WJC: 2021 Canada Roster Talk Part 2

[LDN]

Who do you guys think will be the best Canadian player this tournament?

McMichael

 

[My3Sons]

Not nearly as physical as Getzlaf. Getzlaf could impose himself on the game physically and dominate. Haven’t seen that side of Byfield.

I'm not sure that gentle giants ever really "develop" that sort of thing. Byfield may just be a skilled swift bigger forward who's size and strength serve to insulate him from the physical play of others but who doesn't become a forechecking terror or big hitter. That's still a really good player and I'm sure there are NHL comparable that had great careers. He'll learn to do certain things as he matures and can reduce certain elements of physical play to a series of mechanical and positioning items but he may only rarely do them naturally. Pavel Zacha is like that for NJ. Big strong and you can see when he gets emotionally engaged he's a different player but at times you can also see he treats the physical engagement of the game as a chore even if it's something he can do.

 

[bert]

I would have preferred to see Drysdale and Byram split up too for the reasons Slater mentioned but maybe they are seeing something special about them in the practices that suggests such a dominant pair they simply can't and don't want to break them up.

A major reason team canada won because of the Keith and Doughty pairing in 2010. It was simply incredible the way they moved the puck up the ice and closed off gaps.

The issue isn't how they play, it's the players who are left on the other pairings. It seems foolish to put your obvious top two defencemen and puck carriers on the same pairing. The coming games should give us an idea if it is going to work out.

Play them 26 minutes a game and have the puck the entire time they are on the ice, its not like the other D man are bad. They can play a simple physical game and all have a decent first pass. The D core is not weak outside of these two, the team just usually doesnt have two legit number 1 d men. Play them alot, let them dominate.

I find it a little strange how critical people are of a very experienced coaching staff when they havent watched them play a single game.

The one thing I worry about the kid is that he hasn't and won't figure out at the higher levels he can't just do what he usually has always done all his life due to his obvious advantages. At this level he needs to have more hunger and be more of a puck hound and battle, if he does that he will soon see his attributes will work just fine here too, but he can't just float around and wait for the puck to come to him in a situation where there is a lot of separation.

Maturity or temperament issue, perhaps both.

He played this way against the 67's in the playoffs as a 16 year old so I dont agree that he doesnt have it in him. He was competing even when he wasnt producing. He literally took a penalty on a back check for being too physical and finished all his checks.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Byfield reminds me most of Virtanen. A richer version but I'll be surprised if he hits 60 pts.

 

[LFCTML]

A major reason team canada won because of the Keith and Doughty pairing in 2010. It was simply incredible the way they moved the puck up the ice and closed off gaps.


Play them 26 minutes a game and have the puck the entire time they are on the ice, its not like the other D man are bad. They can play a simple physical game and all have a decent first pass. The D core is not weak outside of these two, the team just usually doesnt have two legit number 1 d men. Play them alot, let them dominate.

I find it a little strange how critical people are of a very experienced coaching staff when they havent watched them play a single game.

I'm with you, I LOVE that they're pairing these two together. The rest of the D-core is still top class. They'll easily outmatch opponents 2nd and 3rd lines. Let these two chew up the big minutes and the challenging matchups - it's a no-brainer IMO. Can't remember the last year we had a top pairinging this dynamic.

 

[LFCTML]

Byfield reminds me most of Virtanen. A richer version but I'll be surprised if he hits 60 pts.

I'm not a huge Byfield fan, but I don't really see it tbh. Their junior numbers are drastically different, as are their playstyles. Not to mention they don't play the same position. Seems like very a pretty weird comparison.

 

[bsu]

If I were a Kings fan I wouldn’t have any panic about Byfield at all.

A lot of guy don’t perform well in their first world juniors. How about Nate MacKinnon? He turned out ok.

It seems to be forgotten that Tourigney said Byfield was one of the best players in practice after the scrimmage games.

No Canada player should come under too much scrutiny for playing a reduced role in this tournament. It’s the deepest team to play in the tournament in a long time.

"Best player in practice"... proceeds to put him on 4th line. Sounds like that comment was just a confidence booster tbh.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

"Best player in practice"... proceeds to put him on 4th line. Sounds like that comment was just a confidence booster tbh.

It could very well be. I haven’t seen the play since the scrimmages, so I’m not too sure.

Even if Byfield does end up the “4C”, there would be no shame in playing behind three excellent 19-year old centres. I still think that the bottom three lines are going to be played pretty evenly, so I don’t think it’s a huge deal.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Byfield reminds me most of Virtanen. A richer version but I'll be surprised if he hits 60 pts.

That's a lot of points for a WJC .. Canada will certainly win if he does that.

 

[JackSlater]

Play them 26 minutes a game and have the puck the entire time they are on the ice, its not like the other D man are bad. They can play a simple physical game and all have a decent first pass. The D core is not weak outside of these two, the team just usually doesnt have two legit number 1 d men. Play them alot, let them dominate.

I find it a little strange how critical people are of a very experienced coaching staff when they havent watched them play a single game.

I'd agree if this was a video game but it's not. I don't like it in concept, I didn't like it in the red and white games, but if it ends up working then that's all that matters. The weak appeal to authority holds little sway here when Tourigny has been on the coaching staff of multiple teams that were poorly coached at the WJC and coached the defencemen last year, which was the part of the team that was clearly weakest. Again it seems like a poor use of the resources available for a variety of reasons but if it works then it works.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

It could very well be. I haven’t seen the play since the scrimmages, so I’m not too sure.

Even if Byfield does end up the “4C”, there would be no shame in playing behind three excellent 19-year old centres. I still think that the bottom three lines are going to be played pretty evenly, so I don’t think it’s a huge deal.

Agreed. If the minutes are even doled out like we have a 4th line with any consistency, and thats the role Byfield has carved out for himself.. its that way because the coaching staff think thats the best way to slot them so they can win. This is 100% about winning. If Byfield wants to be on the ice he has to perform. Tourigny said he saw big improvements from the start of the camp. I am looking forward to seeing them too. I am also looking forward to see how he uses his line mates to generate offense. I think that his team play needs to evolve from what he was doing in Sudbury which to me seemed like a one man wrecking crew a lot of the time.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

A major reason team canada won because of the Keith and Doughty pairing in 2010. It was simply incredible the way they moved the puck up the ice and closed off gaps.


Play them 26 minutes a game and have the puck the entire time they are on the ice, its not like the other D man are bad. They can play a simple physical game and all have a decent first pass. The D core is not weak outside of these two, the team just usually doesnt have two legit number 1 d men. Play them alot, let them dominate.

I find it a little strange how critical people are of a very experienced coaching staff when they havent watched them play a single game.


He played this way against the 67's in the playoffs as a 16 year old so I dont agree that he doesnt have it in him. He was competing even when he wasnt producing. He literally took a penalty on a back check for being too physical and finished all his checks.

I like it too.. Two guys that can play and think the game at a high level .. throw them out there every second shift ; every PP ; All need a goal Ozone starts.

 

[bsu]

I mean Zegras started on the 4th line last year and forced coaching staff hand. I could see the same thing happening to Byfield.

 

[VanillaCoke]

That's a lot of points for a WJC .. Canada will certainly win if he does that.

...

I'm not a huge Byfield fan, but I don't really see it tbh. Their junior numbers are drastically different, as are their playstyles. Not to mention they don't play the same position. Seems like very a pretty weird comparison.

Fair enough. Both big guys, strong, fast in straight lines, good shots, pts from the rush, put up pts in jr, but doesn't really translate well into the top of their class.
Im very interested to see Byfield in this tournament and more so in the AHL. Im not going to get my hopes up though.

 

[Heldig]

I mean Zegras started on the 4th line last year and forced coaching staff hand. I could see the same thing happening to Byfield.

And McMichael's line may out perform everyone. There is a lot of talent on this roster.

 

[Statsy]

Byfield reminds me most of Virtanen. A richer version but I'll be surprised if he hits 60 pts.

I actually find this comparison baffling. Like if you said “Byfield reminds me of suspension bridges” or something.

 

[canuck2010]

If Canada rolls 4 lines and the top two play to at least a draw with the other top two lines and then they throw Byfield and his line out what do you think happens?

 

[Statsy]

If Canada rolls 4 lines and the top two play to at least a draw with the other top two lines and then they throw Byfield and his line out what do you think happens?

Then we win. But I also think that if you gave our opponents that choice to play even with our top two lines and then take their chances with the other lines that they would jump on it in a heartbeat. What I mean by that is that the other teams will likely be struggling to keep up with those top two lines.

 

[LFCTML]

...

Fair enough. Both big guys, strong, fast in straight lines, good shots, pts from the rush, put up pts in jr, but doesn't really translate well into the top of their class.
Im very interested to see Byfield in this tournament and more so in the AHL. Im not going to get my hopes up though.

Yeah, that's fair. I find Byfield fascinating because there is such a vast range of opinions on how his game will translate to the NHL. Like I said, I'm probably not as high on him as some others. But I can't remember all that many high-profile prospects who were quite so polarizing.

The other thing with Virtanen though, is that he's a guy who at times played a bit "over the edge". He's obviously a big guy and he plays a physical game. But sometimes he had a tendency to get carried away; though it seems like he's outgrowing that. Byfield seems sort of the opposite to me. He's got an incredible build, and can protect the puck well. But, if anything, I would say he needs to play with more of an edge, and could learn a bit from Virtanen in that area of intensity. On the other hand, I think from a raw talent perspective he's several tiers ahead of Virtanen at this age. But again - who knows how that's going to look in the NHL.

 

[Peasy]

Comparing Byfield to virtanen

 

[snipes]

Why We Love the World Juniors - By Bob McKenzie

Beautiful.

 

[Islay1989]

But, he hasn’t actually played a game in his second world junior haha

That’s kind of my point. All the criticism is basically coming from last world junior and a couple scrimmages.

I see, my bad then

 

[snipes]

Seeing as how we play the Russians tomorrow, time for my annual posting of this video.

Leave it to the Yanks (NBC) to produce the best documentary of the 1972 series. Note the audio cuts for like a few seconds about half way through for a few seconds before returning. It's a fantastic watch and an annual must watch for hockey fans, not just Canadian fans.

If it's your first time seeing this, watch the whole thing. You're in for a treat, ain't that right @jj cale ? Pumped for another chapter even if it is only pre-tournament. Glad it's the Russians we're playing, I consider them our biggest competition and the best team we'll likely face in this tournament.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Seeing as how we play the Russians tomorrow, time for my annual posting of this video.

Leave it to the Yanks (NBC) to produce the best documentary of the 1972 series. Note the audio cuts for like a few seconds about half way through for a few seconds before returning. It's a fantastic watch and an annual must watch for hockey fans, not just Canadian fans.

If it's your first time seeing this, watch the whole thing. You're in for a treat, ain't that right @jj cale ? Pumped for another chapter even if it is only pre-tournament. Glad it's the Russians we're playing, I consider them our biggest competition and the best team we'll likely face in this tournament.

That was a hell of a series.. That 1st game at the Forum in Montreal was an eye opener for me for sure and I'm sure I wasn't alone. Too bad Orr couldn't play.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I see, my bad then

No, you’re good. I’m wrong all the time, so maybe a lot of peoples concern over Byfield will be justified after the tournament. I just want to see him in some actual games first.