Pronger Out of the World Cup - TSN

[arrbez]

Canada's defense has definitely fallen behind Sweden's as the best in the tournament with this change.

niedermayer
foote
jovonovski
redden
*edit* brewer (somehow forgot him)
regehr
hannan
bouwmeester

lidstrom
ohlund
tarnstrom
backman
tjarnqvist
johnnson
norstrom

Canada is still better in my books, especially on the smaller ice, but it's definitly a lot closer now without blake and pronger

 

[Narnia]

niedermayer
foote
jovonovski
redden
regehr
hannan
bouwmeester


lidstrom
ohlund
tarnstrom
backman
tjarnqvist
johnnson
norstrom

Canada is still better in my books, especially on the smaller ice, but it's definitly a lot closer now without blake and pronger

Where's Brewer on your list of Canadian D-Men?

 

[Sideline]

Where's Brewer on your list of Canadian D-Men?

My guess is on the bench where he belongs.

 

[arrbez]

Too many of the replacement choices seem to be based on hype, either from the most recent playoffs, or from being considered a future star. There should have been more emphasis placed on experience and consistent performances over a longer stretch of time.

i agree completely. i would take a proven performer like aucoin or mccabe over a player who could just be a flash in the pan (regehr, hannan) or a guy with great future, but not at the same level as the others yet (bouwmeester)

 

[Papa Smurf]

Oh...my....god...

Please tell me we still have a chance at least.

 

[Vic Rattlehead*]

Oh...my....god...

Please tell me we still have a chance at least.

We still have a chance.

 

[beeker16]

My guess is on the bench where he belongs.

Zing!

 

[Papa Smurf]

I'm honostly getting scared. Canada cannot afford to loose another international title. It will be a major blow if we do.

 

[Hemsky is a gangsta]

re

I'm honostly getting scared. Canada cannot afford to loose another international title. It will be a major blow if we do.

It probably wouldn't be that big of a blow...we won the past two World Championships. Not sure why we can't 'afford' to lose??

 

[Epsilon]

It probably wouldn't be that big of a blow...we won the past two World Championships. Not sure why we can't 'afford' to lose??

World Championships don't really mean much given that it's a B-level tournament, like the Olympics are for soccer. But I agree with your point; there have been three "NHL dream team" tournaments, and we've seen three different winners from the "Big Six". If one of Sweden, Finland, or Russia won it wouldn't really hurt Canada, the Czech Republic, or the USA that much.

 

[Papa Smurf]

It probably wouldn't be that big of a blow...we won the past two World Championships. Not sure why we can't 'afford' to lose??

You know the media these days, once Canada fails to win an international championship, newspapers all over, both in Canada and around the world will have article after article talking about how its no longer Canada's game because of recent tournament losses and such.

I'm not trying to start another thread about it being "Our game" or not. But look at how loud the media was after Nagano.

 

[Narnia]

My guess is on the bench where he belongs.

Why is it that the Oilers players are the ones constantly getting criticized. When the team was announced, who was it criticized that shouldn't be on there. Yup, the two players from the Oilers. Why can't Regehr or Hannan be on the bench. Why does it have to be Brewer? Same with Smyth. Someone in a paper mentioned that Smyth could quite possible be in the PB. Funny that only the Oilers players get mentioned for the PB but none of the other players.

 

[arrbez]

after 1998 i personally was worried about the direction of hockey here. but honestly, canada could lose in the quarters here and although dissapointed, i wouldn't be panicking. it's not like we're facing inferior competition here, 5 or 6 countries have a legit shot at winning this

the aura of failure that was around after the 1996 and 1998 losses won't be here this time around if canada doesn't win

*edit*

a little off topic, but it's kinda lame to call hockey "our game". its not really fair to all the othe hockey countries in the world. i'm a proud Canadian, and i would argue that our team is the best, but it's kind of ignorant to say we own the sport

 

[Tap on the Ankle]

In a way, this is kind of cool because I'm a Sens fan and it essentially secures Redden a spot in the top 6, maybe even top 4, but in reality, that's bad news.

I don't mind the selection of J Bo, but I would MUCH rather have seen Aucoin get the green light.

 

[jpsharkfan]

Bouwmeester is good, but Hannan is a joke in my eyes! Aucoin, McCabe and Stuart are much better defender!

You obviosly have not watched many Sharks games. Stuart has had two lousy seasons (injury, post concussion) and Hannan has been one of the best shut down defensman in the league. With a moniker that includes "Tkachuk" I would have assumed you knew that Hannan was a great shut down d-man, since he very effectively shut down Tkachuk last season.

 

[Phanuthier*]

Why is it that the Oilers players are the ones constantly getting criticized. When the team was announced, who was it criticized that shouldn't be on there. Yup, the two players from the Oilers. Why can't Regehr or Hannan be on the bench. Why does it have to be Hannan. Same with Smyth. Someone in a paper mentioned that Smyth could quite possible be in the PB. Funny that only the Oilers players get mentioned for the PB but none of the other players.

Huh?

Err right... everyone is out to get Edmonton.

(Does anyone really even care about them?)

 

[jpsharkfan]

Why is it that the Oilers players are the ones constantly getting criticized. When the team was announced, who was it criticized that shouldn't be on there. Yup, the two players from the Oilers. Why can't Regehr or Hannan be on the bench. Why does it have to be Hannan. Same with Smyth. Someone in a paper mentioned that Smyth could quite possible be in the PB. Funny that only the Oilers players get mentioned for the PB but none of the other players.

Because the Toronto fans are all so sure that they "own" hockey. For the most part they cannot see past their very narrow minded view of hockey and realize that there are 29 other teams with talented players in the league. If they do not know alot about a player; then that player is sup par to a player on their team.

 

[arrbez]

Because the Toronto fans are all so sure that they "own" hockey. For the most part they cannot see past their very narrow minded view of hockey and realize that there are 29 other teams with talented players in the league. If they do not know alot about a player; then that player is sup par to a player on their team.

woah, ignorant stereotype alert!

it's not just toronto fans who think mccabe, aucoin, philips, and others are better than hannan

in fact, i think i made a post a few minutes ago about the whole "owning hockey topic" in this thread

sure, there's leaf fans that think hockey revolves around toronto, but you're no better than them with a comment like that

 

[leaflover]

You know what, I'm STILL confident in Canada's defence. Pronger is a blow no doubt, but if we lose because of a couple of players withdrawing, what kind of team would we be?

Its not as simple as a couple players though.These are our best 2 players at what i consider the key position.

 

[jpsharkfan]

woah, ignorant stereotype alert!

it's not just toronto fans who think mccabe, aucoin, philips, and others are better than hannan

in fact, i think i made a post a few minutes ago about the whole "owning hockey topic" in this thread

sure, there's leaf fans that think hockey revolves around toronto, but you're no better than them with a comment like that

Go through threads like this and count how many statements "of fact" are made by leafs or location Toronto fans. The numbers are all the proof needed to back up my statement. To be politically correct I will replace Toronto fans with "Hockey Snob"

In all honesty, how many west coast games do you watch a year? If our geographic positions were reveresed my answer would be very, very, few. West coast games start at 10:30 est which is simply to late for most viewers. It would be one thing if posts said something like....I do not know alot about west coast player or young player so and so......instead they say....player so and so is a joke or player so and so is no were near the level of the player that I support (stated as fact). It just gets really really old. I apologize if my comment was offensive.

 

[GKJ]

I think Aucoin should be the replacement - because we'll need a big minutes man.

I think Aucoin is the best choice for team Canada, but is playing the best choice for Aucoin? Remember, everyone has to go business as usual, and Aucoin knows he'd be coming back and playing 27 minutes a game for the Islanders...

 

[Jones23]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=94990

Bouwmeester in!

 

[degroat*]

You obviosly have not watched many Sharks games. Stuart has had two lousy seasons (injury, post concussion) and Hannan has been one of the best shut down defensman in the league. With a moniker that includes "Tkachuk" I would have assumed you knew that Hannan was a great shut down d-man, since he very effectively shut down Tkachuk last season.

Had you actually watched the games you claim he hasn't, you'd know that it was Rathje that shut down Tkachuk, not Hannan.

 

[me2]

I think Aucoin should be the replacement - because we'll need a big minutes man.

Why do they need to bring in one?
Why do you think Aucoin would be that man?

Niedermayer -Foote & Jovanovski -Redden

These two pairing can easily eat 25mins per game.

Brewer-Regehr

These two are good for at least 20 each but likely won't see more than 15 if they are stuck on a 3rd pairing.

Hannan is also capable of 20+ per night.

Who ever they bring in will be a bench player unless there are a ton more injuries.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Canada's defence as it stands now:

*Niedermayer: Has played better than any defenceman on the planet since the 2003 all-star break. Was New Jersey's MVP in 2003 Cup run. Won Norris winner in 2004. Stellar for Canada at 1996 World Cup, 2002 Olympics and 2004 Worlds. First unit.
*Foote: Two-time Stanley Cup champion. Consensus as one of the best defensive defencemen of his generation. Stellar for Canada every time he plays. Was wrongly left off the 2002 Olympic all-star team. First unit.
*Jovanovski. When on his game, there isn't a defenceman like him in the NHL. Big, strong, can rush the puck, shoot the puck, make great plays and hit like a ton of bricks. Showed in 2002 Olys that he can settle down, too. Second unit.
*Redden. Smart, steady, cool. Shows great poise on the blueline. Great leader. When playing to potential, makes the smart first play. Strong positionally. 17 goals shows offensive talent is there, too. Second unit.
*Brewer. Struggled at times since the Olympics, but his track record in big games is undeniable. Was strong in the 2001 playoffs, the 2002 Olympics, the 2003 Worlds and the 2004 Worlds. Brilliant two-way effort for Edmonton down the stretch this year. Third unit.
*Regher. A rock defensively. Played the best hockey of his life in the playoffs. Logged massive minutes without wearing down. Faced the opposition's best players night after night and pressure didn't get to him.
*Hannan. Most underrated defenceman in the league. A rock in his own end, nearly impossible to get around. Makes good first pass in own zone. Solid No. 7.
*Bouwmeester. Coming off sophomore jinx, but anyone who watched the 2003 Worlds knows that this guy can excel playing against the best in the world. Solid No. 8.
Remind me again. What are we worried about? Sure we lost Blake and Pronger, two great defencemen. But we still have Aucoin and McCabe waiting in the wings if one of these guys goes down. We'll be fine. Nobody can match our depth. We have three strong offensive defencemen, three strong defensive defencemen, and a couple young aces who step their play up every time they don the Maple Leaf.

Go Canada Go.