Toggle sidebar

Olympics: Team USA 2022

  • Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
My (outsider) opinion is that there are two avenues to approach things, the first being more traditional, which would be to name the current best American coach in the NHL (LaViolette in my opinion) Coach. The other would be to opt for a long time college coach who has success dealing with players developed by the NTDP (for cohesion reasons). I don’t know the NCAA well enough, but Jerry York comes to mind.


Cooper already coached for Canada in Germany/France so I think it’s unlikely he’d switch allegiances.
 
As a Pens fan, I don't put Guentzel in that lineup until he fully returns to form from shoulder surgery. He's 80% of full potential at best right now. By 2022, hopefully he's already back.

Marino is a breath of fresh air as a top 4 RHS for the Pens, but he isn't Olympics caliber yet. Maybe by 2026. He needs more consistency and to add more of an offensive presence to his game.
 
Mathieukferland said:
My (outsider) opinion is that there are two avenues to approach things, the first being more traditional, which would be to name the current best American coach in the NHL (LaViolette in my opinion) Coach. The other would be to opt for a long time college coach who has success dealing with players developed by the NTDP (for cohesion reasons). I don’t know the NCAA well enough, but Jerry York comes to mind.


Cooper already coached for Canada in Germany/France so I think it’s unlikely he’d switch allegiances.
Click to expand...
Lavs is a good pick. Always liked him. Im partial to Sullivan too to be on the coaching roster in some capacity. I'd stay away from Torts. I don't think he's the right fit to coach a star laden team.
 
I know they probably won't but I would consider putting the Tkachuk brothers around Larkin and running that as an annoying as hell checking/scoring line. They can be your defensive matchup line against the other teams top lines, freeing your matchups for Eichel and Matthews as well.

I also believe in teammates when it is possible. This makes some of the bubble guys interesting. Do Miller and Boeser as a tandem make sense? DeBrincat and Kane? This is short tournament, I always agreed with this thought process from Yzerman when it came to Canada, he used teammates for chemistry and roles at times to tiebreak we will have to see if that is a part of the thought process.

Connor - Matthews - Wheeler
DeBrincat - Eichel - Kane
Tkachuk - Larkin - Tkachuk
Gaudreau - Miller - Boeser
Hughes Trocheck

I have hard time seeing them leave Pavelski though and could see him in, if Guentzel bounces back he pushes hard, he is my biggest omission. But what I like about this forward setup is you have natural linemates from their teams, you can switch the first two sets of wingers. I doubt Johnny Hockey plays this low, ultimately as a USA fan, finally I feel awful about some of the guys being left off and some of the roles, which is a really good sign. Maybe you throw out DeBrincat and put Gaudreau there, but this is just where I would be on it right now.

Love our D: The name not being said a lot that you have to wonder in terms of old guard is Suter, he wouldn't be on my team right now.

Werenski - Jones
Slavin - McAvoy
McDonagh - Carlson
Hughes

On current form Petry might be an interesting 8, again I can see this being Suter. This spot is hard, it will probably be clearer due to form closer to the tournament. Big thing to remember with Hughes not on a pair is that you get to dress 13 forwards and 7 d-man in Olympic hockey, so he still runs PP1. Also you can work in shifts, I just wouldn't put him with Carlson at even strength unless chasing the lead.

Gibson
Hellebuyck

Different feelings on third goalie. Bishop hasn't been healthy in a while and isn't reliably healthy so that is a gamble to me, I also admittedly have never been his biggest fan. Then you start looking at young guys. As excited as I am for 2022, I really believe 2026 we should be even better again. It is the trajectory of our current program. So with that in mind, my third netminder would be Spencer Knight. I would let him experience this as the third netminder, he is the next one for me, start grooming him.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AmericanDream
Not sure how anyone could leave Alex Tuch or Alex Debrincat off this club. Tuch is an absolute force out there with speed to burn for his size. He would be hard to handle for us.

Cat has been amazing this year his all around game has improved leaps and bounds. He is not one dimensional and will be top 6 here.
 

Gibson
Hellebuyck
Bishop -if healthy

Jones - C
Carlson
McAvoy
Werenski
Trouba
Hughes
Slavin
Suter - taxi

Kane - A
Debrincat
Matthews
Eichel
Larkin - A
Dvorak
Gaudreau
M. Tkachuk
Connor
Boeser
Guentzel
Tuch
Pavelski
Kreider- taxi

Alex Debrincat - Auston Matthews - Patty Kane
Kyle Connor - Jack Eichel - Brock Boeser
Johnny Gaudreau - Dylan Larkin - Matty Tkachuk
Jake Guentzel - Christian Dvorak - Alex Tuch
Joe Pavelski

Jaccob Slavin - John Carlson
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Quinn Hughes - Charlie McAvoy

Ben Bishop- if healthy
John Gibson

Wild cards: Miles Wood, J.T Miller, Jordan Greenway & Torey Krug- really like Wood for a 4th line role.

No Wheeler or Kessel..too much younger talent. Sorry Trochek, you likely would be my 4th C unfortunately you have given zero shits to represent the US so no thanks.

Brady Tkachuk would slot in for Guentzel if I had to put a pain in the ass 4th line together... Jack Hughes, Joel Farabee and Trevor Zegras not just yet...

This team is playing for the Gold.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: SanDogBrewin and JiggsNY
I think I’m in agreement on debrincat. Especially if he continues to score at the ice he has been. He would take Miller’s spot for me, or Jack Hughes. Hughes I’ll admit is part of me wanting him to be good enough to make the team, it would feel like such a turning point for USA hockey having Matthews, Eichel, Kane, Hughes all on the same team. Hopefully he can play his way into the team.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AmericanDream
JiggsNY said:
I think I’m in agreement on debrincat. Especially if he continues to score at the ice he has been. He would take Miller’s spot for me, or Jack Hughes. Hughes I’ll admit is part of me wanting him to be good enough to make the team, it would feel like such a turning point for USA hockey having Matthews, Eichel, Kane, Hughes all on the same team. Hopefully he can play his way into the team.
Click to expand...

I feel like Jack probably takes another big step forward after the off-season next year. Another year of gaining strength. I think ultimately he makes this team. Like you I also have to admit, I really want it to happen. I don't think he plays center on this team if he makes it. Miller has some versatility to him which I like, it was a selling point on Wheeler for me too. They can both PK and take draws, they can play a lot of roles and have over their careers, for me that adds value.

I don't remember is Lavy one of the guys that switches face-off guys based on dominant hand?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JiggsNY
Pavel Buchnevich said:
I don’t see Carlson or Hughes as the locks some do. One of our strengths should be that all our regular defensemen are very good defensively. Bring one of those guys along for the PP. The other shouldn’t make it. We don’t need a defensive liability taking regular defensive shifts.
Click to expand...
As good as Quinn Hughes is offensively, a team like Canada with all of their offensive firepower will torch him whenever he is on the ice 5-on-5.
 
Atticus Finch said:
I think you are incredibly delusional if you think Canada is in any way the superior team here.
Click to expand...
I do prefer Canada's team overall, although I would definitely trade Canada's goaltending for USA's goaltending.

But I wasn't talking about team comparison in my post.

I was simply talking about Quinn Hughes being a defensive liability against some of the firepower Canada has.

Judging from what I have seen out of him so far in his career, there is a very good chance that McDavid, MacKinnon, Crosby, Point, Marner, Huberdeau, Scheifele, and the rest of the Canadian forwards badly exploit him.
 
AmericanDream said:
Gibson
Hellebuyck
Bishop -if healthy

Jones - C
Carlson
McAvoy
Werenski
Trouba
Hughes
Slavin
Suter - taxi

Kane - A
Debrincat
Matthews
Eichel
Larkin - A
Dvorak
Gaudreau
M. Tkachuk
Connor
Boeser
Guentzel
Tuch
Pavelski
Kreider- taxi

Alex Debrincat - Auston Matthews - Patty Kane
Kyle Connor - Jack Eichel - Brock Boeser
Johnny Gaudreau - Dylan Larkin - Matty Tkachuk
Jake Guentzel - Christian Dvorak - Alex Tuch
Joe Pavelski

Jaccob Slavin - John Carlson
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Quinn Hughes - Charlie McAvoy

Ben Bishop- if healthy
John Gibson

Wild cards: Miles Wood, J.T Miller, Jordan Greenway & Torey Krug- really like Wood for a 4th line role.

No Wheeler or Kessel..too much younger talent. Sorry Trochek, you likely would be my 4th C unfortunately you have given zero shits to represent the US so no thanks.

Brady Tkachuk would slot in for Guentzel if I had to put a pain in the ass 4th line together... Jack Hughes, Joel Farabee and Trevor Zegras not just yet...

This team is playing for the Gold.
Click to expand...

I really don't think Trouba is in consideration for this team, but if he is, Fox is on the team or very close to making it. There's a big gap between those two players who play on the same blueline, and it's not in Trouba's favor.
 
JiggsNY said:
I think I’m in agreement on debrincat. Especially if he continues to score at the ice he has been. He would take Miller’s spot for me, or Jack Hughes. Hughes I’ll admit is part of me wanting him to be good enough to make the team, it would feel like such a turning point for USA hockey having Matthews, Eichel, Kane, Hughes all on the same team. Hopefully he can play his way into the team.
Click to expand...

I think we are going to have a lot of these middle/bottom tier of wingers whose spots aren't going to be decided until the last few months. There are too many of them and they are too similar in profile for any of them to solid spots, barring something crazy.

I think Kane, Connor, and the Tkachuk brothers all have spots locked up somewhere on the roster, barring a huge decline in the next year. Then there are probably like 20 candidates for 4 spots, and we'll see who shows the best between now and the end of 2021. You could even argue Brady Tkachuk might not be a lock yet, so I think we are all guessing now and have no real idea which of these guys make it. It's a lot easier to project at a spot like center.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AmericanDream and JiggsNY
We've got deeper wings than Canada but they could ice a competitive team of all Cs. That's the advantage they have: C's can go to W for an international tournament but good luck moving a W to C.
 
DesertPenguin said:
We've got deeper wings than Canada but they could ice a competitive team of all Cs. That's the advantage they have: C's can go to W for an international tournament but good luck moving a W to C.
Click to expand...

I think we're good down the middle with the likes of Matthews, Eichel, and Larkin. Hughes would probably need to be insulated a bit. We have other good options though in Pavelski (who I expect to make it), Trocheck (who is having a revival of sorts) and guys like Miller/Wheeler who can play both wing and center.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DesertPenguin
jcs0218 said:
I do prefer Canada's team overall, although I would definitely trade Canada's goaltending for USA's goaltending.

But I wasn't talking about team comparison in my post.

I was simply talking about Quinn Hughes being a defensive liability against some of the firepower Canada has.

Judging from what I have seen out of him so far in his career, there is a very good chance that McDavid, MacKinnon, Crosby, Point, Marner, Huberdeau, Scheifele, and the rest of the Canadian forwards badly exploit him.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think if you can pin down Hughes his size/lack of physical strength is a liability. On a team like the U.S. will ice though he would be partnered with a safety valve and would have considerable help from his forward. You would just have to watch his usage.
 
Atticus Finch said:
I think you are incredibly delusional if you think Canada is in any way the superior team here.
Click to expand...

I think it's close. Canada's depth at center is unbelievable but our goaltending is better and we have better depth on the wing. I think the defenses are close, but I think you could make a case for ours being better as well.
 
Rabid Ranger said:
I think it's close. Canada's depth at center is unbelievable but our goaltending is better and we have better depth on the wing. I think the defenses are close, but I think you could make a case for ours being better as well.
Click to expand...
I think for the first time in a long time USA can claim better defense. Canada's stars are aging out and the crop coming in behind them is not as impressive.
 
AmericanDream said:
Gibson
Hellebuyck
Bishop -if healthy

Jones - C
Carlson
McAvoy
Werenski
Trouba
Hughes
Slavin
Suter - taxi

Kane - A
Debrincat
Matthews
Eichel
Larkin - A
Dvorak
Gaudreau
M. Tkachuk
Connor
Boeser
Guentzel
Tuch
Pavelski
Kreider- taxi

Alex Debrincat - Auston Matthews - Patty Kane
Kyle Connor - Jack Eichel - Brock Boeser
Johnny Gaudreau - Dylan Larkin - Matty Tkachuk
Jake Guentzel - Christian Dvorak - Alex Tuch
Joe Pavelski

Jaccob Slavin - John Carlson
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Quinn Hughes - Charlie McAvoy

Ben Bishop- if healthy
John Gibson

Wild cards: Miles Wood, J.T Miller, Jordan Greenway & Torey Krug- really like Wood for a 4th line role.

No Wheeler or Kessel..too much younger talent. Sorry Trochek, you likely would be my 4th C unfortunately you have given zero shits to represent the US so no thanks.

Brady Tkachuk would slot in for Guentzel if I had to put a pain in the ass 4th line together... Jack Hughes, Joel Farabee and Trevor Zegras not just yet...

This team is playing for the Gold.
Click to expand...


Not saying I agree or disagree. Curious as to why you took Trouba ahead of Adam Fox? Fox has had a lot bigger role for the Rangers.
 
Rabid Ranger said:
I think we're good down the middle with the likes of Matthews, Eichel, and Larkin. Hughes would probably need to be insulated a bit. We have other good options though in Pavelski (who I expect to make it), Trocheck (who is having a revival of sorts) and guys like Miller/Wheeler who can play both wing and center.
Click to expand...

I think we are probably missing one more star at center, and our depth is a little thin.

Eichel/Matthews are great, and Larkin as a 4C is really solid. But Larkin really shouldn't be higher than a 4C on an all-star team like this, and we don't really have such great depth. Pavelski, Trocheck, Miller, Wheeler as our other center options might not be bad for an NHL team because those are very good players, but for an all-star team, it's not the greatest depth. If Hughes develops a lot in the next year into a player we can say is a quality 3C on this type of all-star team, I think we will have a good 1-4. Until then, we probably lack a 3C and depth.

I also think our depth is going to be there for 2026 because all of Eichel/Matthews/Hughes/Larkin should be back. We have players like Turcotte, Zegras, Beniers that in about 2-3 years should provide some really good depth for us.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AmericanDream
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom