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Olympics: Team Canada 2026

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daver said:
People are going to freak out regardless if Canada doesn't win.

We saw what happened at the WJCs when high end offensive talent was left off the roster. And in the 2006 Olympics.

The most dominant win at the Olympics since '98 was in 2014 when Babcock instilled a puck possession strategy. The roster was filled with star players who adjusted their styles.
www.hockeycanada.ca

Rosters | 2014 Olympic Winter Games – Men’s Hockey

Explore Team Canada’s roster and find all rosters for teams at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, on HockeyCanada.ca.
www.hockeycanada.ca

Better to teach an offensive player to play defense than a defensive player to play offense right?
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That 2014 team was the embodiment of 2 way players though. Not high end offensive guys.
Nucks2001 said:
No one is discounting role players, but it was evident in the USA game last Saturday that outside of our big guns, our bottom 6 could not generate any offence. I for one love Lowry's game and he is deserving of a spot. But I will not have Stone, Cirelli, Lowry, Bennett, Hagel, Marchand, and Konecny.

That is an overkill for ROLE players and what that term actually entails. I'd love to take Konecny and Hagel as wingers and Lowry as a center. Then I'd fill out the rest with guys like Scheifele, Johnston, Thomas, Bedard, Celebrini, Barzal, Guenther. Some of those players are also capable of killing penalties.

The point is, the "better" player is usually the correct player in 90% of the cases. I'd also love to see Canada put players like Point, Reinhart, and Morrissey on the PK. They've historically been great PKers in the past and they have the ability to do it. It negates not having to bring more role players than you need. The 2010 and 2014 Olympic Teams did a fantastic job of this.
You don't need to galaxy brain it.

Look at the US. The only real mistake they may have made was maybe not including Thompson or Robertson for a Kreider or Nelson. Even then, the team is stacked with skill.
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I do wonder if this tourney is the wakeup call that Mark Scheifele belongs on Team Canada. Not just a high end skilled shooter and passer, but a guy who can grind on the boards, and if Mc Avoy wants to hit, he can take it, and bounce off it. Also a good enough skater to get on the right side of the puck with Mc David.

The selection of Bennett over Scheifele is still a puzzle to me. Inexplicable in any way. Unless it was for the inevitable fight with a Tkachuk.

I like that you threw out Guenther's name there. A strong start like he had this year probably gets him some more attention. Robert Thomas is another guy that got set back by injury. Like Barzal. All strong candidates.

I want to see how the selection process works. I think there will be some loyalty for the guys like Marchand that are going to get their only kick at the can for the Olympics next year. Scheifele's window is kind of closing next year too. You can see a couple more Olympic opportunities on the horizons for Celebrini, Bedard, Guenther. Jarvis has a good chance of being the youngest player on the roster if he gets called back.

Besides goaltending which is perplexing selection process, will have to watch to see how Hockey Canada deals with 36 year olds Pietrangelo and Doughty who already have their golds, but with that experience, in the selection process of defensemen, vs. the skaters like Harley or Weegar or even Byram on a different team. And also the Bouch bomb factor that might be missing when you need a rocket from the point on the PP.
 
aylib said:
Doubt Lowry beats Cirelli in agility, acceleration and balance. If top speed is also Cirellis- not sure where Lowry beats him, then.
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Why? If Lowry is getting the edge in the more common 18-20 and 20-22 mph speed bursts, probably means he accelerates faster right? Agility, probably not, Balance. I think Lowry hits Cirelli, Cirelli is going down before Lowry is. He's kind of a beast.

To the point though I am not arguing Cirelli vs. Lowry on Team Canada I'd say might be better off with both if you want to grind a bit.
 
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voyageur said:
Why? If Lowry is getting the edge in the more common 18-20 and 20-22 mph speed bursts, probably means he accelerates faster right? Agility, probably not, Balance. I think Lowry hits Cirelli, Cirelli is going down before Lowry is. He's kind of a beast.
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Acceleration- do you have data that shows Lowry accelerating faster or having advantage in the 18-20 and 20-22 speed bursts?

Lowry hitting Cirelli with 30+ lbs advantage is not at all how balance works.

As far as top speeds- that is also not how things work; for instance, if one car with 18 inch wheels goes 130 mph and another car with 20 inch wheels goes 120 mph– the top speed difference is still there, regardless of the wheel size— same goes for skating— top speed of 23 mph with stride A is still superior to 20 mph speed with stride B.

I know Lowry is a beast, I’m not saying he isn’t. He is a big man and has his own strengths, so does Cirelli. I’m sure Lowry would outmuscle and dominate Cirelli when it came to physical battles. In the open ice it’s undoubtedly Cirelli.
 
aylib said:
Acceleration- do you have data that shows Lowry accelerating faster or having advantage in the 18-20 and 20-22 speed bursts?

Lowry hitting Cirelli with 30+ lbs advantage is not at all how balance works.

As far as top speeds- that is also not how things work; for instance, if one car with 18 inch wheels goes 130 mph and another car with 20 inch wheels goes 120 mph– the top speed difference is still there, regardless of the wheel size— same goes for skating— top speed of 23 mph with stride A is still superior to 20 mph speed with stride B.

I know Lowry is a beast, I’m not saying he isn’t. He is a big man and has his own strengths, so does Cirelli. I’m sure Lowry would outmuscle and dominate Cirelli when it came to physical battles. In the open ice it’s undoubtedly Cirelli.
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I can't get it to format properly so check the data on EDGE yourself. Head to Head. There's your answer. You are not correct sir. Adam Lowry is an underrated skater. Watch the highlights of his SH breakaway against Quinn Hughes this year.
 
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voyageur said:
That 2014 team was the embodiment of 2 way players though. Not high end offensive guys.
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It's maybe more that the high end offensive guys had size and grit, if not exceptional defensive games, than the current crop of high end forwards. A cursory glance at the forwards doesn't see too many high offensive players left off the roster. Stamkos would have been there if not in injured.
 
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voyageur said:
I can't get it to format properly so check the data on EDGE yourself. Head to Head. There's your answer. You are not correct sir. Adam Lowry is an underrated skater. Watch the highlights of his SH goal against Quinn Hughes this year.
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You either can’t read data or just can’t admit being incorrect. Cirelli beats Lowry in every category listed- top speed, percentile, 20+ bursts, percentile by position, 20+ bursts per game, percentile of 20+ per position.
Cirelli is in the 88th percentile, while Lowry is at 50, meaning one is better than 88% of skaters while the other is average.
 
aylib said:
You either can’t read data or just can’t admit being incorrect. Cirelli beats Lowry in every category listed- top speed, percentile, 20+ bursts, percentile by position, 20+ bursts per game, percentile of 20+ per position.
Cirelli is in the 88th percentile, while Lowry is at 50, meaning one is better than 88% of skaters while the other is average.
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EDGE data says head to head 20-22 mph speed burst Lowry 87, Cirelli 79. 18-20 mph Lowry 395, Cirelli 322.
 
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Cirelli:

IMG_2026.jpeg


Lowry:

IMG_2027.jpeg
 
I'm less concerned over which mediocre 4th line C and more concerned about the type of dmen they choose.

Bringing the slower likes of Doughty & Pietrangelo was a mistake here if they do it again on international ice then I dunno what to say.
 
ItsFineImFine said:
I'm less concerned over which mediocre 4th line C and more concerned about the type of dmen they choose.

Bringing the slower likes of Doughty & Pietrangelo was a mistake here if they do it again on international ice then I dunno what to say.
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Well they don't have to worry about that, it will be NHL sized ice next year.
 
JackSlater said:
And by all indications it will be NHL referees.
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If so, that'll definitely influence the player selection. The style of play should be more similar to this current 4 Nations tournament, then previous Olympics. From where I sit, that's a good thing. I enjoy understanding the different tactics employed at the Olympics (on international-sized ice, with IIHF referees), but the game can be boring (just my honest opinion).
 
NordiquesForeva said:
If so, that'll definitely influence the player selection. The style of play should be more similar to this current 4 Nations tournament, then previous Olympics. From where I sit, that's a good thing. I enjoy understanding the different tactics employed at the Olympics (on international-sized ice, with IIHF referees), but the game can be boring (just my honest opinion).
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It's been NHL referees every time the NHL went, at least in games where the majority of players came from the NHL. I don't see why it would change. They are bound by IIHF rules though and more importantly IIHF discipline. Realistically the hockey shouldn't be significantly different than the hockey at the 2025 four nations event.
 
JackSlater said:
It's been NHL referees every time the NHL went, at least in games where the majority of players came from the NHL. I don't see why it would change. They are bound by IIHF rules though and more importantly IIHF discipline. Realistically the hockey shouldn't be significantly different than the hockey at the 2025 four nations event.
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The games are often split as well. Majority of the time you'll have 1 NHL ref/linesman and 1 IIHF ref/linesman, outside of probably gold medal games.

I remember the bronze medal game in 2014 had like 12 penalties and 2 penalty shots.
 
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syz said:
The games are often split as well. Majority of the time you'll have 1 NHL ref/linesman and 1 IIHF ref/linesman, outside of probably gold medal games.
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Yes, to date, every best on best Olympic final has been exclusively reffed by Canadian NHL refs. The linesmen have been split since 2006.
 
syz said:
The games are often split as well. Majority of the time you'll have 1 NHL ref/linesman and 1 IIHF ref/linesman, outside of probably gold medal games.

I remember the bronze medal game in 2014 had like 12 penalties and 2 penalty shots.
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Yes that was the case sometimes in 2014 and 2010. If I recall correctly, if both teams requested it then both referees would come from the NHL. Canada and USA did that and I believe Canada and Sweden both requested it in 2014. During the one referee era the referee would just be an NHL referee.
 
the valiant effort said:
Yes, to date, every best on best Olympic final has been exclusively reffed by Canadian NHL refs. The linesmen have been split since 2006.
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Brad Meier did the gold medal game in 2014 so not exclusively Canadian, but yes it's at least always been 2 NHL refs.

Even still I think the whistle will blow a bit more than it has in this tournament. Canada had as many power plays against Sweden in 2014 as they've had in 3 games at Four Nations.
 
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