really seems to be coming into their own, too. The New Years Eve game should be SPECTACULAR. I could see it being 5-4, 6-5, 7-6, one way or another. Both teams have an obscene amount of talent upfront.
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Love hearing that. Hope that continues and he really makes a name for himself. Playing with Eichel will certainly help with that
 
cagney said:
It'll be interesting to see who ends up with Eichel-Tuch now. I really liked the Milano-Matthews-Schmaltz line, who put on a puck possession clinic tonight, so I'd be a bit surprised to see them break that up. Motte could be back up there but he seemed to make a lot of sense with Larkin-Fasching so I'm not sure that'll happen. Louis? De Leo? Wood? All a bit 'meh' for that big a role IMO. Maybe they'll do something purely to please me and put Compher up there.

It's a good thing the offense looks like it could be really good because I have a feeling this team will be giving up scoring chances and goals. There really is no clear rock on defense and I doubt we'll see an MVP performance in goal.

I also don't really have a clue what they plan to do on the powerplay at this point. It seems like they were constantly trying different combinations out there so I hope they plan to put some serious work into it before the tournament begins.
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I'm always wary of U.S. teams that can seemingly score at will. When we've been successful it's been on the back of solid goaltending, defensive play, and special teams. That said, I think the ingredients are there: A lot of skill, two-way play, and speed. A lot of chemistry as well. Hopefully Demko is up to the task.
 
From what I've seen, I feel like this could be USA's best world junior team ever. They are just so big, fast, and skilled.

This might be the first year where I really think we have the better roster on paper than Canada.
 
I honestly think Matthews will be better than McDavid, he's a class above Eichel. McDavid looks soft. I like Eichel's overall game but he's a little stiff, could end up as Brad Richards version 2.0 on NHL level (still would be a great career). I think Matthews is a game breaker Ovi type.
 
danktopshelf said:
I honestly think Matthews will be better than McDavid, he's a class above Eichel. McDavid looks soft. I like Eichel's overall game but he's a little stiff, could end up as Brad Richards version 2.0 on NHL level (still would be a great career). I think Matthews is a game breaker Ovi type.
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What a first post
 
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