Team USA '06: Are we gonna get housed?

[Rabid Ranger]

Modano just came off his worst season ever and he's 35. Weight is well past his prime and Gomez is no better than Brendan Morrison. Not that great if you ask me. But hey if you got confidence.................All I can say is that Lemieux, Thornton, Lecavalier and Sakic help me sleep better at night. I'll love to see us play you guys in the quaterfinals. Just show up at least so you dont look too bad

Modano and Weight are not "well past their prime." If that's the case, so is Yzerman, Sakic, and Lemieux, all players that will be suiting up for Team Canada at the Olympics. As for Gomez, he's considerably better than Morrison. Not just anyone leads the league in assists, which is what Gomez did his last season. What did Morrison do that was so special-carry Bertuzzi and Naslund's bags?

 

[therealdeal]

Very few teams will get hosed, they're too well coached and balanced nowadays.

But the US does have considerablly less talent than their North American brother, however, the US seems to gel more quickly than Canada on most occasions.

 

[ryz]

Very few teams will get hosed, they're too well coached and balanced nowadays.

But the US does have considerablly less talent than their North American brother, however, the US seems to gel more quickly than Canada on most occasions.

I agree with this. We are talking about Pro's here. You may have a top 6 nation hammer a France or Italy but it won'y happen much between themselves. I would probably rank USA with Sweden and Finland with Canada, Czechs and Russia as the top 3 comming in. USA will be in tight for this Olympics but will still be at least a threat for an bronze.

As for the Morrison, Gomez debate I would rather have Gomez myself. That being said Gomez wouldn't even be considered to make Team Canada.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I agree with this. We are talking about Pro's here. You may have a top 6 nation hammer a France or Italy but it won'y happen much between themselves. I would probably rank USA with Sweden and Finland with Canada, Czechs and Russia as the top 3 comming in. USA will be in tight for this Olympics but will still be at least a threat for an bronze.

As for the Morrison, Gomez debate I would rather have Gomez myself. That being said Gomez wouldn't even be considered to make Team Canada.

Which means what exactly? It could be argued Gomez is a better player at this point than Yzerman, who WILL be on Team Canada.

 

[therealdeal]

Which means what exactly? It could be argued Gomez is a better player at this point than Yzerman, who WILL be on Team Canada.

But he's not a better leader, and he has far less international experience. And Yzerman will only go when if he's healthy, and if he's healthy, I'll take him every time over Gomez.

 

[Saint Teemu]

I would hardly worry if I were the U.S. Remember that just because a team is full of big names doesn't mean they automatically get a medal. That's whats great about these tournaments. On any given night any of the top teams will be competetive. It's all about chemestry and coaching in my opinion, and which of the 2 teams has the off/on night.

I think Sweden vs. Belarus proved that.

 

[Big Phil]

Modano and Weight are not "well past their prime." If that's the case, so is Yzerman, Sakic, and Lemieux, all players that will be suiting up for Team Canada at the Olympics. As for Gomez, he's considerably better than Morrison. Not just anyone leads the league in assists, which is what Gomez did his last season. What did Morrison do that was so special-carry Bertuzzi and Naslund's bags?

Well lets just say they arent in their 20s anymore. And you may say that niether are Sakic and Lemieux, yeah you're right, but Sakic was a first team all-star in '04, and was second in points. Lemieux is just Lemieux. If you want to compare Modano and Weight to Sakic and Lemieux then go ahead. Joe and Mario arent young anymore but still extremely good and the younger guys below them are just as good.

And what do ou mean "all the players suiting up for Team Canada are past their prime?"
Iginla 28
Thornton 26
Lecavalier, Richards, Gagne 25
Heatley 24
Bertuzzi 30
Nash 21
St. Louis 30

And that's only the forwards. Face it, USA is either going to be old with Hull (41), Chelios (43), Leetch (37), Modano, Roenick, Amonte, Guerin (35), Leclair (36) or scrap those guys and go with a younger team which will lack skill and experience. Heck even Hatcher, Weight and Tkachuk aren't like their former '96 selves anymore. You guys will have a tough time

 

[eaton28]

canada is going to own the olympics and america is going to get owned by every team, they will ethier be too old or full of young players with no experience

 

[Big Phil]

Just by looking at the Orientation camp roster USA might have their worst team since the '81 Canada Cup. That team was not very good. It had marginal NHLers. By '84 and '87 they were better and by '91, '96, '98 and '02 they could have won each tourny. But by '04 they were old and done, now they're even worse.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Well lets just say they arent in their 20s anymore. And you may say that niether are Sakic and Lemieux, yeah you're right, but Sakic was a first team all-star in '04, and was second in points. Lemieux is just Lemieux. If you want to compare Modano and Weight to Sakic and Lemieux then go ahead. Joe and Mario arent young anymore but still extremely good and the younger guys below them are just as good.

And what do ou mean "all the players suiting up for Team Canada are past their prime?"
Iginla 28
Thornton 26
Lecavalier, Richards, Gagne 25
Heatley 24
Bertuzzi 30
Nash 21
St. Louis 30

And that's only the forwards. Face it, USA is either going to be old with Hull (41), Chelios (43), Leetch (37), Modano, Roenick, Amonte, Guerin (35), Leclair (36) or scrap those guys and go with a younger team which will lack skill and experience. Heck even Hatcher, Weight and Tkachuk aren't like their former '96 selves anymore. You guys will have a tough time

I never said all the players suiting up for Team Canada are past their prime. I said that if Modano and Weight are past their prime, then so is Sakic, Yzerman, and Lemieux, players that just as old if not older. Point taken on Sakic, but to suggest Modano and Weight are washed up is foolish. I admit the roster isn't going to be full of all-stars, but it will consist of legitimate NHL talent that are good to above average players that are more than capable of scoring goals against the likes of Canada.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Just by looking at the Orientation camp roster USA might have their worst team since the '81 Canada Cup. That team was not very good. It had marginal NHLers. By '84 and '87 they were better and by '91, '96, '98 and '02 they could have won each tourny. But by '04 they were old and done, now they're even worse.

You're just being a troll now. I don't even know why I bother. I guess we'll just have to see when the Olympics start.

 

[ryz]

Which means what exactly? It could be argued Gomez is a better player at this point than Yzerman, who WILL be on Team Canada.

Which means that I'm giving my opinion on Gomez in his relative comparitiveness to Brendan Morrison. It could also be said that plenty players that won't make Team Canada could wax the floor with Gomez...... so what. What exactly are you trying to ask me here?

 

[Injektilo]

no top six team is going to blow out the other (unless it's the Czechs vs Sweden... hah), remember how Canada beat Ukraine 2-1 at this years WC?

The US will probably have a weak team in comparision to their past teams, but they'll also be much better in Vancouver. That'll be a real test for Team Canada, winning on home ice. Especially if things don't go well in these upcoming olypmics.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Which means that I'm giving my opinion on Gomez in his relative comparitiveness to Brendan Morrison. It could also be said that plenty players that won't make Team Canada could wax the floor with Gomez...... so what. What exactly are you trying to ask me here?

I'm not asking you anything. I think a player of Gomez's calibre would certainly be CONSIDERED for Team Canada. That doesn't mean he would be chosen, just like Morrison won't be. However, the fact that he will be on Team USA doesn't necessarily mean that the choices to play on Team Canada (such as Yzerman) will be better or more productive.

 

[Oilers1*]

Anyone who's thinking about writing off any team should stop and think of these four words:

single game elimination format.

Anyone can beat anyone.

However, there is no doubt that the Americans are in a bit of a valley right now, in terms of high-end talent. IMO, Canada had a similar lull in the late '90s (with the Kariya, Lindros generation that never really did anything) but still had the depth and the old warhorses to cover it up. The US is a little bit thinner but will still come out of this, just as Canada did.

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

Everyone who thinks that the U.S.A. has no chance at the Olympics is fooling themselves.

Do they have the best team on paper? No. Will the win the Gold Medal? Probably not.

But they will most definitely have a good enough team to do some damage if things click for them. They could definitely beat Canada, or any other team for that matter, in a single hockey game.

Anything can happen in a single hockey game. Belarus proved that. And the U.S.A. beating Canada would not be nearly as big of an upset as Belarus beating Sweden. The U.S.A. is much closer to Canada than Belarus was to Sweden, thus it is possible the U.S.A. can beat Canada.

I think that the U.S.A. could beat any team in the tournament, and even be favoured in my opinion against some teams in a game (such as Sweden, Finland, and Russia).

People are talking about them as though they stunk up the building in the World Cup, when in reality they came within one goal of making the Final. They made it to the Semi-Final, and in my opinion outplayed Finland in that Semi-Final.

And considering that they outplayed Finland in the Semi-Final, the U.S.A. probably should have been in the Final, where they would have been going against a Canadian team that they played hard in the 2nd/3rd periods of the 1st game in the tournament.

 

[Big Phil]

You're just being a troll now. I don't even know why I bother. I guess we'll just have to see when the Olympics start.

How is that? They really were not very good in '04. What do you mean you'll see when the Olympics start? That can't be a threat. If Esche was Canadian he wouldnt even make the second Canadian team. The worst defenseman on Canada will be as good as USA's best. I seriously believe that the USA would lose to Canada if they had a second team that consisted of their next best team. USA is going to have a hard time, face it. They arent in the same class as Canada, Czech, Russia and wont beat either of those teams IMO. Finland, and Slovakia are more up their alley. And Sweden on paper should still beat them. I'll admit its only on paper so far, but its the truth man! They dont look that good.

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

How is that? They really were not very good in '04. What do you mean you'll see when the Olympics start? That can't be a threat. If Esche was Canadian he wouldnt even make the second Canadian team. The worst defenseman on Canada will be as good as USA's best. I seriously believe that the USA would lose to Canada if they had a second team that consisted of their next best team. USA is going to have a hard time, face it. They arent in the same class as Canada, Czech, Russia and wont beat either of those teams IMO. Finland, and Slovakia are more up their alley. And Sweden on paper should still beat them. I'll admit its only on paper so far, but its the truth man! They dont look that good.

The U.S.A. was 1 goal away from going to the Final.

They outplayed Finland in the Semi-Final game. They also outplayed Canada in the 2nd half of their round-robin game.

How was U.S.A. "not very good" in 2004?

Not to mention that they accomplished all of the above with dressing room cancers (Hull). Get the cancers out of the equation for next time, and they could do just as good, if not better, in 2006.

 

[Garbs]

The US will probably have a weak team in comparision to their past teams, but they'll also be much better in Vancouver. That'll be a real test for Team Canada, winning on home ice. Especially if things don't go well in these upcoming olypmics.

You realize the World Cup was in Canada, yes?

 

[ryz]

I'm not asking you anything. I think a player of Gomez's calibre would certainly be CONSIDERED for Team Canada. That doesn't mean he would be chosen, just like Morrison won't be. However, the fact that he will be on Team USA doesn't necessarily mean that the choices to play on Team Canada (such as Yzerman) will be better or more productive.

OK, I see and agree. Gomez would probably be at the Canadian camp, although in the same capacity as a Morrison or Tanguay. They are there to fill out the exibition games but won't be seriously considered for the team. As for the Yzerman thing, you are right there also. He shouldn't be on this team but he will make it. He should be used like the Flames used Lowry in their playoff run. Put him in a suit on the bench and let a younger guy put the gear on and play on the ice.

 

[big_steve]

I think the U.S. will fair pretty good at the Olympics. I think with their youth and a nice blend of older players, they'll do well.

I gotta say, that despite the fact that Stevie Y is one of my favourite players, Gretzky is being a biased idiot if he thinks Stevie Y should make the team. Sakic, Thornton, Lecavalier, Richards, and one of Primeau, Peca, Draper >>>> Yzerman

 

[Hockeycanada*]

USA is in a transition period right now and will not fair well at the 2006 Olympics, but 2010 should be much better for the team.

 

[sabrefan27]

How is that? They really were not very good in '04. What do you mean you'll see when the Olympics start? That can't be a threat. If Esche was Canadian he wouldnt even make the second Canadian team. The worst defenseman on Canada will be as good as USA's best. I seriously believe that the USA would lose to Canada if they had a second team that consisted of their next best team. USA is going to have a hard time, face it. They arent in the same class as Canada, Czech, Russia and wont beat either of those teams IMO. Finland, and Slovakia are more up their alley. And Sweden on paper should still beat them. I'll admit its only on paper so far, but its the truth man! They dont look that good.

You've already made a fool out of yourself enough, I'd stop here.

Nobody is claiming the US is better than Canada. But you obviously just can't get it through your thick head that everyone on the top 5 or 6 teams are great players. They are all pros, and any team can beat anyone. And it really wouldn't be much of a shock if the US beat Canada.

 

[Injektilo]

You realize the World Cup was in Canada, yes?

yeah, but the WC/CC has always been in Canada, the Olympics are at a whole other level. In the World Cup, it's basically Canada that cares. In the Olypmics, the whole rest of the hockey world cares.

 

[therealdeal]

The U.S.A. was 1 goal away from going to the Final.

They outplayed Finland in the Semi-Final game. They also outplayed Canada in the 2nd half of their round-robin game.

How was U.S.A. "not very good" in 2004?

Not to mention that they accomplished all of the above with dressing room cancers (Hull). Get the cancers out of the equation for next time, and they could do just as good, if not better, in 2006.

Well, I will agree that because of single game elimination, chemistry issues, etc, that everyone has a good chance to win the Olympics, no argument there.

However, the US wasn't very good in 04, by any stretch of the imagination. They went 2-3, and beat a lazy Russian team in the second game, and beat Slovakia who went 0-4. So, the US wasn't very good in 04, and I think you're crazy to argue that.

Also, I think you'd be crazy to argue that the US orientation camp looked a little weak. They had a number of players who hadn't even played an NHL game yet, and others who hadn't completed even near full seasons. And somehow Tkachuk somehow managed to get through the camp 20-30 pounds overweight.

That being said, single game elimination, all the US needs is a hot goalie, and they could take the whole thing.