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Theoretical question : Team Canada vs NHL top team

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There's no guarantee that they will even be able to beat another World JR team, but we're supposed to believe that they would beat an NHL team?

Yeah, not happening.
 
lifeisruff said:
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.
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You say later that Reinhart played for Buffalo, so that should be 9 total :p
 
jammyrft said:
I don't think Team Canada would do as bad as most think in this thread. The boy vs. men argument holds a lot of value but it's not like this years squad is small or weak. What's the average height/weight of this team? 6'2" - 6'3"? 205lbs - 220lbs? I'd be willing to bet this years team would rank as one of the biggest in the NHL.

I have no doubt they couldn't hold their own against the weaker teams in the NHL, and I'm sure they could beat a lot of AHL teams.

Just because they're under 20 years old, doesn't mean their speed, size, and skill is automatically sub par compared to players over 20 years old.
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LMAO have you been watching the team at all? Are you serious to think that they are actually a big and strong team compared to the NHL? They wouldn't be near the top...
 
odds would be roughly 100^100^100 to 1. Bookies would gladly take any idiots money willing to bet on Canada. They'd probably give you higher odds if you asked for them nicely, because they know it would never happen so you give them free money.
 
They would steal 4-5 games throughout the season when opponent underestimates them and they can get into early lead. It is like Team Slovakia U20 playing in top slovak league.

In a single game or playoff they wouldn't have any chance.
 
Chara-3 said:
They would steal 4-5 games throughout the season when opponent underestimates them and they can get into early lead. It is like Team Slovakia U20 playing in top slovak league.

In a single game or playoff they wouldn't have any chance.
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Except that the NHL is a vastly better league. I'd be highly surprised if they won more than two matches.
 
the nhl team would all have to play with the wrong handed sticks to lose this game

or play short-handed or pull the goalie like we used to do in soccer when we were crushing a team
 
jammyrft said:
I don't think Team Canada would do as bad as most think in this thread. The boy vs. men argument holds a lot of value but it's not like this years squad is small or weak. What's the average height/weight of this team? 6'2" - 6'3"? 205lbs - 220lbs? I'd be willing to bet this years team would rank as one of the biggest in the NHL.

I have no doubt they couldn't hold their own against the weaker teams in the NHL, and I'm sure they could beat a lot of AHL teams.

Just because they're under 20 years old, doesn't mean their speed, size, and skill is automatically sub par compared to players over 20 years old.
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The average height is just below 6'1" and the average weight is 194 lbs. This makes them the lightest team in the NHL, and just below average height. Physically they are not mature, and won't be for another few years.
 
Semantics said:
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.
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Agreed... Chances are up to half of this Canadian roster will never really establish themselves as NHL players. If half the team won't be able to hold down a spot in a NHL lineup when they are 25 how can anyone expect them to be able to compete against an NHL team when they are 18 or 19?
 
this thread is exactky why the wjc warps so many fans expectations on prospects.

this team canada wouldn't even be able to survive in the AHL.
 
CoolForumNamePending said:
The 'men vs boys' thing would obviously be a huge factor but I think some (plenty?) people underestimate the gap in top to bottom talent between a NHL team and the Canadian (or American, or Russian, etc) junior teams.

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.
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I still think they'd be pretty good. Any team with Crosby, Getzlaf, Perry, Carter, Bergeron, M. Richards, Ladd, MacArthur, Weber, Phaneuf, Seabrook, and Coburn would be successful at the NHL-level. Even the guys who didn't make the NHL are still playing in other elite leagues, like the AHL, KHL, SM-l, etc. I think they would make up for the lack of a fourth line and a #1 goaltender. Glass could at least hold the fort, I think.
 
In comparison:

Sweden's U20 team played against the best team in the third division a few years ago and won, so Sweden would be a second tier team (which is about below AHL average)
 
OP wanted odds so,

This years junior team:

vs. average NHL team 80-1
vs. AHL team 10-1

This years team with Mackinnon, Drouin, Ekblad et al.

vs NHL team 40-1
vs AHL team 5-1

2005 WJ Team Canada

vs NHL 15-1
vs AHL 3-2
 
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With how many goals would Denmark U20 win over a top team in NHL?
 
nowhereman said:
I still think they'd be pretty good. Any team with Crosby, Getzlaf, Perry, Carter, Bergeron, M. Richards, Ladd, MacArthur, Weber, Phaneuf, Seabrook, and Coburn would be successful at the NHL-level. Even the guys who didn't make the NHL are still playing in other elite leagues, like the AHL, KHL, SM-l, etc. I think they would make up for the lack of a fourth line and a #1 goaltender. Glass could at least hold the fort, I think.
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That would be a strong team with even average NHL starting goaltending, but Jeff Glass isn't an NHL-level goaltender by a mile. A top-heavy team with some superstars and stars is still going to have a hard time winning if the other team can just tee up shots on the goaltender and except to score at an abnormally high rate.
 
Soltantgris said:
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".
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10000000-1.

There would be no point assigning odds to such a game. It would be like betting on the Washington Generals.
 
zeke said:
this thread is exactky why the wjc warps so many fans expectations on prospects.

this team canada wouldn't even be able to survive in the AHL.
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Every year people ask the question, and every year the answer is the same. These guys would indeed get murdered even at the AHL level.
 
The goaltending aspect to me is always the part of the discussion that gets a bit overlooked amid the discussion of size/physical maturity, but it's a central aspect in why these junior teams would get killed by legitimate pro competition. Sure, some of the players on these teams (mostly forwards) will be playing in the NHL next year, but how often is there a goaltender under 20 years old who can play consistently against NHL shooters?
 
Lose 8-1 or 9-2 or something.

Take the Blackhawks, they'd basically skate circles around them and would have to ice a third or fourth powerplay unit not to run up the score.

A mid-tier to lower end team might make it close.
 
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