William H Bonney
Registered User
I think folks are making too much out of the individual player selections. Yes, there are players on this team that shouldn't be here, but the roster selections aren't as egregious as some of the posts would indicate either. No, we shouldn't have sent a mostly NCAA squad, nor are there guaranteed, impact players missing either, but they definitely made a handful of indefensible selections.
My biggest problem with the player selections is an issue I have with USAH in most tournaments: too many of the selections are pre-determined in spite of the current state of play. They too heavily value veterans and intangibles and they'll force those characteristics or players, results be damned. For example:
That's not to say the whole roster is indefensible as a majority of the picks are correct or highly defensible, but there are guys that should be here no questions asked. I think some folks are using hindsight's advantage too much regarding NCAA players. If Donato, Terry, and Greenway were invisible, folks wouldn't be clamoring for a ton of NCAA guys either.
Trying to remove hindsight as much as possible, who else do I think should have been here? I think the following guys are indefensible omissions:
That's not to say choosing those guys would have changed anything thus far. But USAH continually puts the team at a disadvantage by trying to outsmart the competition with a 1990s mentality to the game.
My biggest problem with the player selections is an issue I have with USAH in most tournaments: too many of the selections are pre-determined in spite of the current state of play. They too heavily value veterans and intangibles and they'll force those characteristics or players, results be damned. For example:
- Brian Gionta was guaranteed a roster spot a long time ago.
- Why is a 39 year old that has played 3 games in the prior 10 months, and hasn't played a meaningful hockey game in years, given a free pass? Because USAH overrates the intangibles like experience and leadership, even though there's plenty of veterans on this team (that deserve to be on this team) that can provide that too. Just because they're not former long-time NHL players doesn't mean they can't offer the same intangibles.
- NCAAers were also guaranteed roster spots before the season even started.
- The problem isn't the players that are here, as they've proven to be ready for the challenge, it's that they didn't seem to consider any other players they didn't already commit to 10 months ago. Greenway has been good so far, much better than he's been this year for BU, but what did they see in him (in spite of his season) that convinced them he was ready for the challenge but Adam Gaudette wasn't? It's as if they went after securing a core group after last season (Boeser, Keller, McAvoy, Greenway, Terry, Donato, Bjork) and the NCAA guys that didn't go pro were the NCAA guys they were going to choose in the end no matter what.
- James Wisniewski makes the team as a PP specialist that can't be trusted in any other situation.
- If they were indeed eyeing Wiz, why wasn't he at the Deutschland Cup? What did a 33 year old d-man that's been playing mostly irrelevant hockey in the past 3+ years show in the second-tier German hockey league that wasn't good enough for a Deutschland invite (one he was openly campaigning for), yet was good enough for an Olympic roster spot? Again, this screams of USAH over-thinking things. A player being a shootout or PP specialist could be a deciding factor (all else being relatively equal) but should not be the qualifying factor. If you don't trust Wiz to take a shift 5-on-5 against Slovenia, why is he here?
- No WJC players under consideration.
- That's not to say more than 2-3 (Mittelstadt, Bellows, Tkachuk) should even have received consideration, but the blanket rejection is patented USAH that often cares more about appeasing all its partners than it does winning. If they deserve an invite, invite them, and let the player, family, and NCAA team make the decision.
That's not to say the whole roster is indefensible as a majority of the picks are correct or highly defensible, but there are guys that should be here no questions asked. I think some folks are using hindsight's advantage too much regarding NCAA players. If Donato, Terry, and Greenway were invisible, folks wouldn't be clamoring for a ton of NCAA guys either.
Trying to remove hindsight as much as possible, who else do I think should have been here? I think the following guys are indefensible omissions:
- Adam Gaudette: He's the best player in college hockey, an offensive dynamo (at this level), and he's got good size (compared to our tiny forward group now).
- Daniel Brickley: He was good enough to make last year's World Championship roster (which had way more talent than this Olympic team), and he played fine there. Given his NCAA season, how is he not here? That's not to say I have a problem with Borgen's selection, but it shouldn't have been at Brickley's expense if that was the case.
- Dan Sexton: Yes, he didn't have a good Deutschland Cup (like all the Americans there), but he's an experienced player still in his prime and he's a top producer in the KHL.
That's not to say choosing those guys would have changed anything thus far. But USAH continually puts the team at a disadvantage by trying to outsmart the competition with a 1990s mentality to the game.
