Miracle on Ice II?
- Thread starter Rabid Ranger
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William H Bonney
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Rabid Ranger said:
This was an upset, but not a very big one in my opinion. It's just the Czech media trying to cope with the disappointment.
A lot of the American players are fringe 3rd/4th liners, who are surely no better than the top players playing in Europe. Only Chris Drury, Paul Mara, Hal Gill and maybe Jeff Halpern are scoring line/top 4D players. The Czech's had Jagr, Havlat, Straka, Hamrilik, Ruczicky, Sleger, Vyborny, Dvorak, Prospal, Kaberle, Vokoun and Czechmanek. That's three guys who have been in the top 10 in NHL scoring, and four more who consistently put up 50-70 points/season plus a couple of D's who play top four minutes. This wasn't maybe another miracle on ice, but it was the biggest upset at the WC's in several years. This czech team should have easily beaten the U.S team.
OneMoreAstronaut
Reduce chainsaw size
- May 3, 2003
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While good for the States, I wouldn't call it anything close to the "Miracle on Ice." That was with a team full of unproven juniors players, and at a time when the country was searching for an identity after having its ego stung - please correct me if I'm wrong, I think because of a defeat overseas in a war.
Not slagging this year's team of course, but it's nothing compared to that 80's win.
Not slagging this year's team of course, but it's nothing compared to that 80's win.
Herby
Now I can die in peace
Not miracle on ice, but this wasn't a very strong team either. The only Olympians on the team were Drury and Miller and those 2, with possibly Mara are the only ones who likely have a chance of being on the World Cup roster.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Herby said:
Not to nitpick, but Dunham was also on the Olympic team, but point well taken. IMO the U.S. World Championships team this year was an underdog, but I wasn't shocked at their success. Alot of grit and determination, and a good amount of skill. Wait, that is the Miracle on Ice team!
Rabid Ranger said:
I agree here. There are many NHLers on the team. Not guys like Tkachuk, Chelios, Leetch but still pros.
If there is a "Miracle on Ice 2" it would have been Belarus-Sweden in the 2002 Olympics. Belarus had one NHLer in Salei and many older guys who will never play in the NHL. Sweden had only one non-NHLer at the time in Zetterberg and many all-stars like Lidstrom and Alfreddson.
guinness
Not Ingrid for now
Possibly; to go from 13th to 3rd, with mostly NHL 3rd/4th liners and some DEL guys says a lot about the charcter of the team and the coaching staff. All the big teams (Sweden. Canada, Czech Republic, etc) at least had quite a few bonafide NHLer's.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
guinness said:
The team this year was totally differant than last year's quality wise. The team was almost exclusively made up of NHL players, some, such as Drury and Miller who were on the 2002 Olympic team, and others, such as Mara and Halpern who are key cogs of their respective teams. Not to mention there was two NHL starting goalies in Dunham and Conklin. I'm not saying the U.S. roster compared favorably with the teams you mentioned, but it wasn't light years away either.
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