Theoretical question : Team Canada vs NHL top team

[Mr Positive]

I thought you meant team Canada, like the best men (assuming you could clone the duplicate players I guess).

That's interesting to me because imo hockey is a sport that needs chemistry just as much as skill. Maybe in time team Canada could get there but imo the NHL top team would win.

 

[Michael Brand Eggs]

The NHL team would annihilate them. It would be like 20-0.

 

[ATBLeafsTyler]

Size isn't the same as strength, and even at the AHL level you'd expect a learning curve. Being able to play in the AHL isn't the same as being able to succeed in the AHL, let alone excel. Then you factor in professional systems, professional goaltenders, and the gap gets bigger.

The 2005 WJC team is a good example. Consider how that roster would do against NHL teams now, with them all adults. There is some serious talent on that team, and even now it's very questionable, because of the depth, the blue line, and the goaltending. Now consider that in 2005 they still had a lot of growing and developing to do, back in 2005.

These guys are still at an age where two or three years is a massive difference for them physically. There are always exceptions, and some people just mature more quickly, but on average even a well conditioned 18-19 year old is going to have real issues against a well conditioned 22 year old.

I think they definitely would have some problems and it would take a bit of adjusting, but I wouldn't completely rule them out, especially against an ECHL team. Physical maturity and strength is no doubt important but so is skill. I'd say most players on this team have more skill than any player in the ECHL.

The pace is another thing I brought up to because these juniors play at a much quicker pace on a nightly basis than most NHL games I watch. In the ECHL I don't think those teams could contain that pace 100%. A lot, if not all in the AHL would challenge it pretty well.

hypothetical question: team Canada vs North Korea...discuss!

120-0 or more. Every possession would be a goal lol.

 

[Skip2myBordyloo]

Only if there was a top 2 pick on the line.

To answer the OP... no chance against an NHL team. No chance against a AHL team. Little chance even against an ECHL team.

ECHL is pretty bush league man, alot of 3rd,4th line grinder major junior types who have gone through CIS hockey and aren't ready to hang them up.

Take a look at Canada's warmup games against CIS selects teams, more than a few of those guys filter into the ECHL

Speed of games between Major Junior and ECHL are pretty close, you take the best junior players and they should win.

 

[cleveland408]

It'd be like sending a chihuahua to fight a pride of lions.

 

[JC Numminen]

Wouldn't even be close. 7+ goal win for the NHL team.

 

[Lepardi]

The vast majority of these players, in just 1-2 years, will be playing in the NHL.

Only about half of the players from Team Canada two years ago are playing in the NHL right now. What makes this year's team that much better?

 

[Doctyl]

I think they could beat the Oilers. Other than that, no chance in hell they beat an NHL team

 

[Semantics]

If you built an NHL team out of all the players (as they are now) who made up the '10 US junior team IMHO the team would comfortably finish last in the league. I'm not even sure the '05 Canadian team would be all that good. The top half of the lineup would be pretty spectacular but the goaltending and bottom half would leave a lot to be desired.

It helps to think of it as a simple numbers game. The NHL has players ranging in ages from 18-40+, but let's say the majority were drafted during a 15 year span. Meanwhile *ALL* of the WJC rosters are formed from players mostly drafted in only a 2-3 year span.

So in other words, 600 NHL players mostly from 15 drafts = ~40 players per draft. Take 2 drafts worth (80 players) and split it among 10 countries and you have only 8 drafted players per team. Now, some of the lower ranked teams obviously have fewer future NHLers while the better teams have more, and there are a handful of 16-17 year olds, but still, it's clear that there's a much smaller pool of talent in the WJC (especially if you then factor in that the very best 18-19 year olds are in the NHL and can't even play).

All that without even considering the physical maturity of the players, etc.

 

[Lepardi]

Take 2 drafts worth (80 players) and split it among 10 countries and you have only 8 drafted players per team. Now, some of the lower ranked teams obviously have fewer future NHLers while the better teams have more,

If you take 80 NHL players, about 40 of them are Canadian and about three of them are Finns.

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

In 1980 a bunch of college kids defeated the greatest Hockey team of all time some would argue.

In a one game scenario, you never know what would happen between a lower tier NHL team and a World Junior Team Canada if everyone was available ala Mackinnon, Drouin, Horvat, Ekblad, Bennett etc.

The NHL with it's parity has some very weak Hockey teams in the league right now, the league overall is weaker collectively then it's ever been with the amount of players playing and spread out. We're not talking the 90's quality here. I'm sure Team Canada would be able to compete with a last place team.

You'd be surprised how Team Canada would perform versus one of the last place teams is my opinion.

 

[WaltWhitman]

Did you watch the game yesterday at all?

Canada was dominating for huge stretches of that game.

Only an outstanding performance from the USA goalie kept it close.

I thought it was a pretty close game.

That game we won 5-1 in 2013 WJC against Canada was a Domi-nant performance. Canada's only goal came after the whistle. The NYE game, not so much.

 

[1967th Heaven]

If they win against a NHL team, all the players should be playing in the Show right now haha

This. Most of these kids are drafted and failed to make their respective NHL teams. The idea that they could beat any one is laughable

 

[Brainiac]

Thanks for your anwsers, but so far noboby seems to know what 'odds' mean. The question is not if NHL team would win. The question is, what odd would you give to such a game.

Team Canada a 20-1 underdog ? 50-1 ? 100-1 ? 1000-1 ? All the discussion is around that question, not around ''omg they would be destroyed".

The problem is that it's almost impossible to estimate odds without at least some data. And when these odds are in the 50 to 1 range, you need a lot of data.

From 10 games with a 5-5 split, you can estimate that the odds are roughly 50% with a certain confidence interval. But what when it's 10-0? Even 9-1 is a little fuzzy, because you don't know if the '1' is a fluke.

 

[Brainiac]

In 1980 a bunch of college kids defeated the greatest Hockey team of all time some would argue.

Half the guys on that team had NHL contracts already signed. And they've been playing hockey full time for the previous 5 months. They were not college kids, not even close.

 

[Zap Brannigan]

ECHL is pretty bush league man, alot of 3rd,4th line grinder major junior types who have gone through CIS hockey and aren't ready to hang them up.

Take a look at Canada's warmup games against CIS selects teams, more than a few of those guys filter into the ECHL

Speed of games between Major Junior and ECHL are pretty close, you take the best junior players and they should win.

That wasn't really a CIS select team, its just a combo of players from york, UT and ryerson. I doubt Canada beats UofA, UNB, Acadia etc.

 

[Skip2myBordyloo]

That wasn't really a CIS select team, its just a combo of players from york, UT and ryerson. I doubt Canada beats UofA, UNB, Acadia etc.

In past years the games against The top end talent from UofA were playing they were close fought games.

High end CIS players tend to do well if they opt to go ECHL route, I'd put my money on this World Juniors team over 75% of the ECHL teams.

 

[lifeisruff]

This topic, just wow.

Ok to pile on the OP

two of Team Canada's top players are Sam Reinhart and Max Domi. Reinhart and Domi are the property of the Buffalo Sabres and the Arizona Coyotes respectively. Combined total NHL games played for two of Team Canada's top players on two of the worst teams in the NHL 0.

And I can't speak for Domi and Arizona, but when Reinhart was sent back to juniors, there weren't very many fans who thought he didn't deserve it.

 

[AINEC*]

The Leafs would out-shoot them.

 

[93LEAFS]

These kids wouldn't be on this team if they were NHL good. They would get killed.

Only exception to this is McDavid but that is a rare situation and Eichal in the USA case. Pretty much anyone else if they were good enough would be in the show or is not drafted yet but clearly need more development.

 

[General Zodd]

The Edmonton Oilers would paste them by at least 10 goals or more, wouldn't be funny!

 

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaa]

I remember this question being asked about the 2005 team and at the time I thought they might have a chance against an AHL team, a weak AHL team, but probably not.

The NHL team would destroy this team, badly. Men vs. boys.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

10-0 by the end of the 2nd period

 

[llwyd]

Child abuse. It's against the law.

 

[MR4]

I think they could beat the Oilers. Other than that, no chance in hell they beat an NHL team

My thoughts exactly, I'd bet on them vs. a bottom 5, maybe bottom 10 NHL team, but I doubt there beating anyone else. I think a better question would be building a roster from every team's U20 roster this year, vs a top 10 nhl team.

Thought this was the Team Canada men's team vs. a top 10 NHL team, the initial responses scared me