WJC: 2023 Team Canada Roster Talk Part 2

[SOLR]

William Rousseau would have been the better choice was even at camp, and even played real well at said camp.

Canada bucking the “We can’t have a 17 year old start“ trend by inviting Carson Bjarnason to camp who has been excellent so far this year.

DiV isn’t likely to start next year either

Got to think Gabriel D'Aigle will be in the picture pretty early for team Canada, particularly if he's the starting goalie for the U18 team this year.

 

[SOLR]

I agree, I'm not getting a good feeling from this team yet. The power play is ridiculous and that's great, also usually a good indicator of tournament success, but as we saw as recently as the last gold medal game a dominant power play can go cold at any time. At even strength the team hasn't looked great and is prone to defensive gaffes even against the teams that got decimated. I will say that I've mostly liked Wright's game in that he's been very unselfish and supports the play well, but you'd like to see the top line do more than just dominate on the power play. I want to see Canada control play at even strength against a strong team before feeling confident.

At this point I'm ready to write the grinders, for the most part, off as a mistake. They make sense if the team was going to play with an aggressive forecheck that would wear the opposition down as the game wore on. Canada has had great success at the junior level with an aggressive forecheck that other teams are not accustomed to. Canada doesn't play with much structure though and those players tend to just float around for the most part until someone on the team gets the puck. They serve no purpose with how this team plays. You'd be better off with two of Savoie/Dumais/Bolduc/Greene/Kidney in and two of Bankier/Dach/Schaefer out, as at least the skilled players might make a depth line seem threatening. I find it difficult to judge the defence due to who Canada has played. The team focusing on bringing size has proven a littel strange thus far since they don't really use it. The goaltenders need to be compensated for if this team is going to win.

The game against Sweden should be very informative. No team has looked particularly strong at this tournament and that game is a good opportunity for Canada to take a big step forward.

I agree, this team is not playing Canadian hockey at all. They are trying to play like the Fins, with bigger bodies.

 

[Mr Buckles]

Minor change to the lineup, but Fantilli moves to the fourth line, Ostapchuk moves up to the third (TSN).

Edit - also mentioned that Allan moves up to play with Clarke, Hinds drops down.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I agree, this team is not playing Canadian hockey at all. They are trying to play like the Fins, with bigger bodies.

Boy. How far the mighty have fallen when all the pundits were initially calling this the best Team Canada since 2003. Another clear case of being wary of the consensus. With mediocre goaltending, a largely slow defence and few dynamic forwards, this iteration of the Team Canada may ironically turn out to be one of the worse teams since 2003. This team will only go as far as Bedard can carry it. The hand wringing about the state of Canadian hockey after a one and done result in the elimination round is looming.

 

[Mathieukferland]

Boy. How far the mighty have fallen when all the pundits were initially calling this the best Team Canada since 2003. Another clear case of being wary of the consensus. With mediocre goaltending, a largely slow defence and few dynamic forwards, this iteration of the Team Canada may ironically turn out to be one of the worse teams since 2003. This team will only go as far as Bedard can carry it. The hand wringing about the state of Canadian hockey after a one and done result in the elimination round is looming.

The worst team in my opinion is the 2019 team, I don’t think this team is that bad but they will have difficulty winning gold

 

[Statsy]

At least we have a balanced offense, by which I mean we have Bedard scoring on the powerplay as our main weapon with our secondary scoring consisting of Bedard scoring at even strength.

 

[Mathieukferland]

At least we have a balanced offense, by which I mean we have Bedard scoring on the powerplay as our main weapon with our secondary scoring consisting of Bedard scoring at even strength.

 

[JackSlater]

Boy. How far the mighty have fallen when all the pundits were initially calling this the best Team Canada since 2003. Another clear case of being wary of the consensus. With mediocre goaltending, a largely slow defence and few dynamic forwards, this iteration of the Team Canada may ironically turn out to be one of the worse teams since 2003. This team will only go as far as Bedard can carry it. The hand wringing about the state of Canadian hockey after a one and done result in the elimination round is looming.

What a strange post comprised of strange exaggeration (all pundits?), inaccuracy (surely you mean 2005?), and a nice hot take (looming quarterfinal exit?) rolled into one whole. It is a small positive that losing to the Czechs ended all talk of this team being compared to the best WJC team ever though.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

What a strange post comprised of strange exaggeration (all pundits?), inaccuracy (surely you mean 2005?), and a nice hot take (looming quarterfinal exit?) rolled into one whole. It is a small positive that losing to the Czechs ended all talk of this team being compared to the best WJC team ever though.

Whether 2003 or 2005, this current team's immobile defence makes it highly vulnerable to speed and we won't be facing Austria or Germany going forward. I hope I'm wrong. But you never want to be caught slow.

 

[JackSlater]

Whether 2003 or 2005, this current team's immobile defence makes it highly vulnerable to speed and we won't be facing Austria or Germany going forward. I hope I'm wrong. But you never want to be caught slow.

Their puck decisions and defensive structure are the problem, not that they are too slow. You'd like to have 7 swift skating behemoths with sky high hockey IQ and great puck skills, but that's not happening.

 

[ORRFForever]

So... Loser gets Slovakia?

 

[TheBeastCoast]

So... Loser gets Slovakia?

Nope not that simple. If the US win their game Finland finishes in 2nd and the loser of Canada Sweden would get them in the QF. Finland wins their game and it will likely be the loser of this one gets the Slovaks. So just for example, if Finland win in regulation tonight and Canada win in regulation we are looking at a Canada-USA QF.

 

[ORRFForever]

Nope not that simple. If the US win their game Finland finishes in 2nd and the loser of Canada Sweden would get them in the QF. Finland wins their game and it will likely be the loser of this one gets the Slovaks. So just for example, if Finland win in regulation tonight and Canada win in regulation we are looking at a Canada-USA QF.

Thanks(!), again.

Now I am rooting for the U.S. and Canada to win, today.






God bless Pope Benedict XVI / RIP

 

[Mathieukferland]

Nope not that simple. If the US win their game Finland finishes in 2nd and the loser of Canada Sweden would get them in the QF. Finland wins their game and it will likely be the loser of this one gets the Slovaks. So just for example, if Finland win in regulation tonight and Canada win in regulation we are looking at a Canada-USA QF.

Probably the first time in history I am hoping for an American victory

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Their puck decisions and defensive structure are the problem, not that they are too slow. You'd like to have 7 swift skating behemoths with sky high hockey IQ and great puck skills, but that's not happening.

Watch tonight how often they get beat wide. That has nothing to do with structure. The Swedish forwards will go around Matier and friends like they’re pillars of salt.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

So with presumably the US holding onto this and winning in regulation we will get Finland with any kind of loss or a win in OT and Slovakia with a regulation win.

 

[JackSlater]

Watch tonight how often they get beat wide. That has nothing to do with structure. The Swedish forwards will go around Matier and friends like they’re pillars of salt.

I don't know about that, Chester.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

 

[ORRFForever]

What is with the Dach's at this tournament? Shame





God bless Pope Benedict XVI. RIP.

 

[JackSlater]

That was nearly a perfect game for Canada. Looked defensively solid with Sweden generating very little, and Milic was steady. Forecheck looked very good and suddenly the depth forwards had a purpose and played well. Shame about Dach, both in general and because he was having quite a good game up until he injured his shoulder. Gaucher was also great and Roy continues to impress me. Guenther made several smart plays as well. Happy with how the defence looked even with Zellweger and Clarke looking fairly poor for large stretches. I've seen pretty much every game featuring the top contenders and while Canada is far from a lock, I believe that this game showcased Canada at a level that no other team can match. The main question is how close they can get to that level going forward

What can you say with Bedard. He looks significantly better than he did in August, mainly things like collecting pucks and making great passes once the shot isn't really there. He's really making teams pay for selling out to stop his shot in a way that I did not expect. I say this in a positive sense but he is cockier than the other big Canadian underage stars in recent memory. Crosby and McDavid were somewhat tentative even when they were the most talented players on their team as 17 year olds. Lindros did grab the bull by the horns, to be fair. Even reading things like him telling his teammates on the bench that he was going for the single game goal record the other day, which I read online. It's not the typical thing that you hear from Canadian stars but I'm ok with a change of pace. If he can lead the team to a gold medal he goes down as Canada's greatest WJC player.

 

[snipes]

Absolutely loved the way we played.

Fast, wave after wave non-stop pressure. That is how a Canadian team should look and play.

I really liked Fantilli’s game. He was physical and flying out there. Props where it’s due.

I didn’t see anyone do the looping flyby, everyone was fully engaged and ready to ****ing battle. Love it, that’s the type of intensity needed every second of every shift.

Bedard is just incredible, there are not enough superlatives to describe how good he is. I’ve been saying best draft eligible player I have ever seen, I’m not sure “draft eligible” qualifier is even needed.

 

[JackSlater]

Absolutely loved the way we played.

Fast, wave after wave non-stop pressure. That is how a Canadian team should look and play.

I really liked Fantilli’s game. He was physical and flying out there. Props where it’s due.

I didn’t see anyone do the looping flyby, everyone was fully engaged and ready to ****ing battle. Love it, that’s the type of intensity needed every second of every shift.

Bedard is just incredible, there are not enough superlatives to describe how good he is. I’ve been saying best draft eligible player I have ever seen, I’m not sure “draft eligible” qualifier is even needed.

Fantilli does deserve credit. He has been a good depth player and is a physical problem for other teams. He adds a nice element to the lower lines.

 

[ORRFForever]

A million things can happen, of course, but we look "golden".

My guess : We beat Slovakia and we get revenge against the U.S. in the semis.

Czechia looks like the best of the remaining 3. I doubt we lose to them twice.





God bless Pope Benedict XVI. RIP.

 

[JackSlater]

I'm interested to see what Hockey Canada does assuming that Dach is out. It's awkward to bring someone in late, but you don't want to handicap yourself if you don't need to and twice already Canada has had a forward get a match penalty. I have to assume that the team would add one of the forwards from camp, so Beck, Bolduc, Dumais, Greene, or Kidney. As Wheeler noted, Kidney is a good story but that should not be the deciding factor. Dumais also makes for a good story as a Halifax player, and it just so happens that he'll be back in Halifax tomorrow anyway since he played (3 points) in Sydney tonight. Beck is probably the closest player to Dach in terms of style and would probably be the one easiest to plug in on the depth lines. Greene sounds like he had a great camp, I somewhat doubt that they will go with an NCAA player though. Bolduc should not be considered after his bullshit.

I'd probably go with Beck to replace Dach since he can do the same things and that is what the coaching staff is going to want out of that player. A guy like Dumais has a higher ceiling in terms of what he brings, but it's hard to see a replacement player getting many chances beyond spot duty here and there and almost never a real offensive chance.

 

[Leviathan899]

I'm interested to see what Hockey Canada does assuming that Dach is out. It's awkward to bring someone in late, but you don't want to handicap yourself if you don't need to and twice already Canada has had a forward get a match penalty. I have to assume that the team would add one of the forwards from camp, so Beck, Bolduc, Dumais, Greene, or Kidney. As Wheeler noted, Kidney is a good story but that should not be the deciding factor. Dumais also makes for a good story as a Halifax player, and it just so happens that he'll be back in Halifax tomorrow anyway since he played (3 points) in Sydney tonight. Beck is probably the closest player to Dach in terms of style and would probably be the one easiest to plug in on the depth lines. Greene sounds like he had a great camp, I somewhat doubt that they will go with an NCAA player though. Bolduc should not be considered after his bullshit.

I'd probably go with Beck to replace Dach since he can do the same things and that is what the coaching staff is going to want out of that player. A guy like Dumais has a higher ceiling in terms of what he brings, but it's hard to see a replacement player getting many chances beyond spot duty here and there and almost never a real offensive chance.

What’s the story with Bolduc? Could you imagine how good this team would have been with Johnston and Mctavish as well…