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WJC: 2025 Team Canada Roster Talk

Pavel Buchnevich

Pavel Buchnevich

"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Dec 8, 2013
60,567
27,501
New York
ORRFForever said:
In the NYT's article, they imply Augustine needs to stand on his head for the U.S. to win Gold - and they say that is definitely a possibility. Still, I'd prefer to be Canada over a U.S. team that has no depth.
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And a few defenders of authority figures told me I couldn’t complain about the roster selections for the bottom of USA’s roster? :help:
 
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JackSlater

JackSlater

Registered User
Apr 27, 2010
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NordiquesForeva said:
Yeah the problem with the team construction, so far at least, is that Anholt/Cameron picked a number of players who are similar/redundant and would be expected to play similar roles. Howe, Gautheir, Luchanko, Cataford, Pinelli are all pretty similar players that bring similar elements and Beaudoin, while bigger/stronger than the others, is nothing more than a depth checker at this level.

What they should have done, in my view, is taken, say 3 of those guys for the necessary depth roles (based on play so far, that would be Pinelli, Howe and Gauthier), left the rest at home, and used those 3 open forward spots on Sennecke, Misa, and, say, Greentree. I mean, the comments around the 2-way play of each of those players is likely not too far from the truth, but Luchanko and Cataford (for example) have been really bad defensively so far and have added absolutely nothing offensively. I'd be willing to look past any defensive shortcomings and roll the dice with Sennecke and Misa (especially), and Greentree, even if 1 or 2 of them don't dress or play much.

The added size and strength on the wings from Greentree and Sennecke would ultimately be beneficial to the team in terms of their ability to get to the middle of the ice for prime scoring opportunities. That seems to be what's lacking so far; the bottom-6 haven't displayed the skill/strength to get off the boards and into the middle of the ice. I find it troubling that Martone and Rehkopf (two of our bigger/stronger wingers) haven't had much success doing so either. It would be unfortunate if Canada evolves into a 2-line team without any secondary scoring depth but that's the way its looking so far.
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I agree, I don't quite see what they are going for. There was talk that Hockey Canada partly blames last year's failure on the team not getting to the middle of the ice, but there are some pretty prominent players with a lot of size that were left off and Rehkopf is being used as thirteenth forward. They talk about cutting Wood because he isn't a good enough skater, but Wood has actually played in this tournament and been pretty good, last year in Sweden while the team had Cataford in one of the RW spots. It doesn't yet have a clear identity. The top line is good but not overwhelming, McKenna and Catton can outskill the opposition, and then the other lines run around to give those guys a breather. At the very least Yager's line should also be an offensive line, as you indicated, with something like Misa and Sennecke on the wings.

I do think it is clear what the defence is going for and I like how Cameron has the defencemen joining in offensively. It will also become clear as the games progress how this team is supposed to play. Cameron is far from perfect but to give him some credit, both of his teams had clear identities and played to those identities consistently in his two tournaments. I expect that Canada will look a lot more coherent by New Year's Eve. The key is still turning Yager's line into a third offensive threat.
 
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Leviathan899

Registered User
Nov 17, 2014
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Toronto, ON.
Mitch nylander said:
Cowan and Ritchie have been phenomenal. Schaefer really impressive through 3 games.
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Ritchie has looked amazing all season so far, such an improvement to his overall pace and physicality. Always been elite with the puck but starting to really push the pace and win battles. His time at the Vail camp with all the NHL stars has paid dividends so far.
 
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Leviathan899

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Nov 17, 2014
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Toronto, ON.
Svedu said:
of course... Flyers can't draft anything decent besides great Michkov, decent future third line Tuomaala and fourth liner Ruohonen.

Everyone seems to be low on Luchanko... Flyers scouting just, lol.
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Luchanko is good, not sure why people are down. He played fine against CZE. A few bad turnovers don’t define a player. Great pick by Philly. Plus, they draft well. Foerster, Brink, Sanheim, Konecny, Laughton, Andrae, Farabee, York, etc all good players.
 
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Leviathan899

Registered User
Nov 17, 2014
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Toronto, ON.
jj cale said:
We are supposed to have a heck of a team this year.
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They do. Just went 3-0 in pre tournament against some good teams, and in general controlled the play from start to finish, with some breakdowns. These teams they play are all high level teams too, the lack of respect for the quality of the competition is routinely surprising to me.
 
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ORRFForever

ORRFForever

Registered User
Oct 29, 2018
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Leviathan899 said:
They do. Just went 3-0 in pre tournament against some good teams, and in general controlled the play from start to finish, with some breakdowns. These teams they play are all high level teams too, the lack of respect for the quality of the competition is routinely surprising to me.
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Canadians fans at HF (NOT directed at any one poster) eat their own.
 
jj cale

jj cale

Registered User
Jan 5, 2016
16,630
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Nova Scotia
Leviathan899 said:
They do. Just went 3-0 in pre tournament against some good teams, and in general controlled the play from start to finish, with some breakdowns. These teams they play are all high level teams too, the lack of respect for the quality of the competition is routinely surprising to me.
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I respect all the teams Lev.

My concerns are about how our team is playing and how I expect them to roll as a team at this tournament which is coming at teams in waves with 4 lines being effective and wearing teams down, not 2 lines or sometimes only 1.

It's about us not them.
 
ORRFForever

ORRFForever

Registered User
Oct 29, 2018
20,136
11,282
ORRFForever said:
Help me understand...

According to Sports Interaction, we are slight favourites :

Sports Interaction

sports.on.sportsinteraction.com sports.on.sportsinteraction.com

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But on these sites, we are large favourites - despite what the Dec 9th title says...

www.mytopsportsbooks.com

Team USA is the Pick to Win the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship

We look at the betting odds, picks, and predictions for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship, which takes place in Canada this year
www.mytopsportsbooks.com www.mytopsportsbooks.com


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On Bet 99 we are slight underdogs...


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It seems the U.S. were the initial favourites but the early money is on Canada and shifted the odds. It will be interesting to see what happens once the big(?) money starts flowing in.
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While the odds differ, we are favourites on all 3 (5?) sites.
 
ORRFForever

ORRFForever

Registered User
Oct 29, 2018
20,136
11,282
In the history of tournaments, I don't think there has ever been a tournament where Morreale did not pick the U.S. to win...

www.nhl.com

2025 World Junior Championship predictions | NHL.com

U.S., Canada among picks to win gold, Schaefer, Hagens top prospects for draft, according to NHL.com writers
www.nhl.com www.nhl.com

I guess his NJ High School Ice Hockey HOF membership (LOL) has tainted his objectivity.
 
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