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WJC: 2016 — Canada Roster Talk (Part IV)

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So obvious that Virtanen and Point are playing injured but people have their own agenda. Point has a bum shoulder and Virtanen has broken ribs or hip pointer from Getzlaf hit that knocked him out of games in December.

No excuses for them but the fact that theese TEENAGERS are gutting it out for Canada just to have them bombarded w. Negativity by internet know it all is despicable. Enjoy the tournament everyone !

Chabot has been impressive. Barzal as well. Can't believe Boston passed on Barzal 3x and Edmonton traded their chance to draft him for Griffin Reinhart.

Marner has strong Edgework and crafty stick handling but he needs to stop taking long long shifts. Its selfish. He is also ways away from being strong enough to play in the NHL.

Crouse will be very effective in the NHL , one of those guys you will love to have in a 7 game series. Same w. Virtanen.

On to the next one. Go Canada
 
Canada needs to expect more from its returnees/19 year olds .. They need to be carrying the play and not just a passenger, otherwise they're relying too much on the inexperienced younger players.

I credit Marner, Strome, and Barzal for playing well so far. They've all had varying degrees of ups/downs but the margins between their play isn't that large. They have been good on an underwhelming Canadian team.
 
https://youtu.be/kwFKTjI0jn8

You can tell JV doesn't want to take the puck to the net at the moment. Maybe he is saving it for the big games. Definitely playing hurt. Big respect for him for doing that.

Would love to see the Perlini -Barzal- JV line reunited again. They dominated Sweden 1 week ago.
 
RogaineJames said:
So obvious that Virtanen and Point are playing injured but people have their own agenda. Point has a bum shoulder and Virtanen has broken ribs or hip pointer from Getzlaf hit that knocked him out of games in December.

No excuses for them but the fact that theese TEENAGERS are gutting it out for Canada just to have them bombarded w. Negativity by internet know it all is despicable. Enjoy the tournament everyone !

Chabot has been impressive. Barzal as well. Can't believe Boston passed on Barzal 3x and Edmonton traded their chance to draft him for Griffin Reinhart.

Marner has strong Edgework and crafty stick handling but he needs to stop taking long long shifts. Its selfish. He is also ways away from being strong enough to play in the NHL.

Crouse will be very effective in the NHL , one of those guys you will love to have in a 7 game series. Same w. Virtanen.

On to the next one. Go Canada
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Interesting first post. Won't somebody please think of the children?!

goldglove said:
Note to Lowry : Beauvillier runs the 2nd best powerplay of the chl
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Note to goldglove: Beauvillier is not Hicketts.
 
BertCorbeau said:
Canada needs to expect more from its returnees/19 year olds .. They need to be carrying the play and not just a passenger, otherwise they're relying too much on the inexperienced younger players.

I credit Marner, Strome, and Barzal for playing well so far. They've all had varying degrees of ups/downs but the margins between their play isn't that large. They have been good on an underwhelming Canadian team.
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I agree w. Canada being underwhelming but I massively disagree that Marner is playing well.

Cheering for him to turn it around tho unlike many leaf haters here.

Not a leaf hater but Marner has been sub par for sure. Need more from him , JV and Crouse to lead the forwards.
 
Defense is still a big concern for me. Coaches need them executing break out passes better, the forwards are having to support the puck way too far back and it really kills any moment trying break into the zone.
 
thepuckmonster said:
Defense is still a big concern for me. Coaches need them executing break out passes better, the forwards are having to support the puck way too far back and it really kills any moment trying break into the zone.
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Agreed, our defence and goaltending is what worries me. We need to do a better job clearing the front of the net and avoid tipping it in our own goal.
 
I wish Point was healthy. This is the type of tourney that is right up his alley. His skill and positioning is missed
 
I expected more from the defense because it consists almost entirely of 19 year olds.

I'm worried next year won't be any better - the turnover will be large again, with Chabot the only player eligible to return. The 2015 draft wasn't particularly good for Canadian dmen. The 2016 draft looks better; however, those will be the 18 year olds...so the defense might be fairly young.
 
UsernameWasTaken said:
I expected more from the defense because it consists almost entirely of 19 year olds.

I'm worried next year won't be any better - the turnover will be large again, with Chabot the only player eligible to return. The 2015 draft wasn't particularly good for Canadian dmen. The 2016 draft looks better; however, those will be the 18 year olds...so the defense might be fairly young.
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Agreed. What concerns me is that they'll have to take more 2-way forward types to compensate which would really hurt the offensive production.

I really wish they had taken Chychrun as the extra solely to acclimate him for next year when he's going to have to be a solid lock regardless.
 
thepuckmonster said:
Agreed. What concerns me is that they'll have to take more 2-way forward types to compensate which would really hurt the offensive production.

I really wish they had taken Chychrun as the extra solely to acclimate him for next year when he's going to have to be a solid lock regardless.
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How has he been progressing this year. I haven't kept up but Ive noticed that he is no longer cemented to be the number 2 overall pick. In fact I see a lot of experts don't even have him I'm top 5 ( Mathews, Puljujarvi, Kaine, Tchachuk, Nylander )
 
UsernameWasTaken said:
I expected more from the defense because it consists almost entirely of 19 year olds.

I'm worried next year won't be any better - the turnover will be large again, with Chabot the only player eligible to return. The 2015 draft wasn't particularly good for Canadian dmen. The 2016 draft looks better; however, those will be the 18 year olds...so the defense might be fairly young.
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Chabot
Juulsen
Lauzon
Meloche
Roy
Chychrun

has the makings of a solid core of guys to pick from, I reckon ~5 of those guys will be there for sure, may well still have 5 or 6 19 year olds. And guys like Fabbro, Bean & Bear will battle for spots as well and have a lot of talent.

Shame Nielsen, Dunn & Dermott are all late 96's...
 
If you think Virtanen is healthy and he always plays this passive then you have never seen him play. Admittedly he has low play making abilities but this guy is as rugged as they come and can light the lamp. Hopefully he shows all of us w. Nothing but big games coming up now.
 
Appleyard said:
Chabot
Juulsen
Lauzon
Meloche
Roy
Chychrun

has the makings of a solid core of guys to pick from, I reckon ~5 of those guys will be there for sure, may well still have 5 or 6 19 year olds. And guys like Fabbro, Bean & Bear will battle for spots as well and have a lot of talent.

Shame Nielsen, Dunn & Dermott are all late 96's...
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Doesn't matter if they're late 96s, IIHF rules are different from draft.

It's why the US couldn't take Demko, he's a late 95.
 
Crouse and JV seem to be playing cautious as well, almost like they are afraid to get penalties w. Them not being used to international rules.

Very impressed w. Stromes strength when he has the pick. He is a gamer and his style will translate to the NHL
 
Virtanen was pretty bad previous to this game, but in the third period he really stepped it up. Looks like he got some of his confidence back, hopefully he can keep it going. I don't get why Virtanen doesn't just park himself in front of the net. On the PP with Marner and Strome, that's where he should go... but he always tries to coast into the slot for a horrible shot.

Also, why was Chychrun sent home so early? This D leaves something to be desired. They should have at least gave him a longer look, let him play a few games.
 
Divine said:
Virtanen was pretty bad previous to this game, but in the third period he really stepped it up. Looks like he got some of his confidence back, hopefully he can keep it going. I don't get why Virtanen doesn't just park himself in front of the net. On the PP with Marner and Strome, that's where he should go... but he always tries to coast into the slot for a horrible shot.

Also, why was Chychrun sent home so early? This D leaves something to be desired. They should have at least gave him a longer look, let him play a few games.
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He did park himself in front of the net and did a good job screening the goalie on Hickett's goal.

I think the penalty he took really woke him up. Started to play more his style. I don't think he's a great fit with Marner and Strome because though he can cycle, it's not his strength and it doesn't really amount to anything.

He should be parked on the hashmarks on the face off dot to get his one timer off (a la Vrbata in Vancouver) or in front of the net on PPs for sure.
 
Hicketts minutes are pretty ridiculous but the coaches don't really have any choice. The other dmen have simply not been good enough to have those minutes.
 
Appleyard said:
Chabot
Juulsen
Lauzon
Meloche
Roy
Chychrun

has the makings of a solid core of guys to pick from, I reckon ~5 of those guys will be there for sure, may well still have 5 or 6 19 year olds. And guys like Fabbro, Bean & Bear will battle for spots as well and have a lot of talent.

Shame Nielsen, Dunn & Dermott are all late 96's...
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I don't see those players you've listed as being an improvement on this season's defense. Chycrun and Fabbro have high end skill but they'll also be young and at their first tournament (if Fabbro makes it) - and 18 year old d-men typically aren't impact players.

Of course, a large part of the problem on this team is the coaching, so it's difficult to get a read on how well they'd play if the defense was employed properly.

The 2015 draft was really strong at forward for Canada and those will be the 19 year olds, so I think that will really help the team. And if next year's defense is coached properly, it might not be an issue.
 
RogaineJames said:
So obvious that Virtanen and Point are playing injured but people have their own agenda. Point has a bum shoulder and Virtanen has broken ribs or hip pointer from Getzlaf hit that knocked him out of games in December.
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This.

Virtanen was good enough to make the NHL and not look all that out of place. Yet, now he's struggling to play at the junior level, fresh off a rib injury, and he's terrible and should be cut from the team? You'd think people would be able to put two and two together, rather than resort to childish verbal assaults on a nineteen year old. The guy looks NOTHING like his usual self. Where are the hits, the blazing speed off the wing? He's hurt and it's pretty obvious.
 
What is with that Godawful PP setup? Two forwards in front of the net and cycle the puck between the three guys at the blue line? Doesn't make any sense at all.

And I'm pretty sure if the shootout went past three rounds Lowry would have sent in Hicketts three times. The opportunities and ice time he is getting is insanity.
 
True Hockey Fan said:
I agree with everything you said. Even though, the shifts are coache's thing and if it works, ok. But I would rather be for the 45 sec. shifts for everyone, yes.

One thing I disagree, though. I think Virtanen was actually good with Strome.
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Strome and Crouse were really good together today, which makes sense as both guys like to work the puck down low on the cycle and have the size and strength to out-muscle the opposition. Virtanen is at his best when he's coming down the wing with the puck on his stick, looking to beat the defender one-on-one with his speed and strength. What he's not so good at is working in the offensive zone off the cycle, or getting in the right areas where he can receive a pass and take advantage of his shot. He's also not a good playmaker.

Virtanen has largely played very tentatively this tournament, turned the puck over numerous times, lost board battles against smaller opponents, and whiffed on some prime opportunities served up by Strome & Crouse.

With Strome and Crouse both being shoot-first guys, a better playmaker would compliment that line nicely. Moving Virtanen off that line would also let him focus on his strengths and play a more limited game without being relied upon for offense.
 
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