So, just how big a problem is this?

[espo*]

Canada has had it's roster named and as we all know at least half the guys have'nt played any competitive hockey during this whole lock-out.I don't want to under-rate or over-rate it's impact and go all hyperbole here but honestly,how serious a concern do you think it's gonna be?

I just finished reading in the paper about how the only hockey Jovanovski has played this year was four games in a beer league in Boca Raton,Florida.........ouch!!!!! Can a training camp and a few games before the playdowns get us ready in time? What's your honest opinion on the impact this will have.....can they get it together in time or is this gonna hurt us too much?

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[Macman]

Canada has had it's roster named and as we all know at least half the guys have'nt played any competitive hockey during this whole lock-out.I don't want to under-rate or over-rate it's impact and go all hyperbole here but honestly,how serious a concern do you think it's gonna be?

I just finished reading in the paper about how the only hockey Jovanovski has played this year was four games in a beer league in Boca Raton,Florida.........ouch!!!!! Can a training camp and a few games before the playdowns get us ready in time? What's your honest opinion on the impact this will have.....can they get it together in time or is this gonna hurt us too much?

I think it's a legitimate concern and I don't think Canada can be considered the favourite even though they have as good a team as anyone on paper. I think there's enough time, though, for them to get it together for the medal round. I expect them to be a little ragged at first and get better as the tournament progresses.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

It's hard to say how much of a problem the players' fitness level (or lack thereof) is going to be. Many of these players played in the World Cup after a lay-off, so it might not be that big of a deal. That being said, several other countries (including the U.S.) have put together rosters that are comprised almost exclusively of players that have played competitive hockey this year. That could give these countries an edge, at least early on.

 

[espo*]

I know one thing,if Canada fails to put in a solid performance and the teams that went with mostly if not all active players do real well everybody(i'll be one of them) is going to say we gambled on paper talent instead of going with the correct strategy of putting together a team of the best talent that is PLAYING currently,even if on paper their talent level is not up to par with the guys we did pick.

Hockey Canada is throwing the balls up in the air a bit and we're gonna find out real soon if they land right.I hope we're not caught on the wrong foot but i'm concerned when i read this Boca Raton stuff.Hannan has also only played in a beer league this year...it's pretty sad when i can say "at least he's played" about a guy about to play in the world's who's only played in a beer league to get ready. A beer league...oh man.

 

[Macman]

I know one thing,if Canada fails to put in a solid performance and the teams that went with mostly if not all active players do real well everybody(i'll be one of them) is going to say we gambled on paper talent instead of going with the correct strategy of putting together a team of the best talent that is PLAYING currently,even if on paper their talent level is not up to par with the guys we did pick.

Hockey Canada is throwing the balls up in the air a bit and we're gonna find out real soon if they land right.I hope we're not caught on the wrong foot but i'm concerned when i read this Boca Raton stuff.Hannan has also only played in a beer league this year...it's pretty sad when i can say "at least he's played" A beer league...oh man.

I'm not sure Hockey Canada had any other choice. Who would you rather bring to the worlds -- an inactive Simone Gagne or some guy who couldn't make the NHL but has been playing in Europe? Canada doesn't have the luxury of a team like the Czechs, who've had all their top players playing in Europe all year. But you've still gotta go with the most talent you can get, even if they might not be in as good of shape. Let's face it, if Canada manages to pull it off, it's going to be impressive.

 

[espo*]

I'm not sure Hockey Canada had any other choice. Who would you rather bring to the worlds -- an inactive Simone Gagne or some guy who couldn't make the NHL but has been playing in Europe? Canada doesn't have the luxury of a team like the Czechs, who've had all their top players playing in Europe all year. But you've still gotta go with the most talent you can get, even if they might not be in as good of shape. Let's face it, if Canada manages to pull it off, it's going to be impressive.

Agreed.i wish i had a list in front of me of other nhl'ers who have played this year in Europe in front of me.....would we have had to resorted to the Dale Mactavish's of the world if we had decided not to go with the Gagne's and such? We had quite a few players playing over there this year did'nt we? I dunno,just curious.It will be impressive if we win,no argument here.

 

[wilka91*]

Are you trying to say that at the World Cup all the teams were kind of ... bad because there was only a 10-day training camp after the summer vacation?

 

[Macman]

Are you trying to say that at the World Cup all the teams were kind of ... bad because there was only a 10-day training camp after the summer vacation?

Are you trying to say that a team that practices for 10 days after the summer off is in as good a shape as a team that's played all year?

 

[TORRUS]

Finally, there are some people who want to discuss this topic! That is apsolutely true! I don't think there is any other country that named more than 2 players who haven't played hockey this year (maybe US). And now, suddenly Canada has more than half of it's roster out of shape! Is there still in the world anyone who thinks that it won't make any difference??!!

 

[ES]

I was very surprised to see so many players who haven't played this year.

Talking about players who have played this year, Canada could have had a team like this. I know though that some of these players are out due to injury or other reasons.

Choose from these for example

G: Raycroft, Giguere, Theodore, Roloson
D: Phillips, Boyle, Souray, Aucoin,Staios, Bergeron, Matvichuk, Schultz, Campbell
F: Ribeiro, Heatley, Lecavalier, Richards, Isbister, Cheechoo, Morrison, Cleary, Horcoff, Calder, S Thornton, Nash, J Thornton, Sanderson, Brind'Amour, Daigle, St. Louis, Tanguay, Briere


For USA:
G: Conklin, Dunham, Thomas
D: Weinrich, Gill, Liles, Mara, Martin, Tanabe, Roach
F: Pandolfo, Reasoner, Hall, Cole, Weight, Langenbrunner, York, Cullen, Malone, Knuble, McEachern, Hinote, Legwand, Clymer, Connolly, Park, Dimitrakos

 

[wilka91*]

Are you trying to say that a team that practices for 10 days after the summer off is in as good a shape as a team that's played all year?

Are you trying to say that Canada's World Cup team wasn't the World's best?

 

[Macman]

Are you trying to say that Canada's World Cup team wasn't the World's best?

What I'm saying is Canada's team at the World Cup, because it practised for only 10 days before the tournament, wasn't in as good a shape as if it had practised and played for an entire season. The same for the Czechs, Finns, Russians and everybody else.

 

[wilka91*]

What I'm saying is Canada's team at the World Cup, because it practised for only 10 days before the tournament, wasn't in as good a shape as if it had practised and played for an entire season. The same for the Czechs, Finns, Russians and everybody else.

So what's the point of that World Cup if no one is in shape to play?

 

[ZombieMatt]

Basically just another tournament for Canada to win.

 

[Dominus]

Canada has had it's roster named and as we all know at least half the guys have'nt played any competitive hockey during this whole lock-out.I don't want to under-rate or over-rate it's impact and go all hyperbole here but honestly,how serious a concern do you think it's gonna be?

I was thinking about that same question when I first saw Canada's roster and I was a little bit amazed that nobody seemed to pay any attention to this. Of course I don't know where and how have some of these players played and trained this season, but to me it seemed strange that they picked bigger names over guys who've played well in Europe, in big rinks. For me it would have been more exciting to see skilled players like Glen Metropolit and Steve Kariya in Team Canada because of the way they played in Finland this season, but of course I understand that many canadians don't even know who these guys are, and even less so think that they could be national team material. Still, there were also many NHL-players in Europe that I would have picked before some of the non-playing guys in the roster.

At this point I think Team Canada, if anybody, is the biggest question mark. They have potential to be dominant, but they also have potential to fail miserably. If the latter happens, their player selections will be severely criticized (or then nobody cares, these are only World Championships anyway).

 

[Levitate]

i dont' think team canada is particularly head and shoulders above everyone this year...their goaltending will probably be a key factor, along with the big guys like thornton, nash, and heatley having to play very well

 

[espo*]

So what's the point of that World Cup if no one is in shape to play?

Theres a point,everyone was in the same boat at the world cup.I'm only trying to surmise if having half our players not having played this year(or playing in a gd beer league at best) is going to hurt our chances at this world's while other teams will have a roster full of guys in GAME shape.The world cup and these world championships are two different set of circumstances.

 

[Macman]

So what's the point of that World Cup if no one is in shape to play?

You're just trying to be argumentative. If you can't see the difference between the World Cup, where everybody was in the same boat in terms of preparation, and this year's world's, where some players are in shape and others aren't, then it's pointless to continue. If fitness isn't a factor, as only you seem to believe, then why have so many of the inactive players said no to playing?

 

[Macman]

I was thinking about that same question when I first saw Canada's roster and I was a little bit amazed that nobody seemed to pay any attention to this. Of course I don't know where and how have some of these players played and trained this season, but to me it seemed strange that they picked bigger names over guys who've played well in Europe, in big rinks. For me it would have been more exciting to see skilled players like Glen Metropolit and Steve Kariya in Team Canada because of the way they played in Finland this season, but of course I understand that many canadians don't even know who these guys are, and even less so think that they could be national team material. Still, there were also many NHL-players in Europe that I would have picked before some of the non-playing guys in the roster.

At this point I think Team Canada, if anybody, is the biggest question mark. They have potential to be dominant, but they also have potential to fail miserably. If the latter happens, their player selections will be severely criticized (or then nobody cares, these are only World Championships anyway).

I think you've simply got to go with the most talented lineup you can put together and hope for the best. Steve Kariya might be playing well in Finland but I don't think he'd be a match for a Jagr who has been playing all year. Canada definitely is the biggest question mark and it's going to make this tournament especially interesting IMO.

 

[Steveorama]

I'm not particularly concerned about the conditioning of Team Canada. These guys are professionals who spend most of their off-time trying to improve their bodies and conditioning. A 2-week training camp, 4 exhibition games, plus the first few round robin games should have them up to snuff.
IMO, the biggest issue will be the coaching. Who the hell is Marc Habscheid to be coaching some of the best superstars in the world? I didn't feel he was a particularly good coach in the WHL, either. I'm sure that was part of the decision process in picking so many young guys...I doubt that a Lemieux or a Sakic or a Blake is going to have a lot of respect for a guy who has never coached in the big leagues.
We'll see.

 

[jcpenny]

i dont' think team canada is particularly head and shoulders above everyone this year...their goaltending will probably be a key factor, along with the big guys like thornton, nash, and heatley having to play very well

The teams that Canada sent the last 2 years weren't the best teams in the tournament but Goaltending and determination won it for them. This team is the most talented they sent in years and its not even close to a line up that we would send to the olympics. This team is gonna be fine.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

If Canada wins the tournament, then they made the right choices. If they don't, they are open to all sorts of criticism. That's it. No built-in excuses. No anything. Tambellini either did the right thing or he effed up big time.

We shall see on the ice.

 

[DevilsFan38]

I doubt Team Canada will have a problem getting right back into it. Most of the guys have been staying in shape, and I'm sure after some practices and exhibition games they will be back up to speed.

On that note, here's an article on Brodeur that talks about him having not played in months.

 

[SChan*]

Atleast Canada is a rested team.

 

[Riddarn]

I think having players that haven't played all year will be an issue. How good can they be coming from a full year without playing and then stepping right into a high level tournament that is played on big ice with international rules. I suspect that there will be a few guys out there with both questionable conditioning and a bit off in timing.