WC: TEAM USA

[jaro]

Nice add, this year U.S will be a litle bit stronger then canada i think

 

[MatBarzal]

That's a good add.

He played very well at the 2021 World Cup

 

[William H Bonney]

Garland is a nice add indeed. He was excellent in his first appearance and he's had a bit of a rough go of it in Vancouver. Not shocked he wants to play in a different forum again where he had a lot of success previously and maybe get back on track.

Nice add, this year U.S will be a litle bit stronger then canada i think

Let's wait until we get a goalie and a complete line, first

 

[AmericanDream]

Garland is a great add. Imagine Cooley too??

Maybe Stalock in net too...him and Commesso would at least be serviceable. Stalock wants to earn another contract he has nothing to lose by coming as a UFA

 

[AmericanDream]

2 more losses for us to get the Hughes trio!!!

 

[SK94]

Garland is a great add. Imagine Cooley too??

Maybe Stalock in net too...him and Commesso would at least be serviceable. Stalock wants to earn another contract he has nothing to lose by coming as a UFA

Stalock, Delia, Lindgren and DeSmith. Couple of these guys is my guess.

 

[SanDogBrewin]

Canada is getting commitments today so far.

For the US, I think it'll really depend on the next few names we hear about. We only have 3 so far, 1 of whom was only invited to secure Alex Tuch. And Guentzel wasn't a firm commitment, either.

Gonna assume no news yet on Seth Jones means he isn't going. I'd like to keep my hopes up as he would be a great add.

 

[William H Bonney]

Gonna assume no news yet on Seth Jones means he isn't going. I'd like to keep my hopes up as he would be a great add.

I haven't seen anything on him, either. His game has fallen off a cliff in the last few seasons. I'm sure USAH invited him but he wouldn't have been at the top of my list of potential invitees. If he does end up going, hopefully we have an excellent defensive defenseman to pair with him.

 

[Zippy316]

If Devils go down early, I wonder if the Hughes brothers are motivated to play together at the Worlds.

Jack might want redemption and (hopefully) will be the last time they have the chance to do this for a while.

Probably would be able to bring over a pretty strong roster if you get their commitment too.

 

[William H Bonney]

If Devils go down early, I wonder if the Hughes brothers are motivated to play together at the Worlds.

Jack might want redemption and (hopefully) will be the last time they have the chance to do this for a while.

Probably would be able to bring over a pretty strong roster if you get their commitment too.

You would think so. The brothers have never played any meaningful games together. And they might not get many chances to do so. Obviously would be huge to add all 3 to the team.

 

[AmericanDream]

Guentzel - Hughes - Sheary
Boeser - Zegras - Tuch
Labanc - Cooley- Garland
L. Tuch - Dvorak - Milano

Q. Hughes - L. Hughes
S. Jones - C. Jones
C. York - Hanifin
Kleven

Stalock
Commesso

.....would love to see this, though tending would be meh...put no mind to lines or d pairs, just put it together quickly...brothers luring brothers here lol

 

[usahockey22flyers]

I'm struggling to get into this...if the players don't care, why should I?

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I'm struggling to get into this...if the players don't care, why should I?

I'll let you know when I see the final team!

 

[SK94]

I'll let you know when I see the final team!

If we have one at this rate.

 

[MatBarzal]

So far, only four players are known. This is very strange, because there are 18 days left before the World Cup.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

I'll let you know when I see the final team!

You know how much I love the crest, but...just kind of out on International Hockey lately.

No Olympics to look fwd to, World Cup of Hockey was a GIMMICK, players simply don't care about the WC's...No best on best for like 9 years now. Embarrassing.

Just feel as if the NHL has put an extreme blemish on intentional hockey.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

So far, only four players are known. This is very strange, because there are 18 days left before the World Cup.

They may be waiting until the first round of NHL playoffs are over which would be a decent move for once. For instance, I could see a guy like Parise be asked.

 

[William H Bonney]

Agreed. I think they're not announcing anything because they want to target a lot of first round exits. Question is whether it's because they have very little to announce right now and are in desperate need of those first round exits or whether they're finally being strategic. One thing USAH has always done poorly in this tournament is rushing to fill every spot with journeymen instead of being more patient. I get why they do it (the crazy low acceptance rate) but I'd rather they take more risks trying to build the best roster possible even if it's not a completely full roster.

My optimistic side says we have more like 15+ acceptances. My hope is they're not announcing things because some of those invites/acceptances (i.e., to college players) are conditional upon first round exits process playing out.

My realistic side makes me think we have like 7 players on board, they're panicking, and don't want to announce anything haha.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Dream scenario would be the 3 Hughes brothers and 2 Tkachuk brothers since all 5 of their contracts are pretty set at the moment.

Of course it probably won't work out that way, but making it a family affair could certainly build a really strong U.S. team.

 

[WarriorofTime]

One thing USAH has always done poorly in this tournament is rushing to fill every spot with journeymen instead of being more patient. I get why they do it (the crazy low acceptance rate) but I'd rather they take more risks trying to build the best roster possible even if it's not a completely full roster.

It's a gamble for sure, realistically the tournament roster needs to be finalized by May 5th so they'll have time to get everyone there. A first round series that goes seven will end April 30/May 1. The longer you wait, the less appreciated players will feel if they know they are backup options and the more likely they'll find something else to fill their time and say "no" (from the players that it's not applicable for) and you have a better chance of acceptance from the guys that have been done with their season for a while then guys that literally just done playing. But the upside of a potential win and the potential good quality of options from teams that lose in the first round, probably makes the gamble of waiting more worth it.

 

[AmericanDream]

You know how much I love the crest, but...just kind of out on International Hockey lately.

No Olympics to look fwd to, World Cup of Hockey was a GIMMICK, players simply don't care about the WC's...No best on best for like 9 years now. Embarrassing.

Just feel as if the NHL has put an extreme blemish on intentional hockey.

Especially after watching freaking baseball pull off a solid WBC. How hard can it be? Hockey is the best sport by miles when it comes to international battles, and like you said they f***ed it up with the last World Cup gimmick mess and the years missed between World Cups in general. There is no excuse for this. The sport that gave us the Summit Series, Miracle on Ice and 1996 World Cup can't even get a decent international tourney that matters the past 12 years...damn shame.

 

[BigBadBoar]

You know how much I love the crest, but...just kind of out on International Hockey lately.

No Olympics to look fwd to, World Cup of Hockey was a GIMMICK, players simply don't care about the WC's...No best on best for like 9 years now. Embarrassing.

Just feel as if the NHL has put an extreme blemish on intentional hockey.

Hopefully there will be NHL participation at the 2026 Olympics. It was announced after the COVID-related cancellation of the 2022, and players have in in their collective agreement, so I assume it will happen. Otherwise in would mean a breach of the CBA, which is unlikely. World Cup might be even better event, but real World Cup with real national teams of course.

 

[AmericanDream]

Outside of those 2 years with Kaner leading the charge(outliers) I feel that overall most teams are struggling more than before to get good talent to consistently show up. And by before I am not saying 20 years ago, but even 5-8 years ago the rosters overall felt better than past few years.

Maybe I am wrong on this but I think pushing this tourney back into May has had an opposite effect than intended. I mean, players are competitive in the moment types, once they get a break or vacation can you really blame them to turn this down after resting a few weeks?

When players had to decide to come or not by the last 2-3 games of the season because you would be leaving maybe 5-7 days after it ended, I think the WC got better talent overall because players were still competing, on a high adrenaline wise, whatever..they said sure what the hell I will keep playing for another few weeks. And you still got players to show after 1st round loses..but once these guys get that time off most...most seem to say no of late. I dunno..

 

[WarriorofTime]

Hopefully there will be NHL participation at the 2026 Olympics. It was announced after the COVID-related cancellation of the 2022, and players have in in their collective agreement, so I assume it will happen. Otherwise in would mean a breach of the CBA, which is unlikely. World Cup might be even better event, but real World Cup with real national teams of course.

Yes, and the players will certainly want to go to Milan. Location matters a lot, it's a bit more difficult when it's in Asia compared to Europe or North America. 2022 would have happened if not for the COVID and China related difficulties.

 

[BigBadBoar]

Yes, and the players will certainly want to go to Milan. Location matters a lot, it's a bit more difficult when it's in Asia compared to Europe or North America. 2022 would have happened if not for the COVID and China related difficulties.

I think the same. It literally is a part of the CBA, it would be really difficult for the league to cancel the participation. It might lead to lawsuits and so on. So I expect the players to be there.