Team Canada 2022

[Gold Standard]

World Cup in 2 years (or less)?

Until I get confirmation that the NHL will drop its Gimmicky Team obsession - I don't count NHL World Cups as tournaments I care about. Play a real World Cup with real National teams and it will be back on my hockey calendar. Team Canada can play the Scotiabank Zamboni driver for all I care if it's a gimmicky World Cup.

 

[Peiskos]

Until I get confirmation that the NHL will drop its Gimmicky Team obsession - I don't count NHL World Cups as tournaments I care about. Play a real World Cup with real National teams and it will be back on my hockey calendar. Team Canada can play the Scotiabank Zamboni driver for all I care if it's a gimmicky World Cup.

Ya it was nice to just experiment with that, it was exciting to see North America against Russia and Sweden etc. But I agree it shouldn't ever be used in an international tournament again.

 

[ORRFForever]

I know Canadians like to dump on our teams (as opposed to posters from other countries who praise their players - whether it's warranted or not), but Canada really does have an amazing line up going into 2022.

Considering our recent drafts haven't exactly been stellar, it's nice to see - we've gotten thru the lull and come out the other side. I'm looking forward to the young talent making a difference in the next 5 years.

 

[86Habs]

I do see parallels with Barzal and Duchene. I was more confident in Duchene as a winger though as his offence was more balanced between goals and assists and he was less puck dominant. I'm also pretty confident that he'd played wing at the IIHF WC a few times, though off the top of my head the only specific lines that I can remember are from the 2015 and 2016 tournaments (on Spezza's wing and McDavid's wing) which doesn't help for 2014. My only memories of Barzal are from his two WJC tournaments and one IIHF WC where he played centre. All that said, I think that Barzal is a better player even though I liked Duchene internationally. I also see him in the 13th or 14th role right now.

I do remember that Duchene centered Hall and (I think) Eberle at the 2013 Worlds. Regardless, I think we agree on Barzal. Looking at the forward group, personally, I don't see many open spots in the forward group at the moment - maybe 2 or 3. I have 9 locks or near-locks, and Stamkos as a "probable". That's 10 forward positions spoken for.

Then I see Couturier (low-risk, big bodied defensive center who can kill penalties and provide quality depth minutes) and Huberdeau (trending upwards on the strength of his playoff run, possible power-play option, can provide offensive depth, natural left winger...our shallowest position) as having basically 50-50 chances of making the team. Maybe I could be a little more bullish on these two guys, but Huberdeau's international resume (or lack thereof) give me pause in the sense that he's not a guy that Hockey Canada favours and Couturier doesn't seem to have much wing experience and may lose the "shut down center" spot to O'Reilly, Scheifele, or maybe even Crosby. Still, I think it is more likely than not that both of these guys make it.

So, with 2 spots remaining, at this moment I think those go to Barzal and Horvat - a RHS center, and a LHS center. Presumably both can be moved to the wing, especially Horvat. I think Armstrong will place a premium on versatility and low-risk at the bottom of the forward group, which helps Horvat. There seems to be a narrative around Horvat that is kind of similar to how Toews was perceived very early in his career (think 2009, when he was on the bubble for the 2010 Olympic team), with regards to being a young, defensively-responsible captain that has a good playoff or two under his belt and never hesitates to represent Canada internationally. I think that will carry him to a spot on this team, and I think that will surprise a lot of people. Not much more needs to be said about Barzal, but obviously Marner is the other guy in contention here and as a long-time observer of how we construct our national teams we tend to shy away from guys like Marner more often than not...particularly when we have EGMs as conservative as Armstrong.

After that, there is a bit of a mixed bag of older veterans who are still very good players but that have most likely been surpassed by younger players (Tavares, Couture, Benn, Carter, Seguin), Toews, who is a big TBD at this point but someone who I would expect to get a very long leash from Armstrong if he comes back early next season, several good young defensive forwards who essentially aren't as good or experienced as our current defensive forwards (think Pageau, Cirelli, Danault), and the guys whose names are thrown around from time to time but have little chance (Hyman, Perron, Gallagher, Toffoli, Suzuki, Kyrou...who Armstrong specifically named, etc.). So, not much room to maneuver at this point for guys on the bubble...there might be 16 guys with a realistic chance at this point, imo.

100% locks (x 5):
- McDavid
- MacKinnon
- Crosby
- Bergeron
- Marchand

Near locks - 80-90% (x4):
- Point
- Scheifele
- Stone
- O'Reilly

Probable - 70-80% (x1):
- Stamkos

50-60% chance (x2):
- Couturier
- Huberdeau

Extras:
1. Horvat
2. Barzal
-------------
- Marner

 

[Hockeyholic]

I do remember that Duchene centered Hall and (I think) Eberle at the 2013 Worlds. Regardless, I think we agree on Barzal. Looking at the forward group, personally, I don't see many open spots in the forward group at the moment - maybe 2 or 3. I have 9 locks or near-locks, and Stamkos as a "probable". That's 10 forward positions spoken for.

Then I see Couturier (low-risk, big bodied defensive center who can kill penalties and provide quality depth minutes) and Huberdeau (trending upwards on the strength of his playoff run, possible power-play option, can provide offensive depth, natural left winger...our shallowest position) as having basically 50-50 chances of making the team. Maybe I could be a little more bullish on these two guys, but Huberdeau's international resume (or lack thereof) give me pause in the sense that he's not a guy that Hockey Canada favours and Couturier doesn't seem to have much wing experience and may lose the "shut down center" spot to O'Reilly, Scheifele, or maybe even Crosby. Still, I think it is more likely than not that both of these guys make it.

So, with 2 spots remaining, at this moment I think those go to Barzal and Horvat - a RHS center, and a LHS center. Presumably both can be moved to the wing, especially Horvat. I think Armstrong will place a premium on versatility and low-risk at the bottom of the forward group, which helps Horvat. There seems to be a narrative around Horvat that is kind of similar to how Toews was perceived very early in his career (think 2009, when he was on the bubble for the 2010 Olympic team), with regards to being a young, defensively-responsible captain that has a good playoff or two under his belt and never hesitates to represent Canada internationally. I think that will carry him to a spot on this team, and I think that will surprise a lot of people. Not much more needs to be said about Barzal, but obviously Marner is the other guy in contention here and as a long-time observer of how we construct our national teams we tend to shy away from guys like Marner more often than not...particularly when we have EGMs as conservative as Armstrong.

After that, there is a bit of a mixed bag of older veterans who are still very good players but that have most likely been surpassed by younger players (Tavares, Couture, Benn, Carter, Seguin), Toews, who is a big TBD at this point but someone who I would expect to get a very long leash from Armstrong if he comes back early next season, several good young defensive forwards who essentially aren't as good or experienced as our current defensive forwards (think Pageau, Cirelli, Danault), and the guys whose names are thrown around from time to time but have little chance (Hyman, Perron, Gallagher, Toffoli, Suzuki, Kyrou...who Armstrong specifically named, etc.). So, not much room to maneuver at this point for guys on the bubble...there might be 16 guys with a realistic chance at this point, imo.

100% locks (x 5):
- McDavid
- MacKinnon
- Crosby
- Bergeron
- Marchand

Near locks - 80-90% (x4):
- Point
- Scheifele
- Stone
- O'Reilly

Probable - 70-80% (x1):
- Stamkos

50-60% chance (x2):
- Couturier
- Huberdeau

Extras:
1. Horvat
2. Barzal
-------------
- Marner

Barzal is definitely a lock.

 

[Boonk]

I know Canadians like to dump on our teams (as opposed to posters from other countries who praise their players - whether it's warranted or not), but Canada really does have an amazing line up going into 2022.

Considering our recent drafts haven't exactly been stellar, it's nice to see - we've gotten thru the lull and come out the other side. I'm looking forward to the young talent making a difference in the next 5 years.

2019 and 2020 drafts were amazing for Canada, 2022 and 2023 are gonna have Wright and Bedard going 1st overall. Owen Power is #1 this year and it isn’t even close. After a long drought from the McDavid draft, we were bound to get some good drafts. All were missing is a goalie or two...

 

[slapKing]

Question, but just for fun, will this be considered Sid's team (like Mario in 2002) or McDavid's team(like Lindros in 1998)? McDavid will be the best player on the team, but will 2022 be "his" team, or not?

 

[ORRFForever]

2019 and 2020 drafts were amazing for Canada, 2022 and 2023 are gonna have Wright and Bedard going 1st overall. Owen Power is #1 this year and it isn’t even close. After a long drought from the McDavid draft, we were bound to get some good drafts. All were missing is a goalie or two...

I agree.

We were spoiled for about a dozen years (from 2003 on) with amazing drafts and we were due for a lull. The lull was painful and seemed longer than it was but, like you said, we were due to start producing a bunch of high quality players, again.

It didn't help that fans from other countries saw the lull as the end of Canadian hockey - and they were quick to remind us of this "fact".

I'm just glad it's over and we can restock our shelves with the best players in the world.

 

[ORRFForever]

Question, but just for fun, will this be considered Sid's team (like Mario in 2002) or McDavid's team(like Lindros in 1998)? McDavid will be the best player on the team, but will 2022 be "his" team, or not?

We talked about this earlier. The assumption is Sid will be Captain and McDavid will be Assistant Captain - taking over in the near future.

 

[ORRFForever]

I do remember that Duchene centered Hall and (I think) Eberle at the 2013 Worlds. Regardless, I think we agree on Barzal. Looking at the forward group, personally, I don't see many open spots in the forward group at the moment - maybe 2 or 3. I have 9 locks or near-locks, and Stamkos as a "probable". That's 10 forward positions spoken for.

Then I see Couturier (low-risk, big bodied defensive center who can kill penalties and provide quality depth minutes) and Huberdeau (trending upwards on the strength of his playoff run, possible power-play option, can provide offensive depth, natural left winger...our shallowest position) as having basically 50-50 chances of making the team. Maybe I could be a little more bullish on these two guys, but Huberdeau's international resume (or lack thereof) give me pause in the sense that he's not a guy that Hockey Canada favours and Couturier doesn't seem to have much wing experience and may lose the "shut down center" spot to O'Reilly, Scheifele, or maybe even Crosby. Still, I think it is more likely than not that both of these guys make it.

So, with 2 spots remaining, at this moment I think those go to Barzal and Horvat - a RHS center, and a LHS center. Presumably both can be moved to the wing, especially Horvat. I think Armstrong will place a premium on versatility and low-risk at the bottom of the forward group, which helps Horvat. There seems to be a narrative around Horvat that is kind of similar to how Toews was perceived very early in his career (think 2009, when he was on the bubble for the 2010 Olympic team), with regards to being a young, defensively-responsible captain that has a good playoff or two under his belt and never hesitates to represent Canada internationally. I think that will carry him to a spot on this team, and I think that will surprise a lot of people. Not much more needs to be said about Barzal, but obviously Marner is the other guy in contention here and as a long-time observer of how we construct our national teams we tend to shy away from guys like Marner more often than not...particularly when we have EGMs as conservative as Armstrong.

After that, there is a bit of a mixed bag of older veterans who are still very good players but that have most likely been surpassed by younger players (Tavares, Couture, Benn, Carter, Seguin), Toews, who is a big TBD at this point but someone who I would expect to get a very long leash from Armstrong if he comes back early next season, several good young defensive forwards who essentially aren't as good or experienced as our current defensive forwards (think Pageau, Cirelli, Danault), and the guys whose names are thrown around from time to time but have little chance (Hyman, Perron, Gallagher, Toffoli, Suzuki, Kyrou...who Armstrong specifically named, etc.). So, not much room to maneuver at this point for guys on the bubble...there might be 16 guys with a realistic chance at this point, imo.

100% locks (x 5):
- McDavid
- MacKinnon
- Crosby
- Bergeron
- Marchand

Near locks - 80-90% (x4):
- Point
- Scheifele
- Stone
- O'Reilly

Probable - 70-80% (x1):
- Stamkos

50-60% chance (x2):
- Couturier
- Huberdeau

Extras:
1. Horvat
2. Barzal
-------------
- Marner

Well thought out / laid out post.

 

[jcs0218]

Barzal is definitely a lock.

I am not sure about that.

He isn't good enough to make it as a centre.

Can he play the wing at all?

Even if he can, he isn't good at faceoffs, and I could see Canada taking Stamkos and Tavares ahead of Barzal and putting them on the wing. Because they are very good at faceoffs and this is valuable in case the centre gets kicked-out of the faceoff circle.

The logic of taking two centres on every line is that you have two good faceoff players. Barzal isn't any good at faceoffs.

Then you have the fact that Barzal offers nothing in terms of defense or penalty killing.

I don't think he is a lock at all.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

I know Canadians like to dump on our teams (as opposed to posters from other countries who praise their players - whether it's warranted or not), but Canada really does have an amazing line up going into 2022.

Considering our recent drafts haven't exactly been stellar, it's nice to see - we've gotten thru the lull and come out the other side. I'm looking forward to the young talent making a difference in the next 5 years.

Indeed, lots of quality prospects coming through the system.

2020 was incredible with so much high-quality Canadian talent getting drafted.

2021 has a couple of very good defensive prospects.

2022 will be great with Wright + Savoie.

2023 is another excellent draft year for Canada due to the sheer number of quality prospects. I expect at least 8-10 Canadian prospects to go in the 1st round that year.

Once you start accounting for hidden gems that always pop up like a Brayden Point or Mark Stone things look wonderful for 2026 and 2030.

 

[jcs0218]

Question, but just for fun, will this be considered Sid's team (like Mario in 2002) or McDavid's team(like Lindros in 1998)? McDavid will be the best player on the team, but will 2022 be "his" team, or not?

I think Crosby should be captain, no questions asked.

Not picking him as captain would create controversy and unnecessary pressure on McDavid.

 

[ORRFForever]

Barzal is definitely a lock.

If not, he should be - he just scored the Islanders first goal, tonight.

 

[ORRFForever]

2023 is another excellent draft year for Canada due to the sheer number of quality prospects. I expect at least 8-10 Canadian prospects to go in the 1st round that year.

Plus Connor Bedard.

 

[ORRFForever]

Then you have the fact that Barzal offers nothing in terms of defense...

He was ALL over the ice in the games I saw - playing all 200 feet.

 

[Regal]

What do people think of the potential for Parayko being taken for the left side since the right side is much deeper? He's played it in the NHL at times, and with Babcock no longer coach, I doubt handedness is as big of an issue, and Armstrong already knows what he's capable of. A lot of the lefty candidates either lack shutdown ability or size or both, and Parayko could be a really good option to bring some more balance to the team. Theoretically both he and Pie could play the left and allow another top righty to be in the top 6, but I doubt they'd want to put two players on their off hand.

 

[ORRFForever]

What do people think of the potential for Parayko being taken for the left side since the right side is much deeper? He's played it in the NHL at times, and with Babcock no longer coach, I doubt handedness is as big of an issue, and Armstrong already knows what he's capable of. A lot of the lefty candidates either lack shutdown ability or size or both, and Parayko could be a really good option to bring some more balance to the team. Theoretically both he and Pie could play the left and allow another top righty to be in the top 6, but I doubt they'd want to put two players on their off hand.

He seems to be the forgotten man. He was hurt, right?

 

[JackSlater]

I do remember that Duchene centered Hall and (I think) Eberle at the 2013 Worlds. Regardless, I think we agree on Barzal. Looking at the forward group, personally, I don't see many open spots in the forward group at the moment - maybe 2 or 3. I have 9 locks or near-locks, and Stamkos as a "probable". That's 10 forward positions spoken for.

Then I see Couturier (low-risk, big bodied defensive center who can kill penalties and provide quality depth minutes) and Huberdeau (trending upwards on the strength of his playoff run, possible power-play option, can provide offensive depth, natural left winger...our shallowest position) as having basically 50-50 chances of making the team. Maybe I could be a little more bullish on these two guys, but Huberdeau's international resume (or lack thereof) give me pause in the sense that he's not a guy that Hockey Canada favours and Couturier doesn't seem to have much wing experience and may lose the "shut down center" spot to O'Reilly, Scheifele, or maybe even Crosby. Still, I think it is more likely than not that both of these guys make it.

So, with 2 spots remaining, at this moment I think those go to Barzal and Horvat - a RHS center, and a LHS center. Presumably both can be moved to the wing, especially Horvat. I think Armstrong will place a premium on versatility and low-risk at the bottom of the forward group, which helps Horvat. There seems to be a narrative around Horvat that is kind of similar to how Toews was perceived very early in his career (think 2009, when he was on the bubble for the 2010 Olympic team), with regards to being a young, defensively-responsible captain that has a good playoff or two under his belt and never hesitates to represent Canada internationally. I think that will carry him to a spot on this team, and I think that will surprise a lot of people. Not much more needs to be said about Barzal, but obviously Marner is the other guy in contention here and as a long-time observer of how we construct our national teams we tend to shy away from guys like Marner more often than not...particularly when we have EGMs as conservative as Armstrong.

After that, there is a bit of a mixed bag of older veterans who are still very good players but that have most likely been surpassed by younger players (Tavares, Couture, Benn, Carter, Seguin), Toews, who is a big TBD at this point but someone who I would expect to get a very long leash from Armstrong if he comes back early next season, several good young defensive forwards who essentially aren't as good or experienced as our current defensive forwards (think Pageau, Cirelli, Danault), and the guys whose names are thrown around from time to time but have little chance (Hyman, Perron, Gallagher, Toffoli, Suzuki, Kyrou...who Armstrong specifically named, etc.). So, not much room to maneuver at this point for guys on the bubble...there might be 16 guys with a realistic chance at this point, imo.

100% locks (x 5):
- McDavid
- MacKinnon
- Crosby
- Bergeron
- Marchand

Near locks - 80-90% (x4):
- Point
- Scheifele
- Stone
- O'Reilly

Probable - 70-80% (x1):
- Stamkos

50-60% chance (x2):
- Couturier
- Huberdeau

Extras:
1. Horvat
2. Barzal
-------------
- Marner

That all seems reasonable. With Couturier I'm not convinced of him on the wing. I remember him well from junior and have watched since and I don't recall ever seeing him on the wing. If he has wing experience then that's great, though I don't see his skills transferring that well. I wouldn't be surprised to see a seemingly random forward emerge as a serious contender from the list you mentioned. I admit that Horvat somewhat falls into that group for me as well.

As for Toews, I hadn't really considered him. The whole situation surrounding him is odd right now. If he returns and starts off on fire, which I think is fairly unlikely, then Hockey Canada would probably feel the pull there.

What do people think of the potential for Parayko being taken for the left side since the right side is much deeper? He's played it in the NHL at times, and with Babcock no longer coach, I doubt handedness is as big of an issue, and Armstrong already knows what he's capable of. A lot of the lefty candidates either lack shutdown ability or size or both, and Parayko could be a really good option to bring some more balance to the team. Theoretically both he and Pie could play the left and allow another top righty to be in the top 6, but I doubt they'd want to put two players on their off hand.

It's an interesting option. I think that Parayko is slept on a bit when it comes to candidates for the defence as his GM is selecting the team, he's been good for Canada internationally, and his size would be unique among the viable candidates. Pelech is another potential dark horse for the left side in a defensive role.

I'm not sure what Hockey Canada thinks about the handedness issue on defence, but I don't think that Babcock alone was driving it. I recall Hitchcock mentioning it as well, though he specifically thought that it was much more significant on the larger ice surface. Either way it probably won't be as big of a focus this year, but neither side is vastly superior to the other at this time.

 

[ORRFForever]

Perhaps we need Logan Stanley on the back end?

He is single handedly bringing Winnipeg back from the dead.

 

[snipes]

Perhaps we need Logan Stanley on the back end?

He is single handedly bringing Winnipeg back from the dead.

Gross. His cement boots against fast European teams on big ice would be hard to watch.

I know you’re kidding but that thought is all kind of yikes.

If we’re going to take a big rangy guy as the 7th D who can actually skate decently, I’d go with a guy like Parayko maybe. He’s a long shot though, I actually kind of like the way our D is potentially shaping up for 2022. I was far more worried about it a couple years ago than I am now.

Looking at that forward group just makes me laugh about how stacked and talented we are. Particularly down the middle.

 

[ORRFForever]

Gross. His cement boots against fast European teams on big ice would be hard to watch.

I know you’re kidding but that thought is all kind of yikes.

If we’re going to take a big rangy guy as the 7th D who can actually skate decently, I’d go with a guy like Parayko maybe. He’s a long shot though, I actually kind of like the way our D is potentially shaping up for 2022. I was far more worried about it a couple years ago than I am now.

Looking at that forward group just makes me laugh about how stacked and talented we are. Particularly down the middle.

Stanley has 2 goals, tonight, when no one else can beat Price...

 

[Mathieukferland]

Josh Morrisey should be nowhere near this team

 

[snipes]

Josh Morrisey should be nowhere near this team

Neither he nor Rielly will be and both were penciled in 2 years ago for spots on this team.

Guys like Theodore, Nurse, and Toews have vastly surpassed those two on the left side these past couple years. Even a young guy like Chabot as well is on the cusp but probably just misses the cut I’d have over those two.

 

[ORRFForever]

Josh Morrisey should be nowhere near this team

I am shocked how poorly the ENTIRE Jets team played.