Russia's roster : first 10 players announced!!!

[wilka91*]

All I have to say is this :

2002 Olympics

Canada 3, Germany 2

Good game!!!

 

[stockwizard*]

All I have to say is this :

2002 Olympics

Canada 3, Germany 2

Good game!!!

Please Wilka. You seem pretty well spoken. You really disappoint me.
You should know that Canada raises their game when they are playing tougher teams.
This post you gave is a destament to the power of Canadian Hockey. You are trying to make us look bad, and you show a game that we won. :lol

 

[Epsilon]

This one always makes me laugh. When Canada was winning seven world junior golds in the 1990s, Europeans dismissed it as a "kids" tournament. Now it's apparently how we determine world hockey supremacy. Never mind the fact Russia has won only one tournament where the world's best players competed -- and that was 23 years ago!

The guy who posted that wasn't trying to make it sound like the WJCs are a big deal (they are not). He was refuting the blatantly incorrect statement that Canada has won the most WJC medals, which someone else tried to pass off as fact.

The ONLY reason Russia has won more world junior titles than Canada is that Canada didn't begin sending a national team until 1982. Never mind the fact Russia has only had to deal with junior-eligible guys not being available for their world team in recent years while Canada has been dealing with it from the start. I'm almost hoping for an NHL strike or lockout cuz we'll get to see a full Canadian junior team next year for only the second time ever. And like the last time in 1995, it'll be a blowout.

Lots of assumptions here with little in the way of fact to back them up. Also, given that the major players at a WJC tournament are typically guys drafted the summer before, if Russia iced their strongest lineup next year (which would contain Ovechkin, Malkin, and Radulov, among others) it's possible they would have the best team.

 

[wilka91*]

Please Wilka. You seem pretty well spoken. You really disappoint me.
You should know that Canada raises their game when they are playing tougher teams.
This post you gave is a destament to the power of Canadian Hockey. You are trying to make us look bad, and you show a game that we won. :lol

1998/2002 Olympics

Canada vs. Sweden/Finland/CzechRepublic/Russia

2-3-1 record

 

[Rob]

It would have been great if the IIHF had moved the World Championships from May to September. Then the best players in the world would have been available to play.

 

[wilka91*]

It would have been great if the IIHF had moved the World Championships from May to September. Then the best players in the world would have been available to play.

Exactly.

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

European Teams Records Against Canada at the 1998-2002 Olympics and Canada/World Cups combined:

36-15-10

Now bear in mind, this is a combination of the big ice and small ice tournaments.

If Russia can't play on the small ice, then that is their problem. Same goes for all European teams. You can say "well, small ice is more suited to Canadian style" until you are blue in the face. Canada has proven it can win on the big ice and small ice. The fact is, Canada is the only country to win a major tournament, one which the best players are allowed to play, they are the only country to win such a tournament on both big ice and small ice.

That is the one part that has always made Canada the best hockey country in the world. It is a country capable of playing any style and being successful. They are not one-dimensional. They can beat you with skill, speed, power, anything.

Canada doesn't use "well, that tournament and its big ice surface didn't fit our style" as an excuse.

So why do European teams use "small ice" as an excuse for why Canada has won?

Also, why bother mentioning home ice? Did Canada have home ice in the 2002 Olympics? No, but they still win. Did they have home ice at the 1996 World Cup? Yes, and they lost. Home ice doesn't matter all that much.

If home ice was so important, why did the Soviets choke a 3-1-1 series lead in 1972? The last 4 games were played in their rinks afterall. Why also didn't the Japanese team win the 1998 Olympics? You know why? Because they weren't good enough. And the same goes for every tournament, home ice or not, that the Russians or any other team has lost to Canada.