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WJC: 2021 Team USA Roster Talk

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jfb392 said:
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Would be nice to have them at camp. But as far as losing our entire BU portion of our roster, this is minimal damage compared to most years. Still would like to have had them at camp. Makes it really important we don’t have any other issues flare up with other guys.
 
Two players who shouldn’t have made the team and the third goalie. No real impact on the team. They’ll now have to at least call in another goalie to be the third goalie. The crop has no depth past the top three, so I have no clue who it’ll be.
 
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Better than Vlasic. I don’t know why we needed to invite a big defensemen to replace a big defenseman. There were better options than both.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
Two players who shouldn’t have made the team and the third goalie. No real impact on the team. They’ll now have to at least call in another goalie to be the third goalie. The crop has no depth past the top three, so I have no clue who it’ll be.
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Feel bad for the kids. I bet they were looking forward to the experience.
 
Kleven has been really good for UND thus far.

Can play either side too. Wouldn't count him out even though he's an injury invite.
 
Kleven is a big-time upgrade over Vlasic.

Mastrosimone is a good player who could have contributed, but he's a replaceable player given the depth.

Commesso is a very good goalie, but he wasn't going to play unless something disastrous happened to Knight / Wolf.
 
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I still take vlasic over kleven right now. Mastrisimone is a good depth player. I think Commesso beats out wolf for backup spot. Every team I think is going to have some issues like this and you just hope they don’t make a huge difference in the tournament.
 
I'm surprised Skinner is joining. I thought he would be a complete no-go because his season hasn't started yet. I think Faber now has some competition to make the team. Maybe both make the team. I wouldn't mind 3 RHD's for once.
 
Interesting and thought-provoking synopsis. With respect to Blasi and Gadowsky, they are both Canadian. Was wondering if there have been USA U20 teams coached by Canadians in recent years?

I know Murray Williamson coached the Olympic team and the U20 team in the 1970's but can't recall a recent coach from Canada coaching a USA squad.



NewHampshire said:
Its clear you've always preferred the CHL, where as I solely watch NCAA hockey at this level outside of the WJC - and I don't have any problem with a wait and see approach to evaluating coaches or hiring coaches from any number of backgrounds, but Leaman isn't Sandelin and not all college coaches are cut from the same cloth. Your assertion that college hockey coaches are bumblers who don't know how to manage offensive skill is off base...

Bob Motzko handled himself pretty well in 2017-2018 despite hailing from SCSU, where he had to develop and win with 'second-tier recruits'. He isn't a better or worse option because he's now at Minnesota. No one stifles offense from gifted recruits more than Jeff Jackson at Notre Dame, these days - HE is the guy who is cut from the same cloth as Sandelin, if anyone is. No college coach does less with more than Granato at Wisconsin. I've seen a few clamors for David Carle at Denver - he is a straight-up junior Sandelin in his approach at DU (despite the gifted talent he recruits)...

It's not about the coaches who 'get' the top talent - it's about the coaches who can get the most out of their talent (and in the WJC sense, can do so immediately). They can come from anywhere - including the NCAA. And that's not exclusive to their success recruiting or coaching at a larger school. Trust me. You've named the schools that seem to corner high-end recruits, but certainly not the schools that best manage skill players...

A guy like Motzko is someone you would prefer (as I would) because of the type of game he coaches - an uptempo brand of hockey that allows skill guys to flourish and doesn't focus solely on keeping the score low. Dick Umile, at New Hampshire, was likely never truly considered, but he would be that kind of coach. Jerry York, despite his age would be that guy. I do think Pearson at Michigan would be a great choice. Rohlik at OSU likely fits that mold and so would Madigan at NU (though I think his assistant coach is truly his secret sauce). A coach who excelled in this style (when his recruiters were stocking his cupboards) was Enrico Blasi at my alma mater, Miami University - the fact that his later assistants struggled doesn't mean he'd suddenly trip over himself when seeing the skill at a WJC practice. Dean Blaise coached in this style.

If you just want to see skill allowed to skill, then Guy Gadowski at Penn State should be the choice (though the defense would likely be atrocious).

Not every college coach is the same because they coach in college. You don't have to respect the level, but teams, strategies and styles vary greatly as they would in any league.

Sandelin is a big picture coach - if I wanted the US WJC Team to win a long season of competition, he'd have the team playing the right way at the right time. His complete, team-building approach may not work in a short tournament. Leaman is much more offensively inclined and creative in his short term approach and his past line-ups at PC and Union are much more likely to group top talent than Sandelin's approach at UMD.

Sandelin likes to take a top talent and pair him with other players that he might lift, in an effort to roll four lines and be relentless. Leaman's history indicates he is more likely to take a player (like a freshman Jack Dugan) and immediately play him on a line with his top two returning scorers to build a truly dangerous line (not doing this was Sandelin's biggest critique from last season)...

It doesn't mean he'll do that on the US team, that he wont make decisions we don't agree with or that he'll have success at this year's tournament - but he is NOT a carbon copy of Sandelin from 2019 per his own resume. If you want to criticize him, do so for who he is, not a perception based solely on an evaluation of someone else...
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I start to think that they should cancel the whole thing if they can't do better than that. It is totally BS that some guys are out of the tournament even they are totally fine. Everybody should get tested before the tournament and then enter to the bubble.
 
Issue is the 14 day quarantine time. BU had positives and close contacts have to quarantine for 14 days so they wouldn't have time to finish quarantine and head to Edmonton to then quarantine again. Same with Wisconsin now. Real issue is Caufield is with Team USA already and should probably be in quarantine since all players are realistically all close contacts when one tests positive since they are all together all the time. Caufield already had Covid but may be able to spread it I guess (not a doctor so have no clue). I would assume that USA hockey doesn't want him near the rest of the team at this point to be safe.
 
Gopher13 said:
Issue is the 14 day quarantine time. BU had positives and close contacts have to quarantine for 14 days so they wouldn't have time to finish quarantine and head to Edmonton to then quarantine again. Same with Wisconsin now. Real issue is Caufield is with Team USA already and should probably be in quarantine since all players are realistically all close contacts when one tests positive since they are all together all the time. Caufield already had Covid but may be able to spread it I guess (not a doctor so have no clue). I would assume that USA hockey doesn't want him near the rest of the team at this point to be safe.
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What’s weird is the recent spate of positive tests just in the last few days. Were all these teams not testing over the past several weeks?
 
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If someone says months before the tournament... look we want to go ahead with the wjc.. but to do so we need to abide by provincial health regulations as we did with the NHL teams coming in, and Canadian travel regulations as we did with NHL teams coming in.. Plus a host of other protocols before travel and once you arrive.. All the teams/ countires , the iihf , hockey canada .... all agreed to the regulations knowing there was a risk for players participation regarding covid. The different countries could have done things differently as well to ensure their players were healthy and ready to travel knowing these rules well in advance.. Does it suck if players contract the virus close to the deadline and cannot participate as a result .. sure it does .. Anyone thinking 2020 is normal, or the WJC this year is normal and won't be impact by covid in umpteen ways has blinders on.
 
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Statsy said:
What’s weird is the recent spate of positive tests just in the last few days. Were all these teams not testing over the past several weeks?
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Not sure why you would be surprised at the timing as Covid cases are at all time high everywhere. Add in Thanksgiving and its been expected that the case numbers would spike again.
 
Sens of Anarchy said:
If someone says months before the tournament... look we want to go ahead with the wjc.. but to do so we need to abide by provincial health regulations as we did with the NHL teams coming in, and Canadian travel regulations as we did with NHL teams coming in.. Plus a host of other protocols before travel and once you arrive.. All the teams/ countires , the iihf , hockey canada .... all agreed to the regulations knowing there was a risk for players participation regarding covid. The different countries could have done things differently as well to ensure their players were healthy and ready to travel knowing these rules well in advance.. Does it suck if players contract the virus close to the deadline and cannot participate as a result .. sure it does .. Anyone thinking 2020 is normal, or the WJC this year is normal and won't be impact by covid in umpteen ways has blinders on.
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Some guys are going to catch it for sure but the real problem is that there are many guys who can't play even they are perfectly healthy. If IIHF and all parties involved decided to go ahead with this tournament there should be protocols in place that this is not happening. Many sports has been able to reduce quarantine time because of heavy testing. If they can't do that i think they should cancel the whole thing.
 
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Statsy said:
Good point about Thanksgiving. Just to avoid any problems with the WJC, Canada actually held their Thanksgiving months ago!
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After all this stuff the quarantine and long Canada camp is going to prove a massive advantage as they wont (or shouldn't) lose any player due to Covid since they are already in quarantine and are essentially in a bubble already. Sweden and USA are already dipping into player pool to fill rosters. Add in travel and I am sure a few case will pop up once teams arrive then what?
 
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