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WJC: 2019 Team USA Roster Talk

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swoopster said:
Hey look its over and the team is set so lets go!...

But to think that Bode Wilde, once a USNTDP darling, #41 in the draft to the Islanders, jumps ship to the OHL, and doesn't even det invited to camp? Well I call that BS!
Click to expand...

He has another year. Reilly Walsh was a much stranger omission than Wilde or Keane IMO but it doesn't really matter now.
 
The last preliminary games' lines had Farabee with Robertson and Chmelevski, and Cates with Hughes and Wahlstrom. Does anyone expect these lines to stick, or will they go back to Hughes-Wahlstrom-Farabee?
Also, on the PP, Hughes-Farabee-Wahlstrom were with Anderson as their D. Are we really to expect Quinn Hughes to not be playing on the same PP as his brother?
Basically, what I'm asking is were the lines in that game what we should expect in the tournament, or just some weird experiment that probably won't carry on?
 
Any ideas how to watch legally if I don't have nhlnw? Not sure this is the best place to ask but I want to watch the us game
 
Better than losing, but should be better than 2-1 against Slovakia.

I want to see some new lines.

I liked Poehling with Norris and Barratt with Madden. I'd get rid of the Hughes line.

Poehling-Norris-Farabee
Robertson-Barratt-Madden
Chmelevski-Hughes-Wahlstrom
Cates-Drury-O'Brien
Cockerill

Pairings are tough because we are basically only playing with 5, all of which are left-shots.

Samberg-Hughes
Samuelsson-Anderson
Miller

St. Ivany-Kemp

Didn't think Keyser did well. He saved the penalty shot, but looked shaky aside from that. I doubt we see Knight, so I'm at least hoping Primeau is the starter.

Primeau
Keyser
Knight
 
I hope Hastings experiments a bit in the next game because there is some definate room for improvement from an offensive perspective. I thought the defense played well overall and the goaltending wasn’t really tested very much.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
Better than losing, but should be better than 2-1 against Slovakia.

I want to see some new lines.

I liked Poehling with Norris and Barratt with Madden. I'd get rid of the Hughes line.

Poehling-Norris-Farabee
Robertson-Barratt-Madden
Chmelevski-Hughes-Wahlstrom
Cates-Drury-O'Brien
Cockerill

Pairings are tough because we are basically only playing with 5, all of which are left-shots.

Samberg-Hughes
Samuelsson-Anderson
Miller

St. Ivany-Kemp

Didn't think Keyser did well. He saved the penalty shot, but looked shaky aside from that. I doubt we see Knight, so I'm at least hoping Primeau is the starter.

Primeau
Keyser
Knight
Click to expand...

Good suggestion imo; I liked Robertson with Norris and Poehling ; But Madden would look good there or Farabee as well. I might put O'Brien up with Hughes and Chmelevski as well... Although I am not a huge Wahlstrom fan. I'd likely put him in the 13th slot.
 
Sens of Anarchy said:
Good suggestion imo; I liked Robertson with Norris and Poehling ; But Madden would look good there or Farabee as well. I might put O'Brien up with Hughes and Chmelevski as well... Although I am not a huge Wahlstrom fan. I'd likely put him in the 13th slot.
Click to expand...

I think Farabee should play with Poehling and Norris because I think that should be a true shutdown line. Robertson isn't a shutdown forward. Thats a role Farabee is very good at. Then you can let the other 2 top 9 lines be pure offensive lines.

I'd rather keep Wahlstrom with Hughes for now. He's not playing well, but I think his upside to make an impact here is higher than O'Brien.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
I think Farabee should play with Poehling and Norris because I think that should be a true shutdown line. Robertson isn't a shutdown forward. Thats a role Farabee is very good at. Then you can let the other 2 top 9 lines be pure offensive lines.

I'd rather keep Wahlstrom with Hughes for now. He's not playing well, but I think his upside to make an impact here is higher than O'Brien.
Click to expand...

I see the Norris line is more than a pure shut down line.. but I see where you are going.
 
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Wahlstrom (3-1-4), Hughes (0-2-2) and Farabee (0-3-3) played pretty well together in two pre-tournament games, maybe we could wait more than one tournament game before we dive into a referendum on their performances...

After 40 minutes tonight we had Slovakia fans arguing they were a better hockey country than the US, after 60 they fell to 4-13-1 against the Americans in this tournament. Let things play out and don't overreact to minute sample sizes...
 
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Not a good performance by any means. At the junior level USAH should not be playing close games with Slovakia. That said, they did enough to win. In short tournaments, you hope to keep winning and improving.

Some thoughts:
  • At forward, Robertson had the best game on the team. Madden, Hughes, and Barratt were also strong. The rest were fairly pedestrian.
  • They didn't get a ton of ice time, but I hope Chmelevksi and O'Brien get more of a chance going forward. I thought both were skating really well, but when you're relegated to a minor role, it's hard to shine.
  • I didn't see a ton of chemistry in the forward lines. Yes, it's early, but you can't wait long to switch things up before you cost your team a chance in a short tournament.
  • Dylan Samberg was the best d-man by a pretty wide margin. Just always seems to make the right play and settle things down.
  • Miller and Samuelsson were both fighting it big time. Sloppy puck handling in their own end and some crazy unforced turnovers. Miller seemed to find his a grove a bit after the first 40 and had a few really nice shifts in a row, and then regressed again. Not always a surprise for players new to this tournament, so hopefully they've adjusted to the pace now.
  • Quinn Hughes was trying to do too much tonight. He still made some really nice plays, but he'll do better to settle down a bit.
  • Keyser was fine. He wasn't really tested, but made the saves he needed to make. He's the guy unless he falters or Primeau steals the show if he gets a shot.
  • Why bring along St. Ivany or Drury if they're basically not going to play?
  • The refs were atrocious as expected in IIHF hockey. Both penalty shots were especially bad calls, so I'm glad neither team scored on their opportunities.
 
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First time seeing many of these prospects for a full game. Just a few thoughts on game 1.

US controlled most of the game, the Slovak goalie and timely D kept the score close.

Q-Hughes’ skating is a joy to watch. His edge work is so graceful, incredibly tight turning radius, he can skate effortlessly straight ahead or laterally. His skating and transition remind me of Erik Karlsson. He made a few questionable decisions w the puck, forced a few plays instead of making the safe play.

Robertson was a force out there. His puck control in the O zone looked elite. He made things happen almost every shift. He’s fast, rangey, and kept that puck like a magnet.

Barratt had a big goal, he also had strong puck skills; but I was more impressed w Robertson’s.

J-Hughes was ok. You can see the acceleration and lateral mobility, the puck skills. But he didn’t wow me. It’s just one game and he’s 17, in a year or two he should be controlling the O zone if he’s truly in that Eichel tier, IMHO.

Want to see more from Whalstrom; he had some chances, created a few. Left me wanting more.

Madden looks like he could be an energy 3rd liner w some offense. There were a few times I thought he was J Hughes w his skating and puck skills.
 
Slovakia was super underrated in this tournament, they held on and won a close game. Nothing wrong with that.

Quinn Hughes is so smooth out there, I also liked what I saw out of Robertson - he didn’t score but he played well I thought. Once the PP starts firing on all cylinders we’ll be fine. Canada looks extremely skilled as well.

Note - I actually followed this Slovak team this year because my Grandma is from Eastern Slovakia practically on the Ukraine side
 
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Robertson looked really good.

Q. Hughes is one of those players that other players have to adjust for. He will dominate the puck and skate wherever the hell he wants to, so the player that understands that and quietly gets into a good scoring position ready for a pass is going to be the guy who profits.

Despise homer announcer/color guys. Ferraro(?) went ballistic about the penalty shot saying that the stick didn't hook the body, or something like that, but all the while ignoring the right hand grab of the hip. It didn't show well in the replays, but if you look, it's there. If a hand leaves the stick and you grab a player with it, then you're going to get called.

Hopefully they won't miss Walker's aggressiveness, speed, and smarts.
 
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