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ESPN: NHL Olympics Decision costs Team USA shot at gold

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It IS kind of funny to me that Wyshynski is penning a pro-USA column that will get it's majority of hits from people who completely disagree with him...because they're all living north of the border.

I guess this is why ESPN hired him in the first place...he knows where his readers are.
 
the U.S. has been developing some very good players of late but they've got a LONG ways to go before they can ice a better team than Canada. team Canada could probably ice two teams that could beat the USA still.

I'm not doing ESPN the pleasure of clicking on that link.

bettman works pretty hard at growing the game in the biggest untapped market, the USA.
 
"Top to bottom, the 2018 Team USA squad would have been the most talented in history."
LLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL
 
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Yeah, it cost us a chance, in the sense that we'll probably go from the 4th best team in the Olympics with NHLers to the 6th best team in the Olympics without NHLers, but either way was still a longshot.

And yes, I'm pulling those rankings out of my keister. Just go with it.
 
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End on a Hinote said:
The American sports media tries so hard at trying to rationalize that they are the no. 1 hockey nation.
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There's a difference between calling this potentially the most talented pool of players available to USA Hockey and calling the US the best at hockey. The American sports media barely acknowledges hockey's existence, nevermind has delusions of grandeur about our standing in it.

There's zero doubt Team Canada wouldn't have been the runaway favorites for this tournament if NHL players were going, that doesn't mean Americans shouldn't have been able to get excited about having a roster better than the one that lost the gold medal in OT because of an idiot coach.

But, alas, they're not going. Phil Kessel's international career probably ended at the age of 26. Lame.
 
Still the same clickbait-y crap from Puck Daddy, no matter where he writes it now.
Yes, it sucks for the US that they won't be able to compete with the roster they could ice. But the same is true for Sweden or Canada or Russia. Or Finland or Czechia or Switzerland. I'd have liked to have seen all of those teams.
 
Despite my earlier post, I think that the article is clearly mostly tongue in cheek. I think that the author is serious that USA would have a strong team, but the rest of it seems more like a joke.
 
Snippit said:
The NHL's Olympics decision costs Team USA shot at gold

I won't go so far as to say that the NHL and the IOC conspired to keep players out of the 2018 Games to save Canada the embarrassment of getting dominated by the United States of America. But I won't outright dismiss the theory.

I think the author might be on to something here. The Canadians had to have known their streak was coming to an end, so they orchestrated this to save face. After all, the American roster on paper (boasting of a Lemieux-level talent with intangibles) was so clearly superior to Canada's that domination was a foregone conclusion. It's so obvious and so many people don't bother to see it.

Open your eyes, people!
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Ding ding ding ding Best troll ever
 
Heh.
The funny thing is, the States will have a better chance in 4 years. Guys like Eichel, Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Matthews, Werenski and Jones will all be in or around their primes. Guys like Kane and Kessel will still be good players in the league.

Still don't think this team would have stacked up against Canada. Not that defence. That defence has been an absolute stranglehold on the entire tournament since Vancouver. When you have to pick between 7-8 top pairing Dmen at any point of time, you know you're in solid.
 
I'm obviously rooting for the United States but it sounds like you think prior to this decision that Canada losing was a foregone conclusion. Canada has won gold in 2010 and 2014, and the World Cup last year. They won't be a pushover
 
I didn't read the article but the headline seems fair.

Canada would obviously still be favorites but the USA team would (on paper) have been much improved giving them a legitimate shot at gold. All it would take is one good game from Matthews, Kane, Eichel, Schneider, etc. It's not far-fetched at all.

I don't expect the non-NHL Team USA to do much.
 
Hate to break it to you espn... but that core of Crosby bergeron and ben and all those guys are all around 28 to 32.... we still have another 6-8 years of top absolute world tier domination in us.... then we have some younger guys like mcdavid, marner, barzal... yeah I’d say Canada hockey is definitely shaking in our boots right now
 
Not a popular opinion around here but it's almost as if the women's team doesn't exist. It's a bit easier to understand why people don't watch when access to live games (NWHL/CWHL) is extremely limited and broadcasts are nowhere near the production quality of men's, but especially during the Olympics, when people are paying lots of attention to the athletes' stories, the US women vs Canada should be a great watch. Especially after the heartbreaking (if you root for the US) last-minute loss in Sochi. Personally I love watching top-level athletes of any sport especially knowing what sacrifices they've made in order to pursue their sport to its highest levels. Much more compelling to me than most NHL games these days anyway...
 
teal said:
Not a popular opinion around here but it's almost as if the women's team doesn't exist. It's a bit easier to understand why people don't watch when access to live games (NWHL/CWHL) is extremely limited and broadcasts are nowhere near the production quality of men's, but especially during the Olympics, when people are paying lots of attention to the athletes' stories, the US women vs Canada should be a great watch. Especially after the heartbreaking (if you root for the US) last-minute loss in Sochi. Personally I love watching top-level athletes of any sport especially knowing what sacrifices they've made in order to pursue their sport to its highest levels. Much more compelling to me than most NHL games these days anyway...
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The massive disparity in ability is always going to limit the audience for women's hockey relative to men's hockey. I will say though that if the Canadian and American women meet up in the gold medal game again, I will watch. It's still the best women in the world, and there have been some legitimate classics between Canada and USA. If Canada and USA play in the men's final I won't be watching.
 
Bizz said:
key word, "shot" at Gold. Technically Belarus has a "shot" at a gold too.
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Belarus no, because they didn't qualify, but technically South Korea has a "shot" at gold too (that % going up from 0.00000001% to 0.01% with NHLers barred)
 
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