Yet it's not "a mistake" to think that your opinion is shared by the majority of European fans or whatever you mean by that when you say Europeans. Interesting.
Olympics: Bettman hints NHL won't play in 2018 and 2022
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Yet it's not "a mistake" to think that your opinion is shared by the majority of European fans or whatever you mean by that when you say Europeans. Interesting.
Yet it's not "a mistake" to think that your opinion is shared by the majority of European fans or whatever you mean by that when you say Europeans. Interesting.
Exactly, I'm a European, living in Europe and I don't agree with most of what he says. I think when he refers to Europeans he mostly means Russian fans.
Which fans are he mistaken about? The german ones? Obviously not all translates over to Swedish fans, but there's absolutely 0 hype about the tournament here. I would say people are indifferent at best. The Finns seem to be on the same track.
You missed my point! Figuratively, you are taking a grain of sand and envisioning it as the Himalayas. You can't take individual games that are won by a score of 2-1 or 1-0 and build universal placement order based on what whimsically could have gone either way. Russia was terrible in Vancouver, but that was a case of horrible goaltending that has been since fixed. Canada showed a minimal offense in Sochi because their focus was 100 percent sitting back in their own zone and playing defense, Finnish style. That tournament could have gone any number of different ways!
Note: I inadvertently responded to Post No. 303, when I intended to respond to 302
Who said that Russia was "supposed to win" in Sochi? That was just a straw man set up by Canadian posters. Ultimately, the guys wearing the stripes who decided who wins and who loses were all Canadians - except for a few Americans. So its really irrelevant which country hosted the tournament. Realistically, the only team that has a chance to beat Canada is probably the United States, not because they have a great hockey team, but because their countrymen are the only other ones who wear the black stripes!!
habsrule4eva3089
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Canada had the puck 90% of the 60 minutes in each of their games. Their forecheck was relentess, the neutral zone was impossible to go through and then if you made it through you had to face the greatest d corps in the modern era.
They were not focused on sitting back 100% of the time, they implemented a plan that was the best of both worlds. If you watch a Mike Babcock team you know they play the game as if it's tied at each moment, and that means attack, attack, attack. He's the World's greatest coach for a reason. The Tournament was not going to go any other way unless the Bolshoi Ice dome just collasped and took away Canada's Gold medal.
Russia was not terrible in Vancouver, that was the greatest team they will have in terms of Olympic teams for a long time as the present youngsters will in no way match the top players of that squad. If you honestly think goaltending was the reason they lost against Canada you did not watch the game. Nabokov was the reason a 4-1 first period was only that, it could have gone to double figures if he was not present. Does it break your heart that much to say Canada was superior in every facet of the game that day. How can you say goaltending is fixed when on any given day a player can have a bad day. Usually Canadians are hilarious when making excuses but your reasons for not accepting defeat are even more hilarious then our Canadian friends.
The statistic that you pulled out of your nether region about puck possession contradicts your point about Canada clogging up the neutral zone. Which is it - in possession of the puck nearly the whole the game or clogging up the neutral zone the whole game? It can't be both. If they had possession of the puck the whole game, and only scored 2 or 3 goals, then the obvious question is what the hell were they doing with the puck? Playing keep away in their own zone? Your thoughts aren't connected to anything!
Now that you mention it, I can see a lot of NHL refs growing up as little in kids in Ontario and Manitoba saying a prayer every night that Russia beats Canada in every competition so that their family and neighbors can be sad! Great point!it
So do you have evidence that Canadian refs fixed the sochi games or not?
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scotian1
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habsrule4eva3089
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I wish we all could have been with our friend poster Yakushev72 when Canada won Gold in 2010, and 2014, it must have been the worst moments of his Hockey fandom days which would have made for comedic gold for the rest of us lol.
Can you imagine if Canada wins in 2018, he might finally give up hope like most of other Russian posters that has since left this board on Russia ever winning Gold in this lifetime.
Until then every post will constitute
A) Canada has to win by multiple goals otherwise Gold doesn't count.
B) Canada would not have won in 2010 and 2014 if the referees were european, all calls were in favor of Canada even though in both instances Canada got called for more penalties
C) Canada didn't face Russia in 2014 so Gold should therefor be removed once more.
D) Canada clogged up the neutral zone, they are not allowed to do so if it has to count, they must just stand at the opposing blue line and hope for the best.
E) Canada's World Cup plan is a plot from Prime Minister Harper to convince the Canadian public that no one is close to Canada in Hockey when the results are already decided before the tournament. Referee's, public, and players all want Canada to win. I will NOT support this counting as a best on best tournament, but I will watch, and criticize once more that Canada waits in the neutral zone hoping to cause turnovers.
F) Until Canada wins at the World Championships, Canadian Hockey has no supremacy, only in that tournament do results matter.
And the post he will never let out.
G) Canadian Hockey is great, I am so jealous to be honest that Russia hasn't won Gold in the only tournament that matters and it will be over 25 years come Pyeongchang 2018, I wish Russian Hockey knew what it means to play defense, when will we have our own Drew Doughty. (Wiping tears)
Can you imagine if Canada wins in 2018, he might finally give up hope like most of other Russian posters that has since left this board on Russia ever winning Gold in this lifetime.
Until then every post will constitute
A) Canada has to win by multiple goals otherwise Gold doesn't count.
B) Canada would not have won in 2010 and 2014 if the referees were european, all calls were in favor of Canada even though in both instances Canada got called for more penalties
C) Canada didn't face Russia in 2014 so Gold should therefor be removed once more.
D) Canada clogged up the neutral zone, they are not allowed to do so if it has to count, they must just stand at the opposing blue line and hope for the best.
E) Canada's World Cup plan is a plot from Prime Minister Harper to convince the Canadian public that no one is close to Canada in Hockey when the results are already decided before the tournament. Referee's, public, and players all want Canada to win. I will NOT support this counting as a best on best tournament, but I will watch, and criticize once more that Canada waits in the neutral zone hoping to cause turnovers.
F) Until Canada wins at the World Championships, Canadian Hockey has no supremacy, only in that tournament do results matter.
And the post he will never let out.
G) Canadian Hockey is great, I am so jealous to be honest that Russia hasn't won Gold in the only tournament that matters and it will be over 25 years come Pyeongchang 2018, I wish Russian Hockey knew what it means to play defense, when will we have our own Drew Doughty. (Wiping tears)
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Jussi
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On the severely off-topic matter of reffing, while in general I'm opposed to best-on-best tournament games being officiated by refs from one of the countries playing in the game, I can't say that any of the medal round games were decided by a ref showing bias to his home country. The officiating in the finals in 2010 and 2014 was exemplary.
habsrule4eva3089
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Not only that, but so was 2006 by Paul Devorski, 1998 and 2002 by Bill McCreary, who also was the official in 2010.
These people are first and foremost PROFESSIONALS. It is their ''JOB'' to officiate the game fair and square. They have no right to choose sides while partaking in their employment. This matter of having other referees in the Olympics and World Cup is baffling. How can you match the standard of the best NHL referee's when you don't referee with the World's best players on the ice on a day to day basis. Do you know their tendencies, do you know when to let them play and when to call it. Hockey's a game of 5 on 5 first and foremost and the last 5 Olympics all with NHL players have been called perfectly, by NHL referees. Not Canadian, American, NHL referee's. It will never change thank goodness. Everyone who watches the World Championships knows how brutal the standard is with those IIHF officials.
Can you imagine even asking players from Europeans teams in the NHL that their games would be officiated by a non NHL referee in the Olympics or a World Cup, they'll freak out lol. Just as Swedish players did not care come the Gold Medal game, because they know, when push comes to shove, these people and first and foremost professionals. I understand in the sport of soccer there's lots of officiating scandals, but this is Hockey, there has never been any issue ever in an Olympics with officiating from NHL referees', and it will remain so unless changed for no reason. And that won't happen, as we know the NHL controls most of all of that in their participation agreement lol.
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habsrule4eva3089
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If China is awarded 2022, it's an unbelievable opportunity for the game to grow in the continent of Asia with the next two games likely to be held there. You know China will do anything in it's power to prove they can flourish in Winter Sports if they're given the rights to host, and that could finally mean a meaningful care into the grassroots side of things.
I don't think many Swedes were very upset about the reffing in the 2014 finals. The media tried to make somewhat big deal out of it, because let's face it, media likes to make big deals out of everything. But I can't remember many people being upset before or after the game.
1Gold Standard
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NHL referee Bill McCreary, officiated 2 Olympic GMGs, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this weekend. His professional reputation and that honor is infinitely more valuable to him than any Canadian victory on the international stage.
I officiate football and baseball. Have gone to clinics given by NFL officials and MLB umpires. Have exchanged emails with an NFL official who lives near me and is still very active with his old HS association. Most people do not realize the level of pride these guys have in what they do. The NHL officials would not have risen through the ranks without that pride. I do not believe for a second that an NHL official would ever favor Canada or the US over any team from Europe nor would they favor Canada over the US (or vice versa). If someone has evidence of an NHL official ever calling a game in a biased manner, I would love to see it. BTW, a missed call doesn't qualify. Remember, they do not have the benefit of replay, slow motion, or multiple angles. What looks like a penalty from one angle might not from the other. Happens all the time in my games in football. When they miss a call or get a call wrong, it does bother them.
Watch the tapes of the '84 and '87 Canada Cups. The OT game in '84 was refereed by Mike Noeth, a "professional" NHL referee from the US, and the final game in '87, refereed by Don Koharski, a "professional" NHL referee from Canada. In both games, the outcome was decided by a so-called professional NHL ref. You won't accept it as proof, because in fact there is no way to establish proof, since referees can influence the outcome of a game by making calls, or failing to make calls, and any call is "discretionary."
But the very fact that calls are discretionary is sufficient to bar homeboys from reffing games. The argument that you couldn't get refs from neutral countries to ref the games because homeboys are (unspecified) more professional is just plain BS, as everyone who advances the argument so well knows. If you grew up from boyhood cheering for your country to win, you can't be neutral in refereeing a game. It can't be done by a Russian, and it can't be done by an American or Canadian.
1Gold Standard
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has there been any speculating on when they would be announcing the specifics for the World Cup? All the main players are in Toronto for the HHOF induction ceremonies...
A report a few weeks back said that an official announcement regarding the World Cup will probably come in January.
The good news is that the latest reports point to a best-of-three final, allowing for another war like 1987 and 1996.
The bad news is that they still seem to be opting for one city (likely Toronto) to host the whole thing. I really liked the format of 1996 and 2004, with games on both sides of the Atlantic.
Games in Europe is an absolute requierement if it's going to have any sort of success over here.
Not surprising they wouldn't play in the Olympics. I think the nhl stands to make more money and have more control with a World Cup event
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