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I don't really believe they will play him back to back though. I guess we will see.
WJC: 2021 Team USA Roster Talk
- Thread starter Jaykay
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I don't really believe they will play him back to back though. I guess we will see.
sigx15
Registered User
- Jan 31, 2010
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They might not want to but also good to note Knight has been starting back to back nights for the past year and a half at BC. Leaman has done the same with his goalies for years too and road Gillies to a national championship doing so. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility he would
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
What if he plays well against the Czech's and then he plays poorly against Sweden? Who do you go with? At that point the only start you gave Wolf was a game where he faced 10 shots. He might've played a little more than a period against Russia, but that was the first day of the tournament, and he didn't have that many real chances to stop in that game. I think the Czech game is not really as important as the Sweden game to knowing how Knight will respond.
BradMarchandismydad
Registered User
Idk if talent is the issue. He's 5'6. It's a size issue.
SanDogBrewin
Righteous bucks!
US dmen need to realize wrist shots from the point are more than likely not going to get through. Gotta do better on the forecheck after a dump in. Czechs are retrieving the puck way too easy.
Another average period. I liked how guys started but they should have taken advantage of it. Specially last 10 minutes they played how Czechs wanted them to play.
18 goals and zero conceded in two games. Not bad. I am also really happy that guys have stayed out of the penalty box. Caufield and Kaliyev also got their goals so many reasons to be excited.
I also need to mention that Matt Boldy is so underrated. Deserves more attention.
I also need to mention that Matt Boldy is so underrated. Deserves more attention.
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William H Bonney
Registered User
Took them a bit to break through the trap, but once they did it was game over. It was good to see them stick with it and not get frustrated.
That was typical Knight. Composed, technical, making it look easy. He would go decent stretches without facing anything noteworthy, but he made some nice saves. Very good bounce back game from him.
Brink has been involved a lot in the tournament but his finish was letting him down, so really nice to see him get a couple of greasy goals. Our 3rd line has been very good this tournament.
Great to see Caufield and Kaliyev get goals. We still need more from them, but a little confidence can go a long way with goalscorers.
PP looked good for the most part and the team discipline has been great thus far.
Zegras is this team's best player and it's not really close.
That was typical Knight. Composed, technical, making it look easy. He would go decent stretches without facing anything noteworthy, but he made some nice saves. Very good bounce back game from him.
Brink has been involved a lot in the tournament but his finish was letting him down, so really nice to see him get a couple of greasy goals. Our 3rd line has been very good this tournament.
Great to see Caufield and Kaliyev get goals. We still need more from them, but a little confidence can go a long way with goalscorers.
PP looked good for the most part and the team discipline has been great thus far.
Zegras is this team's best player and it's not really close.
TheDoldrums
Registered User
Matthews doesn't tweet very often, that's a good endorsement.
even though it was in garbage time, really nice to see guys who have been struggling all tournament like Kaliyev and Caufield get on the scoresheet.
Jaykay
Registered User
Zegras is obviously the best offensive player on this team, but I've really liked what I've seen from the duos of Boldy and Beniers and Brink and Berard. I thought Thrun played his best game today as well.
Is Faber now the 3rd best Dman on the team? He certainly would have to be top 4 , no?
Boldy continues to be consistent and good, in his slightly awkward, unflashy way. That goal that he had was out of character. I am coming around to seeing that he is very good in his board play, even though he looks like he still has to fill out. He will be interesting if he ever gets up to around 220 lbs. in a couple of years from now.
I love Beniers, and am very worried that those Black Hawk bastards are going to draft him.
Boldy continues to be consistent and good, in his slightly awkward, unflashy way. That goal that he had was out of character. I am coming around to seeing that he is very good in his board play, even though he looks like he still has to fill out. He will be interesting if he ever gets up to around 220 lbs. in a couple of years from now.
I love Beniers, and am very worried that those Black Hawk bastards are going to draft him.
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
There's the yearly destruction of the Czech's. Good performance from Knight. Now let's see it again against the the Swedes. Defensemen were not handling the puck that well. Knight needed to bail them out too many times. Czech's were playing dirty towards the end. I thought their attitude was awful. They played a very good first period to keep themselves in the game because they were outworking the Americans, and then they got lazy the rest of the game. Don't get dirty because your work-ethic dropped. Be accountable. Don't cheap shot the other team.
I don’t think the coaching staff was ever going to go away from Knight being the guy tbh. (For better or for worse)
I think they sat him against Austria, knowing that they wouldn’t need him, and that would be it. He likely needed extra work on the practice rink to get back into the groove and you can’t really do much of that if you’re starting every game, because you need the rest. (One of the reasons NHL teams are moving much more toward splitting games pretty evenly)
William H Bonney
Registered User
Definitely. He's been very good and really stepped up. I think it was @kilowatt who was the first one to bring him up as having a better chance to make the team than the rest of us were giving him and he was right. His skating and first-pass proficiency is tailor-made for this tournament.
It's funny, because I watch all the Gophers game and he was always under the radar for me. Not bad, but not noteworthy. That's why it's so hard to project how a player is going to do when he steps up in class.
Johnson hasn't been terrible, but not very good, either. I don't feel confident when he has the puck is under a heavy forecheck. Faber just seems to calmly make the right decision, even when chipping in on offense.
Johnson hasn't been terrible, but not very good, either. I don't feel confident when he has the puck is under a heavy forecheck. Faber just seems to calmly make the right decision, even when chipping in on offense.
William H Bonney
Registered User
mrmovies779
The Greatest Teacher,Failure is.
- Feb 5, 2013
- 8,026
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Knight.He's still the goalie who gives USA the best chance to win gold.
LeafChief
Matthew Knies Enthusiast
As a guy that watches the Gophers a lot, do you think Koster would have played his way onto this team if the NCAA started as normal (non-COVID season) or is he way far off from this level?
Just trying to gauge him as a prospect.
SanDogBrewin
Righteous bucks!
Loving the bottom 6 forwards so far. There was a question mark coming in, depth with the forwards. The overall team passing wasn’t real good against Russia has gotten much much better.
I would start Wolf. Then decide the starter for the quarters based off what the coach sees fit. Have a feeling the coaching staff might go with a, no-room-for-error, approach. That would mean Wolf to me.
I would start Wolf. Then decide the starter for the quarters based off what the coach sees fit. Have a feeling the coaching staff might go with a, no-room-for-error, approach. That would mean Wolf to me.
Jaykay
Registered User
Koster has actually been a lot better than I expected this year and stepped up and ate some minutes with the three WJC guys gone. He wouldn't be doing any worse than Lacombe at this tournament.
@LeafChief hard to say. Koster was very impressive stepping up in the absence of Johnson, Lacombe, and Faber. I would say that he is just as good of a skater as those three, and seems to have the judgement of Faber. It's so hard to tell. Of all the Gopher's dmen, I thought Brinkman would be the one to be the best, but he has stalled in his development.
Koster is smaller, and not particularly thick, but is so agile on his skates that he never seems to get in trouble in college. No telling what he'd be like under a heavy forecheck by a Russian or Canadian WJC team.
Lacombe's mediocre showing hasn't surprised me, but it also wouldn't surprise me if he almost singlehandedly won a game. He's got talent.
Koster is smaller, and not particularly thick, but is so agile on his skates that he never seems to get in trouble in college. No telling what he'd be like under a heavy forecheck by a Russian or Canadian WJC team.
Lacombe's mediocre showing hasn't surprised me, but it also wouldn't surprise me if he almost singlehandedly won a game. He's got talent.
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