World Cup: Four Nations Tournament-Team Canada

[JackSlater]

I think everyone knows Stamkos doesn’t offer much at 5v5 anymore so I can’t see him making it. But someone like Stone is a much better player than Bedard at this point so I wouldn’t even chalk it up to being conservative.

Thing with Bedard is, what if he turns the corner in January but they’ve left him off due to his play now?

This is a worthwhile point. People still complain about Crosby not being selected to the 2006 Olympic team - by the time the team was picked, Crosby had 33 points in 33 games and only 5 points in the previous 10 games. There were higher scoring Canadians at that time who were not picked as well. Bedard is not Crosby, but you are better on talent. Canada is not loaded with 13 forwards so good that you cannot keep them off the team to select Bedard. It's also.... just the four nations cup.

Why wouldn’t Josh Morrissey be up on the top pair? He might be our best two way defender

It wouldn't make sense to put Canada's best two defencemen on the same pairing and leave the other pairings far weaker.

 

[Nucks2001]

Revised Lines:

Crosby-McDavid-MacKinnon
Marchand-Point-Reinhart
O’Reilly-Scheifele-Marner
Lafreniere-Suzuki-Stone
Bedard-Verhaege

Good, but skilled size in the bottom size with guys like O’Reilly, Scheifele, Lafreniere and Stone. Rather have those big guys than Wilson, Bennett or Lowry. Ideally, you ride your biggest strengths on the first line and your 2nd lline is your match-up line. Bedard and Verhaege as your scoring support.

Robert Thomas, IF YOU’RE HEALTHY, I’d take you over Scheifele in a HEARTBEAT.

 

[JackSlater]

RW is starting to look like a strength for Canada, at last early this season. Reinhart, Konecny, Marner, and Stone are all off to strong starts offensively and are all solid defensively or provide a gritty element. Point could slide over too.

 

[Eye of Ra]

RW is starting to look like a strength for Canada, at last early this season. Reinhart, Konecny, Marner, and Stone are all off to strong starts offensively and are all solid defensively or provide a gritty element. Point could slide over too.

Marner and grit????

 

[JackSlater]

Marner and grit????

"Or" is the key word in that sentence.

 

[Zybalto]

Hyman-McDavid-Marner
Marchand-Crosby-Reinhart
McCann-MacKinnon-Konecny
Hagel-Point-Stone

Bedard/LAF/Schiefele/Suzuki/Bennet/Thomas

Toews-Makar
Morrisey-Doughty
Theodore-Pietrangelo
Bouchard/Pelech/Rielly/Weegar/Dobson/Power

Binner
Kuemper
Hil
Fleury
Monty

I keep changing things around as we are crazy deep in front of the goalies.

 

[DJB]

This is a worthwhile point. People still complain about Crosby not being selected to the 2006 Olympic team - by the time the team was picked, Crosby had 33 points in 33 games and only 5 points in the previous 10 games. There were higher scoring Canadians at that time who were not picked as well. Bedard is not Crosby, but you are better on talent. Canada is not loaded with 13 forwards so good that you cannot keep them off the team to select Bedard. It's also.... just the four nations cup.



It wouldn't make sense to put Canada's best two defencemen on the same pairing and leave the other pairings far weaker.

Bedard as our 13th F to me makes sense .

On the flip side I don’t think putting one of our weaker D on the top pair with Makar that’s going to play 20+ minutes makes sense either

 

[JackSlater]

Bedard as our 13th F to me makes sense .

On the flip side I don’t think putting one of our weaker D on the top pair with Makar that’s going to play 20+ minutes makes sense either

Canada's defence isn't all that good anymore. Makar and Morrissey are top ten defencemen in the world, they need to be split up for the sake of spreading the quality around. It's a problem that Canada doesn't have seven of the top 15 or so defencemen anymore, but putting Morrissey with Makar just makes the issue worse. I'm not enamored with Toews either though.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Keep sleeping on Sanheim.

 

[weems]

Hyman-McDavid-Marner
Marchand-Crosby-Reinhart
McCann-MacKinnon-Konecny
Hagel-Point-Stone

Bedard/LAF/Schiefele/Suzuki/Bennet/Thomas

Toews-Makar
Morrisey-Doughty
Theodore-Pietrangelo
Bouchard/Pelech/Rielly/Weegar/Dobson/Power

Binner
Kuemper
Hil
Fleury
Monty

I keep changing things around as we are crazy deep in front of the goalies.

I like this lineup the most so far mostly in part to the fact you were able to get everyone playing on their strong side.

Hyman is the only one who isn't but that's his normal position.

 

[Nucks2001]

Hyman-McDavid-Marner
Marchand-Crosby-Reinhart
McCann-MacKinnon-Konecny
Hagel-Point-Stone

Bedard/LAF/Schiefele/Suzuki/Bennet/Thomas

Toews-Makar
Morrisey-Doughty
Theodore-Pietrangelo
Bouchard/Pelech/Rielly/Weegar/Dobson/Power

Binner
Kuemper
Hil
Fleury
Monty

I keep changing things around as we are crazy deep in front of the goalies.

MacKinnon is NOT playing 3rd line minutes on this roster.

 

[Zybalto]

I like this lineup the most so far mostly in part to the fact you were able to get everyone playing on their strong side.

Hyman is the only one who isn't but that's his normal position.

I'm not sure why more people dont have McCann in their lineup. Over the last 2 full seasons and this one so far (9 goals and 21 points) he is in the elite for production by all left wingers. His comparables are guys like Panarin and Robertson. Top 3 for goals per 60. Under the radar out there in Seattle.

MacKinnon is NOT playing 3rd line minutes on this roster.

You just roll the lines. Every line is a two-way powerhouse IMO.

 

[therealdeal]

I wouldn’t take Hagel, he won’t get any PP time, and he’s not actually a high skilled player. He’s a grinder in my opinion, and has never actually helped Canada win anything.

Not sure why everyone is down on Schief, he’d be on my team anyway possible.

Bedard shouldn’t be getting a sniff right now, Taylor Hall would be the player you’re taking out of Chicago if you’re taking anyone, and you’re not taking Hall.

 

[Dominance]

Currently 21 Canadians in the top-50 P/GP, to 9 Americans, 4 Finns and 4 Swedes. We’ll have the clear firepower advantage - it will just be a question of whether our goaltending disadvantage will be even greater.

 

[Nucks2001]

I wouldn’t take Hagel, he won’t get any PP time, and he’s not actually a high skilled player. He’s a grinder in my opinion, and has never actually helped Canada win anything.

Not sure why everyone is down on Schief, he’d be on my team anyway possible.

Bedard shouldn’t be getting a sniff right now, Taylor Hall would be the player you’re taking out of Chicago if you’re taking anyone, and you’re not taking Hall.

Agreed. I love Hagel, but he would fill the Marchand role AND I would 100% take Hagel over Marchand if it weren’t for Marchand already being named to the roster

 

[HighLifeManIsHigh]

Guys, Crosby will not be put on the wing.

McDavid is more likely to be put on the wing than Sid

 

[SillyRabbit]

Stone-Point-Reinhart is a line I'd love to see matched up against other Countries' top lines.

Forget about just shutting them down, if you give them an inch, they'll put the puck in the back of your net.

I also want to see MacKinnon and Crosby on the same line.

And I do not think Hyman deserves to make this team. He's having a very slow start to the season as well, so it's not like you'd be riding the hot hand or anything.

McDavid will have chemistry with literally any player who makes this team. Because he's insanely talented and anyone on his line will also be a star.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

I find the forward group harder to put together than previous best-on-bests. Not really an younger players this time that have decisively solidified a roster spot. No natural linemates that can form the foundation of a line, like Getzlaf + Perry. Canada has many quality players to choose from, some of them mid-career/post-peak players, and obviously the cornerstone superstar centres, but its a somewhat unusual group of forwards that don't fit together, at least on paper. Here is my take:

McDavid - Crosby - Reinhart
Lafreniere - MacKinnon - Konecny
Bennett - Point - Marner
Marchand - Scheifele - Stone
Thomas, Hagel

1. I have McDavid lined up on Crosby's wing, which will allow McDavid to float a little more freely up near the d-zone blue line and lead the rush with the puck on his stick...playing more to his strengths. Crosby is more than capable of taking care of business defensively against the opponent's top lines, can take key d-zone faceoffs, and obviously has the skill to complement McDavid. Reinhart is the triggerman on this line, and adds Selke-caliber defensive play from the wing (and can take faceoffs from his strong RHS side). Very strong top line for Canada.

2. MacKinnon between two natural wingers who can attack downhill with Nate with speed and aggression. Konecny is a beast at ES, can play an aggressive game, and has the all-around skill to back it up. To me, Lafreniere proved in last year's playoffs that he can play for Canada at the best-on-best level and possesses a good all-around offensive game.

3. I like Point at centre, as the triggerman, with the natural playmaker - Marner - on his right side. Those two players need a little oomph on their other side, so I thought Bennett would be a good fit. Tough to play against, good amount of skill, playoff beast the last 2 seasons, and off to a good start this season.

4. Firstly, its great to see Stone healthy and playing well. He easily nails down the 4RW role. Marchand is (somewhat unfortunately) already named to this team, but 4LW is a reasonable spot for him on this roster that allows him to excel on the PK, and play limited minutes in a more limited role. In my view, Scheifele has locked-down the 4C role.

Spares - Thomas, provided he's healthy, and Hagel. One could build a case for Bedard/Johnston/Byfield/Jarvis/etc if the goal is to build for 2026, but personally I don't think Canada will pursue that course of action and will look to win this tournament, and let the chips fall into place in about a year's time for the next Olympics.

Would also consider Hyman, Duchene, O'Reilly, Suzuki and probably a few others along with the youngsters.

 

[MarkT]

Okay, here's my roster.

FORWARDS
For the forwards, it's based mostly on points production. I want four lines than can score. Since we won't have the best goaltending, I think the best strategy is to try to just win games by scoring tons of goals, rather than trying to play a tight checking game. As a result, I didn't choose any forwards based purely on their defensive game or penalty killing usage.

MacKinnon - Crosby - McDavid
Let's go! Put the three best forwards together. MacKinnon and McDavid can move the puck back and forth all around the offensive zone and Crosby can win faceoffs, go to the front of the net and grind in the corners. Plus, when you need one goal to tie the game, you want these three out there regardless, so they may as well build chemistry all game as a line. Oh, and for everyone putting MacKinnon at center, he barely even plays that position in Colorado (he's not the main faceoff guy on his lines and often plays wing in the defensive zone).
Reinhart - Point - Marner
Speed, goal scoring, passing ability, tenacity - this line has everything you need. Plus two of our penalty killers in Reinhart and Marner. I had to move one RW to LW, and Reinhart is my pick to be the trigger man on his off wing with these two playmakers.
Barzal - Thomas - Stone
Another balanced line that can control play in the offensive zone, transition the puck, and score.
Marchand - Scheifele - Konecny
Your all hustle, put in a clutch goal fourth line. I also have Nick Suzuki as the extra forward, so he can slot in here seamlessly if needed. You could easily switch Scheifele and Thomas also if the chemistry doesn't work with these bottom two lines.

DEFENSE
For defense, I went based on a variety of stats (traditional and advanced). I made sure to have four guys who regularly kill penalties on their team, but I also want everyone here to be able to score and move the puck, so no pure shutdown defensemen.

Toews - Makar
Toews is having a down year so he almost didn't make the team, but his chemistry with Makar and PK skills put him ahead of guys like Sanheim and Theodore. These two with that top line is going to be pretty much unstoppable.
Chabot - Bouchard
I want Bouchard to have a steady partner whose main role is to feed him the puck and take on the heavy defensive load.
Morrissey - Burns
Burns was my surprise pick as he wasn't even on my initial list, but he kept showing up in the stats. He'll be a good veteran presence with a relatively young D core. I've also got Noah Dobson as the backup, so if Burns isn't cutting it, we have a ready replacement. Also, if Doughty is healthy and playing well, I might replace Burns or Dobson with him.

GOAL
Talbot
Thompson
Binnington
Statistically, Talbot has been Canada's best goalie going back since last season. Thompson is in as the hopeful starter of the future and based on his hot start to this year. Meanwhile, Binnington is there because when he's hot he's proven he can win.

2nd Team Canada (guys who didn't make the cut)
Hyman - Strome - Duchene
Hagel - Bedard - Stamkos
Verhaeghe - Horvat - Stankoven
Jarvis - Kadri - Guenther

Dunn - Doughty
Sanheim - Weegar
Theodore - Pietrangelo

Montembeault
Blackwood
Hill

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Chabot - Bouchard
I want Bouchard to have a steady partner whose main role is to feed him the puck and take on the heavy defensive load

Is there a different Chabot in the league? Because Thomas Chabot is the opposite of steady defensively.

 

[Mathieukferland]

And I do not think Hyman deserves to make this team. He's having a very slow start to the season as well, so it's not like you'd be riding the hot hand or anything.

I want to say Lafrenière play on McDavid’s left side; he knows how to play with a brilliant playmaker, he’s physical on the forecheck, and he gets to the hard to get to spots on the ice in front of the net or below the face off circles

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Okay, here's my roster.

FORWARDS
For the forwards, it's based mostly on points production. I want four lines than can score. Since we won't have the best goaltending, I think the best strategy is to try to just win games by scoring tons of goals, rather than trying to play a tight checking game. As a result, I didn't choose any forwards based purely on their defensive game or penalty killing usage.

MacKinnon - Crosby - McDavid
Let's go! Put the three best forwards together. MacKinnon and McDavid can move the puck back and forth all around the offensive zone and Crosby can win faceoffs, go to the front of the net and grind in the corners. Plus, when you need one goal to tie the game, you want these three out there regardless, so they may as well build chemistry all game as a line. Oh, and for everyone putting MacKinnon at center, he barely even plays that position in Colorado (he's not the main faceoff guy on his lines and often plays wing in the defensive zone).
Reinhart - Point - Marner
Speed, goal scoring, passing ability, tenacity - this line has everything you need. Plus two of our penalty killers in Reinhart and Marner. I had to move one RW to LW, and Reinhart is my pick to be the trigger man on his off wing with these two playmakers.
Barzal - Thomas - Stone
Another balanced line that can control play in the offensive zone, transition the puck, and score.
Marchand - Scheifele - Konecny
Your all hustle, put in a clutch goal fourth line. I also have Nick Suzuki as the extra forward, so he can slot in here seamlessly if needed. You could easily switch Scheifele and Thomas also if the chemistry doesn't work with these bottom two lines.

DEFENSE
For defense, I went based on a variety of stats (traditional and advanced). I made sure to have four guys who regularly kill penalties on their team, but I also want everyone here to be able to score and move the puck, so no pure shutdown defensemen.

Toews - Makar
Toews is having a down year so he almost didn't make the team, but his chemistry with Makar and PK skills put him ahead of guys like Sanheim and Theodore. These two with that top line is going to be pretty much unstoppable.
Chabot - Bouchard
I want Bouchard to have a steady partner whose main role is to feed him the puck and take on the heavy defensive load.
Morrissey - Burns
Burns was my surprise pick as he wasn't even on my initial list, but he kept showing up in the stats. He'll be a good veteran presence with a relatively young D core. I've also got Noah Dobson as the backup, so if Burns isn't cutting it, we have a ready replacement. Also, if Doughty is healthy and playing well, I might replace Burns or Dobson with him.

GOAL
Talbot
Thompson
Binnington
Statistically, Talbot has been Canada's best goalie going back since last season. Thompson is in as the hopeful starter of the future and based on his hot start to this year. Meanwhile, Binnington is there because when he's hot he's proven he can win.

2nd Team Canada (guys who didn't make the cut)
Hyman - Strome - Duchene
Hagel - Bedard - Stamkos
Verhaeghe - Horvat - Stankoven
Jarvis - Kadri - Guenther

Dunn - Doughty
Sanheim - Weegar
Theodore - Pietrangelo

Montembeault
Blackwood
Hill

So Lafreniere can’t even make the second team Canada?

 

[CuuuJooo]

These projections that leave Stuart Skinner in Edmonton where he belongs please me.

 

[JackSlater]

I like seeing the reasoning behind the picks people make, even if I don't agree. Basically two weeks until this team is announced, haven't heard a lot of thoughts from McKenzie yet and he historically has good intel on Hockey Canada.