WJC: 2016 — Canada Roster Talk (Part IV)

[JackSlater]

Canada should have invited Senyshyn.That kid is a finisher.Wait till next year .Pierre Luc Dubois is a horse to at 17.Never really had much of a chance this year.But he can do it all and next year is gonna be a beast at this tourney.

Dubois would be a much better option at LW than Chartier or Quenneville. It's too bad.

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

Why is this not the right time? You and some others are here still posting no? It's an honest question and if you don't want to answer, don't. No need to make an issue about it.

I thought you were being funny...

The forwards are talented but not big - they are struggling on the big ice.
The D is also talented but can't seem to move the puck.
The goalie everyone wanted started in game 3 but has not been great - maybe not even good.
The coaching has been poor and lacks control.

 

[4thlineduster]

I said it in the GDT thread and I'll say it here....

I never thought I'd see a worse coach than Spott for TC.....but have sadly been proven wrong.

Lowry is a joke and I've seen peewee coaches with more hockey sense than this guy.

Our PK is atrocious, our PP is nothing but keep away with a shot from a low percentage area every now and then, and our 5 on 5 systems look like chaos at the best of times.

His ice time allotments are head scratching....players having good games sitting while players playing like junk are given ice time. Hicketts playing over 4 minutes of a 5 minute OT is the dumbest thing I've ever seen at this level of hockey.........inexcusable.

I don't know what the criteria is to be given the job as coach of TC, but something needs to change. HC certainly doesn't lack the depth or talent when it comes to available players......but the last few years we are certainly appearing to lack the talent at the coaching level.

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

This. Agree on all points. Seems like the roster hasn't meshed well, too many individual play and their D is average. A recipe for disaster.

 

[dmacgreg37]

I thought you were being funny...

The forwards are talented but not big - they are struggling on the big ice.
The D is also talented but can't seem to move the puck.
The goalie everyone wanted started in game 3 but has not been great - maybe not even good.
The coaching has been poor and lacks control.

Agree with most everything here, but the scary thing is - he's still probably been better than the other guy.

 

[robertocarlos]

This. Agree on all points. Seems like the roster hasn't meshed well, too many individual play and their D is average. A recipe for disaster.

They'll be better next year, 17.

 

[carlweezer*]

We're a very young team and our 19 yr old leaders are very obviously injured. Jv and Point don't look healthy at all. Especially Point who is our most talented player.

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

We need a lead against the Fins. Give the team a reason to believe and something to rally behind - like the Swiss did against us. Again, if it is 2-0 Finland, it might as well be 9-0 because this team is not coming back.

 

[Alerion]

The biggest reason this team is struggling offensively is number of quality zone entries they're getting and that's directly due to the poor breakout. The defenseman has weak puck support through the middle of the ice and instead is either relying on a pass up the boards to a stationary forward at the blueline, or a cross-ice pass to a streaking forward. This type of breakout is easy for teams to defend due to either A) the lack of speed on the pass up the boards or B) the distance the cross-ice pass has to recover. As a result, we've got no speed through the neutral zone and rarely enter the opponent's zone with a man advantage or a chance to retain puck possession and set up a scoring chance. Dump and chase will not lead to success but Lowry's breakout system will result in that style of hockey more often than not.

 

[wings5]

Chartier and Quenneville shouldn't be on this team. We've won Ivan Hlinka with these age groups and did well in the u18s so I don't buy the international ice surface excuse. It's simply bad coaching and undisciplined play. We also left alot of skill at home with Dal Colle , Ho-Sang, Perron and Gropp, 96 whom imo would have made a difference. Idc about the issues this year of Dal Colle and "behaviour" concerns of Ho-Sang, they are the most two of the top players of their age group.

 

[86Habs]

Embarrassing display today by Canada. I stand by my prediction that we'll lose in the QF, as there was little improvement today over the Swiss game and this version of Team Canada is not strong enough to beat a top six team.

Strome had a very poor game - weak on the puck, consistently telegraphing his shots, and slow on the backcheck and through the neutral zone.

Crouse and Point were largely invisible. Gauthier had a few nice shifts but the Barzal line as a whole didn't play a whole lot today nor did they have much of an impact when they were on the ice. Not a good outing for them.

Chartier, Perlini and Quenneville aren't good (particularly Quenneville) and should see very limited time against Finland. Virtanen took a stupid, undisciplined penalty and contributed nothing offensively. He was weak on the puck, lost seemingly every board battle, turned the puck over with blind passes to no one (or simply inaccurate passes), and took low % shots. Yet, he was rewarded with 1st line minutes and to me, Lowry's refusal to hold Virtanen accountable for his poor play and lack of discipline is inexcusable. I don't see any reason why he should play another shift this tournament.

Konecny, Stephens and Marner were our best forwards today. I have to believe Marner will play big minutes against Finland, not so sure about Konecny and Stephens. I've said all along that they deserve to be in the regular rotation, especially Konecny (who would compliment Strome much better than Virtanen) but I have no confidence in Lowry being smart enough to do that.

Chabot was good today. But I guess it's not a good indication of the quality of our defense corps when it's being led by an undrafted defenseman.

The goaltending was pretty awful today. We're not in good shape on that front either. Special teams need a lot of work. Thankfully Lowry has a full day tomorrow to prepare!

 

[86Habs]

Canada's team skates fine. The main issue isn't on the ice, it's behind the bench.

Also, for something scary heading into the QF: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/kazakhstan-6-canada-3-the-wjc-game-no-one-saw/

A fun read. I remember 1998 well, also 1992. I suspect we'll hear stories about similar lack of cohesion and chemistry in a few months.

 

[Striiker]

Nice to hear good things about Konecny from other fans. And yeah, I don't think he'll be playing next year, I think there's a very good chance he's on the Flyers full time. I guess it's possible that he gets loaned but who knows.

I also really think out of all the Flyers prospects, even the big 4 D, Konecny is the most likely to be the Captain of the Flyers after Giroux.

 

[bobber]

Let's face it. Canada is too young and small in this tourney. They continually get beat to pucks. They just picked the wrong team. Maybe a miracle will happen. If not there is always next year.

 

[w e l o s t b o y s]

for those saying we have a young team I'm pretty sure only Russia has an older average age at this tournament

 

[Thebesthockey]

horrible coach
bad picks ( strome marner overhype)


done

see u next year

 

[KPower]

We're a very young team and our 19 yr old leaders are very obviously injured. Jv and Point don't look healthy at all. Especially Point who is our most talented player.

Virtanen isn't injured.

He's just brain dead.

 

[Semantics]

Nice to hear good things about Konecny from other fans. And yeah, I don't think he'll be playing next year, I think there's a very good chance he's on the Flyers full time. I guess it's possible that he gets loaned but who knows.

Konecny has been a great spark plug offensively, but he has a lot to work on defensively if he's going to make the NHL next year. I could also see Strome, Marner, and Barzal being returnees. There are a lot of very raw 1997 talents on this team.

 

[L13]

Virtanen isn't injured.

He's just brain dead.

There's no need to insult the players like this. Virtanen has had a poor tournament, but calling him brain-dead because he hasn't lived up to your expectations as a teenager playing in a development tournament is really over the top.

I'm not a Canucks fan, by the way--actually a Flames fan--nor do I think Virtanen has rewarded Lowry's trust in him in any way. I just think people need to take a step back, realise they're talking about kids playing against kids, and stop saying ridiculously mean things.

 

[Atomos2]

Except for when you know, he is, like on the first Canada goal.

3 points, one back of Marner, two back of Strome.

He's been an important contributor at both ends of the ice.

Not really. With the amount of time he gets being attached to Hicketts' hip, he hasnt made much of an impact and has been pretty weak in terms of puck management. That pairing has struggled defensively.

Most of the dmen have had this puck management problem though.

 

[Bieksa#3]

Virtanen is such a dumb hockey player and this is coming from a Canucks fan.

He doesn't have any hockey smarts and has made it this far on physical tools alone. Virtanen and chemistry are two words that don't belong together.

It really sucks to be a Canucks fan. That top 6 pick was a huge turning point for our franchise. Sigh

 

[francis246]

Chartier and Quenneville shouldn't be on this team. We've won Ivan Hlinka with these age groups and did well in the u18s so I don't buy the international ice surface excuse. It's simply bad coaching and undisciplined play. We also left alot of skill at home with Dal Colle , Ho-Sang, Perron and Gropp, 96 whom imo would have made a difference. Idc about the issues this year of Dal Colle and "behaviour" concerns of Ho-Sang, they are the most two of the top players of their age group.

I have said this 1000 times. The whole process of selecting players is ********. The roster has pretty much been pre determined since the summer. No reason why Dal Colle and Ho-Sang should have been left off this roster. You need older players to help carry the load. Hockey Canada is one of the federations that is too political. Just take the best players period. Who cares is ho sang has behavioural problems, he can put a puck in the net. Dal Colle couldn't have been any worse than Chartier or Quenneville. Also that other draft eligible LW from Quebec could have been useful too.

 

[Adonis Creed]

too Young???

Come on..Fins top 2 fwd are 17....USA has a lot of 17...

freaking BS excuse.


our 19 years old have been horrendous

Vrtianen: D-
: Hicketts: F
Point: F-
Fleury: D

freaking D and F all-around...

bunch of lazy ****** we have

 

[HockeyThoughts]

Konecny has been a great spark plug offensively, but he has a lot to work on defensively if he's going to make the NHL next year. I could also see Strome, Marner, and Barzal being returnees. There are a lot of very raw 1997 talents on this team.

I cannot foresee any scenario where Dylan Strome isn't in the NHL next season.

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

Ho-Sang should be here. Most definitely.

Bottom line: We need returning players. The inexperience is showing.