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So, The Great One says that the younger players have to step up

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The_Eck

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Jan 5, 2006
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Well, Mr. Gretzky you say that the younger players on team canada have to play better??? Perhaps if you had chosen Canada's best young players (ie: Phaneuf, Spezza, Staal, Crosby), the team wouldn't be in their current predicament.

But once again, you had to play politics when choosing the players. You choose players based solely on reputation and what they have done in the past, rather than choosing canadian players would were dominating during the first half of the regular season.

Along with the players, you will be blamed if Canada does not bring the gold home Mr.Gretzky.
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pei fan

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Jan 3, 2004
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What young players need to step up?Richards and Nash were the best forwards yesterday.I thought some of the veterans looked lead footed.
 

God Bless Canada

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Jul 11, 2004
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The_Eck said:
Well, Mr. Gretzky you say that the younger players on team canada have to play better??? Perhaps if you had chosen Canada's best young players (ie: Phaneuf, Spezza, Staal, Crosby), the team wouldn't be in their current predicament.

But once again, you had to play politics when choosing the players. You choose players based solely on reputation and what they have done in the past, rather than choosing canadian players would were dominating during the first half of the regular season.

Along with the players, you will be blamed if Canada does not bring the gold home Mr.Gretzky.
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I agree with Wayne. It's time for our young players, the guys who will have to be stars in 2010 - Thornton, Nash, Gagne, Lecavalier and Richards, Heatley - have to elevate their play. Their lack of production in this tournament has been a head-scratcher. These guys are stars in the NHL, but they haven't shown it in this tournament. The problem isn't that the talent isn't there, it's that they're not playing well together as a team, and they aren't making sufficient adjustments to the international rules. It's something that Canada goes through every tournament. They've rebounded before, and I'm confident they can rebound again. 10 players were there for the gold medal in Salt Lake. Several more (Bouwmeester, Heatley, Luongo) have won World Championships for us since Salt Lake. If they can start playing like a cohesive unit and make the necessary adjustments by Wednesday (coaching will play a big part in that), and follow through on that throughout the medal round, this team will not lose a game in the medal round.

This team is 2-2 with 12 goals for with all of the players you just mentioned. They don't change this team's failure to play like a team or adjust to international play.

I think a better idea is to start using at least one Canadian-born forward and one defenceman from Europe whenever the Olympics are held outside of North America. It might also be a good idea to start using a Canadian-born, European-based coach (Dave King, perhaps) at the Olympics.
 

Bill McNeal

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Jul 19, 2003
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I know hindsight is 20/20, but I think Kariya and Shanahan could have really helped this team. Both Team Canada veterans.

I was always a Kariya backer. His speed is exactly what this team needs, as having a "1-ton line" of Thornton, Bertuzzi and Nash doesn't seem to work on Olympic-size ice.

As for Shanahan, I thought he was done before the beginning of the season but he seems to be having a great year. His leadership and clutch scoring would be welcomed.
 

God Bless Canada

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The Albino said:
I know hindsight is 20/20, but I think Kariya and Shanahan could have really helped this team. Both Team Canada veterans.

I was always a Kariya backer. His speed is exactly what this team needs, as having a "1-ton line" of Thornton, Bertuzzi and Nash doesn't seem to work on Olympic-size ice.

As for Shanahan, I thought he was done before the beginning of the season but he seems to be having a great year. His leadership and clutch scoring would be welcomed.
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Kariya would have been a fine addition. He looks rejuvinated in Nashville this year. I didn't have him on my original roster, but I had him pegged as the first injury replacement. In an oddity, Canada didn't suffer any injuries up front before the tournament. In hindsight, he would have been a better selection for the Taxi Squad than Spezza. His international experience would have been very beneficial.

Shanahan's the type whose game is better suited to the World Cup, which is played on NHL ice, than the Olympics on the big ice. He struggled on the big ice in Salt Lake, and I don't think he would have been much of a factor on the ice this time around. But he's a great leader, and I don't know if we have enough leadership in the room. As a 13th forward/leader, he might have done quite well.

Maybe Canada should try to fly Mario, Yzerman, Shanahan, Peca and MacInnis to Turin for a couple days, so they could give Canada a boost in leadership and experience.
 
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pei fan

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IMO Gretzky made a mistake by choosing too many players that are struggling with their games right now. I'm sure they're starting to feel the pressure to perform.Choosing Draper would be one matter if he was on top of his game but he's not the player he used to be.

Thorton has not stood out but is he really one of the players Gretzky is referring to.
He's 26,but he's a veteran of this team.Boumeester,another young guy has played well.
 

Ogopogo*

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The_Eck said:
Well, Mr. Gretzky you say that the younger players on team canada have to play better??? Perhaps if you had chosen Canada's best young players (ie: Phaneuf, Spezza, Staal, Crosby), the team wouldn't be in their current predicament.

But once again, you had to play politics when choosing the players. You choose players based solely on reputation and what they have done in the past, rather than choosing canadian players would were dominating during the first half of the regular season.

Along with the players, you will be blamed if Canada does not bring the gold home Mr.Gretzky.
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Agreed. It is hard for the young guys to step up from behind their TV screens.
 

Big Mama*

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The Albino said:
I know hindsight is 20/20, but I think Kariya and Shanahan could have really helped this team. Both Team Canada veterans.

I was always a Kariya backer. His speed is exactly what this team needs, as having a "1-ton line" of Thornton, Bertuzzi and Nash doesn't seem to work on Olympic-size ice.

As for Shanahan, I thought he was done before the beginning of the season but he seems to be having a great year. His leadership and clutch scoring would be welcomed.
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I agree. I was always a Shanahan booster, but Kariya is having a great season and he is a dimension the team is missing. Hindsight is 20/20.
 

Ogopogo*

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TheDamned said:
It's insane how Gretzky went from hero to zero for some of you guys... you guys are surely pathetic
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Get a grip man. Gretzky is, and always will be, a hero. He just happened to pick a bad team. Anybody can make a mistake - that doesn't mean we should ignore it.
 
tinyzombies

tinyzombies

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Dec 24, 2002
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Hrudey said Bouwmeester had a strong game and it's true, I didn't really notice him. I did notice how flatfooted the other D was tho. Put the big B out there more if that's the case. Obviously Blake, Pronger and Foote aren't 100%.

Luongo was very solid yesterday. He looked much sharper than Brodeur has in his games. I'd keep him in there as well.

As for the guys up front, I'm sick of Quinn's experimenting. He had two lines clicking and then broke them up. It's a diverse group, no reason he can't find something that can click. Putting Bret-JoeT-Nash on the same line was just dumb.

It's too late to ***** and moan about Phaneuf and Staal not being on this team, but I'll do it anyway.

Gretz has lost his mom, grandmom and been involved in the gambling controversy. Now this. Hopefully Canada pulls thru.
 

The_Eck

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Jan 5, 2006
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TheDamned said:
It's insane how Gretzky went from hero to zero for some of you guys... you guys are surely pathetic
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Are you one of those people that believe Gretzky is the resurrection of Jesus Christ and he can do no wrong??
 
Complaining Customer

Complaining Customer

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The_Eck said:
Well, Mr. Gretzky you say that the younger players on team canada have to play better??? Perhaps if you had chosen Canada's best young players (ie: Phaneuf, Spezza, Staal, Crosby), the team wouldn't be in their current predicament.

But once again, you had to play politics when choosing the players. You choose players based solely on reputation and what they have done in the past, rather than choosing canadian players would were dominating during the first half of the regular season.

Along with the players, you will be blamed if Canada does not bring the gold home Mr.Gretzky.
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You didn't find Mr. Gretzky's email so you address him a post here? :sarcasm:
 

Oilerfan120582

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Jul 9, 2005
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Personally, I would have liked to see Staal on the team at least, but the tournament is not over yet. Even if Canada loses to the Czechs the tournament is still not over for them so I'll reserve judgment until they are eliminated.

Gretzky will always be blamed if they team loses because Canada has so much depth, it is inevitable that a number of really good players will not make the team. There are 7 elite hockey nations, so Canada cannot win every tournament. If they picked all the young guns and went on to lose, the same people would come here and say "if only Gretzky had picked a shutdown player like Draper Canada would've won. This isn't an all-star team, stupid!".
 
babybruin

babybruin

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Oct 28, 2003
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The Albino said:
I know hindsight is 20/20, but I think Kariya and Shanahan could have really helped this team. Both Team Canada veterans.
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I thought Kariya would have been a great addition as well. After the loss of Mario and Stevie Y, Kariya could have provided an excellent boost of Team Canada experience.
 

Big Mama*

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raketheleaves said:
Hrudey said Bouwmeester had a strong game and it's true, I didn't really notice him. .
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I certainly noticed him getting turned inside out by Selanne a couple of times.
 
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