WJC: 2025 Team Canada Roster Talk

[QJL]

I’m not watching the best of the best at this WJC. Embarrassing team selections and a major setback for one of the most fun events in sports.

 

[Mathieukferland]

I actually fell asleep for the last 10 mins (jet lag and all having only arrived back in Canada 2 days ago lol)

The normal participants of this thread are probably already well aware of my gripes with this team, so I’ll start with a top down approach


MANAGEMENT


1. Scott Salmond should not be involved in team selection. His reign as the quasi chairman of Canada’s youth teams has not gone well, and given the level of talent available over the last 15 years, 5 gold medals is not a good return

2. How on earth Peter Anholt even got the job last year with how middling Lethbridge has been is beyond me. Last year, granted there was less talented available, he picked a team that left off Cristall, Firkus, Goyette etc that couldn’t score. But why he was brought back as GM this year is an even bigger mystery. No accountability. Some have suggested that he has an intertwined relationship with Salmond due to family ties to Lethbridge, but we’ll never know what role that plays.


3. Management bringing Dave Cameron back for this particular age group is a strange choice. This is an age group that is filled to the brim with talent, and Cameron is better suited to coaching a team like 2011 where there are fewer high end players available and he gets a physical buy in from everyone. I believe you should pick the coach based on the talent pool available, not the other way around. MacDougall would have been my pick

ROSTER SELECTION


1. I don’t I know why, but going away from a 40 man camp is stupid. There is zero sense in picking a team when you don’t have the best players in front of you vying to make the team. 30 man camp feels like the team has already been picked ahead of time and there are 5 guys there just to fill a sweater

2. What’s the point of even having a camp if they player that looked the best in it and had the most points in the u sports games, Sennecke, is cut


3. And finally the biggest issue; philosophy. Anholt, Salmond, Cameron, Murray and whoever else seem to want to build a team to play the 2012 Los Angeles Kings in the first round; that is simply not how best on best hockey works. You could make a legitimate claim that there are 8 to 10 players (Parekh, Yakemchuk, Misa, Sennecke, Greentree, Cristall, Iginla, Boisvert, Hage, Lardis) that were left off this team that would transform the stagnant bottom 6 into 2 lines of all out attack. Granted, there is a risk as I have mentioned before of taking players like Cristall, but it is clear that those concerns are pushed aside when a team cant score


COACHING

1. I am not going to blame the individual players, they are teenagers and didn’t select themselves for this roster, but Cameron’s refusal to go away from Howe and Bonk on the power play is confusing at best incompetent at worst.

2. Dump and chase instead of possession on zone entries seems to be a directive from the coaching staff. Even with all the cuts, Canada should still have the ability to centre drive of have some sort of controlled zone entry creating depth in attack




Overall this loss is bad, but it’s not a deathblow; they can still finish first and have a chance to redeem themselves against the USA. But as we’ve all been saying here, this team will ride or die with the performance of the top 6 and Schaefer, and tonight the top 6 was stagnant and Schaefer left the game early, so that’s what it gives

 

[MrCreamm]

McKenna and Ritchie are the two guys who could carry this team together with a guy like Dickinson probably being able to make the most impact on D now that Schaefer may be done.

I like how they pick Dave Cameron considering he doesn't really seem like much of a winner as a head coach looking at his history. Also as a Flames fan I've seen how he ran the powerplay with the notorious Brouwerplay and in general just bad coaching at the NHL level imo. This is still apparent with Bonk and Howe on the PP.... Dickinson runs Londons PP not Bonk and is putting up staggering numbers.

The roster could definitely be better, but I think suboptimal coaching really bites Canada in the back, this year and last. This roster is definitely better than last years and George/Ivankovic is better than Rousseau and co last year.

My main concern is that Dave Cameron won't adapt the play of Canada and stick to his "system". This isn't the NHL playoffs, the WJC are normally very high scoring, especially in the early games. Canada has the talent to score but the coach needs to figure out how to get the offence going, this still isn't a roster that should struggle to score even if there were better scoring players that they mistakenly cut...

 

[Barrie22]

Cowan should not be anywhere near the top 6 of this team, it was the same issue last year with him that is happening this year.

 

[Kalv]

I understand being upset you didn’t make it but you still gotta support your country. Not a good look here from Zane and Misa or for Team Canada for that matter.

I'd suggest to not read much into liking a game report on social media.

 

[scotian1]

Team QMJHL or Latvia was well deserving of their win but it certainly highlighted several issues for Canada. Lack of pure goal scorers. ( the Canadian attempts in the shoot out were just pitiful) lack of discipline, and a terrible powerplay. I can't believe whoever thought approaching the goaltender on a shootout at a speed like you are carrying a piano on your back is a good way to beat a goalie.

 

[Crosby2010]

Team QMJHL or Latvia was well deserving of their win but it certainly highlighted several issues for Canada. Lack of pure goal scorers. ( the Canadian attempts in the shoot out were just pitiful) lack of discipline, and a terrible powerplay. I can't believe whoever thought approaching the goaltender on a shootout at a speed like you are carrying a piano on your back is a good way to beat a goalie.

One player in NHL history could do that, and he's 59 years old so he can't play in this tournament. It's Mario obviously. He did it to toy with the goalies more or less and wait for them to bite. Sorry kids, none of you are Mario. Stop pretending you are.

 

[Crosby2010]

I have to say, what in the name of Arthurs Irbe was that trash last night? I don't know if you can recover from that. Canada never did in 2006 in the Olympics when losing to the Swiss. You come out early and hard. Have a 4-0 lead by the 1st intermission. 0-0 after 20 minutes? What? And they played like they were asleep in the 1st period. Only in overtime did they play like Team Canada. Lots of good chances and plenty of high quality opportunities. Where was this for 60 minutes? They may have racked up 56 shots, but it was the worst quality of shots I've seen for that amount. No power play, it may as well not have even happened. And the shootout. Come on guys. 7 shooters couldn't beat him. McKenna, what on earth are you doing? You practically took a shot from the blue line at him (I'm exaggerating of course). Why do players do this? Can anyone remember the 1998 Olympics? Who was the best in the shootout? Lindros. Why? Because he did what you are supposed to do, he came skating in fast and hard straight at Hasek. Hasek had no choice but to back up and he threw him off and basically beat Hasek like a rented mule but hit the post. Hasek was lying on his back defeated and didn't even realize the puck had NOT gone in. Not a single player skated in like this. Instead they gave the Latvian goalie all the time in the world to read their play. They deserved to lose. They should be ashamed of this. And Dave Cameron should never have been standing behind a bench like this especially after 2011.

I hate to say that I now know what the Latvian national anthem sounds like. Never thought it would be after a game against us on our home turf. Embarrassing. But what is more embarrassing I think is when the U.S. pounds the Latvians 9-0.

 

[Duffy13]

My neck of the woods seems to produce the exact same coaches over and over again. MacLean, gallant, Cameron, Kelly.... Same stupid old school philosophy, same team make up, same result. Unwilling to change on the fly, stubborn to a fault. Every team PEI coach has been hired on nepotism and never on merit, mainly because it doesn't matter as we never win anything anyways due to small population. But somehow this fools others into thinking that there's a good coach there when a team actually does something.... And there's nothing ever there, the provincial coaches are shit, always have been, always will be. Cameron is probably the worst high profile coach to come off this island, just awful.

Dig ol Jamie Kennedy out of retirement if you want to see a guy motivate or inspire a team.

 

[JackSlater]

I actually fell asleep for the last 10 mins (jet lag and all having only arrived back in Canada 2 days ago lol)

The normal participants of this thread are probably already well aware of my gripes with this team, so I’ll start with a top down approach


MANAGEMENT


1. Scott Salmond should not be involved in team selection. His reign as the quasi chairman of Canada’s youth teams has not gone well, and given the level of talent available over the last 15 years, 5 gold medals is not a good return

2. How on earth Peter Anholt even got the job last year with how middling Lethbridge has been is beyond me. Last year, granted there was less talented available, he picked a team that left off Cristall, Firkus, Goyette etc that couldn’t score. But why he was brought back as GM this year is an even bigger mystery. No accountability. Some have suggested that he has an intertwined relationship with Salmond due to family ties to Lethbridge, but we’ll never know what role that plays.


3. Management bringing Dave Cameron back for this particular age group is a strange choice. This is an age group that is filled to the brim with talent, and Cameron is better suited to coaching a team like 2011 where there are fewer high end players available and he gets a physical buy in from everyone. I believe you should pick the coach based on the talent pool available, not the other way around. MacDougall would have been my pick

ROSTER SELECTION


1. I don’t I know why, but going away from a 40 man camp is stupid. There is zero sense in picking a team when you don’t have the best players in front of you vying to make the team. 30 man camp feels like the team has already been picked ahead of time and there are 5 guys there just to fill a sweater

2. What’s the point of even having a camp if they player that looked the best in it and had the most points in the u sports games, Sennecke, is cut


3. And finally the biggest issue; philosophy. Anholt, Salmond, Cameron, Murray and whoever else seem to want to build a team to play the 2012 Los Angeles Kings in the first round; that is simply not how best on best hockey works. You could make a legitimate claim that there are 8 to 10 players (Parekh, Yakemchuk, Misa, Sennecke, Greentree, Cristall, Iginla, Boisvert, Hage, Lardis) that were left off this team that would transform the stagnant bottom 6 into 2 lines of all out attack. Granted, there is a risk as I have mentioned before of taking players like Cristall, but it is clear that those concerns are pushed aside when a team cant score


COACHING

1. I am not going to blame the individual players, they are teenagers and didn’t select themselves for this roster, but Cameron’s refusal to go away from Howe and Bonk on the power play is confusing at best incompetent at worst.

2. Dump and chase instead of possession on zone entries seems to be a directive from the coaching staff. Even with all the cuts, Canada should still have the ability to centre drive of have some sort of controlled zone entry creating depth in attack




Overall this loss is bad, but it’s not a deathblow; they can still finish first and have a chance to redeem themselves against the USA. But as we’ve all been saying here, this team will ride or die with the performance of the top 6 and Schaefer, and tonight the top 6 was stagnant and Schaefer left the game early, so that’s what it gives

Salmond has needed to go for a long time, but the Anholt choice continues to be perplexing and unacceptable. The guy has won nothing in junior hockey (spare me the Hlinka where Canada nearly wins by default) and presided over a shambolic team last year - he should be gone. These teams should be built by people who have demonstrated that they can win in junior hockey.

Scott Wheeler actually is willing to correctly criticize this team where TSN won't (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6006859/2024/12/27/canada-latvia-world-juniors-2025/) and you can see that the Hockey Canada braintrust just doesn't get it. Anholt proudly emphasizing that he really knows the players this year, Walker flying out to meet Molendyk and Yager and emphasize that they need to set a higher standard. Here is what they need to do - pick better teams you dopes. 2024 was not an overly talented group, but 2025 is. Pick your elite talent and then throw in a couple of high end role players, don't pick half a team of role players. Pick coaches who have had a lot of success in their junior leagues, not dumbasses like Letang. Don't pick Cameron to coach a group of players that projects to make a team that is nothing like what Cameron likes. Hold an actual camp because guess what.... you aren't smart enough to know what the team should be before all the players come together.

Anyway going forward for this team, which is not yet a lost cause, some changes need to be made. I'd say that the defence should stay mostly the same, though Dickinson needs to move up with Schaefer likely out. The structure has been fine at even strength. The forwards need changes. Ritchie has probably been the best forward on the team and Cowan has played pretty well, but Nadeau has added little to nothing on the top line. He should be dropped to Yager's line to give Yager someone to play with, especially a playmaker since Yager is probably the most assertive forward, along with Cowan, when it comes to being willing to take a shot from a threatening area. Rhkopf should not have been scratched to start with, so it's time to scratch Cataford and utilize Rehkopf's much needed skillset. I have no issue with how Pinelli has played but McKenna and Catton need someone with some size who can also open up some space for them. Something along the lines of:

Rehkopf Ritchie Cowan
McKenna Catton Martone
Nadeau Yager Pinelli
LW Luchanko RW

Should be tried. The power play drastically needs to be overhauled as we all know. Bonk needs to be gone. Molendyk for unit 1 and Dickinson, who has yet t show much yet I must admit, on unit 2. Rehkopf rather than Nadeau, and Howe gone. Unit two hasn't scored but it at least makes sense on paper.

I don't think the team is a write off yet but changes are in order and the result should not distract from the clear flaws in the Hockey Canada process. Most people in this thread are correct, though I am sure that there is mindless cheerleading and hand wringing about people rightly complaining from a poster of two who were rightly ignored years ago. It is unfortunate when fans are more reliable than the people put in charge to make these teams, but that is the case for Canada at the junior level most times.

 

[Crosby2010]

My neck of the woods seems to produce the exact same coaches over and over again. MacLean, gallant, Cameron, Kelly.... Same stupid old school philosophy, same team make up, same result. Unwilling to change on the fly, stubborn to a fault. Every team PEI coach has been hired on nepotism and never on merit, mainly because it doesn't matter as we never win anything anyways due to small population. But somehow this fools others into thinking that there's a good coach there when a team actually does something.... And there's nothing ever there, the provincial coaches are shit, always have been, always will be. Cameron is probably the worst high profile coach to come off this island, just awful.

Dig ol Jamie Kennedy out of retirement if you want to see a guy motivate or inspire a team.

I can remember 2011. Cameron's choke job has NEVER been forgotten. In that game he had a 3-0 lead going into the third period. Can you imagine telling someone that Canada was going to lose that game entering the third period. Not only that but they'd lose in regulation, and not only that but they'd lose by multiple goals and that none of them would be empty netters. I can remember him calling a time out when the game was tied 3-3. Ummm, no, call it after the first or second goal. Calm your team down. Don't do it when the game is tied and the horse is out of the barn already. And it is his bland look that bugs me too. That cowardly look, those glasses, ugh. It all bugs me about him.

 

[jj cale]

As for the true Canadian fans and not the Canadian posters who only come here when Canada loses...

The game thread last night was 5 times worse.

Let me start out by complimenting fans from any and all other countries last night who could have piled on with a passion but really didn't, it was very quiet from them and they mostly just commented on the game and enjoyed the drama, nothing wrong with that But About 70% of the CANADIAN FANS were complete assholes, and mostly from a group who you never or rarely see.

I, we, all get it and we get it well by now.................Cameron and his staff went with selections with a particular type of team in mind that was questionable and which isn't looking very smart right now. To top it off his decisions on deployment of what they brought here isn't looking any better and probably worse. Add to that he couldn't settle those guys down last night and seemed to be coming apart at the seams himself and it's not a pretty sight. There is nothing wrong with critiscizing that, as Canadian fans we are just born to do that when it comes to hockey and it's reasonable as fans for us to say our peace especially when we have legitimate points.

But last night went beyond that, you had a boatload of Canadian posters who are never here ( even for the wins) doing nothing but flooding the thread with what was nothing less then glee at that disaster unfolding last night. I mean a couple were actively cheering against the team and almost had an orgasm when Latvia tied it up 2-2,it was embarrassing and quite frankly...............disgusting. It was something to behold and if we do manage to somehow turn this thing around and actually win I hope not a single one of those twits takes any satisfaction out of it because quite frankly they don't deserve it.

I could be wrong but I doubt it...........I don't think you would see fans from any other country here behave in that sort of manner if their team was in that position in that situation. Be angry and comment on player selection? sure. make disparaging comments about players play? sure, Hate on the coaching staff? sure. But actively cheer against your own team and do nothing but try to take endless potshots at a certain player on the team because of what NHL club they f***ing play on?....................I don't think so. I mean, that must be only Canadian fans that could possibly engage in that sort of childish foolishness, at least from what I have witnessed here. No way would fans from other countries stoop to something so low as to actively cheer against their own country and especially t because some poor kid happens to be a prospect for so and so in the national hockey league.

f***ing nauseating and as a Canadian fan........embarrassing.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm not abandoning this team, in fact I'm going to get behind them more then ever now after witnessing the behaviour of so many morons in that Thread last night. At this point I am hoping they can just get back to playing their game and have a gutsy all in performance on New Years eve against the U.S and win or lose and can start to feel good about themselves and go from there. All these kids don't have to be spending their Christmas at this thing playing in some f***ing hockey tournament but they grow up dreaming of playing in it and want to make us proud. I think some people last night forgot that.

What disappoints me is this year I have to get behind the team not because of us against them ...........but because of us against us.

And that should never be.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

The game thread last night was 5 times worse.

Let me start out by complimenting fans from any and all other countries last night who could have piled on with a passion but really didn't, it was very quiet from them and they mostly just commented on the game and enjoyed the drama, nothing wrong with that But About 70% of the CANADIAN FANS were complete assholes, and mostly from a group who you never or rarely see.

I, we, all get it and we get it well by now.................Cameron and his staff went with selections with a particular type of team in mind that was questionable and which isn't looking very smart right now. To top it off his decisions on deployment of what they brought here isn't looking any better and probably worse. Add to that he couldn't settle those guys down last night and seemed to be coming apart at the seams himself and it's not a pretty sight. There is nothing wrong with critiscizing that, as Canadian fans we are just born to do that when it comes to hockey and it's reasonable as fans for us to say our peace especially when we have legitimate points.

But last night went beyond that, you had a boatload of Canadian posters who are never here ( even for the wins) doing nothing but flooding the thread with what was nothing less then glee at that disaster unfolding last night. I mean a couple were actively cheering against the team and almost had an orgasm when Latvia tied it up 2-2,it was embarrassing and quite frankly...............disgusting. It was something to behold and if we do manage to somehow turn this thing around and actually win I hope not a single one of those twits takes any satisfaction out of it because quite frankly they don't deserve it.

I could be wrong but I doubt it...........I don't think you would see fans from any other country here behave in that sort of manner if their team was in that position in that situation. Be angry and comment on player selection? sure. make disparaging comments about players play? sure, Hate on the coaching staff? sure. But actively cheer against your own team and do nothing but try to take endless potshots at a certain player on the team because of what NHL club they f***ing play on?....................I don't think so. I mean, that must be only Canadian fans that could possibly engage in that sort of childish foolishness, at least from what I have witnessed here. No way would fans from other countries stoop to something so low as to actively cheer against their own country and especially t because some poor kid happens to be a prospect for so and so in the national hockey league.

f***ing nauseating and as a Canadian fan........embarrassing.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm not abandoning this team, in fact I'm going to get behind them more then ever now after witnessing the behaviour of so many morons in that Thread last night. At this point I am hoping they can just get back to playing their game and have a gutsy all in performance on New Years eve against the U.S and win or lose and can start to feel good about themselves and go from there. All these kids don't have to be spending their Christmas at this thing playing in some f***ing hockey tournament but they grow up dreaming of playing in it and want to make us proud. I think some people last night forgot that.

What disappoints me is this year I have to get behind the team not because of us against them ...........but because of us against us.

And that should never be.

Great post. Agree with everything you said completely.

 

[bobber]

Salmond has needed to go for a long time, but the Anholt choice continues to be perplexing and unacceptable. The guy has won nothing in junior hockey (spare me the Hlinka where Canada nearly wins by default) and presided over a shambolic team last year - he should be gone. These teams should be built by people who have demonstrated that they can win in junior hockey.

Scott Wheeler actually is willing to correctly criticize this team where TSN won't (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6006859/2024/12/27/canada-latvia-world-juniors-2025/) and you can see that the Hockey Canada braintrust just doesn't get it. Anholt proudly emphasizing that he really knows the players this year, Walker flying out to meet Molendyk and Yager and emphasize that they need to set a higher standard. Here is what they need to do - pick better teams you dopes. 2024 was not an overly talented group, but 2025 is. Pick your elite talent and then throw in a couple of high end role players, don't pick half a team of role players. Pick coaches who have had a lot of success in their junior leagues, not dumbasses like Letang. Don't pick Cameron to coach a group of players that projects to make a team that is nothing like what Cameron likes. Hold an actual camp because guess what.... you aren't smart enough to know what the team should be before all the players come together.

Anyway going forward for this team, which is not yet a lost cause, some changes need to be made. I'd say that the defence should stay mostly the same, though Dickinson needs to move up with Schaefer likely out. The structure has been fine at even strength. The forwards need changes. Ritchie has probably been the best forward on the team and Cowan has played pretty well, but Nadeau has added little to nothing on the top line. He should be dropped to Yager's line to give Yager someone to play with, especially a playmaker since Yager is probably the most assertive forward, along with Cowan, when it comes to being willing to take a shot from a threatening area. Rhkopf should not have been scratched to start with, so it's time to scratch Cataford and utilize Rehkopf's much needed skillset. I have no issue with how Pinelli has played but McKenna and Catton need someone with some size who can also open up some space for them. Something along the lines of:

Rehkopf Ritchie Cowan
McKenna Catton Martone
Nadeau Yager Pinelli
LW Luchanko RW

Should be tried. The power play drastically needs to be overhauled as we all know. Bonk needs to be gone. Molendyk for unit 1 and Dickinson, who has yet t show much yet I must admit, on unit 2. Rehkopf rather than Nadeau, and Howe gone. Unit two hasn't scored but it at least makes sense on paper.

I don't think the team is a write off yet but changes are in order and the result should not distract from the clear flaws in the Hockey Canada process. Most people in this thread are correct, though I am sure that there is mindless cheerleading and hand wringing about people rightly complaining from a poster of two who were rightly ignored years ago. It is unfortunate when fans are more reliable than the people put in charge to make these teams, but that is the case for Canada at the junior level most times.

If only Canada had a player like Rehkopf that has scored 72 goals in his past 87 games. He sits in the stands.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Any word on Schaefer yet?
To me it seems the team was really lacking any leadership/organization after he went down. Like they are all waiting for someone to take that role. I've been disappointed in what I've seen from Dickenson compared to what I had expected. We'll need guys like him to step up.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

There is a lot of talent on the team...they simply aren't being used well, and to their strengths.

We can still win gold, but it's going to be one hell of a lot harder than it needs to be, and a lot more potential pitfalls along the way.

 

[DougBodger]

Team Canada has built their team like the Buffalo Sabres.

Tons of focus on the bottom six while the top 6 is an afterthought.

 

[Crosby2010]

The game thread last night was 5 times worse.

Let me start out by complimenting fans from any and all other countries last night who could have piled on with a passion but really didn't, it was very quiet from them and they mostly just commented on the game and enjoyed the drama, nothing wrong with that But About 70% of the CANADIAN FANS were complete assholes, and mostly from a group who you never or rarely see.

I, we, all get it and we get it well by now.................Cameron and his staff went with selections with a particular type of team in mind that was questionable and which isn't looking very smart right now. To top it off his decisions on deployment of what they brought here isn't looking any better and probably worse. Add to that he couldn't settle those guys down last night and seemed to be coming apart at the seams himself and it's not a pretty sight. There is nothing wrong with critiscizing that, as Canadian fans we are just born to do that when it comes to hockey and it's reasonable as fans for us to say our peace especially when we have legitimate points.

But last night went beyond that, you had a boatload of Canadian posters who are never here ( even for the wins) doing nothing but flooding the thread with what was nothing less then glee at that disaster unfolding last night. I mean a couple were actively cheering against the team and almost had an orgasm when Latvia tied it up 2-2,it was embarrassing and quite frankly...............disgusting. It was something to behold and if we do manage to somehow turn this thing around and actually win I hope not a single one of those twits takes any satisfaction out of it because quite frankly they don't deserve it.

I could be wrong but I doubt it...........I don't think you would see fans from any other country here behave in that sort of manner if their team was in that position in that situation. Be angry and comment on player selection? sure. make disparaging comments about players play? sure, Hate on the coaching staff? sure. But actively cheer against your own team and do nothing but try to take endless potshots at a certain player on the team because of what NHL club they f***ing play on?....................I don't think so. I mean, that must be only Canadian fans that could possibly engage in that sort of childish foolishness, at least from what I have witnessed here. No way would fans from other countries stoop to something so low as to actively cheer against their own country and especially t because some poor kid happens to be a prospect for so and so in the national hockey league.

f***ing nauseating and as a Canadian fan........embarrassing.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm not abandoning this team, in fact I'm going to get behind them more then ever now after witnessing the behaviour of so many morons in that Thread last night. At this point I am hoping they can just get back to playing their game and have a gutsy all in performance on New Years eve against the U.S and win or lose and can start to feel good about themselves and go from there. All these kids don't have to be spending their Christmas at this thing playing in some f***ing hockey tournament but they grow up dreaming of playing in it and want to make us proud. I think some people last night forgot that.

What disappoints me is this year I have to get behind the team not because of us against them ...........but because of us against us.

And that should never be.

I agree, never actively cheer against them. Not even out of spite. I had my arms folded from about the 2nd period onwards with a permanent frown on my face. Even when we scored I didn't even flinch. 1-0 doesn't impress me against Latvia. I am very critical about the team, will still be happy if they win, but have tons of skepticism if this can happen because losing to a team like this in your own home rink is a mental strain on your team that I am not sure teenagers can overcome. And we all know Cameron can't overcome anything as a coach, so I am not sure where they start from here. I also get sick of Canadians on here saying "Wow I am so happy for Latvia". Say what? We basically lost to the equivalent of our little sister beating us in a sport. And then had to stand there and hear our little sister sing her favourite song (eg. the Latvian anthem) on our home turf. How can any Canadian have enjoyed that? Obviously kudos to Latvia, they did what they did, but I don't care about that, it is about our team and their shameful display that allowed this to happen. I thought falling asleep and seeing it with a new lens would be different, but it isn't. It was Latvia we lost to. Latvia. I can't make sense of it. From the top down this team was selected poorly. Too many top draft picks not even INVITED to the selection camp. Many having great years too. Hockey Canada just drives me nuts. Basically Canada should never lose this tournament. Heck, they should barely lose a game. We have so much talent to choose from. Years ago it was making sure there were enough QMJHL players selected when some of them don't deserve it. You don't need a DEI mandate to pick Team Canada. Just pick the best guys. And we are seeing the fruits of what happens when you don't pick the best guys and leave them at home.

There is a lot of talent on the team...they simply aren't being used well, and to their strengths.

We can still win gold, but it's going to be one hell of a lot harder than it needs to be, and a lot more potential pitfalls along the way.

Shocklingly, we can still win first in our division and get the easy quarterfinal. Or easier QF at least.

 

[Coffee]

This team is not winning gold or silver

 

[DJB]

 

[waitin425]

Let's move on to 2026. This team is trash.

Luchanko - McKenna - Martone
Catton - Misa - Sennecke
Iginla - Hage - Greentree
Beaudoin - Desnoyers - Boisvert

Schaefer - Parekh
Dickinson - Mews
Aitchison - Dupont

 

[jj cale]

I agree, never actively cheer against them. Not even out of spite. I had my arms folded from about the 2nd period onwards with a permanent frown on my face. Even when we scored I didn't even flinch. 1-0 doesn't impress me against Latvia. I am very critical about the team, will still be happy if they win, but have tons of skepticism if this can happen because losing to a team like this in your own home rink is a mental strain on your team that I am not sure teenagers can overcome. And we all know Cameron can't overcome anything as a coach, so I am not sure where they start from here. I also get sick of Canadians on here saying "Wow I am so happy for Latvia". Say what? We basically lost to the equivalent of our little sister beating us in a sport. And then had to stand there and hear our little sister sing her favourite song (eg. the Latvian anthem) on our home turf. How can any Canadian have enjoyed that? Obviously kudos to Latvia, they did what they did, but I don't care about that, it is about our team and their shameful display that allowed this to happen. I thought falling asleep and seeing it with a new lens would be different, but it isn't. It was Latvia we lost to. Latvia. I can't make sense of it. From the top down this team was selected poorly. Too many top draft picks not even INVITED to the selection camp. Many having great years too. Hockey Canada just drives me nuts. Basically Canada should never lose this tournament. Heck, they should barely lose a game. We have so much talent to choose from. Years ago it was making sure there were enough QMJHL players selected when some of them don't deserve it. You don't need a DEI mandate to pick Team Canada. Just pick the best guys. And we are seeing the fruits of what happens when you don't pick the best guys and leave them at home.

As fans we have legitimate gripes about player selection, etc, I get it, but at this point it's now redundant for us to go on ad nauseam about it, the players here are the players here and we have no choice but to do the best with what we have or just put our heads in our hands, endlessly complain and go " woe is me" and just give up.

The choice is ours, let's make the right one. But to see some of our fans actively cheer against our team, well..........................that's out of line.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

There's a lot of questions to be asked on who got left off the roster but there's also some on how the roster is being used.

Martone and Rehkopf have both been fantastic together and one is scratched while the other barely plays. How isn't this a line?

Let's move on to 2026. This team is trash.

Luchanko - McKenna - Martone
Catton - Misa - Sennecke
Iginla - Hage - Greentree
Beaudoin - Desnoyers - Boisvert

Schaefer - Parekh
Dickinson - Mews
Aitchison - Dupont

Parekh / Misa are probably not getting a call after liking that IG post.

It's petty but I'd be stunned if they get a look now.

 

[waitin425]

There's a lot of questions to be asked on who got left off the roster but there's also some on how the roster is being used.

Martone and Rehkopf have both been fantastic together and one is scratched while the other barely plays. How isn't this a line?


Parekh / Misa are probably not getting a call after liking that IG post.

It's petty but I'd be stunned if they get a look now.

What IG post? missed it.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

What IG post? missed it.

I understand being upset you didn’t make it but you still gotta support your country. Not a good look here from Zane and Misa or for Team Canada for that matter.