WJC: 2021 Team USA Roster Talk

[William H Bonney]

Wow a lot of hate for Moynihan. Did he play poorly in camp? As a true freshman he has 13 goals in 34 games on the 2nd line, you would think he is trash.

No one really knows anything about the camp, but Moynihan is a good player. He's very versatile and he's got a good shot. I think it's more a byproduct that this was potentially a very deep forward group, so there were going to be good players on the outside looking in, and it was more personal preference than a knock on Moynihan (for those that have seen the players). Also, some of the bubble players (i.e. Farinacci, Moynihan, Berard, etc.) who have made it due to losing better players (Robertson, Bordeleau, Beecher, etc.) may bring them some undeserved discourse, too.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Wow a lot of hate for Moynihan. Did he play poorly in camp? As a true freshman he has 13 goals in 34 games on the 2nd line, you would think he is trash.

You are completely exaggerating this. There's no hate. He's not trash. Do we have better players? Yes. Should he have been on the team? No. Very typical of USA Hockey to take 19 year olds 6th round who are considered gritty, versatile, underrated to a tournament like this over better players.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

It's not about hindsight, it's about foresight. The WJC right now is actually scheduled and happening. The NHL season, and its training camps, happening at the proposed time are tentative at best. Choosing to pass up a guaranteed development opportunity in hopes of attending something that may not even require missing the WJC is why it'd be funny if the NHL season/camps get pushed back. Of course, the NHL may actually resume here shortly and the Leafs / Robertson may be glad he skipped the WJC, but right now they're betting on the less likely developmental opportunity. If the NHL start was locked in, choosing the NHL team over the WJC is normal and understood, but if it was me, I'd rather align my 19-year-old prospect to the guaranteed opportunity to play high-level, high-intensity hockey right now, and that's the WJC.

I mean I dont exactly disagree with you but couldnt that same logic be applied to every single player that was held back for this tournament? Hughes,Laf,Kakko,Seider and Robertson are all in the same position. They are prioritizing their NHL career over everything. I wish they were all going myself.

 

[William H Bonney]

I mean I dont exactly disagree with you but couldnt that same logic be applied to every single player that was held back for this tournament? Hughes,Laf,Kakko,Seider and Robertson are all in the same position. They are prioritizing their NHL career over everything. I wish they were all going myself.

Yes, you could. I was just discussing Robertson because he was the only one under actual consideration to be let go by his NHL as WJC rosters were being decided.

 

[William H Bonney]

Bummer to lose guys unexpectedly, but one thing that's nice is we at least have 3 RHD on the team this year (even if none are guaranteed to be in a big role), plus a couple of LHD that play on the right side normally. We have a lot of options on defense compared to last tournament.

 

[FLYguy3911]

I don't know how a guy like Skinner, who they were prepared to go to the tournament without a week ago, could suddenly be playing as a regular defenseman.

 

[Ginger Papa]

Hi folks,

Just wanted to say thank you to those who are contributing information in this Thread. I Posted something similar in the Canadian Thread, but I feel the same here. It’s great to be able to get caught up on the creation/decisions of your Team in one place.

Threads which contain interesting opinions with different perspectives, while not being disrespectful is one of the reasons I enjoy HF.

I look forward to the Tournament and hopefully no more positive tests.

Cheers

 

[PuckProspects]

My lineup based on the roster

Zegras-Turcotte-Kaliyev
Boldy-Beniers-Caufield
Brisson-Farinacci-Brink
Moynihan-Slaggert-Colangelo
Berard

Sanderson-Thrun
York-Helleson
LaCombe-Kleven
Johnson-Faber

Knight
Wolf

Looks like, as of right now, they have the top 2 lines like I do which is a good sign. I debated having Zegras and Turcotte as the top two centers but think a Zegras-Turcotte-Kaliyev line could work well. Not huge on the bottom six so hopefully they gel and contribute. Sanderson is the top D and should get a ton of minutes. The top 4 D are decent.

 

[oooooooooohCanada]

It's not about hindsight, it's about foresight. The WJC right now is actually scheduled and happening. The NHL season, and its training camps, happening at the proposed time are tentative at best. Choosing to pass up a guaranteed development opportunity in hopes of attending something that may not even require missing the WJC is why it'd be funny if the NHL season/camps get pushed back. Of course, the NHL may actually resume here shortly and the Leafs / Robertson may be glad he skipped the WJC, but right now they're betting on the less likely developmental opportunity. If the NHL start was locked in, choosing the NHL team over the WJC is normal and understood, but if it was me, I'd rather align my 19-year-old prospect to the guaranteed opportunity to play high-level, high-intensity hockey right now, and that's the WJC.

I'm pretty sure the Leafs and other NHL teams know more about this Jan 13th date than you or any of us do. From everything I've read it's pretty much set they are just figuring out all the logistics now. Everyone is operating under a Jan 13th start date and a Jan 3rd camp.

Not to mention that I'm not sure Robertson would even go to the WJC if the date wasn't til the 20th or something to begin with as it's been pretty clear to Leaf fans that he's been training in Toronto in an attempt to make the Leafs since his OHL season ended last season.

 

[JiggsNY]

Brutal to lose those guys to a false positive. Don’t see why protocol was to just completely rule this players out. Happened to Sweden I think too. Don’t see why they could isolate and then pass however many negatives you need. Bordeleau misses out due to a roommates false positive.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I'm pretty sure the Leafs and other NHL teams know more about this Jan 13th date than you or any of us do. From everything I've read it's pretty much set they are just figuring out all the logistics now. Everyone is operating under a Jan 13th start date and a Jan 3rd camp.

Not to mention that I'm not sure Robertson would even go to the WJC if the date wasn't til the 20th or something to begin with as it's been pretty clear to Leaf fans that he's been training in Toronto in an attempt to make the Leafs since his OHL season ended last season.

Were they not practicing with York and Thrun , Sanderson and Helleson?

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Brutal to lose those guys to a false positive. Don’t see why protocol was to just completely rule this players out. Happened to Sweden I think too. Don’t see why they could isolate and then pass however many negatives you need. Bordeleau misses out due to a roommates false positive.

They should be allowed to get 3 consecutive negatives in a day after testing positive to discard the one test as a false positive.

 

[Statsy]

Brutal to lose those guys to a false positive. Don’t see why protocol was to just completely rule this players out. Happened to Sweden I think too. Don’t see why they could isolate and then pass however many negatives you need. Bordeleau misses out due to a roommates false positive.

Okay, this is absolutely brutal. I know the Sweden forum guys think they were hard done by, but having two solid guys miss out because of false positives is ridiculous. If you don’t have it, you don’t have it. If they want even more testing to prove that, then so be it, but this is some kid’s dream we’re crushing for no good reason.

 

[Dominance]

Yeah, there’s still a lot of time before the tournament starts, too.

Have them go through another round of tests tomorrow, or something.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

“They were crushed,” Vanbiesbrouck said of Bordeleau and Beecher. “We appealed, did everything we could to understand and disseminate information, talk to our doctor group. They had to get back to the IIHF with these protocols. But the players were crushed.”

COVID-19: Thomas Bordeleau, John Beecher cut from Team USA

 

[ORRFForever]

Okay, this is absolutely brutal. I know the Sweden forum guys think they were hard done by, but having two solid guys miss out because of false positives is ridiculous. If you don’t have it, you don’t have it. If they want even more testing to prove that, then so be it, but this is some kid’s dream we’re crushing for no good reason.

It's so hard. They are trying their best to keep everyone safe but those stupid tests are so inaccurate.

I've been tested 8 times. All negative. Makes you wonder how accurate it all was.

Getting back to the 2 American players... If they've had any contact outside their bubble, I doubt they get let back in - especially since the news has leaked.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Next few days are critical it's hard to believe these would be the only 2 guys who got it when they've been around other players

 

[ORRFForever]

Next few days are critical it's hard to believe these would be the only 2 guys who got it when they've been around other players

But it sounds like they were false positives so...

 

[PanniniClaus]

Okay, this is absolutely brutal. I know the Sweden forum guys think they were hard done by, but having two solid guys miss out because of false positives is ridiculous. If you don’t have it, you don’t have it. If they want even more testing to prove that, then so be it, but this is some kid’s dream we’re crushing for no good reason.

Yeah this is a really shitty one for these players.

 

[SK94]

Seriously i don't get this. Both Beecher and Bordeleau should been able to get tested and stay with the team after negative tests. Fact that healthy players are out of the tournament shows how amateurish IIHF protocols are.

 

[Islay1989]

Bunch of BS is what it is. Leafs front office are hot garbage.

They have absolutely no obligation to let him go. And if I'm him, I'd do whatever it takes to stick in the NHL rather than go play in WJC.

 

[NTDP]

I'd want Finland in the final anyway. I'm so tired of them beating us. Every year and every age group it seems to be the Finn's that knock us out.

Finland has become the new Russia for me. That’s how I felt about Russia from 2014-2016

 

[SanDogBrewin]

I'm pretty sure the Leafs and other NHL teams know more about this Jan 13th date than you or any of us do. From everything I've read it's pretty much set they are just figuring out all the logistics now. Everyone is operating under a Jan 13th start date and a Jan 3rd camp.

Not to mention that I'm not sure Robertson would even go to the WJC if the date wasn't til the 20th or something to begin with as it's been pretty clear to Leaf fans that he's been training in Toronto in an attempt to make the Leafs since his OHL season ended last season.

Based on what ? An assumption ?

 

[NTDP]

I find it hard to believe York-Thrun won't play together. They are the two most experienced defenseman in this age group and have been playing together as a pair since the NTDP. I'd be very surprised if those weren't our top two guys in terms of their roles going into this tournament.

After that is where I think you start mixing and matching pairs. I like Johnson-Helleson as a purely shutdown pair behind those two. Everyone's going to want Sanderson to play a huge role, but 18 year old defensemen often struggle at this tournament. It'd be best to give him a smaller role to start out, and move him into a bigger role if he plays well.

I think we're only going to play three pairs regularly, so after York-Thrun I think they are battling for four/five spots. I think Sanderson, Helleson, and Johnson have the inside track to positions, and then likely Lacombe/Skinner should split 6/7D, depending on form. I'd prefer to use the righty Skinner at 6D to give ourselves two pairs that are L-R/L-R, but if the lefty outplays him, Skinner can be 7D.

I think Kleven and Faber are mostly there because of COVID protocols. They can practice with the team, provide some competition there, and maybe make the team next year. I don't think they deserve real roles on this team. They are 18 year old defensemen, and they aren't even high pick 18 year old defensemen like Sanderson. It seems unlikely they have much to add.

I agree with pretty much all of this except I’m pretty high on Faber. I can see as this tournament gets to games #3 & 4 we start to see his all around importance and we’re glad he’s there. He defends so well w/ his feet and stick and has some mash to his game. Shall see

 

[Peasy]

Based on what ? An assumption ?

And what in the world are your claims about the leafs front office based on? Did they personally contact you and explain their reasoning behind the decision with Robertson?