Olympics 2018

[meangene]

If USA Hockey ever gets it's head out of the sand and takes skill and speed over gritty vets, they'd be the second-strongest team in the tourney and would have a real chance at beating Canada in a one-game match up. The old guard of Suter, Oshie, Parise, etc. need to be expunged and forgotten about.

Coaches: Sullivan, Cooper, Laviolette

Gaudreau-Matthews-Kane
Saad-Pavelski-Wheeler
Pacioretty-Eichel-Larkin
Galchenyuk-Johnson-Kessel
Atkinson, Kreider

McDonaugh-Ghost
Werenski-Jones
Trouba-Shattenkirk
Byfuglien-Carlson

Schneider
Bishop
Hellebuyck

 

[SashaSemin28]

So the team could be made up of kids and it still wouldn't matter? No one should take the games seriously if the best aren't there.

Olympic Gold with or without NHL participation is still more important that the Stanley Cup.

 

[MuckOG]

Olympic Gold with or without NHL participation is still more important that the Stanley Cup.

From the European/Russian perspective, sure. I don't think that's the majority viewpoint on this side of the pond.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I mean doping scandal. There are some rumors that whole Russian Olympic team will be banned.

If they want to completely de-legitimize the Winter Olympics by banning the top Winter Olympic nation then that's a huge joke and a disservice to athletes around the world whose medals will be tainted knowing they didn't go up against all the worlds best.

 

[therealdeal]

If they want to completely de-legitimize the Winter Olympics by banning the top Winter Olympic nation then that's a huge joke and a disservice to athletes around the world whose medals will be tainted knowing they didn't go up against all the worlds best.

Yeah but the problem is that there is absolutely no way you can trust any of those athletes are even close to clean considering their entire federation is setup to assist them in cheating. They're always historically doped, we know they doped hard for the last Olympics officially, there is no way that federation gets clean in the next 8 months.

Edit: That came off more Anti-Russian than I had planned. I think there are LOTS of athletes doping in all forms of pro and amateur sport now. However, the argument against banning the Russians is the one that I stated.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Laine-Barkov-Puljujärvi
Granlund-Koivu-Rantanen
Teräväinen-Filppula-Aho
Komarov-Lehterä-Armia

Määttä-Ristolainen
Lepistö-Vatanen
Lindell-
Jokipakka

Rask

 

[Fragmuffin]

here's Russia, Czech rep., Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia the way I see them. I think i know these 6 more then the other half (or just dont want to do another one of thousand can/usa lineups). Guys with * are bubble players, and I added a list of players who will compete for places held by * players right now.

ovechkin kuznetsov kucherov
panarin anisimov radulov
kulemin* malkin tarasenko
kovalchuk datsyuk gusev*
sipachyov dadonov/telegin/namestnikov/buchnevich

zaitsev provorov
voynov zadorov
markov kulikov
orlov emelin/marchenko/nesterov

bob
varlamov
vasilevsky


hertl krejci pastrnak
palat plekanec voracek
frolik hanzal zacha*
faksa sobotka jaskin*
vrana* jagr/hemsky/vrbata/nestrasil/kase/sedlak

kempny sustr
jordan gudas
jerabek nakladal
polak* kindl/polasek/kundratek

mrazek
neuvirth
furch/salak


forsberg backstrom johansson
wennberg zibanejad hornqvist*
sedin sedin rakell
rask zetterberg silfverberg
backlund* nylander/arvidsson/steen/landeskog/nyqvist/eriksson/burakowsky

hedman klingberg*
karlsson lindholm
OEL hjalmarsson*
larsson* klefblom/stralman/ekholm/brodin

lundqvist
markstrom
lehner


laine barkov aho
granlund koivu filppula
teravainen lehtera rantanen
komarov haula* armia*
donskoi* jokinen/puljujarvi/granlund/lehkonen

lindell ristolainen
maatta vatanen
jokipakka honka
lepisto nutivara/lindbohm/pokka

rask
rinne
raanta


tatar dano hossa
panik hrivik gaborik
jurco marcinko hudacek
reway viedensky cehlarik
bakos lusnak/zaborsky

chara sekera
marincin meszaros
daloga granak
jaros svarny

halak
budaj
hudacek/janus


urbas kopitar ograjensek
jeglic ticar sabolic
mursak m.rodman pance
music* verlic pesut
pajic* d.rodman/koren/kuralt/pem

gregorc rebar
tavzelj kranjc
pavlin kovacevic
stebih repe

gracnar
kroselj
kristan

 

[WarriorofTime]

The World Cup was not a "Best on Best" tournament. A number of guys who should have played for the USA were not on the team because they had to play on the "North America Under-23 Team" (seriously wtf) and other countries lost to "Team Not a Real Country But Leftover European Countries That Don't Get Their Own Team". That thing was a joke and I hope it never comes back.

 

[SashaSemin28]

From the European/Russian perspective, sure. I don't think that's the majority viewpoint on this side of the pond.

I'd agree with that to be honest.

 

[Canuckistani]

The World Cup was not a "Best on Best" tournament. A number of guys who should have played for the USA were not on the team because they had to play on the "North America Under-23 Team" (seriously wtf) and other countries lost to "Team Not a Real Country But Leftover European Countries That Don't Get Their Own Team". That thing was a joke and I hope it never comes back.

Team USA was horribly weakened by the stupid U24 team. US was awful and the missing players might have made a huge difference, or not, but either way it was bush-league and unfair. Only Canada's insane depth saw them avoid significant losses (only, perhaps, McDavid).

The last chance for the WC to attain any sort of credibility was for it to end with a Canada-Sweden final but instead we got the most meaningless final in hockey history.

The WC needs to come back as a legit event, or else it should be thrown in the trash.

 

[SportsFan94]

The World Cup was not a "Best on Best" tournament. A number of guys who should have played for the USA were not on the team because they had to play on the "North America Under-23 Team" (seriously wtf) and other countries lost to "Team Not a Real Country But Leftover European Countries That Don't Get Their Own Team". That thing was a joke and I hope it never comes back.

I agree i didn't like the European team idea or the U-23 team. If they replaced those 2 with lets say Slovakia and Switzerland which IMO were the 2 best remaining countries not in the tourney, i would have enjoyed it more. I enjoyed the semi between Canada-Russia more then the finals vs team europe because can-rus obviously has a storied rivalry.

 

[snipes]

Olympic Gold with or without NHL participation is still more important that the Stanley Cup.

Would mean nothing to Canadian fans. If the best can't participate, how can whoever wins call themselves the best hockey country in the world? Even if Canada wins I'd still view it as meaningless.

Olympic Gold has value because it's best on best. If not best on best, it means very little.

Maybe Russians and Europeans disagree, but if it's Canadian amateurs against KHL and SHL pros, Gold would mean nothing.

 

[Rene Saari]

Is there a thread for Team Finland's roster speculations in the Olympics. IMO, we don't have as strong team as the others in 2018, but much more better than in World Cup (not very hard).

But if our young defenders (Ristolainen, Määttä, (Vatanen), Lindell, Honka, Juolevi, Juuso Välimäki and the rest of the 2017 draft eligble blueliners continue living up for exceptanions, I say we have top three team in 2022, and a top 2 team in 2026.
And yes, counting that NHL players are participating.
And the wild guess (and hope) for the 2018 roster:
Granlund-Koivu-Granlund
(love to see, what kinda chemistry Granlund bros could have with solid 2-way center Koivu) also Filppula, Laine and Donskoi could work (with the Minnesota pair)

Aho-Barkov-Teräväinen/Laine/Rantanen
Laine-Filppula-Rantanen
Komarov/Lehkonen-Haula-Armia
(Lehterä,Puljujärvi+Donskoi)

Määttä-Risto
Lindell-Vatanen
Lepistö/Jokipakka/Juolevi-Honka
(Nutivaara)

Rask
Rinne
Saros

 

[Nordic*]

Forsberg-Wennberg-Arvidsson

Rakell-Bäckström-Nylander

Landeskog-Backlund-Silfverberg

Hagelin-Zetterberg-Berglund

Lindholm-Karlsson

Hedman-Strålman

OEL-Larsson/Hjalmarsson


Garbage
Garbage
Garbage

 

[MaxV]

Canadian amateurs against KHL and SHL pros,

What?

 

[Eye of Ra]

Forsberg-Wennberg-Arvidsson

Rakell-Bäckström-Nylander

Landeskog-Backlund-Silfverberg

Hagelin-Zetterberg-Berglund

Lindholm-Karlsson

Hedman-Strålman

OEL-Larsson/Hjalmarsson


Garbage
Garbage
Garbage

Landeskog????? Berglund???? Marcus Johansson and Zibanejad for sure better options.

Strålman is slowing down, Klingberg should have a spot.

Lehner is far from garbage.

 

[Stats01]

Landeskog????? Berglund???? Marcus Johansson and Zibanejad for sure better options.

Strålman is slowing down, Klingberg should have a spot.

Lehner is far from garbage.

Lehner is not garbage but I think he'd have a rough time at the Olympics.

 

[Nordic*]

Landeskog????? Berglund???? Marcus Johansson and Zibanejad for sure better options.

Strålman is slowing down, Klingberg should have a spot.

Lehner is far from garbage.

The team needs toughness in the top-6, hence Lando.

Third line is there to handle defensive matchups, Berglund is 100 times better than Zibby.

Stralman is excellent defensively and Klingberg...is not.

 

[Eye of Ra]

The team needs toughness in the top-6, hence Lando.

Third line is there to handle defensive matchups, Berglund is 100 times better than Zibby.

Stralman is excellent defensively and Klingberg...is not.

he brings grit but nothing else, its not worth it, instead we can have Johansson who brings more to the table.

sure Berglund might be decent for defensive work, but its not like zibby is very bad at it and zibby brings way more skill.

 

[Yakushev72]

To my knowledge, the NHL hasn't made an announcement as to whether they will or will not participate in the Olympics. The opening ceremonies are 11 months away, so its not a moment too soon to make the announcement. At this point, it seems unlikely that they will go. Team management is opposed to participating, and there is only one player who has threatened to skip the season (Ovechkin) if the NHL declines to go.

Obviously, the decision has already been made, and the NHL is just waiting for the appropriate time to drop the bomb. There could be some really interesting matchups and good teams that emerge from an amalgam of the KHL, AHL, SHL, colleges, junior leagues, and so on. Once they put on the jerseys that are emblazoned with "Russia," "United States,""Canada," and so on, the interest level automatically ignites. Bring it on!

 

[JackSlater]

To my knowledge, the NHL hasn't made an announcement as to whether they will or will not participate in the Olympics. The opening ceremonies are 11 months away, so its not a moment too soon to make the announcement. At this point, it seems unlikely that they will go. Team management is opposed to participating, and there is only one player who has threatened to skip the season (Ovechkin) if the NHL declines to go.

Obviously, the decision has already been made, and the NHL is just waiting for the appropriate time to drop the bomb. There could be some really interesting matchups and good teams that emerge from an amalgam of the KHL, AHL, SHL, colleges, junior leagues, and so on. Once they put on the jerseys that are emblazoned with "Russia," "United States,""Canada," and so on, the interest level automatically ignites. Bring it on!

The NHL didn't officially announce its participation for the 2014 Olympics until July 19, 2013. I also missed when Ovechkin said that he will skip the season.

 

[xxxx]

To my knowledge, the NHL hasn't made an announcement as to whether they will or will not participate in the Olympics. The opening ceremonies are 11 months away, so its not a moment too soon to make the announcement. At this point, it seems unlikely that they will go. Team management is opposed to participating, and there is only one player who has threatened to skip the season (Ovechkin) if the NHL declines to go.

Obviously, the decision has already been made, and the NHL is just waiting for the appropriate time to drop the bomb. There could be some really interesting matchups and good teams that emerge from an amalgam of the KHL, AHL, SHL, colleges, junior leagues, and so on. Once they put on the jerseys that are emblazoned with "Russia," "United States,""Canada," and so on, the interest level automatically ignites. Bring it on!

I once again wanna hear the people who have been nearly sure the NHL won't be going to Korea, if the NHL actually is going. I guess something was wrong in their assumptions and beliefs, if that happens.

 

[JackSlater]

I once again wanna hear the people who have been nearly sure the NHL won't be going to Korea, if the NHL actually is going. I guess something was wrong in their assumptions and beliefs, if that happens.

Other than my chum Yakushev72 I haven't seen the level of certainty you describe very often. In fact, the people who tend to express the most doubt about the NHL's participation are NHL officials. In the case of Yakushev72 I assume it is more wishful thinking than definitive opinion, since there is obviously a beneficial consequence to him if the NHL doesn't participate.

 

[xxxx]

Other than my chum Yakushev72 I haven't seen the level of certainty you describe very often. In fact, the people who tend to express the most doubt about the NHL's participation are NHL officials. In the case of Yakushev72 I assume it is more wishful thinking than definitive opinion, since there is obviously a beneficial consequence to him if the NHL doesn't participate.

What people actually say is what I am talking about. Whether they are "wishful" thinkers or not I don't care. International forum isn't the only sub-forum with discussion about this subject and I've seen some people who are almost sure the NHL won't be going because of this or that.

 

[JackSlater]

What people actually say is what I am talking about. Whether they are "wishful" thinkers or not I don't care. International forum isn't the only sub-forum with discussion about this subject and I've seen some people who are almost sure the NHL won't be going because of this or that.

Why you are complaining about what is said in another forum in this forum is beyond me, but I know that some fans get very sensitive when their blind dedication to the NHL is challenged. I am surprised if those fans dismiss people's reasons for thinking that the NHL won't participate as "this or that" when the reasons almost exclusively come from the NHL itself. If you only care what someone says, as opposed to what they mean or why they say it, as you laughably claim, then presumably you also believe the NHL and the media's statements regarding NHL participation nearly to the same degree that Yakushev72 does.