Team Canada 2022

[ORRFForever]

Bergeron isn’t a first line caliber player for this team. Marchand and Crosby are. McDavid is bad defensively and on face offs. I wouldn’t overreact too much to the playoffs. Pick the best players.

I have a love/hate relationship with Marner - Hockey Canada, PLEASE leave him home.

 

[86Habs]

I could see Scheifele getting "bumped" as it isn't like he's make or break for the team. He probably transitions to wing well but there are plenty of options.

I wouldn't be shocked if Perron got a long look in the sort of role you're describing, which I think you've suggested yourself. Morrow was a solid pick for Canada who had been a good first liner for a few seasons by that point and had plenty of international experience. Importantly he also had a line with Getzlaf and Perry that was somewhat easy to see working. Anderson would be a disappointing selection but there are likely some voices in Hockey Canada looking for some physical options, and there is probably some merit to that honestly. Ideally Benn would still be a viable option but that looks like a thing of the past. This projects to be the least physical edition of Canada ever at this level, but it isn't as if Canada is going to face a very physical team at the Olympics. You'd like to have that as an option but not with a huge reach.

Yeah, I suggested Perron and do think he'll get some consideration (not without merit, btw), but in my view he's certainly not an Olympic-caliber player for us. Say what you will about guys like Getzlaf and Perry (I was never their biggest fan), but they were legitimate stars in the NHL in December 2009 with a Cup ring under their belt and part of the famed "class of 2005". Their size and physicality was part of their identity as a duo (which Morrow and then Benn complemented nicely), but they tilted the ice in our favour in almost every game situation whereas someone like Anderson has a low floor in that he doesn't really have the talent to compete at this level and would therefore only be useful in some very limited circumstances. He'd be a Zamuner-level selection, maybe worse.

Nevertheless, the siren call of bringing physical players probably rings loud and Anderson is a pretty visible player on a final four team right now, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear his name start coming up.

 

[JackSlater]

On paper, the U.S. looks like our main (only? real) competition but we've built teams to beat the U.S. before (1998) and we know how that turned out.

As we all have said, just send the best team and let the chips fall where they may.

P.S. Scheifele is definitely on my team.

P.S.S. As for the size factor, unless the U.S. sends the Tkachuk brothers, and I'm not sure they will, I don't think it will come back to haunt us in any games.

Canada's only goal should be to win with the best possible team. There is no team so far ahead of the others that Canada (or anyone else really) should construct with the goal of beating one specific team.

Yeah, I suggested Perron and do think he'll get some consideration (not without merit, btw), but in my view he's certainly not an Olympic-caliber player for us. Say what you will about guys like Getzlaf and Perry (I was never their biggest fan), but they were legitimate stars in the NHL in December 2009 with a Cup ring under their belt and part of the famed "class of 2005". Their size and physicality was part of their identity as a duo (which Morrow and then Benn complemented nicely), but they tilted the ice in our favour in almost every game situation whereas someone like Anderson has a low floor in that he doesn't really have the talent to compete at this level and would therefore only be useful in some very limited circumstances. He'd be a Zamuner-level selection, maybe worse.

Nevertheless, the siren call of bringing physical players probably rings loud and Anderson is a pretty visible player on a final four team right now, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear his name start coming up.

There was a nice novelty to having Getzlaf and Perry around to provide a type of line that no other country really had, but it only worked well because they were actually good enough to make the team on merit. I'm thinking that most of the playoff noise will die down when it comes to team selection by the time the next regular season starts and whoever gets off to a fluke start is suddenly a must select player.

 

[86Habs]

Canada's only goal should be to win with the best possible team. There is no team so far ahead of the others that Canada (or anyone else really) should construct with the goal of beating one specific team.

There was a nice novelty to having Getzlaf and Perry around to provide a type of line that no other country really had, but it only worked well because they were actually good enough to make the team on merit. I'm thinking that most of the playoff noise will die down when it comes to team selection by the time the next regular season starts and whoever gets off to a fluke start is suddenly a must select player.

You're probably right about the playoff noise, although the playoffs certainly changed my personal view on certain players (which may or may not align with how Armstrong sees things):
- I think Huberdeau had an excellent playoff round and I now see him as a having a really good chance of making the team. He came into the playoffs with 10 games of experience under his belt (which is insufficient, imo), but I think his performance really strengthened his case. The other tailwind he has going for him is we're relatively shallow at LW, and I think he demonstrated that he has a strong overall offensive skillset that can be deployed on any line, really. I had always viewed him as a primarily playmaking winger, but that's probably the wrong take. His lack of international experience at the senior level may still work against him, but that is really only the blemish on his resume I see right now.
- Point has to have cemented his status as a lock by this point. The non-stop motor, the scoring ability, the C/W versatility...he's certainly a guy I want on the ice for 15-20 minutes a game next February.
- Barzal has had an incredible playoffs; the points are necessarily eye-catching, but the all-around game is there. I saw him as a bubble player before, maybe a spare forward that would only see the ice if someone else got injured, but I see him as a top-12 forward now, C or W, and a guy that can adapt his game to any system.
- Marner has dropped from my personal team, but hard to say what Armstrong thinks of him. I didn't like his playoffs, and its hard to say what he can do now to bolster his chances (for all we know Armstrong may have already penciled him in). I fully expect him to be in the top-10 point leaders again next year, but I don't think that does anything for him honestly.
- Stamkos is just so....meh. I keep waiting for him to to grab that top-6 triggerman role (the role he was really meant for in 2014), but he just hasn't. Still a legitimate threat on the PP and one of the best RHS faceoff men in the league, so that may still get him onto the team, but it's no sure thing.
- Nothing really positive or negative on the other guys. Talk of Pageau and Danault will die down in a few weeks. I've always been more interested in Cirelli given his play in the Memorial Cup and I thought he was Canada's best forward at the 2017 WJHCs, but I still very easily prefer Couturier and O'Reilly over him. Will be interesting watching Bergeron early next season as I figure most of us on here have him penciled in as Crosby's RW, but he's turning 36 this summer and may start showing signs of his age and mileage. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but may have to re-evaluate and change tack early next season. I can't see him not have a spot on this team, even if its in a more limited role. That chemistry with Marchand and Crosby will be hard to pass up though.

 

[BrettM]

My Team:

Goaltenders:

Mackenzie Blackwood
Marc-Andre Fleury
Carey Price

Defenceman8 as I'm not concrete on how many defenceman Canada is jettisoning overseas)

Thomas Chabot
Aaron Ekblad
Dougie Hamilton
Alex Pietrangelo
Cale Makar
Adam Pelech
Darnell Nurse
Devon Toews

Forwards(14 as again I'm unaware of the concrete number)
Josh Anderson
Mat Barzal
Sean Couturier
Sidney Crosby
Bo Horvat
Jonathan Huberdeau
Nathan MacKinnon
Connor McDavid
Brad Marchand
Ryan O'Reilly
Brayden Point
Mark Scheifele
Steven Stamkos
Mark Stone

 

[ORRFForever]

Josh Anderson

That's a new one.

 

[Mathieukferland]

My Team:

Goaltenders:

Mackenzie Blackwood
Marc-Andre Fleury
Carey Price

Defenceman8 as I'm not concrete on how many defenceman Canada is jettisoning overseas)

Thomas Chabot
Aaron Ekblad
Dougie Hamilton
Alex Pietrangelo
Cale Makar
Adam Pelech
Darnell Nurse
Devon Toews

Forwards(14 as again I'm unaware of the concrete number)
Josh Anderson
Mat Barzal
Sean Couturier
Sidney Crosby
Bo Horvat
Jonathan Huberdeau
Nathan MacKinnon
Connor McDavid
Brad Marchand
Ryan O'Reilly
Brayden Point
Mark Scheifele
Steven Stamkos
Mark Stone

Sorry, no

 

[ORRFForever]

Point with another goal. Stamkos with a big night.

T.B. was off the charts, tonight.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

Point is crazy good.

What a luxury to have someone like him down the lineup.

 

[Mathieukferland]

The centre depth is ridiculous

McDavid
MacKinnon
Crosby
Point


Good luck everybody else

 

[ORRFForever]

Point is crazy good.

What a luxury to have someone like him down the lineup.

It's amazing how many centers we produce.

As others have said, could he be our new Toews.

 

[ORRFForever]

My Team:

Goaltenders:

Mackenzie Blackwood
Marc-Andre Fleury
Carey Price

Defenceman8 as I'm not concrete on how many defenceman Canada is jettisoning overseas)

Thomas Chabot
Aaron Ekblad
Dougie Hamilton
Alex Pietrangelo
Cale Makar
Adam Pelech
Darnell Nurse
Devon Toews

Forwards(14 as again I'm unaware of the concrete number)
Josh Anderson
Mat Barzal
Sean Couturier
Sidney Crosby
Bo Horvat
Jonathan Huberdeau
Nathan MacKinnon
Connor McDavid
Brad Marchand
Ryan O'Reilly
Brayden Point
Mark Scheifele
Steven Stamkos
Mark Stone

No Theodore on the back end?

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

Mark Stone on a best on best for Team Canada isn't the best fit.

Though each time Ive seen him he's been bad lol.

 

[Boonk]

Like I said.

Mark Stone on a best on best for Team Canada is troubling news for Canadian Hockey that no depth exists.

Yea no. Absolutely garbage post.

 

[ORRFForever]

Mark Stone on a best on best for Team Canada isn't the best fit.

Though each time Ive seen him he's been bad lol.

I think you are wrong on this one, Eva.

NOTHING is going right for L.V. and EVERYTHING is going right for Montreal.

As a Habs fan, enjoy.

 

[jcs0218]

Continuing to watch these playoffs and continuing to see Shea Weber control the front of the net.

I think it would be a mistake to not pick (or someone like him).

You don't want Cale Makar or Shea Theodore out there on the PK, and trying to handle forwards much bigger and stronger than them.

 

[ORRFForever]

Continuing to watch these playoffs and continuing to see Shea Weber control the front of the net.

I think it would be a mistake to not pick (or someone like him).

You don't want Cale Makar or Shea Theodore out there on the PK, and trying to handle forwards much bigger and stronger than them.

Craig Button included Weber. He may be right.

 

[jcs0218]

Craig Button included Weber. He may be right.

I think you need to have at least 1 player in Weber's mold.

Taking 1 Pietrangelo + 6 other defensemen who all play the exact same way isn't the best way to build a complete team.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

I think you need to have at least 1 player in Weber's mold.

Taking 1 Pietrangelo + 6 other defensemen who all play the exact same way isn't the best way to build a complete team.

Agreed, but we’ll always be remembering a top 4 of Keith/Weber/Doughty/Vlasic from 2014. It’s amazing anyone managed to score on Canada.

Canada in 2022 just doesn’t have the calibre of defensemen to completely smother the other teams.

 

[SB164]

I know he’s really young, but does Nick Suzuki at least deserve a look as the 13th forward?

 

[86Habs]

I know he’s really young, but does Nick Suzuki at least deserve a look as the 13th forward?

I think he deserves a look, but I personally can't see him make the final cut. If Armstrong is looking for a young, versatile guy to serve as the 13th/14th forward you could do a lot worse than Suzuki. He's been a really good playoff performer with Guelph (absolute monster performance in 2019) and Montreal. Fwiw, Craig Button had Suzuki on his projected roster back in February, but I have to think at least Couturier and Stamkos are better bets to make the team at this point.

 

[MosTLucky]

The 8 D I would go with are:
Theordore - Pietro
Pelech - Makar
Chabot - Ekblad
Doughty - Spurgeon

Those aren't necessarily the pairing i would go with, but i like the combo of size and speed. They'll be able to move the puck up to our forwards.
If Parayko has a great start to next season then i would take him over Doughty or Spurgeon. Team Canada management has some tough decisions to make.

 

[jcs0218]

Agreed, but we’ll always be remembering a top 4 of Keith/Weber/Doughty/Vlasic from 2014. It’s amazing anyone managed to score on Canada.

Canada in 2022 just doesn’t have the calibre of defensemen to completely smother the other teams.

Canada may not be able to smother teams in 2022.

But they still need to pick some players who play a role and fill a need.

You can't pick 8 soft/finesse defensemen.

 

[86Habs]

Agreed, but we’ll always be remembering a top 4 of Keith/Weber/Doughty/Vlasic from 2014. It’s amazing anyone managed to score on Canada.

Canada in 2022 just doesn’t have the calibre of defensemen to completely smother the other teams.

Vlasic is replaceable (he was regarded as a very strong defensive defenceman, and largely underrated....but he received a total of 0 Norris votes until the 2013-2014 season), probably even by someone that we're talking about now (someone on the Pelech/Sturgeon level). But peak Keith, Doughty and Weber were a force to be reckoned with. Doughty has clearly lost a step and/or motivation compared to where he was at in the mid-naughts, but could still give us really good top-6 minutes in the right situation (its kind of up to him, really). Weber isn't anywhere near as effective as he was in 2014, but could still be an effective special teams player for us. There is no one currently at the level that Keith was at in 2014. Makar could be that guy, but he's not right now; Keith was an absolute stud defensively and Makar's offensive advantage over Keith doesn't make up for Keith's very sizable defensive advantage (acknowledging that Makar is certainly no gaping black hole defensively...he's solid in his own right).

For 2022 I'd build the defense around Pietrangelo and Makar, and fill in the blanks from there. Theodore is a lock too, but needs to be paired up with a really solid defensive guy. I'm counting on Doughty being in good enough form to take a top-6 spot, and with Weber being fine with a limited, special teams role.

Pietrangelo / Makar
Theodore / Ekblad
[Chabot] / Doughty
Weber, [Pelech]

Both Chabot and Pelech are TBDs for me....Pelech is getting a lot of visibility right now for his work with NYI, while Chabot has been a Hockey Canada golden boy for a while and I'd be surprised honestly if he's not selected. Reilly would be the other guy I'd consider there, and Spurgeon or Toews for Pelech's spot. Any further deterioration in Weber's game and he's out, Parayko is in. If Doughty isn't up to form he's out, Parayko is in. 5 RHS d-men, and 3 LHS d-men, though Pietrangelo is able to play LHS without issue and did so at the 2016 World Cup. I want to get Parayko in there but wouldn't want to go with fewer than 3 LHS on defence. I can't see Cooper (or whoever the next coach is) being so picky on handedness as Babcock was.

 

[ORRFForever]

Let's hope for a strong start from Parayko.