A guy few mention, but I wish played for Canada.

[kurt]

Brendan Shannahan. Discuss.

Personally, I think this guy epitomizes Canadian hockey. His grit, character, heart, skill, and determination are all qualities that team Canada looks for. With Yzerman and Lemieux out of the picture, I really think he could have added a lot of leadership.

On another note, some pairings that may have added to the total lack of offensive chemistry:
Spezza/Heatley
St Louis/Richards/Lecavalier (Why didn't they play together? )
Thornton/Cheechoo
Tanguay/Sakic
Kariya/Sullivan

Obviously you couldn't have all of these guys on the roster at once, but taking a chance on one of the pairs could have really helped at least one of the lines click.

Click to read more...

 

[Big Phil]

No Shanny looked slow at the '02 Olympics even then. Good career but he's past his prime. The one guy I miss that people forget is Kariya. I know its easy to say after the games are over but he's a guy who's speed would have really benefitted on the big ice again.

 

[Zaddik]

tanguay should have been on there. way too underrated.

 

[Dig Out Your Soul]

I've mentioned Shanahan in the last few days. I thought he looked re-vitalized this year and is scoring at a decent pace (better than Iginla if I'm not mistaken).

 

[Habsruleen]

I like the guy, but I can't imagine how slow he would have looked. Like Thornton-slow. I kid, I kid.

 

[Hedberg]

tanguay should have been on there. way too underrated.

Yes. Him and Kariya would have added way more speed

 

[Olly2]

Mistakes were made, however

It is my belief that certain players should not have been selected. We sent too much size and not enough shifty players. Players like Kariya, Tanguay, Staal and Marleau should have been on the team. They are all having career years and were better suited for the large ice surface.

Draper, Bertuzzi, and Doan should not have been selected. Simply put, they are not having as good a year as others. Another name that should be added to this list is Iginla, not only is he not playing as well as others, he didn't go the World Championships during the lockout.

On Defense, we brought too much size and not enough passing and skating ability.

When Niedermayer and Jovo were forced out because of injury, Foote and McCabe should have been told that they Team Canada needed to rearrange the pairing and that they no longer fit into the plans.

Boyle, Phaneuf, and Bouwmeeter should have replaced been obvious choices. Other guys that should have been given consideration on that ice surface are Dan Hamhuis, Marc-Andre Bergeron, and Brian Campbell. Puck moving guys with great skating abilities.

All that being said losing at the Olympics does not bother me. I understand that we cannot always win. Just as the US has not always won in Basketball, or Brazil has not always won Soccer's World Cup.

What bother's me is the lack of style and technical abilities we demonstrated at the games. The whole world was watching and we fell on our face. To have one bad game is one thing, but we player bad most of the time.

They should not be ashamed, because the effort was evident, unfortunately we were outsmarted by the other countries.

 

[shawn_kemp*]

All that being said losing at the Olympics does not bother me. I understand that we cannot always win. Just as the US has not always won in Basketball, or Brazil has not always won Soccer's World Cup.

I don't think you can say that Canada is the Brazil of hockey or the USA of basketball. I'm not trying to bash anyone here, but look : Nagano=4th, Salt Lake=1st, Torino=7th. Average position=4.

Now compare that to the Czechs : Nagano=1st, Salt Lake=6th, Torino=4th in the worst case. Average position in the worst case=3.67.

Russia : Nagano=2nd, Salt Lake=3rd, Torino=4th in the worst case. Average position in the worst case=3.

Now how is Canada the best in hockey if there are at least 2 countries ahead in the 3 top tournaments in hockey?

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

I don't think you can say that Canada is the Brazil of hockey or the USA of basketball. I'm not trying to bash anyone here, but look : Nagano=4th, Salt Lake=1st, Torino=7th. Average position=4.

Now compare that to the Czechs : Nagano=1st, Salt Lake=5th, Torino=4th in the worst case. Average position in the worst case=3.33.

Russia : Nagano=2nd, Salt Lake=3rd, Torino=4th in the worst case. Average position in the worst case=3.

Now how is Canada the best in hockey if there are at least 2 countries ahead in the 3 top tournaments in hockey?

Not trying to argue, but....

1) You should have included finishes in the World Cup of Hockey in your rankings.

2) How come the Czech Republic is ranked 5th for the Salt Lake City Olympics, but Canada is ranked 7th for the Torino Olympics? Both teams went out in the Quarterfinals, thus they should have the same rankings for comparison sakes. With Canada being ranked 5th at the Torino Olympics, their average position is 3.33.

 

[Stephen]

How about Mike Fisher? That guy plays hard like he's trying to make the team, but he's also deceptively talented in his own way. He would have been a much better fit that a pure grinder like Kris Draper, and he would have been better than a small and weak pure offensive player like Martin St. Louis.

 

[Dig Out Your Soul]

Why is Canada placed 7th in Torino? Is that a guess or is there a real reason?

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

Why is Canada placed 7th in Torino? Is that a guess or is there a real reason?

That is what I was wondering.

How come Canada is placed 7th for Torino, yet the Czech Republic is placed 5th for Salt Lake City?

They both went out in the Quarterfinals in each respective tournament.

 

[Geese_Howard*]

canada didnt consider speed and olympic size ice. but whats done is done... ifs woulda coulda shoulda.

 

[shawn_kemp*]

My mistake, the Czechs finished 6th, behind Sweden, because they take into account each team's record.

Canada finished 7th behind Slovakia and Switzerland. I don't have a link, but I've heard it on TV more than once. We'll have the official IIHF rankings after the end of the tourney anyways.

 

[Gallagbi]

Makes sense since we were the third seed on our side.