PGT: Game 2: United States 2 - Slovakia 1

[Islesfan22]

The Hughes line with Wahlstrom and Farabee was the worst line for Team USA Today. Could not sustain any offense and looked disjointed playing together which is wierd since they have played together a lot in previous tournaments/games.

 

[Blade Paradigm]

I’m not offended in the least. You have an axe to grind where he is concerned for some reason though. You have made it your mission to do everything you can to downplay him as a player and a prospect. You have some supporters on this site but it’s limited and has no real bearing from a professional evaluation perspective. I think that really burns you up.

I think it's only right to tell people not to think so highly of him because I've watched him all season and the hype does not reflect the player.

His performances reflect who he is. This is a place for discussion, and I think I have every right to share my perspective. He is what you saw today. If you agree that his performance wasn't great, then why are you criticizing me for talking about it, or for critiquing his game? It's not an unfounded point of view.

Why shouldn't I discuss this topic? Is it any less acceptable than any of the other topics being discussed here?

 

[Machinehead]

Nope you got Finland and Sweden.

Is that legal?

 

[Harbessix]

Sucks that Chmelevski played under 7 minutes tonight, hard for him to be effective with such limited playing time. Hoping he gets an increased role as the tournament goes along.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Looks lie my 7-0 prediction was conservative.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He's a very good player, but to me, this is definitely more like an RNH or a Hischier first overall than a MacKinnon or McDavid first overall.

I think he's in the middle of those two categories. And I think we are talking about like 3 different categories there.

MacKinnon is also more similar to Eichel/Matthews than McDavid. Hischier/RNH might be similar in their tier, but I think Hischier is better.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Hughes is only half way through the year. Too early to say how he stacks up to past first overall draft picks.

 

[Spotty 2 Hotty]

As I mentioned previously, I think that a lot of the ire that Hughes is drawing is due to the commentator constantly praising him especially on plays where he makes a mistake or doesn't really do anything. I think if the commentators stopped hyping him so much, there'd be less negativity toward him. I couldn't care less either way about Hughes, but it even started to annoy me while watching the game, lol.

I can say that I thought Robertson looked like he is already a Dallas Star with his inability to score, lol.

 

[hangman005]

Mod Note: Comment on the content of the post not the poster. Don't like someones opinion walk away and leave it alone.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

As I mentioned previously, I think that a lot of the ire that Hughes is drawing is due to the commentator constantly praising him especially on plays where he makes a mistake or doesn't really do anything. I think if the commentators stopped hyping him so much, there'd be less negativity toward him. I couldn't care less either way about Hughes, but it even started to annoy me while watching the game, lol.

I can say that I thought Robertson looked like he is already a Dallas Star with his inability to score, lol.

Yeah, the effusive praise for Hughes was over the top. I thought he was just okay this game. He tries to do too much on his own sometimes but that’s not unusual for players of his ilk. That said, he needs his line mates to have a pulse. That’s one of my concernes because guys like Wahlstrom are so inconsistent with not only production but effort.

 

[Blade Paradigm]

Yeah, the effusive praise for Hughes was over the top. I thought he was just okay this game. He tries to do too much on his own sometimes but that’s not unusual for players of his ilk. That said, he needs his line mates to have a pulse. That’s one of my concerned because guys like Wahlstrom are so inconsistent with not only production but effort.

This is the trio that lit up the USNTDP last season.

They should know each other like the back of their hands.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

This is the trio that lit up the USNTDP last season.

They should know each other like the back of their hands.

You seem to be on the railroad tracks here. They looked great against the Czechs but didn’t have a great game against the Slovaks. We’ll see how things go moving forward.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

Thought Samberg was the US best D. Very strong all over the ice

Quinn Hughes has a ton of skill give him a year or two and he will be a star in the NHL

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Defense was good and will be a strength of this team.

 

[TakeTheBody]

Not impressed with pairings or performance or lack of CHL players. I'm thinking a Canada vs Finland final it pains me to say.

 

[DownGoesMcDavid]

I have the gane pvr'd but i know the result

Can i just get feedback on how Q Hughed and tyler madden looked for those that watched thanks

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I have the gane pvr'd but i know the result

Can i just get feedback on how Q Hughed and tyler madden looked for those that watched thanks

Quinn: He can get to wherever he wants on the ice because his skating is outrageous, and he created more offense than any player on the team. Decisions with the puck weren't great and one or two bad defensive plays. Played well, but needs to improve his puck decisions and defense.

Madden: Showed well. Active, creative with generating scoring chances. His line was the best US line.

 

[SR]

Did you look at the advanced statistics for this game?

Nah, my eyes work just fine.

 

[SR]

Definitely the best strategy to judge a guy by one game.

Yeah, because I certainly closed the book on the kid...

Was just not noticeable. Scroll up, I wasn’t the only one that felt that way.

 

[orcatown]

At the game and the Americans had all they could handle in Slovakia. US speed kind of took over in the third but game could have gone either way. Refs really got involved and started awarding very suspect penalty shots.

On the players

Barratt - had and excellent game. Named player of the game for good reason. His line with Madden and Cates was best of the American lines. Strong two way player

Madden - silky smooth skater. Good along the boards and another with a two way game. Has deceptive speed

Samberg - good skater given his size. Very solid game.

Miller - had very poor game IMO. Got caught up ice creating odd man rushes with one leading to the only Solvakia goal. Would have been others if not for the stellar play of Keyser. Moreover his bobbles with the puck and a stumbles in skating allowed Solvakia to get their forcheck going ending up with the US getting pinned in their zone. These glitches in his play will cause him to get eaten alive at the pro level.

Jack Hughes - given space on the PP he was able to show off his quickness and savvy with the puck. However, 5 on 5 he got basically smothered and tied up in traffic. Got banged around a fair bit but bounced back up quickly and got back in the play. Looked frustrated and, at times, tried to do too much. Still he is quite a bit younger than many here and you could see the size factor was working against him. Frankly expected more.

Quinn Hughes - brought you out of your seats with some of his plays. Skating is unbelievable and he owned the puck at times. Thought he over did it some and got himself into problems. However, when he did lose the puck he was tenacious and quick in getting it back. Looked fine on defense (especially one on one) and maybe the best play he made all game was when he had to face a 3 on 1 and judged the situation very well and showed superb timing in deflecting a shot out of play. Has, no doubt, very high end talent and you wonder how his game adapts to the NHL. If he can control the play at that level like he does here he will be very special. One issue I saw in this game was when Q. Hughes began to wheel and deal other players, including American players, were kind of left standing and watching.

Poehling - not impressed. Had real average game and you had to make a effort to find him in the play. Nothing he did ever led to anything

Wahlstrom - one problem I saw was that he was skating into lanes where Jack Hughes was attempting to go. Sort of pinched Hughes off. Expected to see more blue line to goal speed out of this player. Got very little accomplished in this game and did little with chances provided.

Robertson - did a lot of good work in the offensive zone. Thought he was the best player on his line. Has a pro style of play.

Farabee - did he play??? Not impressed at all.

Samuelsson - mixed bag. Made a couple of terrible passes in his end that led to huge chances against and failed to close off the boards on a couple of rushes. At other times was good at standing up players on the rush.

Keyser - excellent. Key factor in the win.

Focused on the US team and can't really comment much on Solvakia other than to say that you notice Ruzicka and see he has some talent to go with his size and that the goaltender, Hlavaq, was outstanding.

 

[heynowbababooey]

Lol, Canadian bias is strong around here. If Hughes were Canadian you'd all be drooling and have nothing but positive things to say instead of trying to downplay his skill and claim it's all hype.

 

[BelovedIsles]

Are you ****ing kidding me? How am I being biased. If I was biased I’d be hanging on every little things Miller has done wrong and I’m not. I’m praising the kid for playing a mostly good game and I hate the Rags.

I haven’t seen a lot of Whalstrom, not even close to what you have.

But my thoughts, he did what he needed to do in the pre-tourney— score goals and re-establish his chemistry w Hughes.

Was I wow’d by him tonight, not by any stretch. He had a few shots, some chances, decent chemistry w Hughes. I wasn’t impressed by ANYONE in particular, outside of Robertson’s puck possession and Q- Hughes’ elusive skating.

There’s a long way to go before pundits should shit on Whalstrom; a few years in fact. To draw conclusions from a game, tourney, or 6, 12 months post draft is as short sighted as they come. Prospect mongers should know this.

If Whalstrom doesn’t have a great WJC, so be it. Doesn’t mean he lost his raw, elite talents, nor does it mean he’s going to bust. Likewise, if he eclipses Bellows’ goal record of a year ago, that doesn’t mean he’s a 1st line sniper in the making.

 

[Fred McCarthy]

This scare against Slovakia might workout well for the Americans , and totally refocus them ...just a thought

 

[FinnishSniper]

How was Hughes?

Edit: was he actually that bad or are the people in this thread just really biased?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Quinn Hughes had a pretty bad game tbh.

He had that one shift that was incredible and memorable so people will remember that but he over did it a ton and his coverage in his own end was really bad.

He is the least of my worries though. They need to not play Samuelsson, he sucks.