Canadian World Junior Thread (Vent Session)

[ScoutLife4]

I always try to find a silver lining and this one is tough to find but I did manage to find one…

In 2009 I paid $1100 per ticket package and this year I decided that $2000+ for the package was jsut too much. I am glad I didn’t buy the package without Canada making it to the Medal Round. So, that is the Silver Lining….

My silver lining is not having to watch DC butcher this anymore. What a train wreck.
I know someone that bought a box suite for the Gold Medal game thinking it was a sure thing Canada would make it LOL.

 

[ottsabrefan]

I always try to find a silver lining and this one is tough to find but I did manage to find one…

In 2009 I paid $1100 per ticket package and this year I decided that $2000+ for the package was jsut too much. I am glad I didn’t buy the package without Canada making it to the Medal Round. So, that is the Silver Lining….

Uggh. I did the exact opposite. I cheaped out in 2009, bought this time, and now have tickets for medal games that are worth peanuts. Lol

 

[OMG67]

So, I tried to stay positive from the beginning. The Canada “D” team should be able to beat Latvia so player selection had no impact on that result. That Canada team was head and shoulders better than LAtvia and should win 49 out of 50 times head to head same rosters. So, I am not going to talk about that one.

I am fine with taking players that can kill penalties and make a difference physically but you cannot include so many of those guys that you are left with fewer options to mix things up when necessary.

Pinelli took a lot of the flack because he played for Cameron in Ottawa but he scored 48 goals last year and single handedly contributed 40% of the 67’s scoring this year. He earned his opportunity. However, since they didn’t invite more scorers, you are sort of handcuffed giving Pinelli top 2 line duty. On a deeper scoring/skill team, you can drop Pinelli to a 3rd scoring line where he may get a little more time and space.

With rosters expanded to 20 skaters plus two additional in reserve, there is more than enough opportunity to remain somewhat flexible. It is tough to ensure chemistry so when you have players that play with each other on club teams, you have to keep them together. Martone and Rehkopf, Ritchie and Senneke are two examples of players that should start together. See what happens and go from there.

Jeff O’Neill said it best. Take your best players and assign roles. They are strong enough to be assigned roles and if someone isn’t cutting it then you can switch it up because you have more flexibility.

No offence to Dave Cameron but why on Earth do they go to Cameron? They have a Program of Excellence with coaches in that Program. They work hard on that process. When they go outside that process and bring in an older guy that has already coached twice, including a couple years ago, how bad is your Program of Excellence at developing capable coaches for this Tournament? Even Cameron was a fill in a few years ago when Tourigny was supposed to be the coach but he got the head coaching gig in Arizona.

I am fine if they lose taking all their most dynamic players. If their most dynamic players cannot get it done then so be it. Again, take a few PK guys but in many cases you will naturally have strong PK guys. This team would take Yager and Luchanko for example no matter what and you have two PK guys right there.

They have nine returning players next year (assuming no one graduates early). I am not in favour of automatically giving spots to returning players. Earn it yearly. Other guys may surpass them next year so keep the options open.

 

[All the Answers]

Nope. He’s the greatest junior aged defenseman on the planet. Your team can’t lose with him on the blueline. Just check the Greyhounds thread.

Hi Fisch

 

[Fischhaber]

Hi Fisch

None of our players did that well, but Gibson was fine outside of that highly questionable penalty where he didn't make any contact with his knee. Dickinson had a horrendous game.

I don't think the defense was really the problem overall. It was a lack of skill on the forward lines, or at least bad utilization of that skill.

 

[TuckerFan1]

Nope. He’s the greatest junior aged defenseman on the planet. Your team can’t lose with him on the blueline. Just check the Greyhounds thread.

No issues with Gibby, especially since he might be coming to Oshawa soon. Sucks that he was the one that took the final ill timed penalty for Canada after spending most of the US game trying to kill all the god awful penalties.

Still… is it not just a little bit funny that some of the Soo fan base have been dragging Parekh all season long? Biggest liability that didn’t deserve a spot on team Canada. This team had no discipline and zero offence. Probably would have made just a little bit of sense to bring the kid that’s proven he can put up points.

 

[EvenSteven]

Pounder was right regarding players with chemistry. In a short tourney, it’s wise to go with players that are familiar with each other when you can. Frequent linemates in Missy, Rehkopf and Martone, didn’t see a shift together in the tourney. Might have made sense to have Ritchie and Sennecke together as well.

Geez. Even Team Canada for the four nations realizes this and are taking linemates and D pairings in the name of chemistry in a short tourney.

 

[Fischhaber]

No issues with Gibby, especially since he might be coming to Oshawa soon. Sucks that he was the one that took the final ill timed penalty for Canada after spending most of the US game trying to kill all the god awful penalties.

Still… is it not just a little bit funny that some of the Soo fan base have been dragging Parekh all season long? Biggest liability that didn’t deserve a spot on team Canada. This team had no discipline and zero offence. Probably would have made just a little bit of sense to bring the kid that’s proven he can put up points.

Our lack of discipline would have been helped by the league's most undisciplined player?

I think his chances of making the team died when he struck a fan with his stick. There was no suspension due to lack of video, but the executives would know that it's true. Optics are already kind of bad with the last scandal, they don't need another one.

 

[TuckerFan1]

Our lack of discipline would have been helped by the league's most undisciplined player?

I think his chances of making the team died when he struck a fan with his stick. There was no suspension due to lack of video, but the executives would know that it's true. Optics are already kind of bad with the last scandal, they don't need another one.

Really hard to take comments like that seriously when in the past Canada has medaled with model citizens like Steve Downie, Zack Kassian, Stefan Della Rovere, etc. All players with major discipline issues. The big red flag being the guy who hazed his teammates and then beat up a rookie and still found his way onto Team Canada.

The only difference between those meat heads and Parekh is that those guys didn’t have a heated series with the Greyhounds last year. I have a feeling that if Parekh didn’t play for a rival of the Soo, you and Pete wouldn’t be as passionate about your hate for the kid.

Oh well. Nothing we can do until next years World Junior camp roster comes out.

 

[Fischhaber]

Really hard to take comments like that seriously when in the past Canada has medaled with model citizens like Steve Downie, Zack Kassian, Stefan Della Rovere, etc. All players with major discipline issues. The big red flag being the guy who hazed his teammates and then beat up a rookie and still found his way onto Team Canada.

The only difference between those meat heads and Parekh is that those guys didn’t have a heated series with the Greyhounds last year. I have a feeling that if Parekh didn’t play for a rival of the Soo, you and Pete wouldn’t be as passionate about your hate for the kid.

Oh well. Nothing we can do until next years World Junior camp roster comes out.

Did any of those guys spit on players or attack fans in Junior hockey? You couldn't possibly be wrong about something, so people who state facts about a player must just be biased.

 

[OMG67]

Did any of those guys spit on players or attack fans in Junior hockey? You couldn't possibly be wrong about something, so people who state facts about a player must just be biased.

Mews is 8 points ahead of Parekh in D-Man scoring and is now the reigning D-Man of the Month. Where is all the talk of Mews in this equation of skilled offensive D-Men. I don’t think anyone can criticize either way IMO.

D-Men need to be able to play both sides of the ice responsibly. I am not sure Parekh’s game is mature enough defensively to play for team Canada. Neither is Mews.

I think it is far better to argue the attributes of their ability and impact. I don’t think either are capable right now. Maybe next year after another year of experience and maturity.

 

[Kingpin794]

USA has a gold medal goal song!!!

Freebird, yeeeahh!!

As an American I kind of cringe at Freebird being the goal song but I get it. Lean into the villain role on Canadian ice. Just go full stereotype Murica' and such.

 

[Savard18]

As an American I kind of cringe at Freebird being the goal song but I get it. Lean into the villain role on Canadian ice. Just go full stereotype Murica' and such.

I agree with the first two sentences. Maybe not the third so much.

 

[Savard18]

No issues with Gibby, especially since he might be coming to Oshawa soon. Sucks that he was the one that took the final ill timed penalty for Canada after spending most of the US game trying to kill all the god awful penalties.

Still… is it not just a little bit funny that some of the Soo fan base have been dragging Parekh all season long? Biggest liability that didn’t deserve a spot on team Canada. This team had no discipline and zero offence. Probably would have made just a little bit of sense to bring the kid that’s proven he can put up points.

It was hyperbole because like BMB, Virgilio, Allard and so many guys in the past I think Soo fans (a couple in particular) overvalue Gibson and his impact. He wasn’t the solution but he wasn’t the biggest issue for Canada. I too think Parekh would be high risk pick for the team. Between and after whistles. This is IIHF hockey and his antics would have him in the box or the stands constantly.

 

[Fischhaber]

It was hyperbole because like BMB, Virgilio, Allard and so many guys in the past I think Soo fans (a couple in particular) overvalue Gibson and his impact. He wasn’t the solution but he wasn’t the biggest issue for Canada. I too think Parekh would be high risk pick for the team. Between and after whistles. This is IIHF hockey and his antics would have him in the box or the stands constantly.

Overrated is in the eye of the beholder and it's a pretty overused term. You have an axe to grind because people thought Kostov was a good player and he never replicated the same level of play with the Firebirds. I get it.

We haven't really even seen any of those guys you listed in the pros yet. Allard made a junior team and got drafted after he was an unknown due to missing an entire season, but some fans knew how good he was before that. Virgilio is having a nice season in Niagara. Everyone makes good and bad evaluations.

 

[DWI Dale]

i think when we get to see the return on a potential gibson trade we will get a quantitative answer on his value that will be outside of the subjective bias of HF posters.

i thought gibby had a pretty decent tournament and our 5v5 results seems to suggest we were playing solidly defensively. imo our downfall was a very soft forward group that was all too content to turnover pucks by trying to skate through 3 defenders, and was very soft in the offensive zone - all too content to shoot from the perimeter.

 

[TuckerFan1]

It was hyperbole because like BMB, Virgilio, Allard and so many guys in the past I think Soo fans (a couple in particular) overvalue Gibson and his impact. He wasn’t the solution but he wasn’t the biggest issue for Canada. I too think Parekh would be high risk pick for the team. Between and after whistles. This is IIHF hockey and his antics would have him in the box or the stands constantly.

No I get it. I will admit that when Canada fumbles, its fun to look back on the omissions and all the comments that were made at the time. While I think players like Parekh and Sennecke, etc would have been better choices, I think Cameron proved that he probably wouldn't have utilized them to their proper strengths.

For me, I will take high risk/high reward players over what we had this year, Low risk/not even a nibble of a reward players. Its a short tournament. Bring the best and let them do their thing. I think Canada wanted a more defensive / 2 way defender and that's why he wasn't considered. But if it had to do with his antics, what a great message they sent. "Hey, clean up your act! Now watch as we spend the entire tournament shorthanded with the most undisciplined team in recent memory".

Its going to be a long wait, but It should be another good tournament next year with the US hosting in Minnesota. Should be a very anti Canada crowd. Really hoping Canada comes a little more prepared next year with the attitude the US players have when they play in front of the Canadian crowds.

 

[OMG67]

Jsut took a look at tickets for Minnesota next year. A two ticket package is basically $7500cdn. This tournament is getting silly priced now.

 

[Dog Fan]

Send Dave Cameron to Canadian Siberia. This cat can't coach

 

[EvenSteven]

You have a 22 man roster. That’s two more players that you can dress over the standard 20 players. This team could’ve taken a couple power-play specialists, Parekh being one, and ran them out there on PP’s only. If we get four or five PP’s a game, it stands to reason that these players would help.

Hell, even if you had them on the roster, and didn’t use them initially in the tournament, you could go to them if the power-play is shooting blanks as our power-play did in this tournament.

And as far as Parekh being a sideshow, the chance of that happening if he’s used only on PP’s when the focus is scoring, is greatly reduced.