Are we in Canada paranoid about 2026 or should we not be worried?

[centipede2233]

As a Leaf fan, I am aware that Marner has yet to have that impact in the postseason. He isn't horrible, but a player of his skill you expect him to carry a team in a series or two by now. So I get it. But can you imagine him feeding someone like MacKinnon passes? Marner is a classic puck carrier, one who drives the play. I have always felt he drives the play more than Matthews and have always liked him more than Matthews. But just think of the options he'd have on this team. I think we need those types of guys on the ice as much as possible. The ones who control the pace of the game. That's a hard find.



And to top it all off, Canada has had some of their goalies fall off a cliff. Jarry and Kuemper come to mind as goalies who most recently were thought to be solid picks on the team. Blackwood is in the middle of nowhere on San Jose and has never played a playoff game in his life. And one of the better picks in Hart is now facing criminal charges in court for the alleged sexual assault. Hart would have been a good choice before all of this went down. But not now.

It’s def slim pickins, Logan thompson and daccord have been playing the best out of Canadian goalies along with Talbot. I don’t see Armstrong leaving binnington off

 

[ORRFForever]

ORRFF Stats Watch (November 27, 2024)

Positives :

* Braydon Point with his 13th,14th and 15th Goal - Point is on fire!

* Brad Marchand with his 7th and 8th Goal - Marchand is heating up.

* Macklin Celebrini with his 7th Goal !

* Connor Bedard with his 4th Goal - Chicago had 6 goals, tonight, and I was hoping for more points for young Mr. Bedard.

* Sam Bennett with his 10th Goal and 11th Assist.
* Dylan Strome with his 7th Goal and 24th Assist.
* Carter Verhaeghe with his 6th Goal and 11th/12th Assist.

* Sam Reinhart with his 17th Goal.
* Matt Duchene with his 12th Goal.
* Mitch Marner with his 9th Goal.
* Nick Suzuki with his 8th Goal.
* Tom Wilson with his 7th Goal.
* Dylan Holloway with his 5th and 6th Goal.
* Seth Jarvis with his 6th Goal.
* Connor Zary with his 5th Goal.
* Taylor Hall with his 3rd, 4th and 5th Goal.
* Robert Thomas with only his 2nd Goal.

* Travis Konecny with his 16th Assist.
* Sid with his 14th / 15th Assist.
* Alex Pietrangelo with his 13th Assist.
* Brandt Clarke with his 12th Assist.
* MacKenzie Weegar with his 10th Assist.
* Will Cuylle with his 9th Assist.
* Wyatt Johnston with his 9th Assist.
* Mason McTavish is finally back with his 7th Assist.
* Adam Fantilli with his 7th Assist.
* Kent Johnson with his 6th Assist.
* Jake Neighbours with his 4th Assist.

Goalies :

* Jordan Binnington (St L) with the shutout (32) shots in the win over the NJD.
* Cam Talbot (Det) gave up 1 Goal / 25 Shots in the win over Calgary.
* Spencer Martin (Car) gave up 3 Goals / 24 Shots in the win over the NYR.
* Tristan Jarry (Pitts) gave up 4 Goals / 29 Shots in the win over Vancouver.
* Joey Daccord (Seattle) gave up 5 Goals / 33 Shots in the loss to Anaheim.
* Adin Hill (Vegas) gave up 1 Goal / 34 Shots.
* MacKenzie Blackwood (SJ) gave up 4 Goals / 11 Shots in loss to Ottawa.

Disappointments :

* Shane Wright with his 3rd Assist.
* Quinton Byfield!

 

[Mathieukferland]

15th Goal

 

[ORRFForever]

As per TSN, Adin Hill and Jordan Binnington will be 2 of Canada's 3 goalies.

How was Point assigned that Goal?

 

[Mathieukferland]

How was Point assigned that Goal?

Because he was the last one to touch it

 

[Nucks2001]

I would NOT HAVE Adin Hill near Team Canada right now. That being said, anything can CHANGE 2 months from now. Disappointed that Talbot and Thompson were not considered over Hill because they’ve both been RIDICULOUSLY good to start the year. Management probably wanted the Stanley Cup experience.

 

[ORRFForever]

As per TSN, Adin Hill and Jordan Binnington will be 2 of Canada's 3 goalies.

My Guess : Daccord is being considered for the 3rd goalie - Canada is just trying to qualify him.

If Daccord played for Canada at the 4 Nations Event, would he be locked into Canada under IIHF?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Because he was the last one to touch it

NHL is too generous with some of these classifications. In other sports they’d just list it as an own goal.

 

[HFpapi]

Will Celebrini be able to work himself into the Olympic discussion?

Team Canada is notoriously conservative when it comes to taking young talent over proven vets but he's apparently looked amazing. (I'm living in Europe now so can't pretend to be catching west coast games).

Scoring at a 40+ goal clip and solid 200 foot player.

By next season he might be too good to overlook.

 

[Nucks2001]

Will Celebrini be able to work himself into the Olympic discussion?

Team Canada is notoriously conservative when it comes to taking young talent over proven vets but he's apparently looked amazing. (I'm living in Europe now so can't pretend to be catching west coast games).

Scoring at a 40+ goal clip and solid 200 foot player.

By next season he might be too good to overlook.

Just depends on the management group. 1998 and 2006 teams certainly prioritized vets and grit over skill. The 2002 and 2010 teams prioritized the kiddies. If Celebrini keeps this up, I don’t think anyone should question him being on the 2026 team

 

[Crosby2010]

NHL is too generous with some of these classifications. In other sports they’d just list it as an own goal.

It isn't as if that happens all of the time. It is a rare feat where a team puts it into their own net. That being said, the last player to touch the puck still caused it to happen in an indirect way. Perry Berezan is credited with the Steve Smith goal in 1986 simply because he shot it in behind the net. Smith retrieved it, got a little nervous with Lanny McDonald bearing down on him (he wasn't really that close to him) and inadvertently shot the puck off of Fuhr's leg into the net. Still, none of it happens if Berezan doesn't dump it in. It isn't as if you can score 50 goals a season that way. And Point is a 50-goal scorer so it isn't as if he needs charity.

Will Celebrini be able to work himself into the Olympic discussion?

Team Canada is notoriously conservative when it comes to taking young talent over proven vets but he's apparently looked amazing. (I'm living in Europe now so can't pretend to be catching west coast games).

Scoring at a 40+ goal clip and solid 200 foot player.

By next season he might be too good to overlook.

You never know. He really has to have a strong rookie season and then a flaming start to the season next year. I'd say Bedard has a better chance just because he is one year older, even though Bedard has struggled this year. I am just trying to see how a guy who has played 1.5 years of hockey (by then) can be better than a 25-30 year old. And if so where do you put him? Left wing would be my pick if they put him on the team, or maybe even as a 13th forward. I mean, Lafreniere may not even make the team and he's 23.

I am just trying to think historically who has been on Team Canada with 1.5 years of NHL experience or less. Dryden, Martin and Dionne from the 1972 team although the two latter never played and Dryden was 25 years old by then. No one on the 1976 team, the best bet would have been Trottier getting in there after his rookie season. No one on the 1981 team. Yzerman on the 1984 team but with a limited role and that was a young team too. Hextall on the 1987 team but he was the back up and didn't play. Lindros on the 1991 team and had never played an NHL game yet and fit right in. No one on the 1996 team. No one on the 1998 team. No one on the 2002 team. No one on the 2004 team. No one on the 2006 team, Crosby would have thrived if he was picked I think. Doughty on the 2010 team. Zero on the 2014 team. No one on the 2016 team. Just one guy in this century - Doughty - and he's going to the HHOF and in that season he was a 2nd team all-star. So it is slim pickings over a span of 50 years. It has happened, but even then rarely was the player even playing much. Doughty, Lindros and Dryden basically. Yzerman I have no idea why he made the 1984 team. Hawerchuk and Savard would have made more sense at that time, Yzerman just came off his rookie season, which was a good one, but he wasn't Stevie Y yet. Maybe they felt he could play the wing better?

So it is most likely a "no" for Celebrini. Even myself wanting to see him be good enough to make it on the team I admit he has to do something pretty unique to start the season next year. We have guys like Scheifele who are on the bubble.

As I've said before, after EVERY Leaf playoff run that ends in disaster, posters say, "Marner is useless in big games. I don't want him anywhere near Team Canada". Then, in November, when Marner is on fire, those same forgetful posters want him on Team Canada. (Un)Fortunately, I don't forget. I know what he's like when the games are important.

I am willing to meet half way. Yes, he can be on my team but only on the 4th line - where he can play strong defensive, use his PK expertise and add some scoring.

I will say one thing for sure, Stamkos was always considered for Team Canada despite his less than stellar playoff portfolio. Rick Nash too. Nash always had that knack for being able to take over a full shift. And in general he played well for Canada too at the Worlds. But these guys weren't exactly clutch in the NHL and were regular forwards on Team Canada. I am thinking Marner definitely fits that bill.

 

[ORRFForever]

Will Celebrini be able to work himself into the Olympic discussion?

Team Canada is notoriously conservative when it comes to taking young talent over proven vets but he's apparently looked amazing. (I'm living in Europe now so can't pretend to be catching west coast games).

Scoring at a 40+ goal clip and solid 200 foot player.

By next season he might be too good to overlook.

Yes. It's gonna be a tough hill to climb. Hockey Canada loves their vets / known commodities.

NHL is too generous with some of these classifications. In other sports they’d just list it as an own goal.

It was a well deserved hat trick.

 

[ORRFForever]

...these guys weren't exactly clutch in the NHL and were regular forwards on Team Canada. I am thinking Marner definitely fits that bill.

Ha, ha. He sure does.

 

[dino200022]

We should be worried and rightfully so...

Everyone is catching up to the USA in basketball, everyone is catching up to the known commodities in Soccer. It was only a matter of time until others caught up to Canada in hockey.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

It isn't as if that happens all of the time. It is a rare feat where a team puts it into their own net. That being said, the last player to touch the puck still caused it to happen in an indirect way. Perry Berezan is credited with the Steve Smith goal in 1986 simply because he shot it in behind the net. Smith retrieved it, got a little nervous with Lanny McDonald bearing down on him (he wasn't really that close to him) and inadvertently shot the puck off of Fuhr's leg into the net. Still, none of it happens if Berezan doesn't dump it in. It isn't as if you can score 50 goals a season that way. And Point is a 50-goal scorer so it isn't as if he needs charity.

They even are too generous with assist classifications. They'll give you an assist if you touched the puck 15 seconds before the goal is scored after two players pass it back and forth to each other for a great goal, and you just so happened to be lucky enough to pass it to one of them 15 seconds ago.

 

[Crosby2010]

Ha, ha. He sure does.

He might surprise you in a tournament like this.

They even are too generous with assist classifications. They'll give you an assist if you touched the puck 15 seconds before the goal is scored after two players pass it back and forth to each other for a great goal, and you just so happened to be lucky enough to pass it to one of them 15 seconds ago.

Even then, that's a rare situation. Usually you are far more involved in the play that happened when you get an assist. They've done it like this for quite some time.

 

[JackSlater]

Just depends on the management group. 1998 and 2006 teams certainly prioritized vets and grit over skill. The 2002 and 2010 teams prioritized the kiddies. If Celebrini keeps this up, I don’t think anyone should question him being on the 2026 team

The 2002 Canadian Olympic team prioritized kids? The 2006 Olympic team was younger than the 2002 team. If I had to guess it was the 1981 Canada Cup team that was youngest among Canada's best on best teams.

They should give Celebrini consideration now in preparation for 2026.

 

[Nucks2001]

The 2002 Canadian Olympic team prioritized kids? The 2006 Olympic team was younger than the 2002 team. If I had to guess it was the 1981 Canada Cup team that was youngest among Canada's best on best teams.

They should give Celebrini consideration now in preparation for 2026.

They took the right kids in 2002. Taking jabs with Iginla and Gagne. The 2002 team might not have been The best example, as a lot of the older players were still productive and elite NHLers compared to 2006.

 

[JackSlater]

They took the right kids in 2002. Taking jabs with Iginla and Gagne. The 2002 team might not have been The best example, as a lot of the older players were still productive and elite NHLers compared to 2006.

It's just not accurate. Both times they took most of the best players. People always look to pinpoint the reason why one team lost or another won but other than 2006 most of those teams could have won or lost with a minor bounce here or there. Canada 1998 easily could have won that tournament, and Canada 2002 easily could have lost. The ages of the teams are facts though.

 

[ORRFForever]

He might surprise you in a tournament like this.

I hope he does. I would LOVE to be wrong.

No one would be happier than me to see Marner score the GMG winning goal.

 

[Crosby2010]

They took the right kids in 2002. Taking jabs with Iginla and Gagne. The 2002 team might not have been The best example, as a lot of the older players were still productive and elite NHLers compared to 2006.

I guess Gagne is the youngest there. He was 21 turning 22. Iginla was 24. Brewer was 22. This is when Thornton wasn't picked and he was 22 as well. I did a bit of checking because just by memory this was a well known team that has grisled veterans more than youth. There was the odd youngster, but it was a veteran laden team. 10 players over 30, 12 under 30. That's not a green team, and it wasn't Mario, Yzerman and Sakic were the core of that team, and the three leading scorers. 2004 was a much younger team and I think 2026 will be pretty young too. In comparison the 1984 Canada Cup team had just three players in their 30s. The rest were under 30.

They should give Celebrini consideration now in preparation for 2026.

I love him to be honest, thought he was stellar even in a losing defeat at the WJC last year. But you think he can make that team? That's going to be tough. They've got the scorers, what is left is who is going to fill in the role as checkers, but ones who can also score as well. I don't know if Celebrini fits that bill. He has to go on a torrid pace to be on that team. That's some serious competition and it would be Bedard who he might be competing against for that skilled youngster spot, if they have one.

 

[JackSlater]

I guess Gagne is the youngest there. He was 21 turning 22. Iginla was 24. Brewer was 22. This is when Thornton wasn't picked and he was 22 as well. I did a bit of checking because just by memory this was a well known team that has grisled veterans more than youth. There was the odd youngster, but it was a veteran laden team. 10 players over 30, 12 under 30. That's not a green team, and it wasn't Mario, Yzerman and Sakic were the core of that team, and the three leading scorers. 2004 was a much younger team and I think 2026 will be pretty young too. In comparison the 1984 Canada Cup team had just three players in their 30s. The rest were under 30.



I love him to be honest, thought he was stellar even in a losing defeat at the WJC last year. But you think he can make that team? That's going to be tough. They've got the scorers, what is left is who is going to fill in the role as checkers, but ones who can also score as well. I don't know if Celebrini fits that bill. He has to go on a torrid pace to be on that team. That's some serious competition and it would be Bedard who he might be competing against for that skilled youngster spot, if they have one.

I will be stunned if he makes the team, realistically there is very, very little to no chance. I would strongly consider it, but I am obviously not in the room discussing who makes the team. I would be comfortable with Celebrini as fourth line LW or 13th forward but I doubt that Sweeney and Armstrong agree.

 

[Crosby2010]

I will be stunned if he makes the team, realistically there is very, very little to no chance. I would strongly consider it, but I am obviously not in the room discussing who makes the team. I would be comfortable with Celebrini as fourth line LW or 13th forward but I doubt that Sweeney and Armstrong agree.

Yeah you might be onto something. Slim chance, but a chance if he blows the doors off. Put him with a talented centre and he might do alright. Youth is a big deal in a short tournament like this but so is experience of course. Where is that fine line? If, let's say, he ends up winning the Calder this year, close to a PPG. Then comes out flying at a 100 point pace early next year. He'd get some consideration, not only in the room but amongst the fans/media. Then again, the sophomore jinx can be real, just ask Bedard. He was once thought to be a guy we assumed makes the 2026 team.

 

[ORRFForever]

ORRFF Stats Watch (November 29, 2024)

Positives :

* Macklin Celebrini with his 8th Goal and 5th Assist.

* Adam Fantilli with his 4th and 5th Goal.

* Shane Wright with his 3th and 4th Goal.

* Connor McMichael with his 8th / 9th / 10th Assist.

* Connor McDavid with his 12th Goal and 18 Assist.
* Mason Marchment with his 8th / 9th Goal / 14th Assist.
* Dylan Strome with his 8th Goal and 25th / 26th Assist.
* Dylan Cozens with his 5th Goal and 5th Assist.

* Sam Reinhart with his 18th Goal.
* Brayden Point with his 16th Goal.
* Travis Konecny with his 12th / 13th Goal.
* Sam Bennett with his 11th Goal.
* Brandon Hagel with his 10th Goal.
* Anthony Cirelli with his 10th Goal.
* Brett Howden with his 9th / 10th Goal.
* Tom Wilson with his 8th / 9th Goal.
* Seth Jarvis with his 7th Goal.
* Carter Verhaeghe with his 7th Goal.
* Jake DeBrusk with his 7th Goal.
* Kent Johnson with his 5th Goal.
* Cole Perfetti with his 5th / 6th Goal.
* Bowen Byram with his 4th Goal.
* Philip Tomasino with his 1st Goal.

* Nathan MacKinnon with his 29th Assist.
* Cale Makar with his 23rd Assist.
* Josh Morrisey with his 19th / 20th Assist.
* Shea Theodore with his 17th Assist.
* Sid with his 16th Assist.
* Matt Duchene with his 15th Assist.
* Chandler Stephenson with his 13th / 14th Assist.
* Connor Bedard with his 13th Assist.
* Brandt Clarke with his 13th Assist.
* Evan Bouchard with his 10th / 11th Assist.
* Aaron Ekblad with his 10th / 11th Assist.
* Will Cuylle with his 10th Assist.
* Cole Sillinger with his 10th Assist.
* Wyatt Johnston with his 10th Assist.
* Zach Benson with his 2nd and 3rd Assist.

Goalies :

* Logan Thompson (Wash) gave up 4 Goals / 24 Shots in the win over the NYI.
* MAF (Chicago) gave up 2 Goals / 22 Shots in the win over Chicago.
* Tristan Jarry (Pitts) gave up 1 Goal / 33 Shots in the win against Boston.
* Adin Hill (Vegas) gave up 3 Goals / 25 Shots in the win over Winnipeg.
* Cam Talbot (Det) gave up 5 Goals / 30 Shots in the loss to the NJD.
* Spencer Martin (Car) gave up 5 Goals / 29 Shots in the loss to Florida.
* Eric Comrie (Win) gave up 4 Goals / 31 Shots in the loss to vs Vegas.
* Calvin Pickard (Edm) gave up 3 Goals / 31 shots in the O.T. win over Utah.

Negatives :

* Quinton Byfield !

**********************************************************

My ever changing lineup...

Hagel - McDavid* - Point *

Duchene* - MacKinnon - Reinhart

Marchand - Crosby* - Konecny

Bennett - Scheifele* - Marner / Stone

I keep trying to move Mitch Marner UP but I just can't do it.

 

[ORRFForever]

I love him to be honest, thought he was stellar even in a losing defeat at the WJC last year. But you think he can make that team? That's going to be tough. They've got the scorers, what is left is who is going to fill in the role as checkers, but ones who can also score as well. I don't know if Celebrini fits that bill. He has to go on a torrid pace to be on that team. That's some serious competition and it would be Bedard who he might be competing against for that skilled youngster spot, if they have one.

If Brad Marchand continues to slow, Macklin Celebrini would do well on Sid's left side.

Of course, he's much too young. There are just so many high end Canadian forwards, H.C. can't just add Celebrini because we'd all love to see it.