What wrong with "Mitch'in" Marner? | Page 18 | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League

What wrong with "Mitch'in" Marner?

The Tkachuk brothers will be more than enough for team USA
100% you are right about Tkachuks but they were never heralded as USA hockeys superstars. Also their dad probably had a big influence in how they play.

Caufield is small but he’s certainly not soft. There’s a lot of fight in that little dog.
I wouldn't call him soft but he is unable to compete in tight checking games from what I have seen. Either way he is not really built for that style of hockey so I will give him a pass.

As much as he annoys me Connor Garland is a great example of small American player who can play tight games but again he was never heralded as the next one and didn't go through the NTDP. Kid had to earn everything he got.
 
Marner and Nylander are exempt from what I am about to say because they are Canadian, but I am starting to wonder if there is something wrong with USA hockey and the way they develop players. The recent crop of USA superstars from the past 5+ years have been extremely soft and unable to play in tight checking games.

Matthews best example. Zegras. Caufield. All 3 Hughes brothers want no part of tight checking games. I mean there will always be some who can play but look at Canada's superstars and you have to start wondering what USA hockey is doing wrong?

Look at Bedard. I mean the kid is legit. He got his jaw broken and was back and playing with heart. I see this often in midgets and junior hockey as well when comparing top Canadians to top Americans.

Is there something wrong with our development model or are they just preparing players for the future NHL that will be completely devoid of hitting? Is skill above all else a detriment in the NHL game?
I'll probably get some hate for this for stereotyping and generalizing, but that's fine it's just my opinion anyway.

American born players grow up watching the American sports culture (NFL, NBA, and to a lesser extent the MLB) where the individual is king. The team and the idea of the team is secondary to the individuals "legacy" in that sport. There is the notion that these athletes need to create their own "brand" and whatever team they are currently playing on is irrelevant. that then carries over into the games themselves and the idea of selling out one's body or "taking one for the team" gets pushed down and replaced with "I need to win, to establish my legacy" ....An I need to win as opposed to WE need to win line of thinking, so to speak.

The idiom "there's no I in team" does not resonate with a lot the American athletes because they are praised more so for individual accomplishments than team accomplishments. Whereas in Canadian sports (mainly hockey, obviously) the team winning is viewed as the ultimate goal, and creating ones' legacy is accomplished through team success. How many people on here have stated multiple times that if McDavid doesn't win a Cup he can't be considered an all time great?

Now, I get that there are outliers on both sides of the border and this is not a truism for all American or all Canadian athletes in team sports, but the individualism does seem to be much more prevalent in the American sports culture than the Canadian.

Again this totally just my opinion with absolutely nothing to back it up other than my own personal observances, but it is what I see when I look at these 2 countries sports cultures.
 
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I'll probably get some hate for this for stereotyping and generalizing, but that's fine it's just my opinion anyway.

American born players grow up watching the American sports culture (NFL, NBA, and to a lesser extent the MLB) where the individual is king. The team and the idea of the team is secondary to the individuals "legacy" in that sport. There is the notion that these athletes need to create their own "brand" and whatever team they are currently playing on is irrelevant. that then carries over into the games themselves and the idea of selling out one's body or "taking one for the team" gets pushed down and replaced with "I need to win, to establish my legacy" ....An I need to win as opposed to WE need to win line of thinking, so to speak.

The idiom "there's no I in team" does not resonate with a lot the American athletes because they are praised more so for individual accomplishments than team accomplishments. Whereas in Canadian sports (mainly hockey, obviously) the team winning is viewed as the ultimate goal, and creating ones' legacy is accomplished through team success. How many people on here have stated multiple times that if McDavid doesn't win a Cup he can't be considered an all time great?

Now, I get that there are outliers on both sides of the border and this is not a truism for all American or all Canadian athletes in team sports, but the individualism does seem to be much more prevalent in the American sports culture than the Canadian.

Again this totally just my opinion with absolutely nothing to back it up other than my own personal observances, but it is what I see when I look at these 2 countries sports cultures.
You have a good point but the majority of American hockey coaches I have known for the past 20 years preach team first, hard work, good attitude, etc. If anything it's the parents that encourage their kids not to pass so their son is the one scoring all the goals and getting all of the attention so it might be some of that.

Regardless though if you make the NTDP you are there for 2 years. NTDP should be able to beat those habits out of them. Instill hardwork and team mentality. They should also filter kids according to these attributes instead of just taking the most skilled kids who don't necessarily play the best team game or have the willingness to do whatever it takes to win for the team.

Matthews really has been an embarassment as far as playoffs go but so many past ntdp stars just dont have what it takes to succeed in playoff hockey and I am wondering what is wrong.
 
Was pretty interesting to notice he wasn't doing any postgame interviews on Saturday.......gotta think he opted out of it, for reasons unknown.

Looking forward to his thoughts on the matter today - and on his future with the team.

Maybe everything's still sunshine and rainbows in his eyes, who knows.
 
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Mitch Marner’s Canadian. Let’s just stay on topic here.
Ok I'll let the thread get back on track but maybe Mitch secretly followed what the American skill boyz are doing and that's why he is a ghost in the playoffs.
 
Why not treat him like Tatar? Does well in the RS. Leave him off the PO roster.

/s
 
How many in that dressing room have called Marner out for his shit playoff performances? At least Nylander (and Matthews) had the balls to yell at Mitch on the bench this series.

Tavares not being able to motivate anyone because he's quite bland doesn't help.
 
Nah.

There’s not always an excuse. But this year there is. He played all when healthy.

That doesn’t make him a playoff ace but people going after him this year.. it doesn’t make sense.

Marner on the other hand…
There always seems to be an excuse, yeah. Either way, why would I think Matthews would have made any more of a difference this year, than in years past?
 
There always seems to be an excuse, yeah. Either way, why would I think Matthews would have made any more of a difference this year, than in years past?
I haven’t heard excuses in the past. I’ve heard him get ripped several times.

This year he played well when healthy and even managed a big play when not healthy. He played well when he could. That’s why people aren’t going after him this year.

People are going after Marner because he sucked. Again.
 
Marner did not have a great series but I feel like people pin all of the failures of the Leafs core, team, coaching and management on him only, because he's an easy target- a small soft winger who wilts under pressure. Truth is, there's enough blame to go around.

I don't know what the Leafs do to fix this as they've tried to surround the core with many different types of teams- small and fast, big and slow, analytics type players, "meat and potatoes" type players...one thing that is clear is that their scoring dries up in the playoffs. IMO I think they need one or two more Dmen that can make plays. Guys like Lybushkin, McCabe, Benoit and Edmundson are all stay at home, tough Dmen, but they need a lot more than just Reilly. When space is at a premium in the playoffs, teams create a lot more offense from the back end.
 
His style of play isn’t suited for the playoffs. Even when he had the puck he forwent shooting and opted for some weird passing play that didn’t advance any scoring danger.

I don’t understand the size and country of origin being discussed.

This isn’t the 90s
 
Marner tries so hard. Wishes so hard he was loved a fraction of how much Papi is loved.
 

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