WC: 2019 US Roster Discussion Part II

[AmericanDream]

Gaudreau is all speculation. He's supposedly "day-to-day" but it's been 4 1/2 days since he was injured against Great Britain and he's missed 2 1/2 games in that time. Hopefully the plan was just to let him rest and get back to 100% before Canada and the QFs as we'll need him in those games.

The issue with Werenski is he's not even in Slovakia yet. He's set to arrive on Monday and we play Canada Tuesday, so he should be good to go. In today's game, Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro claimed he was there and just not playing, which was factually incorrect, like a lot of the things they've said this tournament.

Miller did say during the game that Werenski was here in Slovakia today...did anyone else catch that??

 

[Chainshot]

Miller did say during the game that Werenski was here in Slovakia today...did anyone else catch that??

I thought I heard that as well but I was only half paying attention at that moment.

 

[William H Bonney]

Miller did say during the game that Werenski was here in Slovakia today...did anyone else catch that??

Yep, and Miller was wrong. I normally don't mind Miller/Ferraro at all but they've been dreadful announcing the USA games and left me shaking my head constantly. It's like they're not preparing for the games at all.

This was in the USAH pre-game release:

Gaudreau, who did not play yesterday, is day-to-day and will be a game-time decision. Forward Luke Kunin, who was recently added to the U.S. roster, arrived early this morning in Kosice and could be in the lineup today. Kunin will wear #11. Defenseman Zach Werenski is expected to arrive in Kosice on Monday and will don #7.

I don't like that "expected" part though. I don't care if he arrives in the middle of the second period, he better be out there.

 

[AmericanDream]

Eichel and Larkin have been the most noticeable and consistent threats - need to make sure they get tons of ice time..I still see Vatrano getting underutilized as a player that can go to the net and create space for others..I guess on Tuesday I would want to see this:

Kreider - Eichel - Keller
DeBrincat - Larkin - Kane
Gaudreau - Hughes - JVR
Ryan - White - Vatrano

Gaudreau has been off this tournament, so I would keep him off the top two lines for now - I want to see more of Vatrano, just don't know how else to do it to be honest..

 

[AmericanDream]

Yep, and Miller was wrong. I normally don't mind Miller/Ferraro at all but they've been dreadful announcing the USA games and left me shaking my head constantly. It's like they're not preparing for the games at all.

This was in the USAH pre-game release:


I don't like that "expected" part though. I don't care if he arrives in the middle of the second period, he better be out there.

well ok then, think our announce team need to check out the presser prior to making comments...unless they saw him walking around before the game (possibly he did get an earlier flight) then I agree...they have been hard to listen to at times..would rather we get Starman and whoever else for the US games, do we really need TSN to do all our lifting at these tournaments?? lol..

 

[William H Bonney]

Eichel and Larkin have been the most noticeable and consistent threats - need to make sure they get tons of ice time..I still see Vatrano getting underutilized as a player that can go to the net and create space for others..I guess on Tuesday I would want to see this:

Kreider - Eichel - Keller
DeBrincat - Larkin - Kane
Gaudreau - Hughes - JVR
Ryan - White - Vatrano

Gaudreau has been off this tournament, so I would keep him off the top two lines for now - I want to see more of Vatrano, just don't know how else to do it to be honest..

I'd flip JVR and Vatrano. Hughes and Gaudreau would need a shooter and that's not JVR, nor could he keep up with them anyway.

 

[SK94]

I think JvR should play with White. Has been much better in last couple games and i think JvR-White-Keller should play together. Hughes maybe should be extra forward. Blashill is not give him every shift anyway.

Gaudreau-Eichel-Kreider
DeBrincat-Larkin-Kane
JvR-White-Keller
Vatrano-Glendening-Ryan
Hughes

White has been also good lately and he deserve more than playing in fourth line as a winger. He should play in the middle.

 

[AmericanDream]

I'd flip JVR and Vatrano. Hughes and Gaudreau would need a shooter and that's not JVR, nor could he keep up with them anyway.

I was thinking that too, but JVR has played decent with Hughes so far and some of his passes of late have been the best on the team lol..

 

[AmericanDream]

Hiring Phil was the worst thing Botterill has done and that's a long, long list. There is hope Krueger is better.

Most are pretty clear that it's ownership and then a succession of inexperienced, unguided GM's.

Back now to Team USA talk, will Gaudreau and Werenski be in for the game vs. Canada or is that speculation at this point?

did we ever get a reason why Mittelstadt didn't come?? that is the type of kid I wanted to see here and really could have ended a tough year on a positive note - just don't remember seeing a specific reason as to why..

 

[William H Bonney]

well ok then, think our announce team need to check out the presser prior to making comments...unless they saw him walking around before the game (possibly he did get an earlier flight) then I agree...they have been hard to listen to at times..would rather we get Starman and whoever else for the US games, do we really need TSN to do all our lifting at these tournaments?? lol..

I'm not a fan of announcers, just because I hate how their craft is rooted in artificially fabricating suspense. I get why they do it, but it's not enjoyable to listen to when you're not a casual fan. It's not just Miller, it's nearly all play-by-play guys, but dear lord if I hear Miller bloviate one more time as if a shot "just missed" that wasn't even close to being dangerous I may just lose it. I remember one example today where a German player fired the puck wide and into the corner Miller acted as if it was centimeters from going in when it was obviously a pedestrian wide shot that Schneider let go, which happens dozens of times in a game. Then they showed a replay from the corner and the puck was closer to not even going through the crease than it was to being a dangerous chance.

My biggest issue when they get very obvious things wrong and don't correct them or seem wholly unprepared all together. Some of the examples, of which there are many, are the Werenski callout, the delay of game penalty confusion the other day, or the "missed" call today during the delayed US penalty near the end of the game when the US player moved Suter's stick out of the slot toward the point, literally pushing it away from Suter, and Ferraro wouldn't shut up about how the Germans were rightfully upset and the US was lucky it wasn't another penalty for the forward trying to push the stick to Suter.

They've been amateur hour during our games, which is tough to listen to because they're not amateur announcers. I like Starman even less, so I'm glad he's not announcing the games, but Miller and Ferraro are putting even less effort into their announcing than most Team USA outfits have into their games in previous tournaments.

 

[William H Bonney]

I'd probably go with something like this:

DeBrincat - Larkin - Kane
Kreider - Eichel - Keller
Gaudreau - White - JVR
Hughes - Ryan - Vatrano
Glendening

Suter - Martinez
Werenski - Hanifin
Hughes - Fox
Skjei

Scratches: Wolanin, Kunin

Similar to what @Chainshot said earlier, I'd look for pairs of players to build your line combinations, i.e. DeBrincat/Kane, Kreider/Eichel, White/JVR, etc. and then if a line is struggling to get going or a certain guy is struggling in a game, you slot in a guy with jump into that forward pairing to see if it sparks them. But not what Blashill was doing today, never do that.

 

[MNRube]

Kreider-Eichel-Vatrano
DeBrincat-Larkin-Kane
Gaudreau-White-Ryan
JVR-Hughes-Keller/Kunin

Eichel gets a shooter and a puck retriever. 2nd line should be very effective. Dont love the 4th line but the roster has 4 guys who are small and relatively soft - Kane, Gaudreau, Keller & Hughes

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I really like Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro. To each their own, I think they are the best national broadcast team in the business. I wish NBC would throw boatloads of money at both. I think they make more errors doing the Worlds though then they do covering the NHL or World Junior Championships and I am not quite sure why that is, but they do seem to get more wrong at these I have to agree there.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Larkin and JVR showed some nice chemistry today. As two players that weren't having great tournaments entering I would consider keeping them together. I get it moves him up the lineup, but I think it is worth exploring against Canada, because we should be able to find three lines if Larkin can anchor one with JVR and another winger, Kane can make another center go and Eichel can continue buzzing hopefully. That would bring a lot of balance and waves in our attack.

 

[Nexon]

I really like Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro. To each their own, I think they are the best national broadcast team in the business. I wish NBC would throw boatloads of money at both. I think they make more errors doing the Worlds though then they do covering the NHL or World Junior Championships and I am not quite sure why that is, but they do seem to get more wrong at these I have to agree there.

Probably because they prepare the same way as US players for the tournament.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Probably because they prepare the same way as US players for the tournament.

I get you're making a joke, I would actually put it more to the truck and people in the studio. I think they have more of them for NHL games and WJC games in the North American years. They are fed more information probably and are trying to do more filler and other things at the Worlds. It doesn't always come off, I still do generally enjoy them. I don't like when we get WJC broadcasts without them, I prefer the TSN feed to be honest on these national games. Maybe that is that I grew up in a border city and have watch CBC and Canadian sports coverage for all my life. But I do think there is a quality to it above and beyond what the NHL Network does when they cover it.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I really liked Hughes and Gaudreau in their short stints together. Maybe give them a net front guy like JVR or a shooter like Vatrano or Kreider?

Debrincat - Larkin - Kane
Vatrano - Eichel - Keller
Gaudreau - Hughes - Kreider
Ryan - White - JVR

I feel like that gives us a lot of depth. Gaudreau and Hughes are both due for some production.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

JvR has been one of the top 3 forwards on the team. Keep him with Larkin and reward them with minutes.

 

[William H Bonney]

JvR has been one of the top 3 forwards on the team. Keep him with Larkin and reward them with minutes.

No he hasn't. Yesterday was his best game for sure. He's been good on the PP and had some important plays (goals, pass to Larkin) but he's also missed a half dozen tap in goals and his play away from the puck has been near the worst on the team.

 

[Chainshot]

Kreider-Eichel-Vatrano
DeBrincat-Larkin-Kane
Gaudreau-White-Ryan
JVR-Hughes-Keller/Kunin

Eichel gets a shooter and a puck retriever. 2nd line should be very effective. Dont love the 4th line but the roster has 4 guys who are small and relatively soft - Kane, Gaudreau, Keller & Hughes

I like that one a lot with the idea of Vatrano in an expanded role as the shooter on Eichel's other wing. Keller has shown too many times that he stickhandles off into oblivion rather than shooting or moving the puck back below the goal line. It was frustrating in the pre-tournament game and the early game he was on Jack's wing.

 

[Chainshot]

did we ever get a reason why Mittelstadt didn't come?? that is the type of kid I wanted to see here and really could have ended a tough year on a positive note - just don't remember seeing a specific reason as to why..

He wasn't invited from what I've heard. He did have a post-season ding to heal up from, but a month off may have been more than enough time. I was hoping for him to have an invite and be in the tournament as well for similar reasons: it was not a good season for him, leave him with something of a positive to build on going into the summer. (I had similar hopes for Ristolainen who is so shattered that he wanted to stay away from hockey... it's a Buffalo thing. Seems the Sabres have a way of killing players' desire to play hockey.)

 

[Nexon]

He wasn't invited from what I've heard. He did have a post-season ding to heal up from, but a month off may have been more than enough time. I was hoping for him to have an invite and be in the tournament as well for similar reasons: it was not a good season for him, leave him with something of a positive to build on going into the summer. (I had similar hopes for Ristolainen who is so shattered that he wanted to stay away from hockey... it's a Buffalo thing. Seems the Sabres have a way of killing players' desire to play hockey.)

In old thread somebody stated he declined, so I guess so.

 

[Chainshot]

In old thread somebody stated he declined, so I guess so.

In Buffalo it was reported he wasn't asked. *shrug* The team had hopes that he would go, particularly a comment from Botterill back at the trade deadline that indicate Jason thought Mitts was going as part of his explanation why he didn't paper-transaction Casey to the AHL like he did Thompson when it was clear both need a lot of work on their NHL-level game.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

No he hasn't. Yesterday was his best game for sure. He's been good on the PP and had some important plays (goals, pass to Larkin) but he's also missed a half dozen tap in goals and his play away from the puck has been near the worst on the team.

To be fair his play off the puck has never been elite or even good. He's streaky, gotta ride him.

 

[SK94]