GDT: Group B - May 7 - Canada vs Denmark

[NJ07102]

Seems like a wishful thinking more than a good argument. I mean, how does "NHL greatness" explain Russia's 20-0 trashing of France, Austria and Belarus, or Finland's destruction of Latvia 8-1. Finland and espescially Russia are mostly comprised of european-based players.

Like I said, the difference between the good and the not so good nations is much larger in hockey than it is in soccer for example. Make it a top 8 tournament again and there will be hardly any 8-1 destructions any more.

 

[NoShowWilly]

It depends on the year. i like the structure as is. There are years where these teams pull off upsets. I think it is better for hockey if more teams are in the top division.

 

[MeHateHe]

Like I said, the difference between the good and the not so good nations is much larger in hockey than it is in soccer for example. Make it a top 8 tournament again and there will be hardly any 8-1 destructions any more.

That’s not really true. Eight countries have won FIFA’s World Cup, despite there being 200 members. There aren’t 20 countries who will beat Germany or Brazil this year; there may be five or six, and likely not that many.

Hockey is doing a pretty good job of overall development. It is showing in the lower levels where the competition has a reasonable amount of parity - the UK’s return to the elite pool comes after winning Division 1B last year, which suggests that those 12 teams aren’t that far apart.

It’s true that there are only five really strong countries right now (sorry, Czechs and Slovaks) but shrinking the tournament will only perpetuate that. The teams in the 10-18 range will never get better by playing each other. They require better fundamentals (good minor/junior development, good domestic league, commitment to developing homegrown coaches) in addition to playing against top-flight competition, but that top competition is a crucial component.

 

[ForumNamePending]

I think there might be some recency bias going on. The second (and third) tier nations have been getting crushed this year, but the fact there has yet to be at least competitive game or two between a "big" nation and a "small" nation is also pretty unusual. During the opening weekend of last year's tournament Germany knocked off the US and France beat Finland. The 2016 tournament had Latvia taking Sweden to OT in the opening game and then the next day took the Czech Rep. to a shootout.

I get the game is evolving and getting faster, but it hasn't completely re-invented itself over the past 12 months. I think we should wait another year or two, or at least a few more days, before we decide the format of the tournament needs to be overhauled, and/or the amount of teams participating cut in half.

 

[ThaiTanicDK]

Canada has more rinks than Denmark have registred hockey players. If people honestly think that a team like Denmark has a shot against Canada, even with all 9 NHL players, they gotta realise how niche of a sport hockey is in the world.

Yeah sure, make a 6nations cup instead like they have in Rugby, but how will the sport ever grow then? Without this world championship, the danish hockey players would never have gotten a chance to show off their skills and make the entry into NHL in 2007.

 

[Retroglyphs]

I wish his name was Darnell Njurse, so he could be on the other team.

LMFAO

 

[Retroglyphs]

Agree with Ehlers Senior.. Denmark does not play smart.. play Like headless Chickens..

Did he really say that? You've got love Heinz Ehlers.

 

[BelovedIsles]

How has Barzal looked?

 

[snipes]

How has Barzal looked?

2nd best forward after McDavid.

He's been downright dominant most shifts.

 

[BelovedIsles]

2nd best forward after McDavid.

He's been downright dominant most shifts.

Thanks for responding.

Even in the first two. Thought he was pretty avg.?

 

[snipes]

Thanks for responding.

Even in the first two. Thought he was pretty avg.?

His skill is obvious and he's just getting better and better. I think he's been our 2nd best forward.

Becoming one of my favourite players in the league. I watched him a fair amount in Seattle last year because our top D prospect Ethan Bear was on the same team. You could see the skill then, but man his development curve has been pretty phenomenal.

 

[BelovedIsles]

He’s scored some highlight reel goals this playoff. Played like a leader today.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Coming out of this one, I can only feel bitter disappointment at what McDavid failed to achieve.

Ship this guy out of town!

They haven't even won the gold medal yet in this tourny. Can't believe how over-rated McDavid is. Crosby would've won 3 gold medals by now in this one tournament, and we all know it. He's even barely scoring at over a 2.0 PPG pace. What a joke.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

McDavid better have himself a dominate performance, otherwise I'm going to have to start being a little (or a lot) critical of the way he plays at this tournament.

If he doesn't pot 2 goals and 2 assists powering Canada to a at minimum 5-1 win, then the gloves will come off. You people can waste your time all you want with Darnell Nurse...but winning and losing doesn't rest on Darnell's shoulders.

You should probably stop posting your opinion

 

[Instant]

How has Barzal looked?

Barzal looks better with every game. Almost forgot how fun he is to watch. But like, I'm actually most impressed by Bailey here? He's out there, doing his thing and definitely not looking bad. Ofc regarding only the Islanders players, because what the hell McDavid is, I seriously need to start watching more west conference games...

You should probably stop posting your opinion

But whyyyyy we had so much fun with that opinion yesterday