WJC: 2023 Team Canada Roster Talk Part 2

[ORRFForever]

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Well we looked like a championship team for most of the game against Sweden. Multiple players played their best games. Hopefully they will keep it up. I think Jack is right in saying we showed the best of all the teams for a good chunk of the game. I just wish we could get consistent scoring from lines other than Bedards line or the powerplay. Hopefully we don't look past Slovakia we should beat them but if we aren't careful I think they could surprise us.

And, if we don't win, life is good and goes on.

 

[canuck2010]

Beck needs to play a regular shift and not sit on the bench against Slovakia.

 

[francis246]

I wouldn’t want to change the make up of the team but I wonder if the management for team Canada would have pushed for Wyatt Johnston or Mason McTavish to replace Dach.

The gold medal game is January 5th and the maximum number of games either would play is three games. It is not like they would miss many NHL games in that short of a timespan.


Now I get replacing a fourth liner in Dach with Beck is a very easy transition for the team. But to get a top line player would have been amazing.

Why would Wyatt Johnson or McTavish want to go play in this tournament again? Johnson is averaging around 15 mins a night in the NHL, already has 11 goals. McTavish has 20 points in the NHL this year and plays a ton for Anaheim, why would they leave that and risk injury? They already have gold medals as well.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Why would Wyatt Johnson or McTavish want to go play in this tournament again? Johnson is averaging around 15 mins a night in the NHL, already has 11 goals. McTavish has 20 points in the NHL this year and plays a ton for Anaheim, why would they leave that and risk injury? They already have gold medals as well.

Wyatt Johnston didn’t play for the team in the summer but the rest of the post still applies.

No chance either would have played - they‘re integral pieces to their NHL teams.

 

[Habsrule]

Why would Wyatt Johnson or McTavish want to go play in this tournament again? Johnson is averaging around 15 mins a night in the NHL, already has 11 goals. McTavish has 20 points in the NHL this year and plays a ton for Anaheim, why would they leave that and risk injury? They already have gold medals as well.

Difference is that if they joined Canada now that they would only need to play a max of 3 games. Plus they would be gone less than a week from the NHL so it is not like they would be missing a big chunk of time.

 

[JackSlater]

Something I'm not clear on is whether Canada had to submit the names of its injury replacement forward and defenceman when it submitted the rest of its roster.

Slovakia should be a good opponent for Canada. It's a better Slovakian team than we've usually seen over the last while. If Canada wins and USA wins then that should be a good game. Both teams play their best then Canada wins, but that rarely happens. Canada needs to be good tonight and, should it win, in the games going forward to win the tournament. Canada has lost tournaments when it had the best roster with the highest peak, and it has won when other teams have played better.

 

[majormajor]

I wouldn’t want to change the make up of the team but I wonder if the management for team Canada would have pushed for Wyatt Johnston or Mason McTavish to replace Dach.

The gold medal game is January 5th and the maximum number of games either would play is three games. It is not like they would miss many NHL games in that short of a timespan.


Now I get replacing a fourth liner in Dach with Beck is a very easy transition for the team. But to get a top line player would have been amazing.

Why would Wyatt Johnson or McTavish want to go play in this tournament again? Johnson is averaging around 15 mins a night in the NHL, already has 11 goals. McTavish has 20 points in the NHL this year and plays a ton for Anaheim, why would they leave that and risk injury? They already have gold medals as well.

You know which NHLer is eligible who isn't providing anything to his team right now?

Cole Sillinger.

 

[Statsy]

Something I'm not clear on is whether Canada had to submit the names of its injury replacement forward and defenceman when it submitted the rest of its roster.

Unlike other teams, Canada never named it's full squad including two replacement players. Other countries had to bring those players with them, but Canada has the luxury of just bringing someone in on short notice.

 

[JackSlater]

You know which NHLer is eligible who isn't providing anything to his team right now?

Cole Sillinger.

Funny enough for some reason Sillinger is in the IIHF ad, wearing a team Canada jersey, that has been airing during the tournament.

 

[francis246]

Difference is that if they joined Canada now that they would only need to play a max of 3 games. Plus they would be gone less than a week from the NHL so it is not like they would be missing a big chunk of time.

But you put yourself at risk to get injured, which at this point would be completely dumb. They are both key pieces for their NHL club. Why risk getting hurt. Makes zero sense.

 

[ponder]

Bedard/Stankoven together at even strength is dumb. Bedard is a magic talent, you want the puck on his stick absolutely as much as possible. Putting 2 small guys on the same line means fewer puck battles won, more time defending - this line is not dominating possession at all vs Slovakia. Also when they do have the puck, it’s often on Stankoven’s stick, not Bedard’s.

It’s just not maximizing talents.

 

[majormajor]

Bedard/Stankoven together at even strength is dumb. Bedard is a magic talent, you want the puck on his stick absolutely as much as possible. Putting 2 small guys on the same line means fewer puck battles won, more time defending - this line is not dominating possession at all vs Slovakia. Also when they do have the puck, it’s often on Stankoven’s stick, not Bedard’s.

It’s just not maximizing talents.

The "fewer pucks to go around" problem is true for Bedard in combination with any top sixer on Team Canada. They're all guys that want the puck and want to shoot. Not a lot of one touch playmakers. Zero.

Stankoven is at least a beast on retrievals and starting possession in the first place. That helps Bedard a lot.

 

[ponder]

The "fewer pucks to go around" problem is true for Bedard in combination with any top sixer on Team Canada. They're all guys that want the puck and want to shoot. Not a lot of one touch playmakers. Zero.

Stankoven is at least a beast on retrievals and starting possession in the first place. That helps Bedard a lot.

Eh I disagree - on the PP or 3v3 OT, definitely, but 5v5, I don’t think it’s a good fit for Stankoven OR Bedard. Like this game, 5v5, that line just didn’t dominate the puck, and both Bedard and Stankoven didn’t have it enough.

I’d like to see Othmann/Bedard/Guenther and Roy/Stankoven/Wright. I believe both of those lines would be improved.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

Bedard may be the greatest Canadian to ever live. Zellweger needs his minutes cut badly. Clarke needs to be cut entirely.

 

[ORRFForever]

Bedard may be the greatest Canadian to ever live. Zellweger needs his minutes cut badly. Clarke needs to be cut entirely.

AMEN !!!!!!

Well said.

 

[ORRFForever]

I was a coward during the GMG versus Finland but I watched this one until the end and I'm glad I did. I love this game.

 

[Canadienna]

Clarke was awful and they need some serious help on faceoffs.

Good thing they have the best faceoff guy in the CHL in Owen Beck.

He needs to play more. He had two shifts and his line had two dangerous chances.

 

[JackSlater]

That game was ugly. Canada has now played one very strong game against quality opposition and two very shaky games against quality opposition. Slovakia was able to completely execute its gameplan vs Canada even with the shot disparity. Credit to Bedard for putting up such a ridiculous performance all tournament long but there are concerns when Canada isn't on its game. Zellweger and Clarke are the two main puck carriers for Canada but they were both liabilities vs Slovakia. Only Stankoven's line and Gaucher's line did anything at even strength. Wright was fine before tonight but he looked clueless against Slovakia. Othmann has been solid on that line, but Wright is too passive and Guenther looks like an elite complementary player but not a line driver. Honestly Canada's three biggest line drivers all seem to be on Stankoven's line and I would not be against Canada changing things again.

I really would not be surprised by any result against the United States. That team is not all that good, but Canada is not always good either. Wouldn't be surprised to see Canada come out firing and win by four, wouldn't be surprised to see Canada struggle to defend and handle the puck like a grenade while losing by four.

 

[ORRFForever]

As Mr. Slater said...

I have NO idea what to make of this team.

We danced with the Devil and walked away and it left me wondering, "Who is this team?".

This cannot be the Bedard ONLY show or the U.S. will eat our lunch in the semis.

Good luck against the U.S. We will need it.

 

[ponder]

That game was ugly. Canada has now played one very strong game against quality opposition and two very shaky games against quality opposition. Slovakia was able to completely execute its gameplan vs Canada even with the shot disparity. Credit to Bedard for putting up such a ridiculous performance all tournament long but there are concerns when Canada isn't on its game. Zellweger and Clarke are the two main puck carriers for Canada but they were both liabilities vs Slovakia. Only Stankoven's line and Gaucher's line did anything at even strength. Wright was fine before tonight but he looked clueless against Slovakia. Othmann has been solid on that line, but Wright is too passive and Guenther looks like an elite complementary player but not a line driver. Honestly Canada's three biggest line drivers all seem to be on Stankoven's line and I would not be against Canada changing things again.

I really would not be surprised by any result against the United States. That team is not all that good, but Canada is not always good either. Wouldn't be surprised to see Canada come out firing and win by four, wouldn't be surprised to see Canada struggle to defend and handle the puck like a grenade while losing by four.

Yeah, Bedard and the PP are masking a team that is not as good as they should be 5-on-5. Lines should be switched up, especially agreed they need to spread out Bedard and Stankoven onto different lines, but not confident in this coaching staff making the right decisions.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

To be fair, Canada had like 7 posts. The defense needs to be smarter on pinches.

 

[ORRFForever]

The defense needs to be smarter on pinches.

Big time. The D looked like they had NO idea what to do with the Slovakian back check / pressure.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Need more guys to step up if we want to beat the US next game. Especially the 19 year olds. Wright and Fantilli too could do something worthwhile. Feels like our whole team is Bedard and Stankoven.

That was Roy's worst game. Felt like the bottom 6 got maybe a shift each in the 3rd. Clarke-Zelleweger just sounds like a dumb pairing to begin with, shouldn't really be on the ice together. As usual even after a win there's plenty to bitch about for the Canadian Junior team. Glad it's not the goalie, Milic was great I thought in that game.

 

[ORRFForever]

Need more guys to step up if we want to beat the US next game. Especially the 19 year olds. Wright and Fantilli too could do something worthwhile. Feels like our whole team is Bedard and Stankoven.

That was Roy's worst game. Felt like the bottom 6 got maybe a shift each in the 3rd. Clarke-Zelleweger just sounds like a dumb pairing to begin with, shouldn't really be on the ice together. As usual even after a win there's plenty to bitch about for the Canadian Junior team. Glad it's not the goalie, Milic was great I thought in that game.

We can only hope that all the goals that stayed out, tonight, go in on Wednesday because we were snake bitten in ways I have not seen in a long time.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

We outshot them by 30 and hit like 6 posts in the game. I don't think there is much to take away from this game to the next. The Slovaks executed their gameplan well, got an unbelievable performance from their goalie and metric shit ton of luck. We very well could lose to the Americans, there are parts of the team that are concerning, but the overall performance of the team was really good....just win a damn faceoff next game.