GDT: Group B • Dec. 31 • Canada 5, Sweden 6 (SO) • Part 3

[Garyboy]

Before the tournament started, I though our defence would be our strength..but honestly, I'm just shocked at how bad they are. Even in the first period against Norway...they we're giving up so many shots. The only ones on defence that have been ok are Cowen and Gudbransson....the rest have been awful. Yes I find even Ellis sucks on defence. The worst have been Olsen and Despres though...Was expecting much better from them..

Size over skill. This is what happens you opt for size. Murphy and Murray would look awful good out there...

 

[Garyboy]

I'm still trying to figure out why Cameron keeps playing Olsen on the top pairing.

In every single game this tournament, Olsen has been Canada's worst defenseman (sometimes by a wide margin). There's no question that his performance has earned him 7th defenseman status, yet there he is on the ice every time Ellis goes out.

That, and keeping Roy in the net are the two areas I'm questioning Cameron's decision-making after the end of the round-robin.

Olsen's contiuned regular shift has been the strnagest thing I have seen in quite sometime. A defenseman this bad would be glued to the bench in Minor Peewee AAA, let alone the World Juniors. Someone needs to ask Cameron what the deal is.

 

[Fortheloveofthegame]

What an exciting game! Soooo impressed with the Swedish team. They have it all. Their passing is incredible, but even when a pass went in the skates, behind etc. they seem to be able to just pull it from anywhere and contol it.
They also seem a lot tougher than past years. Canada was dishing out some big hits, they took it, and dished some of their own.
As much as I think they are a WAY better team than Canada in talent, skill and just overall play........Canada almost always finds a way to win. They get lucky bounces, lucky calls, it always amazes me.
Anyway, exciting game. Canada should beat the Swiss, but their goalie is hot right now so I am not sure it will be a blow out.....guess we will see soon.

 

[Dosing]

First off I'm completely unimpressed by the lack of class by the Swedes. Talk about no class. Try acting like you've won before. All this trash talk in the media by the coach is stupid IMO. You talk trash to a team that's basically dominated the tournament for the past decade LOL real smart. Anyway, to your point, actually it was more Sweden looking like the boys as you guys were getting drilled left right and center. You played a great game..sure, congrats on getting the bye. But realize you haven't won anything yet. I hope your coaches words come back to bite you.

Actually swedish teams have always played badly after beating a good team. Just look at czech after russia. Odds are the coach wants a good mentality for the semi. He'll probbably say that canada was the harder team if we win on monday.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Who was the one crushing Larsson into the net?

Ryan Johansen. What does him nailing Larsson have to do with Olsen?

Or are you referring to one of the few times Olsen slammed a Swedish forward on top of his own goalie for some inexplicable reason? That's the only "crushing" Olsen did last night. But it was Olivier Roy who was on the receiving end.

 

[Rust Cohle]

I think Sweden controlled the game against Canada better than they did aginst Russia. I don't think Rönnberg is talking trash by claiming that they had a tougher game against Russia. Lehner was the difference maker in that game.

 

[Trotzig]

Ryan Johansen. What does him nailing Larsson have to do with Olsen?

Or are you referring to one of the few times Olsen slammed a Swedish forward on top of his own goalie for some inexplicable reason?

That was so Pejorative Slured. I rewatched that sequence almost 50 times, laughing like someone equally Pejorative Slured.

Well, thats one way to hurt your goalie.

 

[SurMartin]

Ryan Johansen. What does him nailing Larsson have to do with Olsen?

Or are you referring to one of the few times Olsen slammed a Swedish forward on top of his own goalie for some inexplicable reason? That's the only "crushing" Olsen did last night. But it was Olivier Roy who was on the receiving end.

Actually, if you're referring to the one about five minutes into the first, it was A. Larsson trying to get the puck in there.

Honestly, I thought canadas defence looked a bit weak in this game.

 

[bottomofthefoodchain]

Throwing big hits is... nice.
Winning the game is better.

 

[Plante]

Throwing big hits is... nice.
Winning the game is better.

Winning the game is... nice.

Winning gold is better.

 

[bottomofthefoodchain]

Winning the game is... nice.

Winning gold is better.

Well, you've done neither so far this year

 

[bebl]

that wasn't goalies game...

 

[Pentothal]

You say it happens often.....then go on and give only 1 example. What other Swedish coaches/players have trash talked?

It has happened before. Pääjärvi did, to be fair. Said something about Canada being scared of Sweden two years ago. It's just the players bigging themselves up before a crucial game. If some fans take it as some slant against their nation, well that doesn't really matter in the big scheme of things.

 

[Minister of Offence]

I think Sweden controlled the game against Canada better than they did aginst Russia. I don't think Rönnberg is talking trash by claiming that they had a tougher game against Russia. Lehner was the difference maker in that game.

Had Russia sucked against Sweden you probably wouldn't see Ronnberg telling the media the Czechs and Canadians are better. It's gamesmanship...it's all good, it hasn't exactly been a recipe for success for the Swedes in this tournament.

 

[Zine]

It has happened before. Pääjärvi did, to be fair. Said something about Canada being scared of Sweden two years ago. It's just the players bigging themselves up before a crucial game. If some fans take it as some slant against their nation, well that doesn't really matter in the big scheme of things.

So only Forsberg and Paajarvi, 2 players since 1993? That hardly constitutes it happening often.

I think all this 'trash talking' nonsense reeks more of people's arrogance and insecurity of their own hockey then any actual maliciousness on the part of Swedes......especially when a major media outlet like TSN manufacturers said 'disrespect' by taking some player's comments out of context. (Lander situation).

 

[Pentothal]

So only Forsberg and Paajarvi, 2 players since 1993? That hardly constitutes it happening often.

I think all this 'trash talking' nonsense reeks more of people's arrogance and insecurity of their own hockey then any actual maliciousness on the part of Swedes......especially when a major media outlet like TSN manufacturers said 'disrespect' by taking some player's comments out of context. (Lander situation).

Yes, I agree that the media loves to make a meal of this kind of thing. I lost a lot of respect for Dreger when he ran that Lander (non-) story.

 

[Canuck21t]

Well I don't even know what to say. Are you serious?

No, of course I was exasperating here. But I truly think that Swedish coaches and players when talking to the media tend to be condescendant to Hockey Canada.

So only Forsberg and Paajarvi, 2 players since 1993? That hardly constitutes it happening often.

I think all this 'trash talking' nonsense reeks more of people's arrogance and insecurity of their own hockey then any actual maliciousness on the part of Swedes......especially when a major media outlet like TSN manufacturers said 'disrespect' by taking some player's comments out of context. (Lander situation).

There are more cases than 2, but don't expect me to go out of my way to find the links for proof. Some names I've forgotten a long time ago, but let me tell you this. I have nothing against Sweden as a nation, yet it is the Swedes that I find the most condescending. Not the Russians, the Czechs nor the Finns, but the Swedes.

Well according to TSN, not saying Canada is teh bizniz is disrespectful, so I wouldn't listen to them

None of us expects anyone to always consider Canadians as demi-gods, but we don't find it wise for the coaches or players to degrade another team like this in the open. It's fine for the press to do it though because it's their job to describe and analyse.

When Canada absolutely dominated Russia in Vancouver, no one from Hockey Canada said anything condescending to Team Russia. Instead, Canadians talked more about how well they played. It's all about execution. Swedes have all the right to think that Canada sucks, but there are better ways to express that feeling.

 

[Phil McKraken]

There are more cases than 2, but don't expect me to go out of my way to find the links for proof.

If you make a statement like that you better have to go out of your way to back it up with something, because it's a downright bizarre claim. If anything, Swedish athletes and hockey players are well-known for being extremely self-effacing and 'pc boring' in these situations, because that's how the Swedish sports mentality is and has always been. The media being the media, do you think Rönnberg came in, grabbed the mic and exclaimed "Russia and CR were better", or do you think he got a relating question and then made an answer that the media took out of context? It's pretty gullible to not go with the latter alternative.

After Sweden downed Canada 6-5 in a shootout, Ronnberg raised some eyebrows when he said his team's defence was tested more in earlier games against Russia and the Czech Republic than it was against the Canadians.

^ That's all it says, come on. For what it's worth, he didn't even comment on the Canadian team as a whole, the topic was how the Swedish defence was tested (and Lehner and luck pretty much were the only reasons we managed to beat the Russians by 2-0).

I think you're overreacting because of some Swedish posters on this forum being bad winners. However, it goes both ways. Just like many Swedes have been whining extremely much about the refs in these championships after losing, many Canadians have now started whining about absent players. Then the neverending carousel gets going. It goes both ways, but you only tend to notice one of them when you win/lose.

 

[Zine]

No, of course I was exasperating here. But I truly think that Swedish coaches and players when talking to the media tend to be condescendant to Hockey Canada.


There are more cases than 2, but don't expect me to go out of my way to find the links for proof. Some names I've forgotten a long time ago, but let me tell you this. I have nothing against Sweden as a nation, yet it is the Swedes that I find the most condescending. Not the Russians, the Czechs nor the Finns, but the Swedes.


None of us expects anyone to always consider Canadians as demi-gods, but we don't find it wise for the coaches or players to degrade another team like this in the open. It's fine for the press to do it though because it's their job to describe and analyse.

When Canada absolutely dominated Russia in Vancouver, no one from Hockey Canada said anything condescending to Team Russia. Instead, Canadians talked more about how well they played. It's all about execution. Swedes have all the right to think that Canada sucks, but there are better ways to express that feeling.

I'm sure if the media had an agenda they definitely would have been.


FACT = TSN is in the ratings business; they are essentially selling the WJC. Considering as such, "the evil Swedes trash talking the good Canadians" makes for a great story when emotions are running high and it's people like you who fall for these manufactured controversies and then resort to comments like "I have never found Swedes to be a class act outside of the rink".

There was nothing wrong with what Lander and Ronnberg said.
So Lander thinks America is the team to beat.......so what?
And when asked about his defense Ronnberg said it was tested more vs Russia and Czechs......so what?

Lighten up and be smart enough to not fall for TSN's spin.

 

[Moobles]

I'd hardly call the press' job to "describe" and "analyze". More like sensationalize and generate ratings.

I don't hold a grudge against Sweden they've got a good team and we've won more than enough WJCs. If I was the Swedish coach I'd probably be stoked with the victory too, Canada's a tough team that's be on their case for a decade if not more. I hope we get another, but they're a deserving team, as are all competitors in this tourny.

 

[Crazyhorse]

I really think that the Canadian fans need to calm down a bit; you lost to Sweden, which isn't exactly a bad team. There's no need to bring up Sweden's WWII history, claim that every American athlete is on drugs, etc. Just calm down, Canada could easily come back and win the tournament, or then again they could lose like they did last year. Whatever happens it will be fun to watch!

A few things need to be said:

-Not all canadian fans are complaining
-Not all swedish posters are being poor winners
-Sweden have _nothing_ to apologize about concerning WW2. We helped most jews escape from the death camps then anybody else, atleast among the neutral countries. Our government managed to keep us out of the most destructive war in human history which enabled us to build up the most succesfull welfare state in history. Germany was our number one trading partner, including two vital resources, salt and coal. Without coal, which were the n.1 heating element, we would freeze during winter, and without salt, our food industry would collapse, including the cattle industry. Concerning trade, we had no realistic alternative. And there was no opinion in Sweden to go to war for either the allies or the axis. I agree that the neutrality was compromised, but we where never belligerent.

Now, let us put history arguments behind, cause it has nothing to do with hockey. I hate commentating on political history on a hockeyforum, but at the same time, one can only read so much crap from others before one reacts.

I expect Canada to bounce back. Sweden played better then Canada, but it could be a different story if we meet again. I really hope we does, cause it's a great feeling to beat Canada. Canada is on top until we beat them in a game that matters. I want our players to hang gold around their necks, while the canadian players put the silver on. I pray that happens, but it could as well go the other way. Time will tell.

Until then, a continual happy new year, dear friends of hockey.

 

[n1cON]

Don´t know if this was posted before, if not, here´re the highlights of the game guys.

 

[Slimmy]

The media being the media, do you think Rönnberg came in, grabbed the mic and exclaimed "Russia and CR were better", or do you think he got a relating question and then made an answer that the media took out of context? It's pretty gullible to not go with the latter alternative.


^ That's all it says, come on. For what it's worth, he didn't even comment on the Canadian team as a whole, the topic was how the Swedish defence was tested (and Lehner and luck pretty much were the only reasons we managed to beat the Russians by 2-0).

I think he was right on the money and I've expressed it several times myself on these forums. Of the teams Sweden has played against o far, Russia was the biggest "test", so to speak.
Why get bashed when you're telling it like it is?

 

[Pitlick*]

Haha, I haven't heard "Chicken Swedes" for 20 years! Funny term. It was started because in the 70's most Swedish players wouldn't fight and would back down, hence "Chicken".

Things certainly have changed, I think this year's Swedish team is very gritty, they certainly haven't been "chicken" for awhile.


If you're going to bash us for calling you "Chicken Swedes", I'm going to have to call you out for Ulf Nilsson causing the start of "Potvin sucks": Ulf should have been tougher and been able to take a hit. "Nilsson sucks" if you ask me.


To be serious, the Swedes need to stop giving Canada bulletin board material. The comments by coach don't bother me, but make him look foolish, as you should always let sleeping dogs lie. Especially when the sleeping dog has crushed your dreams so many times over recent years. Do they never learn? If Canada and Sweden meet in the finals, I guarantee that coach will soil his pants, as if they lose, everyone will point at his comments, and he will look historically foolish.

 

[fischi]

pretty funny that americans coming in here and predicting the end of hockey in canada.

I think it's inevitable that canada will not always win everything. When the Czechs won the juniors, the Olympics and the world championships in '98 were we fearing the end of Canadian hockey talent? hells no.

I can see the U.S. having a brief showing like that at one point, but Canada will hang around and then be dominant for another period of time.

I just don't see how the U.S. can ever replace Canada as a main hockey superpower. It's too much a part of our culture.

Your so right! Canada has nothing else but hockey! I mean over half the U.S could give two ***** about hockey. Its a lil funny!