WJC: 2022 Team Canada Roster Talk, Part II

[thai jet]

I wonder if back in 1978 some guy we probably never heard of thought to himself “I can’t believe they gave my spot to that 16 year old brat, Wayne Gretzky!”

I remember back then. That Gretzky kid was nationally known by then. Featured on the national news repeatedly.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

I know nothing about his leadership abilities but I struggle to see Guhle getting the C. Love the player but I see Power or even Perfetti getting it over him. Could also see Wright in the mix for an A as well.

Guhle is definitely getting the C. He's a returnee player and he has great leadership qualities. His personality and the way he comports himself has drawn a lot of comparison to Shea Weber.

 

[Spic Bud]

Guhle is definitely getting the C. He's a returnee player and he has great leadership qualities. His personality and the way he comports himself has drawn a lot of comparison to Shea Weber.

good to know. I expect him to be a force this year, he looked great as an 18 year old last year. If not for Power being available I would have had no problem with him as a 1D.

 

[ello]

*Imagine getting beat out by a generational talent who is near-lock to go first overall in his draft and is in a situation that only 6 others his age have been in before with names like Gretzky, Crosby, McDavid, and Lindros amongst his own. Fixed it for you.

The most recent players to make it at Bedard's current age were Mcdavid and Laf (I think), who were almost putting up an entire point-per-game more than Bedard when they made the team. These two players combined to put up 5 points total over the course of the WJC, and even McDavid who had 4 of the points, was used very little by the medal rounds.

Not that points are everything, but 16-year-olds are almost guaranteed to stuggle at some point during this tournament so this really feels like rewarding Bedard for his U18 performance plus a desire to showcase him as the next "Canadian generational talent".

 

[CheerstoBeers]

The most recent players to make it at Bedard's current age were Mcdavid and Laf (I think), who were almost putting up an entire point-per-game more than Bedard when they made the team. These two players combined to put up 5 points total over the course of the WJC, and even McDavid who had 4 of the points, was used very little by the medal rounds.

Not that points are everything, but 16-year-olds are almost guaranteed to stuggle at some point during this tournament so this really feels like rewarding Bedard for his U18 performance plus a desire to showcase him as the next "Canadian generational talent".

He dominated on the score sheet and physically this weekend when it mattered most. He had 6 points when nobody else in selection camp had more than 2. He played his way into this team easily, they had no choice but to take him.

 

[snipes]

Letters will go to returning players and guys who have played pro most likely. Guhle probably gets the C and I think Power will get an A even if he isnt a returnee or pro. After that theres a bunch of guys with pro experience. I'm not saying it wont happen but I would probablybet money on Greig, Johnson and Neighbours not getting letters over getting them if I had a gun to my head. I would expect McTavish and Perfetti to have letters the most and would give an outside shot at Sebrango and O'Rourke just because of pro experience and play style if I had to bet

Power is a IIHF Mens World gold medalist already. He played big minutes for Canada in a few games as well as the tournament went on.

Seems obvious he would have a letter.

 

[Statsy]

The most recent players to make it at Bedard's current age were Mcdavid and Laf (I think), who were almost putting up an entire point-per-game more than Bedard when they made the team. These two players combined to put up 5 points total over the course of the WJC, and even McDavid who had 4 of the points, was used very little by the medal rounds.

Not that points are everything, but 16-year-olds are almost guaranteed to stuggle at some point during this tournament so this really feels like rewarding Bedard for his U18 performance plus a desire to showcase him as the next "Canadian generational talent".

You mentioned that he struggled to put up points in the Dub, but neglected to say that he was scoring in that league last year at a pace of two points per game as a freakin’ 15 year old, OR that he is currently leading that league in shots on goal.

To leave Bedard off this team would have been a travesty.

 

[Silky Johnson]

Agreed.

To me, handedness is extremely important for defencemen, and several posters have listed the obvious puck handling challenges of playing the off-side.

But to me, a defenceman’s play without the puck is even more negatively impacted when he plays the off-side, usually in ways most people do not even recognize.

Example: imagine you are a right-handed defenceman playing your natural side, skating backwards and maintaining tight gap control while defending the rush through the neutral zone. Where’s your stick? It’s in your left hand, protecting open ice (your body protects against anything wall-side).

Now, imagine you are doing the same thing but you’re switched to the left side (your off side). Where’s your stick? It’s still in your left hand — but now it’s board side. Your ability to protect the middle of the ice is severely compromised simply by the geometry.

Canada is going to ask every single D playing the right side to deal with this. There aren’t many Doug Harveys or Bobby Orrs — two masters at playing their off side — on Canada’s WJC roster.

I’m anything but a dinosaur, but handedness bloody well matters.

Referencing Doug Harvey proves you are a dinosaur.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

I think the letters will look like:
C: Perfetti
A: Guhle
A: Power

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Guhle is definitely getting the C. He's a returnee player and he has great leadership qualities. His personality and the way he comports himself has drawn a lot of comparison to Shea Weber.

Canada has Guhle, Perfetti and Power who are all worthy candidates as a captain.

I’d say Power has the edge since he played with the mens team last season and has the prestige of a 1st overall.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Canada has Guhle, Perfetti and Power who are all worthy candidates as a captain.

I’d say Power has the edge since he played with the mens team last season and has the prestige of a 1st overall.

Canada loves giving the captaincy to one of their oldest players. Perfetti is the D+2 player with the highest draft pedigree. He also has been playing in the AHL against men, where he's been point/game. Actually the last time Perfetti was playing his own age group was his draft year where he was just under 2 points/game. I'd think he gets it.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Canada loves giving the captaincy to one of their oldest players. Perfetti is the D+2 player with the highest draft pedigree. He also has been playing in the AHL against men, where he's been point/game. Actually the last time Perfetti was playing his own age group was his draft year where he was just under 2 points/game. I'd think he gets it.

All three guys are worthy.
Power would have been on last years team if Michigan let him go, he is in his final year of eligibility, was the best defender on the mens team at last years mens WC, and is the first #1 pick to play for the team since RNH.
Perfetti is definitely worthy too, as is Guhle.
Can’t remember the last time Canada had this many legit options to dawn the ‘C’.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

All three guys are worthy.
Power would have been on last years team if Michigan let him go, he is in his final year of eligibility, was the best defender on the mens team at last years mens WC, and is the first #1 pick to play for the team since RNH.
Perfetti is definitely worthy too, as is Guhle.
Can’t remember the last time Canada had this many legit options to dawn the ‘C’.

Last year Dach, Cozens, and Byram were all considered (and ended up getting selected lol). None had 1OA or WC experience pedigree though.

 

[NA Hockey]

I think a legitimate case can be made for Guhle, Perfetti and Power.

Guhle - Captained this age groups Hlinka team, was a 1st round pick, is a returning player and was a Captain of his WHL team

Perfetti - Has the most Hockey Canada experience of anyone including being a returning player from last year, playing and winning gold at the Mens WC last spring and being the best player at the Hlinka. Top 10 pick in the draft and has played 50 plus games of pro hockey (NHL and AHL)

Power - Was the first overall pick in the last draft and played and won gold with HC at the mens WC in the spring. Playing NCAA against older players where he is a leader on a top team.

I think this should the leadership group and it really doesn’t matter who wears the C.

 

[WADEugottaBELAKthat]

Referencing Doug Harvey proves you are a dinosaur.

or it means he has a wide-ranging understanding of the game?

“Why learn from WW2... it was soooo long ago”.

 

[LDN]

Guhle: C
Perfetti: A
Power: A
Wright: A

 

[86Habs]

Agreed.

To me, handedness is extremely important for defencemen, and several posters have listed the obvious puck handling challenges of playing the off-side.

But to me, a defenceman’s play without the puck is even more negatively impacted when he plays the off-side, usually in ways most people do not even recognize.

Example: imagine you are a right-handed defenceman playing your natural side, skating backwards and maintaining tight gap control while defending the rush through the neutral zone. Where’s your stick? It’s in your left hand, protecting open ice (your body protects against anything wall-side).

Now, imagine you are doing the same thing but you’re switched to the left side (your off side). Where’s your stick? It’s still in your left hand — but now it’s board side. Your ability to protect the middle of the ice is severely compromised simply by the geometry.

Canada is going to ask every single D playing the right side to deal with this. There aren’t many Doug Harveys or Bobby Orrs — two masters at playing their off side — on Canada’s WJC roster.

I’m anything but a dinosaur, but handedness bloody well matters.

I agree. And this (along with issues like board play in the d-zone and along the blue line, transition play, and giving/receiving passes) is the reason why the management group for our 2010 and 2014 Olympic teams were so adamant about bringing a balanced group of defencemen w/r/t handedness. For 2014 in particular, on the wider international ice surface, the issue you pointed out and the ability to give and receive passes on your backhand were a point of concern for the management team and Babcock, and rightfully so.

And these are Olympic-caliber professionals we're talking about, not 18 and 19 year olds who presumably have little or no experience playing on their off-side. The lack of any RHS defencemen on our World Junior team is a cause for concern. The Thompson issue is unfortunate (he was good enough to make the team imo), but with the expanded roster size this year I don't understand why they wouldn't bring Iorio at least as a 7th/8th defencemen in the event one of these guys struggles. It sounds like Cameron is aware of the issue, and thinks it will resolve itself, but I can see this being an issue for Canada throughout this tournament. If I was in charge of picking the American team, I'd select as many physical, fast, hard forecheckers at left wing as possible in order to pressure the Canadian LHS defencemen on their off-side.

 

[kyle44]

Doesn't seem like Russia cares about handedness either.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Doesn't seem like Russia cares about handedness either.

That's incredible. Is that common? I think Americans are the outlier here.

 

[Gold Standard]

I agree. And this (along with issues like board play in the d-zone and along the blue line, transition play, and giving/receiving passes) is the reason why the management group for our 2010 and 2014 Olympic teams were so adamant about bringing a balanced group of defencemen w/r/t handedness. For 2014 in particular, on the wider international ice surface, the issue you pointed out and the ability to give and receive passes on your backhand were a point of concern for the management team and Babcock, and rightfully so.

And these are Olympic-caliber professionals we're talking about, not 18 and 19 year olds who presumably have little or no experience playing on their off-side. The lack of any RHS defencemen on our World Junior team is a cause for concern. The Thompson issue is unfortunate (he was good enough to make the team imo), but with the expanded roster size this year I don't understand why they wouldn't bring Iorio at least as a 7th/8th defencemen in the event one of these guys struggles. It sounds like Cameron is aware of the issue, and thinks it will resolve itself, but I can see this being an issue for Canada throughout this tournament. If I was in charge of picking the American team, I'd select as many physical, fast, hard forecheckers at left wing as possible in order to pressure the Canadian LHS defencemen on their off-side.

I think that's Cameron's entire coaching philosophy It will all just work itself out. Team struggling to hold on to a 3 goal 3rd. period lead. don't call a timeout...shrug your shoulders, don't do any actual coaching, it will all just work itself out.

 

[Statsy]

Doesn't seem like Russia cares about handedness either.

I’ve seen Russia with this type of imbalance on multiple occasions. Almost like they don’t sell right handed sticks there or something.

 

[jj cale]

All of what has been said here about handedness is true and of course the coaches know all this too but it's also true that every team tries to take the best players. Cameron and the staff must have thought they were the best d-men we had available for this tournament and were not going to take RHD just for the sake of it, There can't be any other explanation. We can only wait and see if that was a sizeable mistake.

 

[86Habs]

I think that's Cameron's entire coaching philosophy It will all just work itself out. Team struggling to hold on to a 3 goal 3rd. period lead. don't call a timeout...shrug your shoulders, don't do any actual coaching, it will all just work itself out.

Yes, I posted a few weeks ago in the earlier thread that I am concerned about Cameron's coaching in this tournament, but more in relation to discipline/accountability in the context of international refereeing. I also get the sense that he's not good at adapting to changing game situations when necessary, as you alluded to. The team he selected perfectly fits the template of the team I expected him to select (pleasantly surprised he picked Bedard, but Bedard gave him no choice really), and I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

 

[JackSlater]

I agree. And this (along with issues like board play in the d-zone and along the blue line, transition play, and giving/receiving passes) is the reason why the management group for our 2010 and 2014 Olympic teams were so adamant about bringing a balanced group of defencemen w/r/t handedness. For 2014 in particular, on the wider international ice surface, the issue you pointed out and the ability to give and receive passes on your backhand were a point of concern for the management team and Babcock, and rightfully so.

And these are Olympic-caliber professionals we're talking about, not 18 and 19 year olds who presumably have little or no experience playing on their off-side. The lack of any RHS defencemen on our World Junior team is a cause for concern. The Thompson issue is unfortunate (he was good enough to make the team imo), but with the expanded roster size this year I don't understand why they wouldn't bring Iorio at least as a 7th/8th defencemen in the event one of these guys struggles. It sounds like Cameron is aware of the issue, and thinks it will resolve itself, but I can see this being an issue for Canada throughout this tournament. If I was in charge of picking the American team, I'd select as many physical, fast, hard forecheckers at left wing as possible in order to pressure the Canadian LHS defencemen on their off-side.

I thought that Iorio would make it as well, even to be seventh defenceman and play on the penalty kill where he would have an easier time clearing the puck on his strong side. Since it sounds like Hunt was going to be on the team if not for injury it's clear that Iorio was absolutely last choice among the defencemen at camp.

That's incredible. Is that common? I think Americans are the outlier here.

It seems fairly common for Russian teams to have a huge imbalance with regard to left and right shots. I've heard it mentioned that they might have one or two right handed players on a whole roster.

 

[bsu]

After how Canada spoke about McTavish leadership (Anaheim management mentioned this so many times) I would think he gets a letter for sure.