When, if, will any country’s roster be generally considered above Canada’s?

[Ben White]

As I recall I’ve never came across any article or “expert” claiming that Canada doesn’t possess the strongest potential roster in hockey ever since one volume of a North American magazine (can’t recall the name) which ranked the Olympic teams every month up until the 2014 Olympics. At one occasion in the fall of 2013 Sweden was in fact ranked on top - a picture of Niklas Backstrom and the title “Sweden is the best country in the world”.
We have to remember that at the time Canada, however ridiculously star studded as always, didn’t have quite the fire power they have for the 2022 Olympics, while Sweden had legends as the Sedins, Alfredsson, Zetterberg and Kronwall still primed while having a new generation of stars in Karlsson, Hedman (who later got snubbed...), OEL joining the party, Backstrom was for a period there considered one of the best centres in the league, while Henrik Lundqvist was still “The King”, Edler was right in his prime while players like Steen and Loui Eriksson had a short stint at semi stardom, and guys like Landeskog and overachieving Nyquist was considered upcoming stars in the league.

I guess it’s something like this timing wise that would be required for any serious publication to ever rank a country’s potential roster above Canada’s again anytime soon. Give me your thoughts?

Click to read more...

 

[ORRFForever]

A Sports Illustrated article from 20 years ago once said there is a international hockey pattern:

Canada pulls ahead, other countries catch up...
Canada pulls ahead, other countries catch up...
Repeat.

I can't see this changing in my lifetime.

 

[Mathieukferland]

As long as the CHL remains the best development league in the world and mostly populated by Canadians, I can’t see this changing

 

[Lartsaman]

The day canadians stop playing ice hockey.

 

[alko]

I think, there was some analysis, that USA will catch and maybe outnumber Canada in NHL one day. It was mostly looked via draft and numbers of NHL players. Canada was slowly declining, on the other side USA rising.
Cant find it anymore.

And imo, it will happen one day.

Sweden, Finland, Russia cant catch Canada. Maybe one year for short moment, when some guys will have ridiculous seasons. Russia with peak Ovie, Malkin, Kovalchuk and more forwards was doomed with low quality D and goalies. Now it looks like they have star packed forwards (and will have), top goalies, but D is still an issue. Not matching Canada.

 

[Ben White]

I think, there was some analysis, that USA will catch and maybe outnumber Canada in NHL one day. It was mostly looked via draft and numbers of NHL players. Canada was slowly declining, on the other side USA rising.
Cant find it anymore.

And imo, it will happen one day.

Sweden, Finland, Russia cant catch Canada. Maybe one year for short moment, when some guys will have ridiculous seasons. Russia with peak Ovie, Malkin, Kovalchuk and more forwards was doomed with low quality D and goalies. Now it looks like they have star packed forwards (and will have), top goalies, but D is still an issue. Not matching Canada.

You’re probably right. Btw that team in 2014 was probably the best Swedish team I ever saw. They lost prime Henrik Sedin, Zetterberg and Backstrom (their 3 top centres) during the tournament and still managed to land the silver medal. Without the injuries and the “Backstrom scandal” they could’ve really challenged Canada for gold.

Just take a look at this projected forward group with each forward’s status at the time (Alfredsson projected on the 4th line!):
Sweden Olympic Hockey Team 2014: Full 25-Man Roster, Projected Lines, Pairings

And we all know have great the defense was.

 

[JackSlater]

USA could be in the future due to population, resources, and endless talent drain stemming from the NHL. I don't see any other country having a better roster than Canada has in the foreseeable future unless there are a few massive outliers (Gretzky and Lemieux situation) on the team.

 

[David OSullivan]

20 to 25 years after there's an absolutely humongous baby boom in Finland.

 

[86Habs]

Canada should have the best roster on paper for the foreseeable future, but any team can knock us off in an elimination game. Since 2002, at the start of the Gretzky regime, we've also done well with setting up a strong and replicable management team and roster selection process, and the coaching has been top notch (2006 notwithstanding).

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Never going to happen the mere thought is ridiculous

 

[Eye of Ra]

A best possible team Sweden in 2006 would be better than best possible team Canada that year.

Markus Näslund - Peter Forsberg - Henrik Zetterberg
Fredrik Modin - Mats Sundin - Daniel Alfredsson
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Tomas Holmström
Kristian Huselius - Michael Nylander - Mikael Samuelsson

Nicklas Lidström - Mattias Norström
Niklas Kronwall - Mattias Öhlund
Kim Johnsson - Kenny Jönsson

Henrik Lundqvist

 

[Deas]

A best possible team Sweden in 2006 would be better than best possible team Canada that year.

Markus Näslund - Peter Forsberg - Henrik Zetterberg
Fredrik Modin - Mats Sundin - Daniel Alfredsson
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Tomas Holmström
Kristian Huselius - Michael Nylander - Mikael Samuelsson

Nicklas Lidström - Mattias Norström
Niklas Kronwall - Mattias Öhlund
Kim Johnsson - Nicklas Hävelid

Henrik Lundqvist

I disagree. /Swede

Or, I'll have to look at it. At first glance it is a weak year for Canada.

Sakic - Thornton - Heatley
Staal - Crosby - Iginla
Kariya - Savard - Shanahan
Lecavalier - Bergeron - Marleau

Spezza, Richards, Briere, Gagne. Bertuzzi, Smyth

Niedermayer - Pronger
Blake - Boyle
Campbell - Bouwmeester

Jovanovski, Redden, Phaneuf, McCabe

Brodeur
Luongo
Giguere

Yeah it's a no. That's prime Thornton and Heatley, still late prime Sakic, Niedermayer and Pronger, and so on. They had 13 forwards at 80+ points and I'm using 11 of them above. Oh and if "best possible" means everyone's healthy and happy then I can add Lemieux as well to Team Canada.

17 Canadian forwards were 1.0 P/G or higher (several of them very high) in the 05/06 season. Sweden had 4.

2006 on paper was the sweetspot merger of Sweden's "golden generation" and the Sedins + Zetterberg, but let's not kid ourselves here.

 

[Mathieukferland]

Let me put it this way; in the foreseeable future no one would be able to compete (or beat) with a best possible Canada team over 8 or 3 games like the Soviets managed in the later 20th century; whilst Canada might lose in a one-off knockout game I doubt anyone will ever be as competitive as the the Kharlamov or KLM era soviets were with Canada

 

[ORRFForever]

This theme has been explored a hundred times, in a hundred threads, under a hundred different names.

 

[Czechboy]

I feel like the game is getting smaller and not bigger.. down to 5 nation's now.

 

[alko]

I feel like the game is getting smaller and not bigger.. down to 5 nation's now.

Still better than NFL.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

What else is Canada gonna be good at?

 

[koyvoo]

I’m not old enough to have lived through the early part of the first real threat, which would have been the Soviets, but I remember being terrified in the mid to late 90s that it was inevitable, if not done.

Back to back tournaments without finishing at the top was jarring, and specifically looking at the USA, who delivered that first blow in 1996, with their recourses and all, I really felt it was only a matter of time. That was 25 years ago.

 

[member 305909]

The USA will eventually overtake Canada. Just sad that in the USA hardly anyone will know or care about it.

 

[DeysArena]

The USSR was sometimes rated over Canada during the Cold War.

Other countries were also rated over Canada between 1996-2002.

 

[Atas2000]

On a NA board? Never.

 

[Miro4Norris]

You’re probably right. Btw that team in 2014 was probably the best Swedish team I ever saw. They lost prime Henrik Sedin, Zetterberg and Backstrom (their 3 top centres) during the tournament and still managed to land the silver medal. Without the injuries and the “Backstrom scandal” they could’ve really challenged Canada for gold.

Just take a look at this projected forward group with each forward’s status at the time (Alfredsson projected on the 4th line!):
Sweden Olympic Hockey Team 2014: Full 25-Man Roster, Projected Lines, Pairings

And we all know have great the defense was.

1. They were lucky to be in the finals as they Barely won Finland in semi-finals who were missing their top4 centers; Mikko Koivu,Valtteri Filppula, Alexander Barkov, Saku Koivu, best dman Joni Pitkänen and both superstar goalies Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask

 

[Lartsaman]

1. They were lucky to be in the finals as they Barely won Finland in semi-finals who were missing their top4 centers; Mikko Koivu,Valtteri Filppula, Alexander Barkov, Saku Koivu, best dman Joni Pitkänen and both superstar goalies Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask

"Barely".... They were better the whole game.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I see Canada in hockey as similar to the U.S. in basketball. Still #1, still the most depth, but the gap has shrunk with two or three contenders for dominance.

 

[newmanager]

What else is Canada gonna be good at?

Pretty broad question but just to narrow it down to sporting events. They seem to be doing not too bad at most Olympic sports. Just a comparison with other Countries from the Northern Hemisphere.

2020 Summer Olympics
Place	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
11	Canada	7	6	11	24
20	Norway	4	2	2	8
23	Sweden	3	6	0	9
25	Denmark	3	4	4	11
85	Finland	0	0	2	2
2018 Winter Olympics
1	Norway	14	14	11	39
3	Canada	11	8	10	29
10	Sweden	7	6	1	14
16	Finland	1	1	4	6
''''	Denmark	0	0	0	0
2016 Summer Olympics
20	Canada	4	3	15	22
28	Denmark	2	6	7	15
29	Sweden	2	6	3	11
74	Norway	0	0	4	4
78	Finland	0	0	1	1
2014 Winter Olympics
3	Norway	11	5	10	26
4	Canada	10	10	5	25
9	Sweden	2	7	6	15
19	Finland	1	3	1	5
''''	Denmark	0	0	0	0
2012 Summer Olympics
27	Canada	2	6	10	18
30	Denmark	2	4	3	9
34	Norway	2	1	1	4
37	Sweden	1	4	3	8
61	Finland	0	2	1	3
2010 Winter Olympics
1	Canada	14	7	5	26
4	Norway	9	8	6	23
8	Sweden	5	2	4	11
24	Finland	0	1	4	5
'''	Denmark	0	0	0	0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]