Tragic. Terrible. Pathetic. Sad. Appauling...Disgusting......insert 1000 more adjectives to describe this performance and the heads of USA Hockey...
This performance really sums up what many of us have been crying about these past few years about bs politics with selecting this team.. From the top down, heads need to roll BIG TIME. Get rid of Jim Johansson, sick of seeing him apart of these squads...All the top executives that allow their pathetic bias towards non USNDP players need to be rolled out of dodge asap.
Bring in some new blood that dont give a **** where a kid is from as long as he can play the game. I have been reading Star Spangled Hockey this past week, plus have had Kevin Allen's other book USA Hockey for over a decade, and the same creed and code from the early stages of the formation of USA Hockey in the late 1930's was for ALL kids to have a fair shot at playing this great game. Give all kids the opportunity and guidance to play the greatest game on Earth for the greatest nation on Earth....
It is pathetic and appauling to be reading Star Spangled Hockey: 75 Years of US Hockey History; then watch what has gone down specifically these past two plus weeks with the selection process as well as similar cases over the past few years. We couldnt have gotten more away from why we created USA Hockey in the beginning then we are right now. Hobey Baker, John Mayasiach, Bill and Bob Cleary, Frank Brimsek, Doc Romnes, etc are all rolling over in their graves, or for those alive just disgusted.
We need to remove many of the executive commitee responsible for their bias and political blunders asap. I cant take any more of this ****.
In my heart, I have no doubt that guys like Shane Prince, Jared Knight, and Vincent Trocheck would have came to battle 1000 times better then the kids picked over them. Those kids who go to war in a much more competitve schedule and league play against many of the top players in their age group on a nightly basis, and to not bring these kids along was and is our downfall yet again. Throw in Stefan Noesen as well, and it just infurates me even more.
What disgusts me the most is the fact that USA Hockey is picking kids that have come from the USNDP or college hockey, yet the majority of this team looked as if they just met 2 days ago. You simply couldnt see a single bit of chemistry or communication out there. It was terrible. How can all these kids that are supposedly "familiar " with one another look so much like strangers out there?
I couldnt believe what I was watching, and simply still dont. We had no creativity with the puck, the shots were so misleading, this team looked flat, scared, and like a dried up piece of dog ****. Only Nick Bjugstad and JT Miller actually showed up throwing their bodies around and creating chances. I liked what I saw from Austin Watson, but he wasnt out there that much...
I was also surprised by the lack of movement from the point and the unwilligness to blast the puck from the point! I cant recall a single blast from the point this entire game outside of Stephen Johns doing it in the third period. God did we miss Connor Murphy and Justin Faulk.
taking a 5 minute pause......