WJC: 2014 — Canada Roster Talk (Pt. IV)

Status
Not open for further replies.

newfy

Registered User
Jul 28, 2010
14,718
8,241
I haven't seen much of Jonathan Drouin (I'm in the States). I wasn't a fan of his......shall we say....demonstrative nature today. Is that his style or was today unusual? I understand he was frustrated (early penalty,etccc) but I was not impressed by his comportment ( is that the correct word? Lol)

Are you thinking of composure? And I wouldnt say thats his style usually, he was just fed up with some terrible officiating. I wasnt a fan of it either but he seemed to channel it into positive energy shortly after and make the best of it
 

WeThreeKings

Habs cup - its in the BAG
Sep 19, 2006
91,120
91,551
Halifax
I've kept my eye on Leier whenever he does get minutes, and I am still not sure what he is doing on the team. Is it still just me?

Leier is terrible. Rychel has been piss poor as well. Gauthier on this team makes 0 sense when you consider they don't even use him on the PK.

Bigras has been by far the worst player for Team Canada though. On that 5-on-3 goal, WHAT THE HELL was he doing? He's not facing the side of the ice he's supposed to be covering and comes right into the lane that is already being blocked by his partner. Just brutal.
 

Jesus Christ Horburn

Registered User
Aug 22, 2008
13,942
1
This the problem I have with bringing "role players" like Gauthier, Leier and Anderson - guys who are very good at being 3rd and 4th liners.

In tournaments like this, you always have offensive guys (ex. Rychel) that struggle, who then drop down the depth chart to the 3rd and 4th line. Remember Rick Nash at the Olympics? That makes those guy you brought to play those roles superfluous.

Imagine if guys like Poirier, Domi, Dal Colle, etc. had made the team over those guys. Every line would be dangerous.
 

Alerion

Registered User
Dec 24, 2012
11,035
5,108
Halifax, NS
This the problem I have with bringing "role players" like Gauthier, Leier and Anderson - guys who are very good at being 3rd and 4th liners.

In tournaments like this, you always have offensive guys (ex. Rychel) that struggle, who then drop down the depth chart to the 3rd and 4th line. Remember Rick Nash at the Olympics? That makes those guy you brought to play those roles superfluous.

Imagine if guys like Poirier, Domi, Dal Colle, etc. had made the team over those guys. Every line would be dangerous.
I actually think Anderson's been fairly good. I agree regarding Leier and Gauthier though.
 

GlassesJacketShirt

Registered User
Aug 4, 2010
11,398
4,131
Sherbrooke
This the problem I have with bringing "role players" like Gauthier, Leier and Anderson - guys who are very good at being 3rd and 4th liners.

In tournaments like this, you always have offensive guys (ex. Rychel) that struggle, who then drop down the depth chart to the 3rd and 4th line. Remember Rick Nash at the Olympics? That makes those guy you brought to play those roles superfluous.

Imagine if guys like Poirier, Domi, Dal Colle, etc. had made the team over those guys. Every line would be dangerous.

I think it goes without saying that a talented bottom six that keeps the pressure up is more of a threat than a legion of defensive forwards. 2009 is a great example: Tavares, Hodgson and co. stepped up and led the way, but having the likes of Benn, Ennis and Kane in the bottom six kept opponents honest.

We will see if some of the bottom six guys can elevate themselves, but I would not count on it too much. Gauthier is one-dimensional, almost zero creativity to speak of, and Anderson is decent at what he does, so Rychel is neutralized from the beginning because he is a complimentary scorer who does not elevate his linemates. Leier is the least noteworthy forward here, I can't say anything about him because there is nothing to say (although I agree wholeheartedly with WeThreeKings about Bigras, I feel for Nurse and the Oilers fans here).
 

xxxx

Registered User
Sep 20, 2012
5,480
0
This might be the dumbest post in the whole thread. Why in god's name would you split up Mantha and Drouin? Because other guys are struggling? Sorry bud it doesn't work that way.

Gauthier ahead of Horvat......?? God this kid is underrated


Don't take it too seriously :) It's just an idea...I thought that Mantha played the third period with Lazar and Petan, and they played well.

Of course, it could be also Laughton-Drouin-Mantha or somethin like that.

But when some players struggle, you have to change something, and not just don't send them on the ice. I'm sure that Sutter won't let the fourth line (Rychel-Gauthier-Anderson) just like that.
 

GlassesJacketShirt

Registered User
Aug 4, 2010
11,398
4,131
Sherbrooke
Don't take it too seriously :) It's just an idea...I thought that Mantha played the third period with Lazar and Petan, and they played well.

Of course, it could be also Laughton-Drouin-Mantha or somethin like that.

But when some players struggle, you have to change something, and not just don't send them on the ice. I'm sure that Sutter won't let the fourth line (Rychel-Gauthier-Anderson) just like that.

I think he might occasionally alternate someone like Drouin in there, but otherwise I am not sure what else he can do with guys with very specific "skill" sets. Rychel could be effective with better forwards, but Gauthier, Anderson and Leier do not seem like the kind of guys that you can "get going" at this level of play. You simply have to hope they can occasionally muster out a goal.
 

Whileee

Registered User
May 29, 2010
46,061
33,043
I think he might occasionally alternate someone like Drouin in there, but otherwise I am not sure what else he can do with guys with very specific "skill" sets. Rychel could be effective with better forwards, but Gauthier, Anderson and Leier do not seem like the kind of guys that you can "get going" at this level of play. You simply have to hope they can occasionally muster out a goal.

Rychel has been with two good offensive players (Petan and Lazar), but he has been a drag on that line. He just doesn't seem to be able to keep up to the speed this international competition and has shown very little offensive creativity. I've liked Anderson a lot more than Rychel and think he would do better with better linemates.
 

Panj

Registered User
Mar 27, 2013
21
0
I honestly think Gaunce would be better than Gauthier on this roster.
 

GGSmitty

Registered User
Sep 25, 2012
84
6
Winnipeg
My lineup:

Hudon - Drouin - Mantha
Lazar - Petan - Reinhart
Laughton - Horvat - McDavid
Leir - Gauthier - Anderson

Reinhart - Morrissey
Pouliot - Ekblad
Pelech - Dumba
Bigras

flip a coin on the goalies???

I like it!

Interesting the top 3 lines are...
1)Q
2)W
3)O

Makes sense and funny how everybody thought Hudon, Mantha, and Drouin should have been together since the SSS; yet it has taken this long for HC to figure it out.
 

GlassesJacketShirt

Registered User
Aug 4, 2010
11,398
4,131
Sherbrooke
Rychel has been with two good offensive players (Petan and Lazar), but he has been a drag on that line. He just doesn't seem to be able to keep up to the speed this international competition and has shown very little offensive creativity. I've liked Anderson a lot more than Rychel and think he would do better with better linemates.

I disagree to an extent. The skating I agree with, Rychel is not a great skater. I do think he could help offensively if there was someone in the bottom six that could provide more creativity, but Lazar does not do that (although he is definitely a fine player for other reasons) and Petan has disappointed overall despite the clutch goal today.

More than anything else, I simply find Rychel, and by extension Gauthier, are victims of roster makeup. Rychel is a complimentary scorer, yet he is not better than the forwards ahead of him while the forwards who are in the bottom six are either playing uneven (Petan) or are not creative offensive players. Meanwhile, Gauthier's primary asset, defensive ability, is limited by his own usage: guys like Lazar are being entrusted more for PKing and defensive assignments.

In my opinion, Anderson seems to have a more clearly defined role and is doing better than the others because of that. He provides checking and hard energy, something that does not suit the other two. I still prefer all of them over Leier, however.
 

MentalPowerHouse

Registered User
Oct 11, 2003
580
0
Lots of overreaction here, its early relax. This team looks good to me, dominating play 5 on 5 so far in the tournament. Most of the criticism in this thread is silly and focused on what scoring players they didn't bring when scoring hasn't been the problem at all. Discipline, PK, and faceoffs. That's what needs to improve moving forward, and maybe goal tending but I think Fucale deserve another start before we write him off.
 
Oct 15, 2008
40,422
5,395
I disagree to an extent. The skating I agree with, Rychel is not a great skater. I do think he could help offensively if there was someone in the bottom six that could provide more creativity, but Lazar does not do that (although he is definitely a fine player for other reasons) and Petan has disappointed overall despite the clutch goal today.

More than anything else, I simply find Rychel, and by extension Gauthier, are victims of roster makeup. Rychel is a complimentary scorer, yet he is not better than the forwards ahead of him while the forwards who are in the bottom six are either playing uneven (Petan) or are not creative offensive players. Meanwhile, Gauthier's primary asset, defensive ability, is limited by his own usage: guys like Lazar are being entrusted more for PKing and defensive assignments.

In my opinion, Anderson seems to have a more clearly defined role and is doing better than the others because of that. He provides checking and hard energy, something that does not suit the other two. I still prefer all of them over Leier, however.

Gauthier cant skate. He is dead slow on the big ice. What is he doing here? Hence why Lazar is counted on in defensive situations, because he CAN skate and is just a good all round player, he can play in any situation. Gauthier is a waste of space on this team. Shouldnt be here. From what Ive seen neither should Rychel. He has contributed zero.

Bigras was brought instead of Nurse because he played a "simpler" game. What a load. Both he and Pelech have been the biggest high event dmen out there, despite bringing literally nothing on the offensive side of the game.

Dont even get me started on the goaltending............

These problems were all identified BEFORE the team ever got across the Atlantic by joe fans. Why in the world does this kind of incompetence continue year after year? You have a guy with speed like Domi, staying home, while a guy who simply cannot keep up at that level (Gauthier) being brought over and counted on in crucial situations. I did notice today that the fourth line was matched up a lot against Slovakia's top unit. It was a gong show.
 

Broad Street Elite

Registered User
Nov 9, 2011
4,159
4
Lots of overreaction here, its early relax. This team looks good to me, dominating play 5 on 5 so far in the tournament. Most of the criticism in this thread is silly and focused on what scoring players they didn't bring when scoring hasn't been the problem at all. Discipline, PK, and faceoffs. That's what needs to improve moving forward, and maybe goal tending but I think Fucale deserve another start before we write him off.

My feelings exactly. 3 preliminary games in a tournament involving players that have never played together and often come from entirely different leagues where they aren't even getting to play against the guys they are now playing with. Just about every player on the team has looked weak at one point or another. I'm not willing to suggest that some of these guys (like Petan) are suddenly incapable of scoring now.

Let the kids play together and the coaches identify the chemistry before we start burning the house down.
 

xxxx

Registered User
Sep 20, 2012
5,480
0
So maybe...

Hudon - Drouin - Mantha
McDavid - Horvat - Laughton
Lazar - Petan - S.Reinhart
Rychel - Gauthier - Anderson
Leier

Pouliot - Ekblad
Dumba - G.Reinhart
Morrissey - Pelech
Bigras
 

YNWA14

Onbreekbaar
Dec 29, 2010
34,543
2,560
So maybe...

Hudon - Drouin - Mantha
McDavid - Horvat - Laughton
Lazar - Petan - S.Reinhart
Rychel - Gauthier - Anderson
Leier

Pouliot - Ekblad
Dumba - G.Reinhart
Morrissey - Pelech
Bigras

I don't mind this but I'd prefer to switch the 1st and 3rd line a bit.

Drouin - Lazar - Mantha
Hudon - Petan - Reinhart

IMO.
 

mindfly

Happy camper!
Jan 7, 2011
9,878
8
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Yeah Lazar-Drouin-Mantha would be the best.... Drouin has more puck when he's a center, Lazar can play wing I would think...

Since Mantha isn't the most aggresive player out there, Lazars job is to dig in the corners, get the puck to Mantha and Drouin and then go hard to the net.
 

Habsawce

Registered User
Nov 16, 2010
31,299
2,603
Canada
I think I just heard Bob McKenzie say the bottom pairing is going to be Pelech and Bigras. Would be shocked at this but Sutter DGAF
 

Riggins

Registered User
Jul 12, 2002
7,766
4,452
Vancouver, BC
So Canada now has to get through Switzerland and then Finland/Czech Republic to get to the gold medal game. Looks pretty doable... but who knows with this team.
 

ps241

The Ballad of Ville Bobby
Sponsor
Mar 10, 2010
34,828
30,966
So Canada now has to get through Switzerland and then Finland/Czech Republic to get to the gold medal game. Looks pretty doable... but who knows with this team.

well our best played game so far was against the toughest opponent so either we are hitting stride or we play to the level of our competition?

On the bright side, I thought today was one of the best coached games by a canadian team in the past 4 years.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->