True but overall his puck handling and passing has been impressive.
A bit Marner like?
World Junior Thread II
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A bit Marner like?
I'm not going to judge our guys too much in this game. They've spent 40 minutes getting their heads kicked in by far superior hockey players that were drafted as such. It could be 10-0 right now and there is nothing Niemela, Hirvonen and company can do about it. They're just not good enough to make a difference against the talent Canada's icing shift after shift.
kk87
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Canada4Gold
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Hasn't there been like 7 or 8 good games? Maybe you dislike than that half of them were involving Germany/Swiss/Slovakia, and most of the rest have been teams not playing great like Russia against Czechs, or USA against Russia, or Canada against Slovakia. But there's been more good games than just the 1 last night.
Exactly. He like the rest of his teammates are just completely outclassed by far better hockey players tonight...
Hard to be too tough on the kid. They ran into a buzzsaw. Byram and Drysdale are showing what excellent young defensemen look like.
cookie
Fresh From The Oven
The Finnish team is getting its teeth kicked in and then some. For what it's worth, both defenders seem to provide a sense of safety when they're on the ice, with hints of a possible counter-attack when Niemela has the puck. It's crazy to think that these guys (not sure about Kokkonen) can represent Finland again next year.
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I dunno how many of these Canadian players were available for us on the draft...
But we don't draft Canadians anymore, hate to he that guy but are you telling me none of these guys were available? Team Canada and their players just look like there on another level and we picked none of them.
I'm all for drafting smart and evaluating players in other countries.. but team Canada is just on another tier and I hate that we have no one (again) to root for. Am I the only one that feels this way?
But we don't draft Canadians anymore, hate to he that guy but are you telling me none of these guys were available? Team Canada and their players just look like there on another level and we picked none of them.
I'm all for drafting smart and evaluating players in other countries.. but team Canada is just on another tier and I hate that we have no one (again) to root for. Am I the only one that feels this way?
Morgs
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Well, considering every single Canadian forward was a 1st round pick and what, two Canadian defensemen weren't?... Maybe Toronto could have drafted 1 of these guys and a bunch of them were off the board by time Toronto drafted.
The Amirov pick, which looks like a good one, was the only pick that could have netted us one of these guys.
Leafs at Knight
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Germany vs Slovakia game was also good, so 2 good games I guess. Maybe Russia vs USA, so 3.
cookie
Fresh From The Oven
It's a team disparity. Canada's scoring about twice as many goals per game as the next highest scoring team in this tournament. That doesn't mean that you overlook guys like Niemela or Amirov.
FWIW, eliteprospects lists Canada as the oldest group in the tourney whereas Finland is 6th.
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Canada4Gold
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I thought Switzerland/Slovakia, and Canada/Slovakia were good too, despite the lack of goals they were close entertaining games. Czech/Russia was close but pretty boring so I'll give you that one. I enjoyed Germany/Swiss, and Germany/Finland as well, but that may be because I'm heavily invested in Germany doing well.
Leafs at Knight
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Agree to disagree I guess. Canada vs Slovakia was bad, giant snoozefest. Canada looked uninterested for most of it. Swiss didn't show up for 50 mins and then scored a couple late PP goals. If the Leafs did that I wouldn't say it was a good game by then.
cookie
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Morgs
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all good points, but let's not forget that just playing and being on the same team in this tourney and even in practise is huge for their development.
I'd personally like to see a Canadian pick again to root for.. that's just the biased in me.
Nice for Niemela to get an assist there. His team needed it because Finland is getting skulldrug at even strength.
Canada4Gold
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I'm not talking well played games when I mean good games. A good game is a game I like to watch. Whether that's because of good play, close score, upset potential. Slovakia keeping that game close kept me attentive. Czechs upsetting Russia had me interested for that entire game. I thought Slovakia/Switzerland was a great game for the 2 teams that were involved and what was on the line.
If your bar is high level play, lots of chances, and a close game you're likely only looking at a couple round robin games, and a couple knockout games every year. Not sure what you were expecting with a bar like that.
Niemela picks up another point
Morgs
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cookie
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Then again, playing and training in the Liiga and the KHL provides the same thing. Training with men and playing fewer games can be better for guys that need to develop physically.
(i also wanted to have a Canadian to root for but it can be argued that covid may have influenced Dubas's decision to draft from the CHL and USHL due to potential league closures)
I would like a big, dominant, Canadian defenseman one of these days. One can dream. They're hard to find.
Morgs
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