WJC: Canada 2018 Roster Talk

[MuzzaFuzza]

Makar-Foot been our 2 best D...

Clague is bang-on avg. Fabbro is not 100% Bean is Bean... Mete a decent guy vs garbage team but is over-rated vs good teams.

Hart is looking avg at Internatiional level... playing the TRAP in Everett give him insane stats

Is this the case? I don't watch WHL hockey and I was absolutely astounded at how much better his stats are than everyone else

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Would like to see Thomas with Batherson and McLeod with Raddysh for a change. All 4 players have more to give than we saw in this game.

 

[coolwood]

Is this the case? I don't watch WHL hockey and I was absolutely astounded at how much better his stats are than everyone else

you don't get those kind of stats just from playing a certain style. I've thought Hart has looked good. Today the first goal was a guy known for his shot being left wide open in the slot with all the time in the world off the post and in. The second was a cross crease on the power play. the third was a centering pass to Tkachuk with Fabbro just watching. Aside from those goals he's looked good IMO.

the shootout is definitely something kind of dissapointing but i think that (and this is just a very short observation with little evidence) Hart isn't built for a skills competition. He doesn't have the greatest reflexes or other "skill" attributes. Hart is built for actual gameplay, he's got great angles and positioning, great rebound control and a great head, all these matter a lot less in a skills competiton

 

[Dodospice]

After watching Canada play for 3 games, we haven’t learned anything we didn’t know coming into the tournament (except maybe that Ducharme really is ride or die by his guys).

The team is going to struggle to score at 5 on 5 since they lack the dominant players that other countries have, I was criticized by some for saying this before the tournament but it’s obvious when watching the games that the best forwards on Canada can’t match up with the best forwards on other countries. The power play has been a saving grace but if you can’t score at 5 on 5 it’s tough to win games.

The defence should be a strength but with Fabbro/Clague clearly banged up (their 2 best defenceman if healthy), Mete looking average at best in my opinion.. I didn’t expect him to dominate but I thought he’d be a little better, Bean being what he is and Ducharme’s decision to not play Makar more, the defence isn’t at the level I expected coming in. Foote and Timmins have looked good but Foote’s lack of foot speed can be obvious at times, at one point today I thought he was skating in quick sand but I’ll give him a pass since no one outside of Casey Mittelstadt/Brady Tkachuk and Carter Hart looked good in that game.

Hart has looked great in the games and Point looked good in his game. Goaltending was always going to be a strength and nothing has swayed that.

Canada looks to be just another contender, like I expected. Finland hasn’t been as good as I thought they’d be and Russia hasn’t looked great either but they’re both always threats, I haven’t seen anything from any of those 3 teams that separates them from one another. The US and Sweden look to be the best teams, even with the US loss to Slovakia, the US is going to have a tougher road to a gold medal but I think those 2 teams are the best teams in each pool. The Czech’s have sneaky potential to upset a team in the QF, they’ve got the high end forwards that can take over games and really good goalies, after having watched them play, I would not want to face them in the QF.

 

[bossram]

Seems like this year has to be one of the (if not the) absolute worst managed and coached U20 teams for Canada in recent memory.. Coaching decisions are very bad (not playing Makar for some crazy reason).

They leave some premium talent at home (Glass and Suzuki not making it is inexcusable if we're being real) and the grinders they decide to bring, completely unsurprisingly, take some terrible penalties and it costs them in a key game.

Team Canada strategy, rinse, repeat.

How the hell does a team Canada at any international event have, maaaaaybe, the 3rd best forward group? Seriously.

 

[1Gold Standard]

well, I'm certainly glad that I boycotted that nonsense yesterday. not even going to comment on the event, I'll just take my morning coffee and work on the Team Canada 2018 WHC team.

 

[JackSlater]

I'm a bit surprised by people wanting to break up the lines or criticize Mete based primarily on the last game. The game against USA was played in a ridiculous context that the team will never play in again. In terms of individual performance there is almost nothing to take from the game. Ducharme should keep rolling the lines for Canada and he should play Makar more. Other than that, Canada has two presumably easy games to figure out what needs to be done.

 

[Isaac Nootin]

Some real hot takes in this thread about a game that would've been better off played with shovels.

What a mess that ice was.

 

[jj cale]

That type of defenceman is a thing of the past unfourtunately. Players are taught at a young age these days that dmen need to put up offensive numbers to be successful.

It seems the closest thing to a pure shutdown guy in juniors are good two way dmen. Hell the Norris has basically become the defensive Art Ross these days.

Having said all that, Canada's downfall the last few years and where we seem to sorely lack has been team selection and coaching. I'm not saying that we won't win this year (especially being that we've all but clinched first) but, especially from the coaching angle, it does seem we are running into another year of a guy who can't see what's plainly in front of him and is giving minutes to guys who don't appear to be deserving of said minutes rather than the guys who are playing well now.

Spott was awful, Lowry was awful, and Ducharme, while better than those two, still relies too heavily on "his guys" rather than the guys who seem like they have played their way to more earned minutes.

What they failed to do yesterday is so elementary though, they were just laying back trying to keep things to the outside instead of being aggressive and pinning guys to the wall and battling for the puck..........they really should not be a thing of the past, it is basic hockey.

It is incredibly frustrating to watch them compete in that manner in big games against the U.S and they do it in pressure situations far too often these days against them, I don't know what gives.

And after watching this U.S team in 3 games now you can see they are a very beatable team, they are an o.k team but aside from a dangerous guy or two they have sent better teams to this thing the last few years, this ain't no juggernaut at all they have here and if we would just play hockey the way we should play against them there is no question we can beat them.

A missed opportunity yesterday and they have no one to blame but themselves, that game should have been ours if they had only not laid back.

Incredibly frustrating.

 

[Ivan13]

The only potential superstar on the team plays the least, makes perfect sense.

 

[jj cale]

I'm a bit surprised by people wanting to break up the lines or criticize Mete based primarily on the last game. The game against USA was played in a ridiculous context that the team will never play in again. In terms of individual performance there is almost nothing to take from the game. Ducharme should keep rolling the lines for Canada and he should play Makar more. Other than that, Canada has two presumably easy games to figure out what needs to be done.

Taking the body hard and competing harder for pucks against pressing teams would be a start. enough of this wussy lay back and wait for the opponents next move crap.......................engage them aggressively.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

The most frustrating thing is seeing how the Slovaks actually played the Americans with more balls then we did. They were constantly on them on the forecheck and took it to them physically and for whatever reason we just sat back and let the game come to us. The good thing is that this isn't really that big of a deal and hopefully this team learns their lesson and moves on stronger from here out. Lock up first tonight and hope to get revenge later in the tournament.

 

[jj cale]

The most frustrating thing is seeing how the Slovaks actually played the Americans with more balls then we did. They were constantly on them on the forecheck and took it to them physically and for whatever reason we just sat back and let the game come to us. The good thing is that this isn't really that big of a deal and hopefully this team learns their lesson and moves on stronger from here out. Lock up first tonight and hope to get revenge later in the tournament.

EXACTLY.

Well said. However, what is a big deal is whether this team does learn their lesson, I am not so sure they do, the mental toughness that used to be a hallmark of our game has been lacking at this tournament lately.

 

[1Gold Standard]

The only potential superstar on the team plays the least, makes perfect sense.

Hockey Canada generally pimps for the CHL, they don't like it when their go to guys are NCAA players. So, unless the player has a long established history with Hockey Canada (Towes) coming up through the various tournaments, it will be tough.

 

[86Habs]

I was initially hopefully that Makar would have been handled like Doughty was in 2010, as in, gradually given more minutes and responsibility as he took advantage of the opportunities he was given. Doughty ended up as the #3 or #4 man on that team, despite beginning the Olympics as the #7 defenceman.

To date, Timmins and Foote have been largely as expected, as has Mete (its difficult to make a solid assessment of anyone's performance yesterday given the conditions). Clague has been a disappointment, but still salvageable as a second pairing guy. Fabbro doesn't appear to be 100%. Bean has simply not been good. I'd run:

Mete / Timmins
Clague / Foote
Makar/ Fabbro
Bean

Makar is playing on his off-side, but of all of our defencemen, he seems to be the most able to handle it. I'd rotate through the three pairings, and give Bean some PP time.

 

[1Gold Standard]

Hockey Canada's response to all the critics. "We can't hear you because we have Spengler and Hlinka Cups up the wazoo. We're just killing it in Davos in recent years."

just to little humor to take the edge off.

I must admit, the 1 time I went to the Spengler tournament, it was by far the best hockey experience of my life.

hopefully the boys play a perfect 4 games to take gold in Buffalo and then blast the Hip's "Last American Exit" on the bus ride home.

 

[Baxterman]

Hockey Canada generally pimps for the CHL, they don't like it when their go to guys are NCAA players. So, unless the player has a long established history with Hockey Canada (Towes) coming up through the various tournaments, it will be tough.

As they should.

 

[JackSlater]

Taking the body hard and competing harder for pucks against pressing teams would be a start. enough of this wussy lay back and wait for the opponents next move crap.......................engage them aggressively.

This is fine to ask for, though people in recent posts also want Canada's most physically engaged players to be punished by Ducharme. It would be great if Canada could throw out seven Ray Bourque clones on defence who could all skate, pass, shoot and dominate physically. Those guys aren't there though. Canada has skaters and puck movers on defence and they just aren't going to be overly physical. I do think that they would be far more effective against the American team on an indoor rink. I also think that Hockey Canada has gone too far toward focusing on puck moving in defence to the detriment of physical play. That was always an edge for Canada, especially at the junior level. It's mostly gone now.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Clague is relied on too heavily. He just doesn't seem to think very well. Fabbro would be my go to guy if healthy.. I like his game... Foote has looked better as this goes on as well. Bean is borderline... Makar , I love his raw ability, but I have not seen enough of him (which seems to be the complaint). I think Timmins is fine where he is and Mete has been more good than bad, but not perfect.

Its hard to pull somebody out, but imo Batherson should be playing more .. at least regularly.. He battles, He creates, .. He should play more and it should be up the lineup.

 

[Hagstrom]

I hope the boys come out with a chip on their shoulder and destroy Denmark tonight

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I hope the boys come out with a chip on their shoulder and destroy Denmark tonight

Just win, work on some details,.. finish 1st and get down to business...

 

[MatthewFlames]

As they should.

Ugh. No, they shouldn't. They should take the best players available to try to win and develop them for future tournaments like the WC. If a NCAA raised player who played in the NHL was made available and is better than a CHL player, they should never ignore them, or if they put them on the roster they shouldn't staple them to the bench as 'punishment' for going the NCAA route. An absolutely brutal, disgusting thing to agree with, shows no moral compass whatsoever.

 

[Hagstrom]

Just win, work on some details,.. finish 1st and get down to business...

Lemme rephrase. It would be cathartic to watch them play a really good game

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Lemme rephrase. It would be cathartic to watch them play a really good game

I concur

 

[Baxterman]

Ugh. No, they shouldn't. They should take the best players available to try to win and develop them for future tournaments like the WC. If a NCAA raised player who played in the NHL was made available and is better than a CHL player, they should never ignore them, or if they put them on the roster they shouldn't staple them to the bench as 'punishment' for going the NCAA route. An absolutely brutal, disgusting thing to agree with, shows no moral compass whatsoever.

First of all basically everyone that goes the NCAA route should be ignored because they are much worse players and not good enough to play for Team Canada. I mean I know everyone can scream Toews but that is basically the one example to use while there are countless examples of guys from the CHL route.

Plus I would always question the decision making of a guy that goes the NCAA route. If they are dumb enough to make that decision can you trust them to make the right decision on the ice?

If regular guys with no hockey aspirations beyond college want to go that route more power to them but for a guy that wants to be at the NHL or Team Canada level to go that route I am more than fine with saying too bad we don't want or need you as we have better players coming out of the CHL every day.