GDT: Four Nations Face-Off

[KJ Dangler]

Really a shame that Russia and the Czechs didn’t have a team, although I was thinking about it , would Malkin be the top center for the Russian team ? Weird that RUSSIA develops so many elite wingers , but not many centers these days.

 

[Doggy]

As a CBJ fan my first priority for the championship game tomorrow night is that Z comes out of it healthy.

Good to know that all the camps I went to as a kid weren't helping

What a fascinating article and enjoyed the insight. These are the kinds of articles that keep me subscribed to TA. The comments Oettinger made make a lot of sense explaining why more and more kids skipped the CHL over the last 10-15 years in order to preserve their NCAA status. Even with the ability to jump from the CHL to NCAA now, seems like it is much easier to get lost or forgotten in the CHL meat grinder.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Really a shame that Russia and the Czechs didn’t have a team, although I was thinking about it , would Malkin be the top center for the Russian team ? Weird that RUSSIA develops so many elite wingers , but not many centers these days.

Are there even enough Czech players in the NHL to field a complete team? I don't even think they have 6 D in the NHL.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[koteka]

@koteka said this game doesn't matter, you guys better remember that

So, it is winner take all on Thursday. The first game will be forgotten by all of Canada if Canada wins this week. And Americans will remember that game, but we won’t bring it up if we lose, because Canadians will tell us that game didn’t matter. Now, if the US wins, we will talk forever about beating a Canadian team with Crosby and McDavid twice in a four team tournament.

 

[stevo61]

So, it is winner take all on Thursday. The first game will be forgotten by all of Canada if Canada wins this week. And Americans will remember that game, but we won’t bring it up if we lose, because Canadians will tell us that game didn’t matter. Now, if the US wins, we will talk forever about beating a Canadian team with Crosby and McDavid twice in a four team tournament.

And even if I have to listen to you guys talk about that it will still be better than experiencing another all star game. Thursday should be a good time

 

[DarkandStormy]

Really a shame that Russia and the Czechs didn’t have a team, although I was thinking about it , would Malkin be the top center for the Russian team ? Weird that RUSSIA develops so many elite wingers , but not many centers these days.

Barbashev, Namestnikov, Malkin, and....?

This mini-tournament was created solely to get USA vs Canada. And here we are.

 

[majormajor]

Barbashev, Namestnikov, Malkin, and....?

This mini-tournament was created solely to get USA vs Canada. And here we are.

You can't say that Sweden didn't have a significant chance.

And the NHL didn't have a real option of having a Russia team at this point of time, they would have run into boycotts, likely some Swedish and Finnish players not attending, etc... The league of course loves Canada vs USA finals, but having a fifth team, a really compelling Russia team to add some sizzling matchups would also be something they really liked.

 

[KJ Dangler]

You can't say that Sweden didn't have a significant chance.

And the NHL didn't have a real option of having a Russia team at this point of time, they would have run into boycotts, likely some Swedish and Finnish players not attending, etc... The league of course loves Canada vs USA finals, but having a fifth team, a really compelling Russia team to add some sizzling matchups would also be something they really liked.

Why would the Finnish and Swedish players not attend . There are Russians playing on most of the teams in the NHL ? Players like Marchenko, Voronkov , Ovie are ok to play every night , but shouldn’t be included in the pseudo All Star festivities ?

 

[majormajor]

Why would the Finnish and Swedish players not attend . There are Russians playing on most of the teams in the NHL ? Players like Marchenko, Voronkov , Ovie are ok to play every night , but shouldn’t be included in the pseudo All Star festivities ?

I'm not sure if they could get away with doing an "athletes from Russia" type of thing and just not include "team Russia" or the flag or anthems, while having the players play under a neutral flag like they did in the Olympics a few years ago. But yes, "Team Russia" is absolutely not going to happen while the war is ongoing, and it's not personal. You can have a Russian best friend and not want to participate in friendly matches with "Team Russia". That's not a contradiction. People are not countries.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I'm not sure if they could get away with doing an "athletes from Russia" type of thing and just not include "team Russia" or the flag or anthems, while having the players play under a neutral flag like they did in the Olympics a few years ago. But yes, "Team Russia" is absolutely not going to happen while the war is ongoing, and it's not personal. You can have a Russian best friend and not want to participate in friendly matches with "Team Russia". That's not a contradiction. People are not countries.

It is for sure unfortunate for players from Russia, but it's folly to presume these types of events, in which competitors are divided by nationality, will be apolitical. Consider the booing of the Star-Spangled Banner. That's a political act - at the least an act of pride in country in response to a political statement. And the passion with which the US team played the other night was probably just a pride thing, since there hasn't been a best-on-best for a decade, but that victory has certainly been co-opted by people interested in putting forth a political message.

 

[Doggy]

Are there even enough Czech players in the NHL to field a complete team? I don't even think they have 6 D in the NHL.

According to NHL..com: Filip Hronek, Radko Gudas, Jan Rutta, Jiricek and John Ludvig. We talking one top pairing d-man, maybe a couple 2nd pairing d-men and a couple of AHL/NHL call ups and none with much offensive skill.

Even if they had a sixth d-man, clearly not 4-Nations worthy.

 

[KJ Dangler]

I'm not sure if they could get away with doing an "athletes from Russia" type of thing and just not include "team Russia" or the flag or anthems, while having the players play under a neutral flag like they did in the Olympics a few years ago. But yes, "Team Russia" is absolutely not going to happen while the war is ongoing, and it's not personal. You can have a Russian best friend and not want to participate in friendly matches with "Team Russia". That's not a contradiction. People are not countries.

Yeah , honestly it’s pretty dumb . You are penalizing the players that are openly allowed to participate in the NHL , this tourney is a replacement for the allstar festivities , and honestly the only people that are being punished are players like Marchenko , Ovie , Voronkov , etc

 

[Youngguns1380]

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Yeah , honestly it’s pretty dumb . You are penalizing the players that are openly allowed to participate in the NHL , this tourney is a replacement for the allstar festivities , and honestly the only people that are being punished are players like Marchenko , Ovie , Voronkov , etc

Where do you draw the line? It also penalizes players from countries who don't have enough players in the NHL to field a team. I mean Draisaitl is being penalized because he's German.

 

[koteka]

Where do you draw the line? It also penalizes players from countries who don't have enough players in the NHL to field a team. I mean Draisaitl is being penalized because he's German.

That is why we need team Holy Roman Empire. That adds the Czechs, the Swiss, the Austrians, and Texier to Draisatl.

 

[majormajor]

That is why we need team Holy Roman Empire. That adds the Czechs, the Swiss, the Austrians, and Texier to Draisatl.

We don't have to go that far back, lol. Czechs and Slovaks didn't have to split up - just because you come from two slightly different nations with two slightly different languages doesn't mean you need to be two separate countries (I am serious about this). The issue right now with Czech NHL participation is that they can't field a full D group - from the Slovak side you would add Cernak, Fehervary, and soon Simon Nemec, basically solving the issue.

 

[koteka]

We don't have to go that far back, lol. Czechs and Slovaks didn't have to split up - just because you come from two slightly different nations with two slightly different languages doesn't mean you need to be two separate countries (I am serious about this). The issue right now with Czech NHL participation is that they can't field a full D group - from the Slovak side you would add Cernak, Fehervary, and soon Simon Nemec, basically solving the issue.

Yes but Holy Roman Empire brings in Josi, Seider, and JJ Moser on defense plus Drai, Hischier, Stutzle and Timo Meier as forwards combined the Czechs. If the Czech problem is defense, the Swiss and Moritz Seider can solve that.

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

Did not think this thread would reset the counter.

Days gone without thinking of the Roman Empire: 0.

 

[Aaaarrgghh]

Did not think this thread would reset the counter.

Days gone without thinking of the Roman Empire: 0.

Dangerously close to equating the Holy Roman Empire with the real Roman Empire there. Controversial stuff.

 

[majormajor]

Did not think this thread would reset the counter.

Days gone without thinking of the Roman Empire: 0.

The days without thinking of the Roman Empire counter is stuck permanently at zero for me, though HRE doesn't count.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Well, the east coast of what is now the USA used to be England. And the western half used to be Spain. So those nations could field pretty good teams depending on how far back we go.

 

[Monk]

Well, the east coast of what is now the USA used to be England. And the western half used to be Spain. So those nations could field pretty good teams depending on how far back we go.

Could be a real super-duper team if we go back far enough

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Could be a real super-duper team if we go back far enough

View attachment 979437

The games could be held outdoors on that ice sheet that the Eskimos came across from Russia to Alaska on.

Instead of Four Nations, it would be First Nations, and they would play lacrosse. But otherwise it would retain all the very best about this tournament that we have loved our whole lives.