World Cup: Four Nations Tournament-Team Canada

[RoyIsALegend]

I'm curious if Strome gets a look. I don't think he's good enough, but he's off to a red hot start. And is strong enough defensively to slot in on the 4th line.

A hot start isn't everything, but it wouldn't surprise me.

It would definitely surprise me.

I don’t think Strome makes Team Canada 2, nevermind the first team.

There’s dozens and dozens of better forward options than him, regardless of a hot start.

 

[therocket9]

Team Canada goalies.....save percentages....Talbot .920% Allen .916% Thompson .913% Blackwood .911% Montembeault .906% and Binnington .887%. who will it be.

 

[Nucks2001]

Robert Thomas back earlier than expected. I can confidently say he makes the team

 

[ShameOnYouZidlicky]

Hagel McDavid Reinhart
Konecny MacKinnon Marner
Lafreniere Crosby Point
Marchand Cirelli Stone
Thomas

Toews Makar
Morrissey Pietrangelo
Theodore Dobson
Weegar

Talbot/Binnington/Thompson

Forward Notes

- I like the idea of having Canada's 3 best forwards playing at their natural positions and being strong down the middle.
- 1st line has McDavid passing to the best scorer on the team. Hagel adds speed and pack battling abilities
-2nd line has Marner giving to the puck to MacKinnon; Konecny brings some tenacity to the line
-3rd line has Crosby playing with players who can play a cycle game which is what he likes
-4th line is a good shut down line that can score. I like the idea of having Cirelli on team as a defensive centre who can kill penalties
-You can mix and match the 1st and 3rd lines pretty easily (Hagel-McDavid-Point; Laf-Crosby-Reinhart would work well too)

Defense Notes

- Seems like Toews and Makar are the consensus first pairing
- Too be honest I'm not entirely sure about the rest of the D. Seems like Morrissey is locked in at 2LD and I like the idea of a strong defensive presence playing with him
-I like Dobson on the 3rd pairing for a little more offense from the backend
- I could be convinced on a different 7th D
- I think the team should focus on building a very strong defensive-minded back end. Makar will drive the offence, but I think the team needs to pieces to shut down the elite US forward group they will bring over

Goalie Notes

- This is just sad
- I brought in Talbot and Thompson as they are the hotter hands right now and Binnington because of his experience. If the tournament started today, I would make Talbot the starter

 

[the valiant effort]

Goalie Notes

- This is just sad

 

[Nucks2001]

Hagel McDavid Reinhart
Konecny MacKinnon Marner
Lafreniere Crosby Point
Marchand Cirelli Stone
Thomas

Toews Makar
Morrissey Pietrangelo
Theodore Dobson
Weegar

Talbot/Binnington/Thompson

Forward Notes

- I like the idea of having Canada's 3 best forwards playing at their natural positions and being strong down the middle.
- 1st line has McDavid passing to the best scorer on the team. Hagel adds speed and pack battling abilities
-2nd line has Marner giving to the puck to MacKinnon; Konecny brings some tenacity to the line
-3rd line has Crosby playing with players who can play a cycle game which is what he likes
-4th line is a good shut down line that can score. I like the idea of having Cirelli on team as a defensive centre who can kill penalties
-You can mix and match the 1st and 3rd lines pretty easily (Hagel-McDavid-Point; Laf-Crosby-Reinhart would work well too)

Defense Notes

- Seems like Toews and Makar are the consensus first pairing
- Too be honest I'm not entirely sure about the rest of the D. Seems like Morrissey is locked in at 2LD and I like the idea of a strong defensive presence playing with him
-I like Dobson on the 3rd pairing for a little more offense from the backend
- I could be convinced on a different 7th D
- I think the team should focus on building a very strong defensive-minded back end. Makar will drive the offence, but I think the team needs to pieces to shut down the elite US forward group they will bring over

Goalie Notes

- This is just sad
- I brought in Talbot and Thompson as they are the hotter hands right now and Binnington because of his experience. If the tournament started today, I would make Talbot the starter

Love your forwards! Agreed on defence. I actually think Tanev might not be a bad 7th defenceman. Nothing Wrong with Weegar, he can certainly fill in a shutdown role, but I don’t think you can name 6 better defencemen that are better than Tanev at what he does. Slavin? Brodin? Ekholm? McAvoy? Forsling? Very few and I think Canada should take someone like him.

 

[Regal]

Robert Thomas back earlier than expected. I can confidently say he makes the team

I’m not sure. He’s a good player and there’s the Armstrong connection but he’s also a guy who doesn’t really bring any one particular quality like size or speed or elite defense. He’s just kind of solid everywhere. I feel like they might prefer the lower end of the roster to have more defined traits

 

[jj cale]

Team Canada goalies.....save percentages....Talbot .920% Allen .916% Thompson .913% Blackwood .911% Montembeault .906% and Binnington .887%. who will it be.

I think we are going with this guy, at least he's consistent, you know what you're gonna get.

 

[Mathieukferland]

I think we are going with this guy, at least he's consistent, you know what you're gonna get.

still better a better option than Tristan Jarry

 

[Nucks2001]

I’m not sure. He’s a good player and there’s the Armstrong connection but he’s also a guy who doesn’t really bring any one particular quality like size or speed or elite defense. He’s just kind of solid everywhere. I feel like they might prefer the lower end of the roster to have more defined traits

He's better defensively than Scheifele and argubaly over Suzuki as well. Better FO taker, bigger than Suzuki, better playmaker than both and a better skater than Scheifele. Scheifele's a better goal scorer though and bigger. That may edge him out, I just think Thomas is better at more facets of the game and is young enough to be groomed by Canada. Reuniting the former ROR and Thomas PK on Canada's 2nd PK unit would also bring a great deal of chemistry.

 

[MarkT]

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

You know what? You're right. Dumb choice by me. After watching the Avs-Flyers game last night, I'm changing my roster:

MacKinnon - Crosby - McDavid
Reinhart - Point - Marner
Barzal - Thomas - Stone
Marchand - Scheifele - Konecny
(Suzuki)

Toews - Makar
Sanheim - Bouchard
Morrissey - Burns
(Dobson/Doughty/Dunn)

Talbot
Thompson
Binnington

As for Lafrenière, he's 28th among Canadian forwards this season in points/60 and 27th in terms of points. Last season he was 45th and 34th respectively. If you're putting guys in just based on their playoff performance then you might want to learn about something called sample size.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I think it would be a mistake not to bring Bedard, at least as the 13th forward. I think he could be a difference maker, especially if he's extra motivated by not making the starting 12. When he was benched in the WC he came back playing excellent in his final game.

He'd be the team's best playmaking winger after Marner.

 

[CuuuJooo]

I think it would be a mistake not to bring Bedard, at least as the 13th forward. I think he could be a difference maker, especially if he's extra motivated by not making the starting 12. When he was benched in the WC he came back playing excellent in his final game.

He'd be the team's best playmaking winger after Marner.

I think that Bedard goes with an eye to 2026.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Bedard should be eyeing a major role on the 2025 World Championship team. Anyone on the 4 Nations team won't go in the spring. Combine that with the normal attendance issues, and the roster will be weak.

Bedard could play a starring role and earn a spot at the Olympics.

 

[MarkT]

I don't like the idea of putting anyone on the team because of their potential. I only want players who are already established and have proven they can produce. Bedard needs to find his game in the NHL before he deserves to be on teams like this. I'd much rather have a reliable leader like Suzuki as the 13th forward - someone who can step in anywhere in the lineup and play consistently well.

 

[jj cale]

I don't like the idea of putting anyone on the team because of their potential. I only want players who are already established and have proven they can produce. Bedard needs to find his game in the NHL before he deserves to be on teams like this. I'd much rather have a reliable leader like Suzuki as the 13th forward - someone who can step in anywhere in the lineup and play consistently well.

But this is a ( sort of) tournament we can afford to bring Bedard with an eye to the future.

This 4 nations mashup isn't life or death.

 

[Zybalto]

Hyman again with 0 points and goes down with an injury in the 3rd. 3 goals and 8 points in 20 games playing on a line with McDavid and a 1st powerplay with McDavid/Drai.

He's falling off a ton of lists now.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Problem is a lot of guys I had on the team before the year aren’t really having great seasons. Hyman, Bedard, Verheaghe, Wyatt Johnson. And guys having surprising seasons like Strome, Duchene I still don’t see making it.

I think Konecny has played his way onto the team. I would also like to see Bennett on it with his nice start and all his intangibles. Scheifele has probably played his way on.

 

[Zybalto]

Problem is a lot of guys I had on the team before the year aren’t really having great seasons. Hyman, Bedard, Verheaghe, Wyatt Johnson. And guys having surprising seasons like Strome, Duchene I still don’t see making it.

I think Konecny has played his way onto the team. I would also like to see Bennett on it with his nice start and all his intangibles. Scheifele has probably played his way on.

It's tough to count so many out right now. I agree on Konecny but iffy on Bennet still. Only so many spots out there.

(open)-McDavid-Marner
Marchand-Crosby-Reinhart
(open)-MacKinnon-Konecny
(open)-Point-Stone
(open)

Bennett, Scheifele, Thomas, Hagel, Duchene, Strome, Laf, Stamkos, Hyman, McCann, Bedard, Barzal and others fighting it out for spots. The others are now locks IMO.

 

[JackSlater]

I’m not sure. He’s a good player and there’s the Armstrong connection but he’s also a guy who doesn’t really bring any one particular quality like size or speed or elite defense. He’s just kind of solid everywhere. I feel like they might prefer the lower end of the roster to have more defined traits

Thomas is a very good skater but the main unique element he brings among top Canadian centres is that he is a regular penalty killer. McDavid and MacKinnon aren't going to be used that way, maybe Crosby will but he isn't great at it. Thomas gives them a centre who has that role in the NHL, and also a right handed centre option for the PK is they go with Crosby as a left handed centre option on the PK.

I think it would be a mistake not to bring Bedard, at least as the 13th forward. I think he could be a difference maker, especially if he's extra motivated by not making the starting 12. When he was benched in the WC he came back playing excellent in his final game.

He'd be the team's best playmaking winger after Marner.

Yeah it isn't like Canada has 14 absolute difference makers at forward right now to squeeze Bedard out. Bedard does bring a unique element to the wing on this team in that Canada won't have a winger who plays like him. As various people have already said, you can use this event somewhat as a training ground for the 2026 Olympics. You still want to win, but losing won't be as serious.

As for Bedard and the 2025 iihf world championship, he should be there regardless of whether he plays at the four nations. He's only 19 and he's going to have some pretty soft, meaningless games late in the season that won't be overly taxing. Chicago stinks, let the 2025 iihf world championship and locking up an Olympic spot be his version of the Stanley Cup this year.

 

[JackSlater]

Hyman again with 0 points and goes down with an injury in the 3rd. 3 goals and 8 points in 20 games playing on a line with McDavid and a 1st powerplay with McDavid/Drai.

He's falling off a ton of lists now.

Hyman shows that people don't really learn from the Kunitz situation. He was an obvious case of a guy having a spike in shooting percentage and also just being attached to the league's best player and playing on a tremendous powerplay. And all that said, if Hyman makes the team then I hope he plays tremendously.

Problem is a lot of guys I had on the team before the year aren’t really having great seasons. Hyman, Bedard, Verheaghe, Wyatt Johnson. And guys having surprising seasons like Strome, Duchene I still don’t see making it.

I think Konecny has played his way onto the team. I would also like to see Bennett on it with his nice start and all his intangibles. Scheifele has probably played his way on.

I rode for Konecny a bit in the summer and I hope that he has gotten himself a look. He was just as good of an even strength scorer as many Canadian wingers that people had ahead of him and he brings a gritty element that is helpful. Playing without much talent in Philadelphia docked him some points and he is not a great power play player, but that's fine for team Canada where he will have talent around him and he won't sniff the power play anyway. Interesting to see if he makes it.

 

[Regal]

He's better defensively than Scheifele and argubaly over Suzuki as well. Better FO taker, bigger than Suzuki, better playmaker than both and a better skater than Scheifele. Scheifele's a better goal scorer though and bigger. That may edge him out, I just think Thomas is better at more facets of the game and is young enough to be groomed by Canada. Reuniting the former ROR and Thomas PK on Canada's 2nd PK unit would also bring a great deal of chemistry.

Yea I do like him over those guys. I guess it makes sense to have him as the 4th line center considering the other options unless they run all of Mc,Mac,Crosby and Point down the middle. I had Johnston there going into the year but he’s playing his way off the team.