Who is the worst to ever play for Canada in a best-on-best tournament?

[Oilers1*]

I think the most obvious choice will be Rob Zamuner in the 1998 Olympics.

He was coming off a 50-point season, which would be his career-best. He topped 40 points only one other time in his career, and never had more than 19 goals in a season.

He managed less than 400 NHL games after Nagano, and was last seen playing in the Swiss league.

Who else is a contender?

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[seventieslord]

Zamuner is bound to be a popular choice.

What about Lyle Odelein? Also, many people forget that Normand Rochefort was in the 1987 Canada Cup.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Patrice Bergeron and Eric Brewer

 

[kmad]

Normand Rochefort

 

[MXD]

Rick Lanz seems like the best candidate to me.

EDIT : Don't mind, he didn't play during best on best.

 

[seventieslord]

Lanz? Holy cow, I didn't even know he played for Canada.

That may be the winner right there.

I did come back in to mention Eric Brewer, but someone beat me to it. Also, Kirk Maltby.

 

[alexanderovechkin8]

Brewer Maltby

 

[MXD]

Lanz? Holy cow, I didn't even know he played for Canada.

That may be the winner right there.

I did come back in to mention Eric Brewer, but someone beat me to it. Also, Kirk Maltby.

My mistake, he didn't.
I thought it was either him or Doug Halward, but it seems they didn't play on best vs. best.

 

[MXD]

Still, I think it would be slightly bad to consider Normand Rochefort a worst player than Don Awrey.

 

[Blades of Glory]

Hey Normand Rochefort scored a goal in the 87 Canada Cup Finals! He couldn't be the worst.

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

JP Parise and some others on the 72 team really defy explanation. Great victory, but there were some really average players on that team.

 

[NOTENOUGHJTCGOALS]

Brewer is definitely the worst to ever represent Canada at two separate best-on-best tourneys.

Where they won. One of which Brewer played an integral role. In the 04 World Cup he was amazing, particularly vs the Czechs.

He's continued to be a very good defenseman and captain of his team, although injury prone.

Much more than Zamuner could say.

 

[Oilers1*]

Where they won. One of which Brewer played an integral role. In the 04 World Cup he was amazing, particularly vs the Czechs.

He's continued to be a very good defenseman and captain of his team, although injury prone.

Much more than Zamuner could say.

Exactly.

Brewer had two goals in '02, and pushed Jovanovski into the seventh spot. Brewer had a ton of potential as a young defenseman although injuries derailed that (particularily that first shoulder injury he had in St. Louis, he never seemed the same after that). Like you said, though, still a solid NHL blueliner.

When the first name mentioned in this thread is 'Rob Zamuner' to suggest Brewer afterwards is just asinine.

I might concede the point on him being the 'worst to ever play in two best-on-best competitions' although I'm not sure who the competition would be. Its a bit of a silly claim, though, its like saying Pronger is the worst to ever have played in five.

 

[Blades of Glory]

When Gretzky took Draper in 06 I immediately started having flashbacks to Zamuner in 98

 

[Raging Bull]

I'd say Kris Draper. Career high 40 points.

 

[seventieslord]

I'm trying to think of this from an "all-time draft" perspective, and who would be drafted the lowest, and I think the bottom five based on their all-time greatness, 2010 team excluded because many of them haven't built legacies yet:

Odelein (1500th-ish)
Zamuner (1400th-ish)
Brewer (1300th-ish)
Maltby (1000th-ish)
Rochefort (800th-ish)

 

[Brodie]

Maltby is much, much worse than Draper.

 

[Super Fadio Bro]

Kirk Maltby

 

[Rob]

Shane Corson

 

[MXD]

I'm trying to think of this from an "all-time draft" perspective, and who would be drafted the lowest, and I think the bottom five based on their all-time greatness, 2010 team excluded because many of them haven't built legacies yet:

Odelein (1500th-ish)
Zamuner (1400th-ish)
Brewer (1300th-ish)
Maltby (1000th-ish)
Rochefort (800th-ish)

I'd actually have Lyle Odelein ahead of Don Awrey.
And ahead of Eric Brewer as well. Not that he was necessarily better than Brewer, but I can really see the point of picking him as a 6th D in the MLD or something like that.

Odelein is a great niche player -- decent enforcer, much, much better hockey sense than everbody ever credited him with, and played very sound defense.

This said, Odelein has a double claim at fame.

- He's probably the least offensively skilled player ever to register an hat-trick.
- He's probably the least offensively skilled player ever to hold (it was a tie) an offensive record on ANY team for a one-game performance. Odelein held the Habs record for the highest number of assists in a game for a D-Men.

EDIT : Come to think of it, Georges Laraque registered an hat-trick. So let's make it less offensively skilled D-Men to register a hat-trick.

 

[seventieslord]

I'd actually have Lyle Odelein ahead of Don Awrey.
And ahead of Eric Brewer as well. Not that he was necessarily better than Brewer, but I can really see the point of picking him as a 6th D in the MLD or something like that.

Odelein is a great niche player -- decent enforcer, much, much better hockey sense than everbody ever credited him with, and played very sound defense.

This said, Odelein has a double claim at fame.

- He's probably the least offensively skilled player ever to register an hat-trick.
- He's probably the least offensively skilled player ever to hold (it was a tie) an offensive record on ANY team for a one-game performance. Odelein held the Habs record for the highest number of assists in a game for a D-Men.

EDIT : Come to think of it, Georges Laraque registered an hat-trick. So let's make it less offensively skilled D-Men to register a hat-trick.

I dunno, Awrey is a late ATD staple. the five guys I named aren't. I don't think I can fit him in any easier than I could fit Draper in.

 

[Big Phil]

Sylvain Cote (1996 World Cup) is a good one not mentioned yet. This goes to show you how depleted the Canadian defensive corps were.

Jimmy Watson (1976 Canada Cup). Maybe not the worst, but he is for sure a d-man that was not like the others in '76. Stay at home type I know, but he's up there.

Never cared for Adam Graves in 1996 either

Ken Linsemen, Paul Reinhart

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Jocelyn Guevrement (Canada '72) is a name few hockey fans would recognize. I never saw him play, but he looks to have had at best a Brewer-like career.

 

[seventieslord]

Sylvain Cote (1996 World Cup) is a good one not mentioned yet. This goes to show you how depleted the Canadian defensive corps were.

Jimmy Watson (1976 Canada Cup). Maybe not the worst, but he is for sure a d-man that was not like the others in '76. Stay at home type I know, but he's up there.

Never cared for Adam Graves in 1996 either

Ken Linsemen, Paul Reinhart

Watson, Graves, Linseman and Reinhart are all ATD staples and among the top-500 players of all-time.

Cote is a good choice though. I would knock Rochefort off the list and give Cote the title of "5th-worst".

Jocelyn Guevrement (Canada '72) is a name few hockey fans would recognize. I never saw him play, but he looks to have had at best a Brewer-like career.

He was pretty much an offensive specialist. An AAA draft-level player.

But yeah, good choice. I'd put him right around Brewer in that 3rd/4th spot.

 

[tommygunn]

Jocelyn Guevrement (Canada '72) is a name few hockey fans would recognize. I never saw him play, but he looks to have had at best a Brewer-like career.

He never actually played though..