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Around the League 2016:World Cup Edition

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deeshamrock said:
NOt to him. Grit over finish was their model and it won't work in today's game. Too much speed and skill. t Tyler Johnson for one, should have been on this team. Okposo, Justin Faulk, I'd take over Dubinsky and Jack Johnson. I'd take Yandle over Johnson. Kessell wasn't considered, (and hand surgery would have displaced him) but he wasn't on their list.

Most of the other teams built on skill, 3 scoring lines. USA has 2, a checking line and a traditional NHL 4th line. If that top line doesn't produce, they are in trouble. NOt enough skill deep.
Look at Canada's 4th ine, which has Thorton and Duschene on it...that's better than US's 3 rd line.


Dean Lombardi cited (and patterned ) this team after the 1996 team, which was in different time, the game has changed, the USA mindset for building the team should have as well.
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Not having Tyler Johnson and Faulk still baffles me. You've got to have some skill and finish on your team, and those guys provide that. Faulk would've looked good paired with Suter ( or even Shattenkirk). Antiquated is the perfect word to describe the way the US team is built. That worries me as a Kings fan, it shows DL's vision has been left in the dust and is now obsolete.
 
deeshamrock said:
Dean Lombardi is not a split personality, this team is what he considered (and has said so) what he feels it takes to win. NHL , WC or Olympics , his mindset doesn't change. This is not an experiment for him, it is what he felt was the best. But his model doesn't work in tournaments like this. And it won't work next year or going forward. Hockey tends to be cyclical. and its trending in the speed and skill direction. And that is not his mindset, he'll stick with his model, and go down with ship.
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for him it's a huge difference. with lak he is building something entirely different. it's a different animal.

lak is not designed to play speed and skill. it's very difficult to add it to the team, even barely or like a spice. with lak he'll stick with what he's got, and just try to upgrade. with usa he doesn't have to think about such problems. for him, usa team is a tabula rasa, an oportunity to try something that he cannot do with lak.

true, mindset = winning, but circumstances define the method.
 
What I hope that Dean gets from this tournament is that this system is not gonna work and it also wont work for the Kings anymore.
 
I gotta saying it was interesting reading comments from the main boards about Quick being terrible when their top guys were playing like trash.
 
Lombardi put together a US team that was intended to play a physical, grinding style and passed on a number of puck movers in favor of the likes of Jack Johnson, Justin Abdelkader, David Backes, etc. These players have no business being in this tournament and the only time they should be playing for the US is at the World Championships.
 
Cruel11 said:
Kopi got over 23 minutes of ice time and 58% in faceoffs.
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kopi played a decent game. not special, just decent for his standards, hard work in defence, neutralizing usa impotent forwards. basically this is how team europe play: just try hard and don't get a goal, very tight defence, as the better defence will win. his time on ice is expected, with that roster. europe lacks depth in all directions, they'll struggle soon. and usa will win this tourney imo.
 
Dennis Seidenberg will have a contract by the end of the World Cup.

Wouldn't mind seeing him in a Kings jersey, sadly no room for him.
 
In a nut shell, the USA hung Quick out to dry , with by my count , 7 out numbered attacks, and the team played a very soft game. And Kane , just like in Sochi tried to do it all by himself and cost them a goal. Now the US has to win the next two games or they're out.
 
deeshamrock said:
Dean Lombardi is not a split personality, this team is what he considered (and has said so) what he feels it takes to win. NHL , WC or Olympics , his mindset doesn't change. This is not an experiment for him, it is what he felt was the best. But his model doesn't work in tournaments like this. And it won't work next year or going forward. Hockey tends to be cyclical. and its trending in the speed and skill direction. And that is not his mindset, he'll stick with his model, and go down with ship.
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Hockey has had speed and skill in it since the game was created, that is not some new revolution.

Even if Lombardi added a little more skill like you suggested, team USA is still a weak team compared to Euro/Canada.

The USA has weak center depth, weak wingers(outside of Kane), and Above avg defenders. There is still not enough talent in the USA to compete with the rest of the world in These tournaments.

Did people already forget the Bronze medal game ? USA is no match for these international teams.
 
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Lombardi also can't just add all kinds of speed/skill to the Kings.

They have to draft it, and develop it, Cause none of it makes UFA, and everybody wants it/keeps it.

It's also extremely hard to find in the late 2nd, 3rd-7th rounds, where the Kings have been drafting.
 
damacles1156 said:
Lombardi also can't just add all kinds of speed/skill to the Kings.

They have to draft it, and develop it, Cause none of it makes it UFA, and everybody wants it.
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That's what I appreciate about our team.

Skill on skill, the team with more raw skill wins. Without a host of top-5 picks, you're eventually going to run dry on that.

Having other elements--call them intangibles, grit, whatever--allows you to overcome that in other ways.

It drives us batty sometimes, but we're not winning pond hockey vs. many other teams, and we don't have a ton of assets to transform into that kind of team overnight, either. You can make a case for finding a Jamie Benn later on, but that's a lightning strike, not a blueprint, you know?

Not saying that I disagree at all with the folks that want to get faster or 'better,' though. I just think these guys are measuring that vs. the identity of a current "King. "
 
Raccoon Jesus said:
That's what I appreciate about our team.

Skill on skill, the team with more raw skill wins. Without a host of top-5 picks, you're eventually going to run dry on that.

Having other elements--call them intangibles, grit, whatever--allows you to overcome that in other ways.

It drives us batty sometimes, but we're not winning pond hockey vs. many other teams, and we don't have a ton of assets to transform into that kind of team overnight, either. You can make a case for finding a Jamie Benn later on, but that's a lightning strike, not a blueprint, you know?

Not saying that I disagree at all with the folks that want to get faster or 'better,' though. I just think these guys are measuring that vs. the identity of a current "King. "
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Everybody wants their roster faster, with more skill, Including Lombardi/Sutter. The Kings have to do a better job drafting, then they have the past four years or so.

I am all for the Kings to move into a more (Open) system, with speed/skill type players. But I understand what it takes to get there, you might as well rebuild the Kings.
 
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Puck movement, what was once considered a team strength, was one of the biggest issues last season. That's why historically they've struggled against teams who apply pressure aggressively, like the Blackhawks, Sharks and Ducks.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Puck movement, what was once considered a team strength, was one of the biggest issues last season. That's why historically they've struggled against teams who apply pressure aggressively, like the Blackhawks, Sharks and Ducks.
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Still haven't replaced Mitchell/Slava, who both could move the puck effectively.

Mitchell was really underrated in the puck moving department. His first pass was always darn good.
 
deeshamrock said:
Dean Lombardi is not a split personality, this team is what he considered (and has said so) what he feels it takes to win. NHL , WC or Olympics , his mindset doesn't change. This is not an experiment for him, it is what he felt was the best. But his model doesn't work in tournaments like this. And it won't work next year or going forward. Hockey tends to be cyclical. and its trending in the speed and skill direction. And that is not his mindset, he'll stick with his model, and go down with ship.
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Why jump on the current bandwagon then? That cycle can be year to year as easily as chunks of years at a time.
 
I noticed Gaborik more in that us team europe game than i have in a long time. His skating and defense was the best i ve seen him play. If he can stay healthy and play like he did that game I can see him getting 30 goals this year.
 
Who else thinks the biggest problem with the US team was leaving Brown off? He's just the heart and soul of that team.


:laugh: ok... I can't keep a straight face after saying that.
 
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