WJC: 2025 Team Canada Roster Talk

[Mitch nylander]

I'm with you on a lot of this but you don't put Ritchie in the bumper position on the powerplay. That is literally getting rid of his biggest strength in that he is an unreal passer. Cowan being left handed on the left side also gets rid of a one timer being a possibility there, swap the 2 and it could work. I don't know if Cowan's playstyle works in the bumper position either though. But Ritchie should be a given to be on that wall for the first power play unit as the best right handed forward in my opinion.

Agreed

 

[RedHawkDown]

C'mon this is such a trite comment. Define "most of the best"? Are you saying the majority of the top players in junior hockey dont deserve to be there?

Which ones?

I get that a few of the top young players did not make the team. And obviously a few of your favourite prospects. But most of the best implies there are at least a dozen better players - maybe more - than are on the current roster. That is a huge reach.

It’s not hard to argue.

Misa.
Greentree.
Parekh.
Cristall.
Yakemchuk.
Sennecke.
Iginla.
Wood.

That’s 8 guys off the top of my head. All the forwards are better than the entire bottom 6 of current TC. In fact a team made up of the guys who were cut + other U20 Canadian junior players Would probably destroy the actual team Canada.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

It’s not hard to argue.

Misa.
Greentree.
Parekh.
Cristall.
Yakemchuk.
Sennecke.
Iginla.
Wood.

That’s 8 guys off the top of my head. All the forwards are better than the entire bottom 6 of current TC. In fact a team made up of the guys who were cut + other U20 Canadian junior players Would probably destroy the actual team Canada.

Okay now we’re just being stupid.

A team made out of the guys that were cut wouldn’t be close to as good. The two big D that were left off is stupid, makers them a notably worse team and could hurt them in this tournament.

Forwards wise. Apart from Hage being left off which is a stupid political decision. And Iginla being hurt. The rest of the forwards along with another 10 guys could all be argued for but IMO opinion aren’t big needle movers compared to who they brought.

 

[Woodrow]

It’s not hard to argue.

Misa.
Greentree.
Parekh.
Cristall.
Yakemchuk.
Sennecke.
Iginla.
Wood.

That’s 8 guys off the top of my head. All the forwards are better than the entire bottom 6 of current TC. In fact a team made up of the guys who were cut + other U20 Canadian junior players Would probably destroy the actual team Canada.

Iginla is out for the season after he had hip surgery but ya Canada left a lot of firepower at home.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

It’s not hard to argue.

Misa.
Greentree.
Parekh.
Cristall.
Yakemchuk.
Sennecke.
Iginla.
Wood.

That’s 8 guys off the top of my head. All the forwards are better than the entire bottom 6 of current TC. In fact a team made up of the guys who were cut + other U20 Canadian junior players Would probably destroy the actual team Canada.

I think this is a bit much tbh. You are never going to take a team full of 17 and 18 year olds to this tournament and win. Some of those players should have been there though without a doubt.

 

[Mathieukferland]

It’s not hard to argue.

Misa.
Greentree.
Parekh.
Cristall.
Yakemchuk.
Sennecke.
Iginla.
Wood.

That’s 8 guys off the top of my head. All the forwards are better than the entire bottom 6 of current TC. In fact a team made up of the guys who were cut + other U20 Canadian junior players Would probably destroy the actual team Canada.

I would add Boisvert, maybe we don’t get to see him as much at home since he left for the states but he’s a point a game in the NCAA as an 18 year old, good skater big body that scored and hits, similar player to Jake Neighbours. Would have been great on a fourth line

 

[Captain3rdLine]

The biggest forward left out is Hage. That’s the usual political leave off.

Iginla is also hurt FYI for the people that keep bringing him up.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

The biggest forward left out is Hage. That’s the usual political leave off.

Iginla is also hurt FYI for the people that keep bringing him up.

It is not...it is Sennecke or Cristall lol

 

[Mathieukferland]

Iginla is also hurt FYI for the people that keep bringing him up.

He opted for surgery after he didn’t get invited for the team, if he was invited he would be playing

 

[Captain3rdLine]

He opted for surgery after he didn’t get invited for the team, if he was invited he would be playing

I highly highly doubt this. Surgery or not is an extremely important long-term decision. There is no way he’s left off if fully healthy especially with his last name. 0 chance

It is not...it is Sennecke or Cristall lol

Disagree. Sennecke is massively overrated and Cristall just isn’t at all as good as Hage

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I highly highly doubt this. Surgery or not is an extremely important long-term decision. There is no way he’s left off if fully healthy especially with his last name. 0 chance


Disagree. Sennecke is massively overrated and Cristall just isn’t at all as good as Hage

Well I completely disagree with you on both.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Well I completely disagree with you on both.

Well you’re entitled to your opinion.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

That is quite possible but the coaching staff isn't really handcuffed. First off it doesn't really matter if they piss off the current Carolina regime, and second you can still give him good minutes and some PP time even with a shake up. But the forwards clearly do need a shake up. The team should be rolling a top nine at this point with Luchanko's line out there to give the others a rest.

It is good that Schaefer hurt his collarbone rather than his shoulder. Better recovery there long term. He will be missed on the team but these things happen. It is kond of annoying that Canada lost one of its top two defencemen this year and two of its top four last year. Unless they are planning to add an offensive defenceman right now, which is unlikely, they should just formally add Rehkopf and get him on the ice tomorrow.

I don’t disagree that the forward lines need some sort of shakeup, but my suspicion is that it won’t involve Nadeau. I think Nadeau will be stapled to Ritchie’s wing for the duration of the tournament. For the record, I think Nadeau alongside Yager makes a lot of sense.

 

[Heldig]

It’s not hard to argue.

Misa.
Greentree.
Parekh.
Cristall.
Yakemchuk.
Sennecke.
Iginla.
Wood.

That’s 8 guys off the top of my head. All the forwards are better than the entire bottom 6 of current TC. In fact a team made up of the guys who were cut + other U20 Canadian junior players Would probably destroy the actual team Canada.

Replacing the bottom 6 is not what you stated though. You said "most of the best players" were left off. So the top 6 are among the best players then, right?

And saying "all are better", are you going strictly by points? Other top point getters were also left off the team.

I do not know why Misa or Cristall or Sennecke did not make the cut. They could be a great line.

 

[Leviathan899]

Cameron "Not much more we could have done other then maybe score" just amazing stuff right there.

This is publicly available information or just anecdotal?

anecdotal but well known around the OHL community and in the GTHL circles, where I was around a lot during his Markham Majors season, plus had buddies with kids on his team there in Markham. Hi family is everything that’s wrong with hockey these days, obscenely rich and overly hands on. His dad tried to buy the Windsor Spitfires some years back, and forced the team to draft Parekh’s two older brothers, neither of were OHL worthy, at all. His comments about Jett Luchanko at the draft last year are just a microcosm of what he’s like as a person. Classless and rude.

 

[Leviathan899]

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

Excellent post man, well done. This is what I love about this forum, educated criticism and fairness. I respect your views as I know you’re not too reactionary and you see the big picture. What I despise about this tournament is the outright abuse and hatred these kids and their families get on SM from those who couldn’t even tell you what junior team they play for. That stuff drives me nuts and ruins the event for me. Even worse are the NHL team fans, of say Ottawa and Calgary who put their club team above all else and their analysis is clouded by that.

 

[RedHawkDown]

The guys I listed are the best players on their teams playing in junior leagues full of 19 and 20 year olds, but sure, they couldn’t hang with the 19 year olds Latvian national team lmao.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

The guys I listed are the best players on their teams playing in junior leagues full of 19 and 20 year olds, but sure, they couldn’t hang with the 19 year olds Latvian national team lmao.

I mean...the guys on the team are also the best players on their teams in the junior league lol

 

[Holtbyisms]

Well you’re entitled to your opinion.

I agree with his opinion too, you're off by a mile.

 

[JackSlater]

During the intermission of the current USA Latvia game, McKenzie and Masters suggested that Rehkopf will be in the lineup tomorrow, which is good. McKenzie also suggested that they are thinking about Dickinson at the top of PP1 and Bonk in the bumper spot on PP1, though nothing set in stone. While at least that is where Bonk usually plays, I feel like just maybe Canada could use an offensively talented forward there.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I agree with his opinion too, you're off by a mile.

lol thanks for your opinion too.

During the intermission of the current USA Latvia game, McKenzie and Masters suggested that Rehkopf will be in the lineup tomorrow, which is good. McKenzie also suggested that they are thinking about Dickinson at the top of PP1 and Bonk in the bumper spot on PP1, though nothing set in stone. While at least that is where Bonk usually plays, I feel like just maybe Canada could use an offensively talented forward there.

I don’t think that position needs to a forward as Bonk seems pretty good there. Just need to be able to read the play, get open, make quick decisions, and get good shots off mostly.

Normally it would be a forward though and there’s lots of options there. They do seem to have a weird hard on for Bonk. Wonder if the last name is doing him some favours. Hockey Canada is always sure to have lots of politics involved in their decision making.

 

[JackSlater]

lol thanks for your opinion too.


I don’t think that position needs to a forward as Bonk seems pretty good there. Just need to be able to read the play, get open, make quick decisions, and get good shots off mostly.

Normally it would be a forward though and there’s lots of options there. They do seem to have a weird hard on for Bonk. Wonder if the last name is doing him some favours.

Yeah I agree that it may work, and I hope it does. There are a lot of quality forwards there though. Would make more sense to me to have Bonk in the bumper on the second unit so that there are two defencemen on the ice at the end of most power plays.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Latvians aren't exactly wilting against the Americans. I know everyone is going up and down the Canadian team....but it seems like this Latvian team might just be a lot better then anyone gave them any credit for as well.

 

[JackSlater]

Latvians aren't exactly wilting against the Americans. I know everyone is going up and down the Canadian team....but it seems like this Latvian team might just be a lot better then anyone gave them any credit for as well.

I'm pretty shocked that they looked as good as they did coming off last night. It was closer than the four goal margin would indicate, with Latvia hitting a few posts and having a few other near chances, and the shots were pretty close for most of the game. Credit to Latvia again. Still far from a team that Canada should lose to or look uninspiring against, but definitely a step up from the very worst teams in the tournament.

 

[End on a Hinote]

Was hoping for at least a close USA-Latvia game should the US won.

It was 5-1.

We're cooked.