WJC: Canada 2018 Roster Talk

[snipes]

Just a great win.

This was a true team effort. O Canada.

 

[Peiskos]

Great to see a blue collar type Canadian team win it all, yes we were lacking that stand out star(s) but it was a balanced team with 4 quality lines and great goaltending. We're back on top of the Junior hockey world folks! enjoy it!

Feels like these golds mean so much more now that there is so much parity at this level. Which makes me value Canada's 2015 and 2018 golds very much..never know how long it will take to win another and that's good for the sport.

 

[jj cale]

Well, when it counted Hart was good.

Very pleased with that and he proved me wrong in the biggest game.

 

[snipes]

Well, when it counted Hart was good.

Very pleased with that and he proved me wrong in the biggest game.

They played the Canadian way and just kept plugging away.

Feels good man.

 

[SpoolCat]

So happy and proud of this team. This feels like the first time in a long time Team Canada has won in a somewhat underdog role. This team was just a solid all a round team everybody played their part.

Full credit to Carter Hart who hadn't had the greatest of tournaments to be able to lock it down at the most key time. Also I didn't want Steenburgen on this team but credit to him for proving me wrong.

 

[jj cale]

They played the Canadian way and just kept plugging away.

Feels good man.

It feels f***ing GREAT. Back on top.......................where we belong.

 

[snipes]

It feels ****ing GREAT. Back on top.......................where we belong.

It's our game.

Can't wait until snipes jr. is old enough to skate, alas I will be pulling him in the sled tomorrow on the rinks.

 

[jj cale]

It's our game.

Can't wait until snipes jr. is old enough to skate, alas I will be pulling him in the sled tomorrow on the rinks.

Enjoy man!!! Do your best to make him into a hard ass d-man.

 

[snipes]

Enjoy man!!! Do your best to make him into a hard ass d-man.

Make sure you get out on the ice too buddy if you're not snowed out in the east.

 

[jj cale]

Make sure you get out on the ice too buddy if you're not snowed out in the east.

Thankfully I don't have to worry about the winters down home anymore, I have been living in the Okanagan for 10 years now buddy.

I can cartwheel through the winters they get here, piece of cake for me.

 

[Dominance]

I’m actually asking how can Foote play for Canada if he was born in the US. I’m guessing that Hughes will be playing for the US?

To be eligible to play for a country under IIHF regulations, there’s a number of requirements a player must meet, such as citizenship, certain amount of time residing/playing in the country in question, so on. You can look it up online. It’s funny, because Logan Brown wanted to and could have gone the Hockey Canada route a couple years back, but didn’t make the cut and thus went to USA Hockey. And yes, Hughes will be playing for the USA

 

[Tripod]

Hart's shootout goal against counts against his stats unlike the NHL. So without counting it, he had 1.64 GAA and .935 SV%. Only allowed 5 ES goals in 6 games.

And tied the Canadian record for most wins by a goalie for career with 8.

Glad he stepped up when it counted.

 

[JackSlater]

Well, that was a successful tournament for Canada. I am surprised by the gold medal game though. I can't remember a worse winning performance by Canada, but I'll take it, especially after Canada gave away a gold medal in the same building in 2011. The team had a good system and utilized its strengths well. Ducharme and company mostly picked the right players, and some of the off the map picks like Comtois and Formenton really did pay off. I would have changed the defencemen a bit but in the end winning is always enough.

I would like to highlight a few players who I think were really key for Canada. First off, Batherson. I've watched him in junior this year and his ascent was quite impressive, but I still didn't expect him to even make this team. In the end I think that he was Canada's best forward in the semi finals and the finals. No Canadian forward was as engaged and won battles as Batherson did against Sweden. Really great job for him. People have been comparing him to Stone, but I think that's influenced by the team that drafted him. His WJC performance and style, and his status as a late riser, remind me far more of Benn. I don't think that he will be as good as Benn but I do think that he could be a similar style player. I am happy for him, no one seemed to have a better attitude. I also really liked what Comtois brought. Comtois brought a classic Canadian element to this team and it was sorely needed. I didn't think that there was a spot for him after seeing him in junior several times but once again I am happy to have been wrong.

Mete was a critical addition to this team. I don't think that Canada wins if Mete wasn't loaned and other defencemen played more prominent roles. I think that he was Canada's best defensive defenceman and his skating was a legitimate asset. I also think that Timmins turned out to be critical and improved throughout the tournament to the point that he was critical in the final game. I didn't like Timmins' performances in the pre-tournament games or the Finland game, but he grew on me.

In the end I am of course pleased with this result. In my mind I connected this team to the 2017 team, partly because the teams shared players but mostly because of Ducharme. Canada played a very different style (compared to tradition) these past two tournaments and in the end it has been pretty successful. I was annoyed by losing in 2017 because I felt that Canada gave the gold away. I don't mind Canada losing when outplayed by a better team, but the 2017 situation left a bad taste in my mouth. This happened in 2011 as well. For me 2018 was almost a reverse, and I find going 1/2 out of these past two tournaments a fair result. Canada has underperformed at the WJC this decade with unacceptably poor results, so getting a tournament win was a relief. I will enjoy this win and I will remember this particular team as a very solid team that was one of the most balanced that Canada has sent to this tournament.

Now on to 2019.

 

[TMLeafs18]

Sam Steel, Jordan Kyrou, Connor Timmins, Cale Makar, Victor Mete all had amazing tournaments. I had no idea the amount of skill Kyrou had he is a steal for the Blues.

Hart didn't have an amazing tournament in my mind but he saved his best game for when it was needed most. I think that's what makes goalies elite is they win games and they show up when needed.

I was not impressed at all with Michael McLeod. He lacks the skill to be a top end guy.

Bean took a lot of heat on here but I think he had a solid tournament. Nothing special but made some nice plays and didn't make too many mistakes. People were way to harsh on the kid that's for sure.

Formenton took some really dumb penalties this tournament. I'm glad he had a good last game because if he took anymore penalities I feel he would have taken a lot of heat.

 

[PG Canuck]

I always felt that this team would either rally together or fall flat on its face. Will can beat skill, and Canada was just a really grindy team with no real gamebreakers.

Not only did they rally together, they dominated. They did themselves a massive favour by the winning their pool though. A nice easy route to the Gold.

 

[Get North]

This Canadian team was special. Not even close to the 2015 team or 2017 team that lost in the GMG, no McDavid, Domi, Reinhart, Duclair, Barzal, Strome, Chabot. They all had to play and contribute, no passengers. The goaltending was outstanding and finally we had the clutch goaltending in the big game. Bean had a good game I must say. Everybody seemed to step up this game and put their best foot forward. It is funny how much slack Comtois and Formenton got in the USA game, but this game they probably had the most ice-time and played excellent.

Now, we need to win back-to-back in Vancouver. Last time we won back to back it was 08-09. We should have a good team, the 2017 draft was a strong one for Canada.

 

[1Gold Standard]

The '98s pulled it off...after years of me fretting they wouldn't sniff a medal at this tourney. I'm shocked, thrilled, and as always, glad to be wrong. It was a fantastic game, not quite at the level of a Canada v USA GMG, but an A-. Clearly they were the 2 best teams of the tournament...could have gone either way...we just managed to pull it out.
I'm a little concerned now that Hockey Canada will follow this formula of a predominately 19 year old team. I would rather they not do that. I love Gold Medals, but tournament success and player development has to be worked into the cake as well. and that means high end draft eligible and draft+1 players. 1 part of the formula they can follow each year...I do love a team that can skate. I'm so tired of watching the Dylan Stromes of the world plot around on the ice time and time again.

but hey, I can't criticize Hockey Canada too much on player selection when they deliver the goods.

The good news, I'm not particularly high on the 99s either. so, that bodes well for next year's team.

I took a peek into the GDT...and as expected not worth anybody's time reading that nonsense.

 

[Frenzy31]

Man that is a weak group of forwards. I just don't see where they think they are going to get goal scoring from.

I don't think I have ever remembered a tournament where Canada wasn't the best team (usually by far) but this year I would be shocked if they won a medal.

This always was a bit of a down year for Canada but they made it much worse with the selections.

Well, Baxterman, I can say you were completely wrong.

 

[Ivan13]

Well, Baxterman, I can say you were completely wrong.

Quelle surprise.

 

[PecnoTrunk]

This Canadian team was one of the fastest I've seen. They just came at you over and over. The transition was ferocious and fast. I have said this before that the USA game loss was due to the snow on the ground thus slowing Canada down and enabling the USA to work the boards. I was hoping for a USA rematch. And I truly think that again the USA team was overhyped like it is almost every year

I guess USA is the new Russia

Good team. Hope they build another fast big team next year. It was lots of fun to watch

 

[1Gold Standard]

Well, that was a successful tournament for Canada. I am surprised by the gold medal game though. I can't remember a worse winning performance by Canada, but I'll take it, especially after Canada gave away a gold medal in the same building in 2011. The team had a good system and utilized its strengths well. Ducharme and company mostly picked the right players, and some of the off the map picks like Comtois and Formenton really did pay off. I would have changed the defencemen a bit but in the end winning is always enough.

I would like to highlight a few players who I think were really key for Canada. First off, Batherson. I've watched him in junior this year and his ascent was quite impressive, but I still didn't expect him to even make this team. In the end I think that he was Canada's best forward in the semi finals and the finals. No Canadian forward was as engaged and won battles as Batherson did against Sweden. Really great job for him. People have been comparing him to Stone, but I think that's influenced by the team that drafted him. His WJC performance and style, and his status as a late riser, remind me far more of Benn. I don't think that he will be as good as Benn but I do think that he could be a similar style player. I am happy for him, no one seemed to have a better attitude. I also really liked what Comtois brought. Comtois brought a classic Canadian element to this team and it was sorely needed. I didn't think that there was a spot for him after seeing him in junior several times but once again I am happy to have been wrong.

Mete was a critical addition to this team. I don't think that Canada wins if Mete wasn't loaned and other defencemen played more prominent roles. I think that he was Canada's best defensive defenceman and his skating was a legitimate asset. I also think that Timmins turned out to be critical and improved throughout the tournament to the point that he was critical in the final game. I didn't like Timmins' performances in the pre-tournament games or the Finland game, but he grew on me.

In the end I am of course pleased with this result. In my mind I connected this team to the 2017 team, partly because the teams shared players but mostly because of Ducharme. Canada played a very different style (compared to tradition) these past two tournaments and in the end it has been pretty successful. I was annoyed by losing in 2017 because I felt that Canada gave the gold away. I don't mind Canada losing when outplayed by a better team, but the 2017 situation left a bad taste in my mouth. This happened in 2011 as well. For me 2018 was almost a reverse, and I find going 1/2 out of these past two tournaments a fair result. Canada has underperformed at the WJC this decade with unacceptably poor results, so getting a tournament win was a relief. I will enjoy this win and I will remember this particular team as a very solid team that was one of the most balanced that Canada has sent to this tournament.

Now on to 2019.

Good write up.

RE: 98 D-men. which one would you select to go to the WHC in May, Chabot (97. but a rookie) Girard, Mete or Makar? Chabot could probably play a legit number 7 D, limited minutes/PP time. but I'd like to see one of the 98s taken to get in a pre-tournament game and perhaps in a real game v 1 or 2 of the weaker teams.

 

[jj cale]

Oh, forgot to give a shout out to Clague yesterday.

We have all been on him for substandard play but I thought he played his best game last night, he was steady and made some nice defensive reads and plays in the final game. he really stepped up IMO.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Great to see a blue collar type Canadian team win it all, yes we were lacking that stand out star(s) but it was a balanced team with 4 quality lines and great goaltending. We're back on top of the Junior hockey world folks! enjoy it!

Feels like these golds mean so much more now that there is so much parity at this level. Which makes me value Canada's 2015 and 2018 golds very much..never know how long it will take to win another and that's good for the sport.

Makar ended up being the "star" I guess one could say. The forwards all came together and did their job. It was good to see a team come together like that, maybe the sum was greater than the parts. What a gold medal winning team should be.

 

[JackSlater]

Good write up.

RE: 98 D-men. which one would you select to go to the WHC in May, Chabot (97. but a rookie) Girard, Mete or Makar? Chabot could probably play a legit number 7 D, limited minutes/PP time. but I'd like to see one of the 98s taken to get in a pre-tournament game and perhaps in a real game v 1 or 2 of the weaker teams.

I'd take Chabot or maybe Makar. Chabot has all of the tools to be a very good defenceman and Makar is similar. I expect that Mete will be a solid middle pairing defenceman but never a really top end guy. Mete may end up at the Olympics this year and if he excels there maybe he is viable for the IIHF tournament. Girard is difficult to predict, he started off very strong with Nashville and Colorado but I think that the NHL grind (plus a fist) has gotten to him somewhat. I think that Girard would have been tremendous in this tournament, and probably in 2017 too.

 

[bert]

The '98s pulled it off...after years of me fretting they wouldn't sniff a medal at this tourney. I'm shocked, thrilled, and as always, glad to be wrong. It was a fantastic game, not quite at the level of a Canada v USA GMG, but an A-. Clearly they were the 2 best teams of the tournament...could have gone either way...we just managed to pull it out.
I'm a little concerned now that Hockey Canada will follow this formula of a predominately 19 year old team. I would rather they not do that. I love Gold Medals, but tournament success and player development has to be worked into the cake as well. and that means high end draft eligible and draft+1 players. 1 part of the formula they can follow each year...I do love a team that can skate. I'm so tired of watching the Dylan Stromes of the world plot around on the ice time and time again.

but hey, I can't criticize Hockey Canada too much on player selection when they deliver the goods.

The good news, I'm not particularly high on the 99s either. so, that bodes well for next year's team.

I took a peek into the GDT...and as expected not worth anybody's time reading that nonsense.

Couldnt dissagree with you more, its about winning you take the best team for this tournament not the best prospects. Thats why this team won. First time this has happened in a long time in my opinion, felt like the least amount of politics picking a team since I can remember. Player development is up to the NHL franchise that picks the player thats not on Hockey Canda.