Canadian World Cup roster announced

[Brownies]

People no offense, but Draper and Maltby ... MUAHAHAHA

That combo worked for Detroit... I don't care about the names, give me results...

 

[Nic]

GP G A P +/- PIM SH EV PP GT GW OT S S% TOI/g SFT/g FO%
BRYAN MCCABE TOR D 75 16 37 53 22 86 0 8 8 1 2 0 168 9.5 25:43 28.0 50.0

WADE REDDEN OTT D 81 17 26 43 21 65 0 5 12 1 3 0 175 9.7 24:54 31.2 0.0

The numbers show that McCabe is a better player this year then Redden. Would have been even better had McCabe played 81 games to match Redden. Quinn won't be the reason McCabe is there, his numbers are.

Funny, the only thing I remember about McCabe this season is those god-awful giveaways against Philadelphia....

 

[Verbal Kint*]

It hurt them in the series and most likely the starting spot on the team as well for Canada. When there are defensemen who played better then McCabe in the playoffs and was more consistant then he doesn't deserve to be on the team. The regular season is nothing compared to big games (IE playoff hockey). There were tons of players that played amazing regualr season (Souray, Datsyuk, etc) but when the big games came they didn't pick up their game. McCabe is good offensively but his defensive play is average. The first job of a defensemen is to keep the puck out of their net and guys like Regher do a better job at it.

Its hard to say that McCabe didn't pick it up since he scored three goals and five assists in the playoffs.

McCabe's a great crease clearing, shot blocking defenseman. His main problem is his breakout passes. He is more than competent defensively.

 

[Verbal Kint*]

Funny, the only thing I remember about McCabe this season is those god-awful giveaways against Philadelphia....

Please read over the past few pages. One game does not a player make.

 

[Jeffrey]

vancouver player selected: Jovanovski
edmonton player selected: Brewer,Smyth
calgary player selected: Regehr,Iginla
toronto player selected: Belfour
ottawa player selected: Redden
montreal player selected: none


anyway i like the selection of:
Doan,Gagné(he's IMO the most underrated player that made the list..good speed, good 2way game,good shot,good passing skills,etc!!),Richards(he's 10x better than lecavalier... he's awesome and one of the most intelligent player i've ever seen!),Regehr and Draper!

i dont like the selection of:
Brewer,Maltby,Lemieux( ) and Thornton !

 

[HFXMooseHabs]

Nash, Tanguay, and Lecavalier not being selected is a damn shame IMO.

Belfour should thank the T.O media for his selection.

 

[chris_dub]

Me & my co-worker actually made our World Cup team last weekend (May 8), and we think it's better than what Gretzky picked. Here's our lineup:

Lecavalier-Lemieux-St. Louis
Tanguay-Sakic-Heatley
Marleau-Thornton-Iginla
Smyth-Primeau-Bertuzzi

Blake-Niedermayer
Aucoin-Bouwmeester
Brewer-Redden

Brodeur-Luongo

RESERVES:
Kariya, Nash, Peca, Pronger, Theodore

 

[Nic]

Many of you seem to be surprised that Richards made it over Lecavalier. The only reason anybody could possibly believe Lecavalier is a better player then Richards is if they believe the hype that surrounds Lecavalier. Statistics and watching most Tampa Bay games will decisively prove that not only is Richards the better player then Lecavalier, but he is one of the best (and most consistant!) players in the league:

Richards
Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW GT Shots Pct
2000-2001 Lightning 82 21 41 62 -10 14 7 0 3 0 179 11.7
2001-2002 Lightning 82 20 42 62 -18 13 5 0 0 1 251 8
2002-2003 Lightning 80 17 57 74 3 24 4 0 2 0 277 6.1
2003-2004 Lightning 82 26 53 79 14 12 5 1 6 0 244 10.7

NHL Totals 326 84 193 277 -11 63 21 1 11 1 951 8.8

Career Playoff Stats
Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW GT Shots Pct
2002-2003 Lightning 11 0 5 5 -3 12 0 0 0 0 32 0
2003-2004 Lightning 12 6 6 12 10 2 2 0 4 0 42 14.3

NHL Totals 23 6 11 17 7 14 2 0 4 1 74 8.1

Lecavalier

Career Regular Season Stats
Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW GT Shots Pct
1998-1999 Lightning 82 13 15 28 -19 23 2 0 2 1 125 10.4
1999-2000 Lightning 80 25 42 67 -25 43 6 0 3 1 166 15.1
2000-2001 Lightning 68 23 28 51 -26 66 7 0 3 0 165 13.9
2001-2002 Lightning 76 20 17 37 -18 61 5 0 3 1 164 12.2
2002-2003 Lightning 80 33 45 78 0 39 11 2 3 1 274 12
2003-2004 Lightning 81 32 34 66 23 52 5 2 6 0 242 13.2

NHL Totals 467 146 181 327 -65 284 36 4 20 4 1,136 12.9

Career Playoff Stats
Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW GT Shots Pct
2002-2003 Lightning 11 3 3 6 -2 22 1 0 1 0 32 9.4
2003-2004 Lightning 12 6 3 9 1 14 1 0 0 0 41 14.6

NHL Totals 23 9 6 15 -1 36 2 0 1 1 73 12.3

As for some of the other choices for forwards (Maltby, Yzerman, Gagne, Brewer) I have my doubts, but the decisions were made by the same group that picked the players for SLC, so I think the team should be good. That being said, I think Tanguay was overlooked, and Primeau should be in there instead of Maltby (who was only picked because of his chemistry with Draper)

One thing I wonder about is if any of the players are going to play out of position? Does anybody know which of the centres can do this? As well, who do you guys think will be taking all the key faceoffs?

I like the defense corps, although 2 of Brewer, Regehr or Foote should have been replaced by Aucoin and Bouwmeester.

As for all the people making the fuss about Belfour over theodore, I really don't see the big deal. I doubt Belfour will dress for any of the big games either way. The starting goaltending job will be Brodeur's to lose, with Luongo as the backup.

 

[OMA]

One pick I wish would have happened is LeCavalier in and Iginla out.

Seems Mr.Iginla can't take losing without elbowing opponents in the head after they score empty net goals..

Iginla hates to lose. Bigtime.

Let's omit a player who's won the Maurice Richard 2 of the last 3 years. The guy hits, fights, scores and is the leader of a club who is currently in the WCF. That's a smart idea...

Anyways, there are some choices i'm not too sure about. The Maltby/Draper picks are a little bit confusing in my mind. Moreso the Maltby pick, although I would have liked to see Primeau there over Draper. But Draper will do just fine. Same goes for Gagne/Richards over Lecavalier/Tanguay and Kariya. I thought Kariya would be a lock despite his poor year.

The defence looks pretty good to me. The only pick I don't get is the Brewer pick. His play has regressed since the Olympics and this pick reeks of the Gretzky-Lowe relationship. The guy's a good player but Stuart, McCabe or J-Bo would have been better picks IMO. Hopefully, he's not in the top 6.

That being said, I won't question Gretzky. The guy is arguably the best player to ever play the game. He constructed the club that won the gold in 2002. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Beatnik]

This is a total joke,

Malby does'nt deserve to be there because he's not among the top 50 players in the country. Primeau or Tanguay could do his defensive job as well and they deserve to be there. That why international competion exist: to reward the best ones.

Did'nt we finish close from last position with Zamuner and friends???

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

McCabe has shown he can't give 100% EVERY NIGHT come important games. We need guys who don't let off ANY GAME.

Then Brewer, Jovanovski, Blake, and Pronger shouldn't be there either.

 

[dem]

Brewer isnt near as bad as some of you make him out to be. When chips are down he plays awesome..... its the rest of the time when you worry about him. He just seems disinterested.

 

[ZombieMatt]

I am pretty choked at the omission of Rick Nash.

I don't care what people are saying about the grinders and such, but as far as I'm concerned, this team needed ONE defensive specialist, and his name was Keith Primeau. Brendan Morrow has NO business on this team. The other guys, Maltby and Draper I can respect. I don't like the choices, but I can see them. Regehr is disgustingly over-rated because of great coaching, but he is still a very good defenceman who won't hurt the team.

But to include three grinders and overlook a guy who tied for the Maurice Richard is unacceptable.

 

[boxall9]

I think Brewer will make a lot of you guys eat crow.

 

[Yes Im Peter Ing]

You mean the same McCabe that was horrible in the post-season? The same McCabe that practically did everything in his power to help the Flyers knock out the Leafs? All I can say is thank god he isn't there!

Before you go judging McCabe on two games (one of which the entire team stunk..), you should take into consideration the fact that up untill his team was eliminated, Bryan McCabe was the number one scoring defenseman in the playoffs.

If he played "horrible" I'd hate to see what he does when he's on his game.

While I recognize that McCabe has his faults - especially in his stay-at-home game - I find it a bit unfair that Regehr gained a spot based on two series worth of play, while McCabe, with two years of top-notch defensive service, was over-looked.

Just for the record, I would have taken Bouwmeester over both of them.

 

[ZombieMatt]

Then Brewer, Jovanovski, Blake, and Pronger shouldn't be there either.

Normally I back you BES, but me and you both know its ludicrous to claim thay Blake and Pronger, two of the top five defenceman in the league (top three to me) shouldn't be on this team.

 

[boxall9]

Don't forget that 3 forwards and 2 D-men won't play each game. I think Brewer will play over Jovo.

 

[wilka91*]

That combo worked for Detroit... I don't care about the names, give me results...

I used to be a hardcore Wings fan ... but Maltby and Draper at the World Cup ...

Ok Draper is OK, but Maltby ...

 

[nordique]

One pick I wish would have happened is LeCavalier in and Iginla out.

Seems Mr.Iginla can't take losing without elbowing opponents in the head after they score empty net goals..

So we won't lose.

You're right, we really should have considered leaving off someone who has won the Art Ross, Richard Trophy (twice) and Lester B. Pearson Trophy in the last 3 years, tied for the league lead in goals this year, is almost at a PPG pace in the playoffs captaining his overachieving team to the WCF (so far...) and has won gold at the Olympics (scoring 2 goals in the Gold Medal game), World Juniors and World Championships.

 

[Sting]

So we won't lose.

You're right, we really should have considered leaving off someone who has won the Art Ross, Richard Trophy (twice) and Lester B. Pearson Trophy in the last 3 years, tied for the league lead in goals this year, is almost at a PPG pace in the playoffs captaining his overachieving team to the WCF (so far...) and has won gold at the Olympics (scoring 2 goals in the Gold Medal game), World Juniors and World Championships.

Haha that guy is just bitter. Iginla is by far Canada's best player right now, no questions about it.

 

[colonel_korn]

Normally I back you BES, but me and you both know its ludicrous to claim thay Blake and Pronger, two of the top five defenceman in the league (top three to me) shouldn't be on this team.

I think he was referring to the fact that pretty much every d-man in the league has off-nights, so you can't say McCabe would be a poor choice just because he has some too. Pronger in particular has really cost his team on occasion with selfish penalties, but he's still a great defenseman and deserves to be #1 or #2 on the team.

Also, more derision is needed for this guy:

One pick I wish would have happened is LeCavalier in and Iginla out.

Seems Mr.Iginla can't take losing without elbowing opponents in the head after they score empty net goals..

 

[Enoch]

I can't believe Kirk Maltby is on this team. Furthermore, ALex Tanguay was screwed.......badly. Its a crying shame that he was excluded from this list, especially after what he has done the past two seasons and in the Cup Finals.

What has Gagne done, besides consistently get injured to be on this team? Pfft. Very disapointed.......And I'm all for the veteran leadership.....but will Stevie Y even be able to see? And Mario......can he skate down the ice before his hip goes out of joint?

 

[SopelFan*]

I guess the Red Wing limit hadn't been reached, so Maltby made it.
Gagne? A gold medal really helped his case... surprised Lindros and Fleury weren't named.

What did Lemieux do to deserve a spot?

Marleau will be good for both sides, as his consistent minus will hamper us, while his couple of goals between prolonged slumps will help us.

Lecavalier and Bertuzzi should be there over Maltby.

Where's Tanguay?

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Not the sexiest roster, but looks like a solid TEAM, and that's all that matters. Team Canada will be able to play it anyway you want it, so nothing's changed when it comes to them being favorites IMO. I don't think the roster is overwhelmingly superior looking though. There's some holes that can be exploited, and some selections that could backfire.

 

[SopelFan*]

Where's Zamuner?! :lol