Canadian World Junior Thread (Vent Session)

[OMG67]

Does anyone have a count on how many first round picks were snubbed so Cameron could put his boy Pinelli (4th rounder) out there every other shift on a line with Gavin Mckenna?

Pinelli was one of the better players. He actually executed a lot of passes to tape. He skated his ass of every shift and created offensive opportunities. Had the 12 other forwards executed as well, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Singling out a 48 goal scorer last season is pretty rich if you ask me….

I think you should calm down and show some maturity. You of all people should be more level headed and objective. You are not the type of person to be slinging the silly mud.

You and I both know the team Canada iced last night was about 10x stronger than Latvia.

 

[Sal Iaccuzzo]

10, not including 3 in the NHL (Bedard/Celebrini/Benson) and 2 hurt (Iginla/Lindstrom).

Wood/Barlow from 2023
Sennecke, Parascak, Boisvert, Hage, Letourneau, Greentree, Vanacker, O'Reilly from 2024


So you look at that game and think Cowan played well? Just because other players sucked doesn't mean Cowan didn't. People are calling him out because he played a lot and not well.

It felt like he had the puck on his stick more than most other players and absolutely nothing came out of it.

10, not including 3 in the NHL (Bedard/Celebrini/Benson) and 2 hurt (Iginla/Lindstrom).

Wood/Barlow from 2023
Sennecke, Parascak, Boisvert, Hage, Letourneau, Greentree, Vanacker, O'Reilly from 2024


So you look at that game and think Cowan played well? Just because other players sucked doesn't mean Cowan didn't. People are calling him out because he played a lot and not well.

It felt like he had the puck on his stick more than most other players and absolutely nothing came out of it.

Why didn't Ritchie or Nadeau go after the puck and take control then?

I don't know how a guy who at least got a bunch of shots off is the problem when the entire Canada team couldn't score a 5 on 5 goal against Latvia.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Pinelli was one of the better players. He actually executed a lot of passes to tape. He skated his ass of every shift and created offensive opportunities. Had the 12 other forwards executed as well, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Singling out a 48 goal scorer last season is pretty rich if you ask me….

I think you should calm down and show some maturity. You of all people should be more level headed and objective. You are not the type of person to be slinging the silly mud.

You and I both know the team Canada iced last night was about 10x stronger than Latvia.

Yes but this boils down to the returning guys. The same ones who were around for the 10-0 drubbing of Latvia 366 days ago. They will probably play better but Finland/Latvia/Germany is that going to prepare you against better countries?? Last year they didn't look good against Sweden or Czechia and took 2 Ls. Maybe it's just a one off but can you blame anyone for being concerned by what they saw?

 

[leafs4life94]

Why didn't Ritchie or Nadeau go after the puck and take control then?

I don't know how a guy who at least got a bunch of shots off is the problem when the entire Canada team couldn't score a 5 on 5 goal against Latvia.

Firing the puck on net from the outside when it has no chance of going in is not a positive thing...

Nobody is saying he's THE problem. But if you don't think he's A problem I don't know what to say.

I'm a leafs fan so I had really high hopes for Cowan but he flat out stunk yesterday.

 

[Sal Iaccuzzo]

Firing the puck on net from the outside when it has no chance of going in is not a positive thing...

Nobody is saying he's THE problem. But if you don't think he's A problem I don't know what to say.

I'm a leafs fan so I had really high hopes for Cowan but he flat out stunk yesterday.

Fair enough. I'm also a Leafs fan. Cowan scored a lot in the pre tournament and scored against Finland so I hope this was just one bad game.

I guess they just have to focus on how they beat Czechs and Sweden pre tournament and Finland in the first game and come out hard against Germany.

They beat Germany and they have a chance to get 1st even if USA is 3-0 coming into the game a regulation win would do it I believe.

 

[OMG67]

Yes but this boils down to the returning guys. The same ones who were around for the 10-0 drubbing of Latvia 366 days ago. They will probably play better but Finland/Latvia/Germany is that going to prepare you against better countries?? Last year they didn't look good against Sweden or Czechia and took 2 Ls. Maybe it's just a one off but can you blame anyone for being concerned by what they saw?

There is a difference between being concerned about what they saw and then equating that to effectively saying the team is flawed because of coaching and roster selection when the opposition was f’n Latvia.

There isn’t a person on here in their right mind that would have predicted this result pre-game. Yet, those same people arm chair quarterback the result with mud slinging on roster selection and coaching.

The damage was done by poor execution on Team Canada’s side while the Latvians got strong goaltending and a perfectly executed shut down defence. If any one of those three aspects weren’t in perfect alignment for Latvia, they get hammered.

We’ve all watched a lot of junior hockey. Horrible teams beat goad team EXACTLY like this all the time in league play. Then they bounce back and execute properly the next game like nothing happened.

Second guessing the roster selection and placing the blame on that is effectively saying the team was obviously not strong enough to beat Latvia. Just downright stupid.

 

[ScoutLife4]

There is a difference between being concerned about what they saw and then equating that to effectively saying the team is flawed because of coaching and roster selection when the opposition was f’n Latvia.

There isn’t a person on here in their right mind that would have predicted this result pre-game. Yet, those same people arm chair quarterback the result with mud slinging on roster selection and coaching.

The damage was done by poor execution on Team Canada’s side while the Latvians got strong goaltending and a perfectly executed shut down defence. If any one of those three aspects weren’t in perfect alignment for Latvia, they get hammered.

We’ve all watched a lot of junior hockey. Horrible teams beat goad team EXACTLY like this all the time in league play. Then they bounce back and execute properly the next game like nothing happened.

Second guessing the roster selection and placing the blame on that is effectively saying the team was obviously not strong enough to beat Latvia. Just downright stupid.

Coaching was most definitely one of the biggest issues.
Failure to adjust. Stuck with a perimeter game the entire game which wasn’t working.
He won’t pivot from the same strategies that have gotten him nowhere coaching the 67s.

Roster selection was probably equally as bad.
Pinelli was not one of the better players on the ice.
This team has a lot of individual players and could use a guy like Liam Greentree out there or perhaps Sennecke to finish that shootout.

Sennecke is also able to power through the defence and create his own space at will.

People are too smart and knowledgeable to have the wool pulled over their heads as far as this roster selection goes.
Playing favorites might have this team out of a medal all together.

 

[OMG67]

Coaching was most definitely one of the biggest issues.
Failure to adjust. Stuck with a permitted game the entire game which wasn’t working.

Roster selection was probably equally as bad.
Pinelli was not one of the better players on the ice.
This team has a lot of individual players and could use a guy like Liam Greentree out there or perhaps Sennecke to finish that shootout.
Sennecke is able to power through the defence and create his own space.
People are too smart and knowledgeable to have the wool pulled over their heads as far as this roster selection goes.
Playing favorites might have this team out of a medal all together.

You are starting to show your lack of perspective. I basically agree with you when it comes to the assessment of the coach (selection to begin with) and the strategies used by “Team Canada” when selecting players to form a team. HOWEVER, we are talking Latvia. I can understand if we got blown out by USA on NY Eve and lost in the Q-Final and went without a medal. But, we aren’t there yet. Calm down. Bad teams beat good teams all the time with similar issues we saw yesterday.

Players need to complete a f’n pass. That is not coaching. Switching up lines doesn’t miraculously fix passes behind players or to their wrong hand. That shows a lack of familiarity that they will slowly gain in time. A lot of poor decisions remain poor decisions no matter what other four bodies are on the ice. Taking (7?) penalties for PP against vs Latvia is not a coaching issue. It is an execution issue.

I am not a fan of the dump and chase but the team they put together supports that strategy. I will reserve final judgement at the end of the tournament, not after one dumb loss where they generated almost 60 shots and lost.

 

[Donnie740]

Yes, it’s “just one meaningless preliminary game” but the concern is due to the fact that Canada struggled to find offence which was their undoing last year - - shutout by Sweden and only two goals in an elimination against Czechs.

This is further exacerbated by the decision to go with lower skilled “character” try hard players instead of proven offensive talent like Sennecke and Misa.

 

[backwoods]

Coaching was most definitely one of the biggest issues.
Failure to adjust. Stuck with a perimeter game the entire game which wasn’t working.
He won’t pivot from the same strategies that have gotten him nowhere coaching the 67s.

Roster selection was probably equally as bad.
Pinelli was not one of the better players on the ice.
This team has a lot of individual players and could use a guy like Liam Greentree out there or perhaps Sennecke to finish that shootout.

Sennecke is also able to power through the defence and create his own space at will.

People are too smart and knowledgeable to have the wool pulled over their heads as far as this roster selection goes.
Playing favorites might have this team out of a medal all together.

Generals season tickets holder here. For every time sennecke powers thru the defence he looses the puck 3 out of 5 times. He too tries to get too nifty and is a defensive liability out there.

 

[OMG67]

Yes, it’s “just one meaningless preliminary game” but the concern is due to the fact that Canada struggled to find offence which was their undoing last year - - shutout by Sweden and only two goals in an elimination against Czechs.

This is further exacerbated by the decision to go with lower skilled “character” try hard players instead of proven offensive talent like Sennecke and Misa.

I think we can more reasonably have this conversation at the end of the tournament. Like I said previously, I don’t’ like the way Team canada has chosen to construct its roster. I think they overthink it and try to create an OHL playoff roster. I think that is a flawed way to look at it, especially in this type of format. However, it is only one loss so far and it is a pretty meaningless game overall. I think we should at least give the team the benefit of the doubt “for now.”

 

[backwoods]

Lots of people on social media singling out Cowan yet he set up Ritchie's goal and had a lot of shots on net and everyone missed in the shootout not just him.

If were gonna complain about Cowan it's fair to say Ritchie and Nadeau didn't do much either and you'd want way more out of the entire first line for team Canada against a 9 t

 

[backwoods]

Lots of people on social media singling out Cowan yet he set up Ritchie's goal and had a lot of shots on net and everyone missed in the shootout not just him.

If were gonna complain about Cowan it's fair to say Ritchie and Nadeau didn't do much either and you'd want way more out of the entire first line for team Canada against a team like Latvia.

Totally agree was just saying calling Ritchie a passenger is stretching it.. the goal he scored is a NHL caliber material. Cowie may have set him up but there aren't many players that can bury that the way he does .. as far as that line is concerned I think we are being a but critical of them considering they seem to me on the ice most of the time.. Dave Cameron is not rolling his 4 lines and that is pathetic considering the names on this team and the fact we were playing Latvia to boot.. it's a crime that he is basically playing 3 lines but that first line when u watch the game 95 percent of the time is creating pressure in the offensive zone and that we need to start appreciating them and stop critizing them.. Games like this happens once in a blue moon. Just hopefully this team will get their shit 2gther soon coaches included

 

[frontsfan67]

Yes, it’s “just one meaningless preliminary game” but the concern is due to the fact that Canada struggled to find offence which was their undoing last year - - shutout by Sweden and only two goals in an elimination against Czechs.

This is further exacerbated by the decision to go with lower skilled “character” try hard players instead of proven offensive talent like Sennecke and Misa.

Not even to mention Andrew Cristall who I’m pretty sure is producing at a 2.6ppg clip despite not having the greatest camp. And sennecke had one of the best camps and was still cut for Cameron’s golden boy Pinelli.

Cameron could put McKenna, Catton and Martone together but instead he elects to play his golden boy Pinelli instead of a projected top 4 pick and the 3rd overall pick of this years past draft sennecke would be better option there too.

McKenna and Martone put up a combined 34pts in 14 games at the under 18’s in 2023-24 and he still won’t even put them together when they clearly have chemistry.

All in all. Dave Cameron sucks.

 

[OMG67]

There is a fine line in a tournament like this when people start to call for line juggling. We need to remember that these guys haven’t played together very long and finding chemistry is difficult. Teams that play together can typically find chemistry easier because they play and practice together through training camp, an exhibition schedule, and then an entire regular season. Tournaments like this, they don’t’ have that luxury. Allowing players to play together on consistent lines can be helpful as the tournament gets deeper. They get used to knowing where guys will be, they get a better feel for right-left hand passes, and know better where their line mates strengths and weaknesses are.

If there are glaring issues, then so be it. You need to make some changes. But, the reality is, they deploy the dump and chase because it leads to a strong cycle where the Canadians can typically utilize their size and strong work along the boards to control the puck. Once they get a better feel for each other, they will be better able to work the puck from the cycle into gaps on the ice where players find some freedom to make plays and unleash quality shots. This team was designed and selected with this in mind.

I may not be a fan of this style of play but IMO, they mostly picked the right players to suit this strategy. With so many elite mature players that can play a more puck possession style of game where carrying into the zone entry is possible, I question why they would go with dump and chase style supported by a cycle but I am also not intimately familiar enough with their politics and inside strategy sessions to comment much more than this.

 

[OMG67]

Not even to mention Andrew Cristall who I’m pretty sure is producing at a 2.6ppg clip despite not having the greatest camp. And sennecke had one of the best camps and was still cut for Cameron’s golden boy Pinelli.

Cameron could put McKenna, Catton and Martone together but instead he elects to play his golden boy Pinelli instead of a projected top 4 pick and the 3rd overall pick of this years past draft sennecke would be better option there too.

McKenna and Martone put up a combined 34pts in 14 games at the under 18’s in 2023-24 and he still won’t even put them together when they clearly have chemistry.

All in all. Dave Cameron sucks.

Pinelli is tied for the lead in goals scored, 5th in shots on goal and hasn’t played one second of PP time. Pointing to Pinelli is a ridiculous suggestion. I’m pretty sure Pinelli has done his job. Of all the players you can point to, Pinelli isn’t one of them. I think you need to rewatch those games and isolate on Pinelli. He has played a responsible game, managed to complete a ton of passes, forced turnovers of pucks, and scored a beauty goal in tight picking top corner with a quick release.

Just because you don’t agree he should have been selected doesn’t mean you can just make shit up.

 

[frontsfan67]

Pinelli is tied for the lead in goals scored, 5th in shots on goal and hasn’t played one second of PP time. Pointing to Pinelli is a ridiculous suggestion. I’m pretty sure Pinelli has done his job. Of all the players you can point to, Pinelli isn’t one of them. I think you need to rewatch those games and isolate on Pinelli. He has played a responsible game, managed to complete a ton of passes, forced turnovers of pucks, and scored a beauty goal in tight picking top corner with a quick release.

Just because you don’t agree he should have been selected doesn’t mean you can just make shit up.

good for Pinelli. McKennas line and team Canada would be better with Martone there on that line.

Cameron has got to go. It’s the equivalent of “the coaches son” with Pinelli second line and Martone who I think everyone in the league (except for you) would agree is better than Pinelli. Not to mention the chemistry that is already there with mckenna.

You are biased, we get it. But Pinelli second line is not what is best for team Canada. And like many I agree sennecke should be on this team too. NOT EVEN TO MENTION ANDREW CRISTALL WHO HAS A 2.6PPG or Misa with 30goals in 30 games and leading chl in goals and in points.

You can be bias however you want but SURELY you must see there is some VERY questionable moves made here by Dave Cameron.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

good for Pinelli. McKennas line and team Canada would be better with Martone there on that line.

Cameron has got to go. It’s the equivalent of “the coaches son” with Pinelli second line and Martone who I think everyone in the league (except for you) would agree is better than Pinelli. Not to mention the chemistry that is already there with mckenna.

You are biased, we get it. But Pinelli second line is not what is best for team Canada. And like many I agree sennecke should be on this team too. NOT EVEN TO MENTION ANDREW CRISTALL WHO HAS A 2.6PPG or Misa with 30goals in 30 games and leading chl in goals and in points.

You can be bias however you want but SURELY you must see there is some VERY questionable moves made here by Dave Cameron.

Martone has gradually played himself down the lineup and was completely invisible last night. Pinelli has been much better in this particular tournament than Martone and I don’t think it’s really all that arguable. And you’re focusing on Pinelli when 3 or 4 forwards on the team look like they’re in completely over their heads (Cataford, Gauthier, Martone, Beaudoin) at this level of competition.

 

[OMG67]

Martone has gradually played himself down the lineup and was completely invisible last night. Pinelli has been much better in this particular tournament than Martone and I don’t think it’s really all that arguable. And you’re focusing on Pinelli when 3 or 4 forwards on the team look like they’re in completely over their heads (Cataford, Gauthier, Martone, Beaudoin) at this level of competition.

This is my point too. I have refrained from mentioning names because I think every player on this team is capable of elevating their games, especially considering their performances last night.

There were undoubtedly some surprising omissions as well as some surprisingly questionable additions to the roster. I was surprised by Beaudoin. Martone is not a surprise but he has also been frustrating to watch in Brampton this year at times witht he way that whole team hasApproached their play. There is no doubt why Rehkopf has been relegated to being a scratch and when you look at how poorly Martone has played, there is no surprise that many of the same reasons why Brampton has suffered in the standings falls on players like Martone and Rehkopf not playing a team game and they both have poor attention to detail.

I can agree that Pinelli is/was a questionable addition but based on his play so far, targeting him for Team Canada’s results in one poor team game was inevitable. As soon as they had one bad game, we knew the target would be Pinelli even though he has been one of the more consistent and impactful players for this team. The one big thing that was a problem yesterday was all the awful passes and yet Pinelli made strong plays with the puck the entire game when it was on his stick.

I could understand if Pinelli was the go to guy on special teams and high leverage situations but he hasn’t played a second of the PP, PK, OT or SO. Suggesting he is the teachers pet is ridiculous. This is a kid that scored 48 goals last season and has performed at a very high level the entire season this year in spite of the abysmal lack of support.

 

[Donnie740]

Martone has gradually played himself down the lineup and was completely invisible last night. Pinelli has been much better in this particular tournament than Martone and I don’t think it’s really all that arguable. And you’re focusing on Pinelli when 3 or 4 forwards on the team look like they’re in completely over their heads (Cataford, Gauthier, Martone, Beaudoin) at this level of competition.

Martone was invisible because Cameron benched him for the entire 3rd period last night.

But then in the shootout, Cameron decides to have Martone shoot third. Contradicting decision making at its worst by Cameron.

 

[HockeyPops]

I don't think Gauthier has been too bad.

 

[frontsfan67]

Martone has gradually played himself down the lineup and was completely invisible last night. Pinelli has been much better in this particular tournament than Martone and I don’t think it’s really all that arguable. And you’re focusing on Pinelli when 3 or 4 forwards on the team look like they’re in completely over their heads (Cataford, Gauthier, Martone, Beaudoin) at this level of competition.

I’m thinking of a line not just 1 player.

Can’t wrap my head around why he wouldn’t throw mckenna and Martone together not to mention talking Pinelli over guys much better. I would say the same if Troy Mann was the coach and took burns or Battaglia. Doesn’t make sense.

Martone was invisible because Cameron benched him for the entire 3rd period last night.

But then in the shootout, Cameron decides to have Martone shoot third. Contradicting decision making at its worst by Cameron.

Correct

And today not even playing the guy.

Lots of questionable decisions

 

[GoKnightsGo44]

Got to hand it to Latvia, they have made the USA work for every goal!

They shouldn’t be dismissed do easily.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

Martone was invisible because Cameron benched him for the entire 3rd period last night.

But then in the shootout, Cameron decides to have Martone shoot third. Contradicting decision making at its worst by Cameron.

He was invisible in the first two periods too. In fact, he hasn’t done much of anything since the 1st period of the Finland game when he was quite good and playing up to his capability next to Yager.

I’m thinking of a line not just 1 player.

Can’t wrap my head around why he wouldn’t throw mckenna and Martone together not to mention talking Pinelli over guys much better. I would say the same if Troy Mann was the coach and took burns or Battaglia. Doesn’t make sense.


Correct

And today not even playing the guy.

Lots of questionable decisions

I don’t disagree that it’s worth a shot trying Martone on the 2nd line, but he hasn’t really given his coach a reason to do so. Despite his large frame he’s been content to play on the perimeter for much of the tournament and hasn’t done much to work himself into the middle of the ice to create offense from there (though he’s far from the only forward I’ll criticize for this). Contrast that with Pinelli, who’s been operating effectively between the hash marks, finishing a nice play set up by Price in the Finland game and creating a nice scoring opportunity for himself yesterday. He also made a key shot block late in the Czechia pre-tournament game, and everyone knows coaches love that shit. The only knock I’ll make on Pinelli is the penalty call late in the Latvia game, but I think most would agree that was pretty weak and likely not called in the O.

And for the record, two things:

1. I didn’t have Pinelli on my team coming out of the selection camp in early December. I thought he should have been cut from camp in favour of Sennecke. You can go back into my posts from early December. I like to think I’m fairly unbiased when it comes to matters affecting our national team (though I am a 67s fan).

2. IMO, Cameron has made some highly questionable decisions, in terms of roster selection and now player deployment. I don’t feel the need to defend him. Again, I questioned Cameron’s decision making, capabilities to coach this particular team, and tactical tendencies a month ago - check my post history if you don’t believe me. Having Bonk quarterback the PP (and Howe playing on the PP) is inexcusable. Not dressing Rehkopf is dumb. I didn’t think the team was well prepared to play last night, including our special teams. How he’s configured the lines and D pairings and dolled out ice time shouldn’t really be the primary concerns at the moment imo. The players need to play better, they need to play more physical, they need to forecheck harder and force turnovers by the opposition D-men, they need to attack the middle of the ice, and they need to finish.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

I don't think Gauthier has been too bad.

The effort seems to be there, I’ll give him that, but any physicality he seems to bring has ended up not producing results…he’s finishing his checks but not getting there quick enough to create puck separation or really force the d-man into making a mistake.