Olympics: Squads without NHLers

[Slitty]

The most pressing question I have is regarding players with AHL contracts, would they be allowed to participate?

 

[glovesave_35]

Maybe you do, but the fact remains that the majority of North Aericans doesn´t.
However nor the Czech republic nor Slovakia would send a tea of players from their leagues as both have enough players in leagues like KHL or SEL, so the fact whether or not the best US/Canada juniors could or couldn´t compete against players from those leagues is not iportant to this discussion. But anyway, it makes it sound like you do not understand the difference between junior and senior level even though you claim you do. They would even have trouble with a team like Germany with players mainly from DEL, which is even weaker than the Czech Extraliga. This German team with a few additions can keep up in a game with the top teams with NHL talent, so what chance does a bunch of kids even though very talented have against them? Oh, yeah and btw it´s ipossible for Canada´s 22 and under best men to play in the Olympics without NHL participation, how many of Canada´s 18-22 talents are actually playing in the NHL already? It wouldn´t even be a top team.

I live in America and have never in person been to any Euro league game. I am by no means claiming to be an expert on their players. And I hadn't really thought about all of the Czech or Slovakian players who play in the KHL, SEL, etc. As I'm being as transparent as I can be, would you care to give your background on how closely you follow NA junior, NCAA, AHL, ECHL? Again, as I have no real personal information as to how good the "B" level Euro leagues are, I find it hard to legitimately compare between leagues such as ECHL and AHL versus DEL, Czech Extraliga, etc. Given that the NHL is the undisputed best league in the world though, in terms of both quantity and quality of talent, I would surmise that Canada and USA could both field extremely competitive teams in such a tournament, with NA players primarily being culled from the AHL. The primary feeder league to the NHL would have to be largely comprised of better players than most leagues, outside of KHL and SEL, and even those are questionable.

The "best under 22" comment by me was predicated on the fact that it was assumed said players were not coming from the NHL. You either have a tough time reading, or are simply being disingenuous.

Yes, because loosing by 3 goals is comparable to losing by 16,right? In such a game the score could easily have been very close up to the like 50th minute and the 6th, or even 5th as well goals could have been scored on an empoty net.

Even the biggest Canada homer and WJC fan can´t claim that the level that Latvia plays at the WJC is higher or more entertaining than the one it does at the Olympics.

Plus Latvia is better now than in 06, also thanks to Dinamo Riga, so is Kazakhstan due to Barys. Oh yea, and pointing out Italy, the only reason why they ever played at the tournament them being the hosts, it´s not like it wouldn´t get nasty with 20+ scores had they played their U20 team against the top U20 teams in the world.

If you had read what I wrote in the post that accompanied those game results, you would have seen that I said that there is certainly a difference between losing by 15 and losing by 4 or 5 goals. And, indeed you pointed out one that I should have left off the list; a three goal margin is not that lopsided. However, in the game of hockey losing by a score of 7-0, or 9-2 is a trouncing, however you want to slice it. Getting your ass kicked by seven goals on the world stage is not that much different than losing by 15. A beatdown is a beatdown is a beatdown. The main difference is probably that the men don't see the need to run the score up quite as high as the kids do. Remember, these kids are still either trying to improve draft status or are trying to impress their professional clubs. They have something extra to prove, up and down the lineup, than a group of well financed 28 year olds. Also, the men are likely saving energy for their next game. Energy saving is not particularly high on the list for excited 18-19 year olds.

And dude, seriously...seven shakeheads?

 

[Eye of Ra]

Markus Naslund - Peter Forsberg - Marcus Nilson
Nils Ekman - Tony Martensson - Mattias Weinhandl
Linus Omark - Johan Davidsson - Joakim Lindstrom
P.J. Axelsson - Joel Lundqvist - Mika Hannula


Marcus Ragnarsson - Magnus Johansson
Mattias Karlsson - Josef Boumedienne
Christian Backman - Mattias Timander
David Petrasek


Jacob Markstrom
Stefan Liv

 

[smitty10]

OHL + WHL + QJMHL vs KHL

nice.

Yeah it would be nice for the Russians. We would get completely obliterated. It would honestly probably be about 15 or 20-0 for Russia. If you actually believe that a group of players 20 and under from junior hockey could even compete with the best from the KHL then you are delusional.