WJC: 2017 Canada Roster Talk - Part 1

[xxxx]

This will have to be a chip on their shoulder underdog team this year if we are to win. Those type of teams rely on good coaching, team spirit, willingness to battle hard on each and every shift and just enough skill to take advantage of hard fought for opportunities when they come. Of course the backbone of these types of teams is always great goaltending but the problem is when is the last time we have gotten that at the WJC?, it seems like an eternity.

We need a Gavle 93 type performance.

I believe that Patrick will be a huge factor of this team. Him and Gauthier on the same line..I want to see that. But Patrick is somehow underrated here. He's going to drive this team to gold, he is that good. Of course that's an overstatement a bit, and it would be even with McDavid as we need the other guys too. But he will be the most important player, book it.

 

[jj cale]

I believe that Patrick will be a huge factor of this team. Him and Gauthier on the same line..I want to see that. But Patrick is somehow underrated here. He's going to drive this team to gold, he is that good. Of course that's an overstatement a bit, and it would be even with McDavid as we need the other guys too. But he will be the most important player, book it.

I have not seen a single game of Patrick yet so i am looking forward to seeing what he's got.

I am a bit surprised you are so high on him to be honest as the general consensus around here seems to be that he is a run of the mill first overall pick, not a player who stands out among number ones. But of course that really means nothing I suppose. Still, it is a lot to ask of a 17 year old to be the main cog on a WJC gold medal winning team, if he could do that he would have to be a pretty special player.

Can you give me a rundown of his game? I will look forward to reading it after I get home from work.

 

[86Habs]

nah, I don't buy that argument for a minute. That's an NHL GM framing it as a "player development" decision when it's not.

This is the 1 area though where I agree that a change in the NHL-CHL agreement would be helpful. There should be more liberal recall rules for 19 year old CHL players to shuttle back and forth from NHL to CHL teams instead.

Why do you think the GMs are keeping Strome, Barzal, Chabot etc. with the NHL clubs?

I believe that Patrick will be a huge factor of this team. Him and Gauthier on the same line..I want to see that. But Patrick is somehow underrated here. He's going to drive this team to gold, he is that good. Of course that's an overstatement a bit, and it would be even with McDavid as we need the other guys too. But he will be the most important player, book it.

As it's looking likely that Strome and Barzal will be available for the tournament, Patrick would at best be the third line center unless they convert him to the wing. At the very least Canada will be strong down the middle with Strome, Barzal, Patrick, Stephens, Jost and McLeod. Dubois will almost certainly play LW on this team in order to get him up in the top-6.

 

[JackSlater]

It happened last year with Virtanen. I have no idea what these teams are thinking. Chabot is the most confusing, he's got like 7 minutes in 2 weeks, while his team sent Logan Brown back after 1 preseason game. Maybe they'll keep them up til mid-November, try to conditioning stint them in the AHL for 2 weeks, then release them to the WJC camp and back to junior.

Ah yes, Virtanen. No that's a player who has been developed properly. Pietrangelo was in a situation similar to Barzal and company, playing nine games prior to the WJC and then rejoining his junior team later. Not sure it was a great strategy, but on the bright side Pietrangelo was the best player on Canada's WJC team.

players that won't be on the team and deservedly so

C MCDAVID T KONECNY M MARNER A BEAUVILLIER J CHYCHRUN

I'd really love to have the 3 highlighted players though. Not going to happen though. Chychrun is more of a loss for next year's team. We don't have the depth in the 98s to cover many players lost to the NHL.

The 4 players that should be back in junior ASAP

L CROUSE M BARZAL D STROME T CHABOT

I really want those 2 on the team.

The guys in the first group deserve to be in the NHL, and good for them. I never wanted Chychrun to play for Canada, so I'm particularly happy that he has found such early success. I find the Crouse situation particularly weird. Unlike Strome, Crouse absolutely could use another year in junior where he can hopefully become an elite offensive player. He is a functional bottom six player already, but presumably Arizona might want to take a chance and see if he could become something more. He isn't going to do that if he doesn't have experience as a top offensive player even at the junior level.

The GMs are basically saying that practice reps with the big boys and game action ~once/week is better for their development than lighting up the CHL. I can kind of buy it in Strome's case, as running roughshod over the OHL for the 3rd year in a row isn't going to do him a lot of good and, in my personal opinion, potentially ingrain some bad habits that are already pretty visible - the 2 second wind-ups on his wristers and mediocre motor to name two. But still, game action even if you're a cut above the competition is the better option. Barzal and Chabot should be sent back to Junior ASAP. Presumably all three should be available come Christmastime, in addition to Crouse.

The sentiments that are most often spouted are that the players can learn so much by watching NHLers and attending meetings, and that the players are too good for junior. I find it hard to believe that players struggling to make bad to mediocre NHL teams are obviously too good to play junior hockey. As for the meetings, something beyond my imagination must be happening for a few hours of direction from the likes of Jack Capuano to be more useful than playing actual games in a high end junior league.

 

[1Gold Standard]

Ah yes, Virtanen. No that's a player who has been developed properly. Pietrangelo was in a situation similar to Barzal and company, playing nine games prior to the WJC and then rejoining his junior team later. Not sure it was a great strategy, but on the bright side Pietrangelo was the best player on Canada's WJC team.



The guys in the first group deserve to be in the NHL, and good for them. I never wanted Chychrun to play for Canada, so I'm particularly happy that he has found such early success. I find the Crouse situation particularly weird. Unlike Strome, Crouse absolutely could use another year in junior where he can hopefully become an elite offensive player. He is a functional bottom six player already, but presumably Arizona might want to take a chance and see if he could become something more. He isn't going to do that if he doesn't have experience as a top offensive player even at the junior level.



The sentiments that are most often spouted are that the players can learn so much by watching NHLers and attending meetings, and that the players are too good for junior. I find it hard to believe that players struggling to make bad to mediocre NHL teams are obviously too good to play junior hockey. As for the meetings, something beyond my imagination must be happening for a few hours of direction from the likes of Jack Capuano to be more useful than playing actual games in a high end junior league.

or maybe Arizona is happy in developing him into another Tom Wilson. because the game sure needs more Tom Wilsons and his 0 goals and 0 assists in 6 games to start the season. I don't think I need to post the sarcasm emoji for everybody to get the idea here.

 

[JackSlater]

or maybe Arizona is happy in developing him into another Tom Wilson. because the game sure needs more Tom Wilsons and his 0 goals and 0 assists in 6 games to start the season. I don't think I need to post the sarcasm emoji for everybody to get the idea here.

Oh yes I agree. The shortsightedness is annoying. I'm not sure that Crouse could ever be a top end winger, but developing as a fourth liner and then a third liner is probably at the floor of his abilities.

 

[xxxx]

I have not seen a single game of Patrick yet so i am looking forward to seeing what he's got.

I am a bit surprised you are so high on him to be honest as the general consensus around here seems to be that he is a run of the mill first overall pick, not a player who stands out among number ones. But of course that really means nothing I suppose. Still, it is a lot to ask of a 17 year old to be the main cog on a WJC gold medal winning team, if he could do that he would have to be a pretty special player.

Can you give me a rundown of his game? I will look forward to reading it after I get home from work.

I know some people have him below the Eichels, Matthews, and even Laines, but for example Button compared him to Eichel and Matthews, and I've seen some people putting him even ahead of one or both of them.

I would say Patrick is the typical product of the WHL, as Getzlaf for example. Rather a 200-foot two-way player than a flashy and breath-taking one with "wow" moves, but has the skills too. He's big, physical, hard-nosed, can both shoot and pass, good defensively. He has great hockey sense. He's the ultimate package. Not super-skilled, not super-fast, but makes smart plays, his shot is lethal and is good on both sides of the rink. He's a game-changer too and was the MVP when his team won the WHL. He's a really smart all around player. If you want a comparison, think Getzlaf and Toews for example. He has the big body and the style of Getzlaf, and the all around game that gets unnoticed, like Toews. He also shoots better than both of them.

He will be playing the two WHL games against Russia early this November

 

[jj cale]

I know some people have him below the Eichels, Matthews, and even Laines, but for example Button compared him to Eichel and Matthews, and I've seen some people putting him even ahead of one or both of them.

I would say Patrick is the typical product of the WHL, as Getzlaf for example. Rather a 200-foot two-way player than a flashy and breath-taking one with "wow" moves, but has the skills too. He's big, physical, hard-nosed, can both shoot and pass, good defensively. He has great hockey sense. He's the ultimate package. Not super-skilled, not super-fast, but makes smart plays, his shot is lethal and is good on both sides of the rink. He's a game-changer too and was the MVP when his team won the WHL. He's a really smart all around player. If you want a comparison, think Getzlaf and Toews for example. He has the big body and the style of Getzlaf, and the all around game that gets unnoticed, like Toews. He also shoots better than both of them.

He will be playing the two WHL games against Russia early this November

Much obliged for the rundown on Patrick, thanks.

Really looking forward to seeing what this kid has in the Russian series.

 

[1Gold Standard]

Why do you think the GMs are keeping Strome, Barzal, Chabot etc. with the NHL clubs?



As it's looking likely that Strome and Barzal will be available for the tournament, Patrick would at best be the third line center unless they convert him to the wing. At the very least Canada will be strong down the middle with Strome, Barzal, Patrick, Stephens, Jost and McLeod. Dubois will almost certainly play LW on this team in order to get him up in the top-6.

cheap ELC. How much dead money does Arizona have on the books? and 3 ELC (jr. age rookies) on the roster to offset it to go along with the 4-5 other ELC on the roster. It's possible that Arizona makes them available for the tournament, but they're not going back to junior. And it is not a development issue of getting reps with pros playing once a week 8-10 TOI. But hey, it worked for Jumbo Joe, perhaps it will work with Strome as well. It may take a few years, longer than it should, but they save $ in the short term. And while it worked for Jumbo Joe, there's more evidence/cases which prove that junior age players getting practice time with pros does nothing to advance their offensive game/progression to the pros. Curtis Lazar, Bo Horvat, Jake Virtanen, Jared McCann etc etc etc. the list goes on an on 100 pages deep and includes the aforementioned waste of space offensive black hole, Tom Wilson. Junior age players not yet ready to play NHL minutes are better served playing on their CHL clubs. That includes Strome going back to Erie and racking up 150 pts.



I'm not a Strome fan, so I hope Arizona asks him if he wants to play the junior tournament and he opts for the pressbox in Arizona instead. ala Tyler Seguin in his rookie year as an 18 year old, playing limited minutes, A lot of time in the pressbox watching. Boston asked if he wanted to play in WJHC and he answered, no thanks. I's rater sit and watch NHL games.


as for the Sens? We all know Mr. Bermuda Melnyk has a case of the shorts.

and a little OT, but since McDavid is still eligible to play on this team, that give and go - get it back again - breakaway goal was sublime last night. a thing of beauty... McDavid should get the assist as well. 2 pts for a goal like that.

 

[JackSlater]

cheap ELC. How much dead money does Arizona have on the books? and 3 ELC (jr. age rookies) on the roster to offset it to go along with the 4-5 other ELC on the roster. It's possible that Arizona makes them available for the tournament, but they're not going back to junior. And it is not a development issue of getting reps with pros playing once a week 8-10 TOI. But hey, it worked for Jumbo Joe, perhaps it will work with Strome as well. It may take a few years, longer than it should, but they save $ in the short term. And while it worked for Jumbo Joe, there's more evidence/cases which prove that junior age players getting practice time with pros does nothing to advance their offensive game/progression to the pros. Curtis Lazar, Bo Horvat, Jake Virtanen, Jared McCann etc etc etc. the list goes on an on 100 pages deep and includes the aforementioned waste of space offensive black hole, Tom Wilson. Junior age players not yet ready to play NHL minutes are better served playing on their CHL clubs. That includes Strome going back to Erie and racking up 150 pts.



I'm not a Strome fan, so I hope Arizona asks him if he wants to play the junior tournament and he opts for the pressbox in Arizona instead. ala Tyler Seguin in his rookie year as an 18 year old, playing limited minutes, A lot of time in the pressbox watching. Boston asked if he wanted to play in WJHC and he answered, no thanks. I's rater sit and watch NHL games.


as for the Sens? We all know Mr. Bermuda Melnyk has a case of the shorts.

and a little OT, but since McDavid is still eligible to play on this team, that give and go - get it back again - breakaway goal was sublime last night. a thing of beauty... McDavid should get the assist as well. 2 pts for a goal like that.

That Strome position is indefensible. He is one of the best eligible players for this tournament, especially with some already in the NHL. As far as a Seguin situation, I think it was also implied by reputable sources that either Horvan or Drouin, or both, didn't want to play in 2015 despite somewhat limited minutes in the NHL.

 

[1Gold Standard]

That Strome position is indefensible. He is one of the best eligible players for this tournament, especially with some already in the NHL. As far as a Seguin situation, I think it was also implied by reputable sources that either Horvan or Drouin, or both, didn't want to play in 2015 despite somewhat limited minutes in the NHL.

I don't particularly like the player...but what I like even less is his attitude. what was he said at the summer camp, I've outgrown junior hockey...or something along those lines. I'd prefer a motived player with half his skill than Strome and his NHL attitude.

I didn't want Horvat on the 2015 team either.

Drouin would have been good though.

 

[tfantasy]

Can't wait to watch the CIBC Russian/Canada series! Looking forward to watching Patrick in the WHL series because to me he needs to impress to make this team. He played a game for the WHL last year and didn't do a thing. Road the bench really. And I'm looking forward to watching Senyshyn in the OHL series.

 

[tfantasy]

Dubois - Barzal - Kyrou
McKenzie - Strome - Gauthier
Crouse - Jost - Senyshyn
G.Smith - Stephens - Roy
McCleod


Chychrun - Juulsen
Fabbro - Lauzon
Roy - Chabot
Bean

Ingram
Cormier

 

[Stizzle]

Dubois - Barzal - Kyrou
McKenzie - Strome - Gauthier
Crouse - Jost - Senyshyn
G.Smith - Stephens - Roy
McCleod


Chychrun - Juulsen
Fabbro - Lauzon
Roy - Chabot
Bean

Ingram
Cormier

Your gimmick is really stale.

 

[tfantasy]

Your gimmick is really stale.

That's ok

 

[xxxx]

Can you imagine what would McDavid do at the juniors, when even Nugent-Hopkins was getting like 3 points per game in 2013 when there was the lockout

 

[JackSlater]

Can you imagine what would McDavid do at the juniors, when even Nugent-Hopkins was getting like 3 points per game in 2013 when there was the lockout

This is shaping up to be one of the better "what if" Canadian WJC teams. Very strong at forward, though defence and goaltending don't appear special. Hopefully the team at the actual tournament is somewhat close to the "what if" Canadian team.

 

[1Gold Standard]

Can you imagine what would McDavid do at the juniors, when even Nugent-Hopkins was getting like 3 points per game in 2013 when there was the lockout

it was 2.5. that's a little short of almost 3.

but your point is well taken. McDavid would demolish this tournament and challenge a few records in the process.

 

[93LEAFS]

Hopefully Montreal's move today of sending down Sergachev is the start of certain jr eligibles being sent down. For Canada, Barzal, Crouse and Chabot should be sent down immediately. There should also be serious consideration to sending down D. Strome.

 

[SNMU]

Dubois - Strome - McCleod
Crouse - Barzal - Gauthier
Jost - Stephens - Senyshn
Smith - Roy - Joseph
Kyrou

Chychrun - Chabot
Vande Sompel - Juulsen
Lauzon - Roy
Fabbro

Ingram
Cormier

 

[tfantasy]

Dubois - Strome - McCleod
Crouse - Barzal - Gauthier
Jost - Stephens - Senyshn
Smith - Roy - Joseph
Kyrou

Chychrun - Chabot
Vande Sompel - Juulsen
Lauzon - Roy
Fabbro

Ingram
Cormier

Very nice. I can see them replacing Howden with Kyrou but I like that alot

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

 

[1Gold Standard]

and good news out of Ottawa, Sens are sending Chabot back to jr., leaving 8 junior age players still playing in the NHL, of which only 2-3 may be available come tourney time.

oh well, it's something to work with...

 

[93LEAFS]

and good news out of Ottawa, Sens are sending Chabot back to jr., leaving 8 junior age players still playing in the NHL, of which only 2-3 may be available come tourney time.

oh well, it's something to work with...

Barzal and Crouse should be next. Beauvillier seems to be getting decent ice time but prior to the Leafs game should be viewed as 50/50. Strome is at make or break time with Dvorak down. Marner, Konecny and Chychrun are definitely not going at this point, and they shouldn't considering they are getting quality NHL minutes.

 

[Joe Zanussi]

and good news out of Ottawa, Sens are sending Chabot back to jr., leaving 8 junior age players still playing in the NHL, of which only 2-3 may be available come tourney time.

oh well, it's something to work with...

I think you were correct when you said Canada would be missing five guys. That looks right to me.

USA will be missing four, I think. Finland? Russia? Others?