Olympics: US Takes only 9 of Top 20 Scorers

[AmericanDream]

Just to point this out;

as the OP, I made this thread not because I felt Burke picked the wrong team, I agree with 95% of this team with the exception of Drury.

I do not have a problem with Komisarek or Callahan either. I just couldn't remember the last time the US picked a team that didn't involve more top 20 scorers. In no way am I criticizing this team, I am just pointing out a fact.

They have taken the majority of their top scorers with the exception of Connolly and Okposo. The only guys that could make a serious case to be on this team from the top 20 are Connolly, Okposo, and Umberger imo.

I also stated that if the US fails, you darn well know that if it is due to a lack of scoring, there will be those that will say you should have picked Connolly or Okposo, etc..

I think this team will win a medal, I have said that many times already, and I also think it is a good thing that we finally are starting to produce more and more top NHLers to compete for these spots.

 

[State of Hockey]

Still can't believe Whitney is not on defense either. Burke's criteria did not consistently translate to the lineup.

Sweden has Weinhandl there. Remember him from his NA stint? Probably not, and for a reason.

I'll raise a hand.

But I suppose it's because I witnessed, in person, his final NHL goal. His name was fun to say though.

 

[Titan124]

Huge, huge mistake. The centers easily could've (and should've) been
1. Stastny
2. Connolly
3. Kesler
4. Pavelski

Lines 2 and 3 could play a near equal amount of time. Instead we are stuck with dead weight like Chris Drury, 2 lines that won't be able to score, and miss out on Connolly's massive production.

This team is devoid of scoring. They could've went with Okposo over Backes or Callahan. Okposo creates all his opportunities by himself, having other players could be scary (in fact, if the last 6 or 7 games are any indication, it IS scary). Callahan and Backes are role players. Burke is sending a team of role players to play against stars. Yeah, it worked in 1980, but even that team says that 99 times out of 100 they lose. Don't be surprised to see this team losing 2-1, 3-2 games, and that's against the Swiss and the other non hockey powers. Canada, Sweden, and any other capable hockey country is going to beat this team by at least 5 goals.

 

[TOCap1]

I didn't realise just how much scoring the US was not taking until I looked today at our top 20 scorers and how many will be going to Vancouver.

I am also well aware of what kind of team we are building, and that we aren't just putting out the best scoring players, but can anyone remember a time when the US left off this many top 20 scorers for any competition?

I took a glance at Canada, and as deep as they are, I think they are missing less from their top 20, then we are. Now thats nothing to really compare as they are soooo deep, but the US is going to need all the scoring we can get.


The top 20 US players that are going to Vancouver:

Kane- 56 points
Parise- 47 points
Kesler- 42 points
Stastny- 44 points
Langenbrunner- 41 points
Ryan- 38 points
Malone- 38 points
Brown- 32 points
Kessel- 27 points

The top 20 US players that aren't going to Vancouver:

Tim Connolly- 39 points
Bill Guerin- 33 points
RJ Umberger- 32 points
Kyle Okposo- 32 points
Scott Gomez- 32 points
Blake Wheeler- 28 points
Jason Pominville- 29 points
David Legwand- 28 points
Matt Cullen- 28 points
James vanRiemsdyk- 28 points
Lee Stempniak 27 points

All that I am saying is that I cannot recall the US leaving this many top 20 scorers behind, with that said, I certainly wouldn't want a couple of these guys on the team anyway, but you have to hope that Burke and co. have put enough fuel in the tank.

I still feel this team will win a medal, and much of that has to do with Miller and our big mobile defense (especially if either Gleason or Whitney gets added), but a few of these guys would have looked pretty nice on the team instead of a couple of guys we did pick imo.

Honestly besides Drury who would you sub out for any of the highlighted players.

 

[Wild33]

Were not looking for the best players Craig were looking for the right ones.

 

[VOB]

Were not looking for the best players Craig were looking for the right ones.

Ahhh yes, how true that statement is!

I wish we could go back and read those old H.F. message boards from 98. Nobody and I mean nobody gave the Czech Republic any play.....yet who ended up winning it? Take a look at that team and you will see a couple of star players, some good players but not "all-star" types and a very very good goaltender.

Is the U.S. that much different from the 98 Czech team?

Lets face reality here folks, if the Olympics were run like the Stanley Cup playoffs, then Canada would be the prohibitive favorites....heck I'd bet 2 of my paychecks on them, thats how confident I would be in their victory because who could touch them?.......no one!

This, however, is a very short tournament and the country that will win gold will be the one who is quickest to gel as a true team. The U.S. has just as good as a chance of capturing gold than any other country on the ice.

 

[Diagonaali]

USA offense looks scary enough to me. I would've taken Okposo in the team, but it still looks like a talented, hungry young team going for gold this year for USA. Defense might not be top notch, but you got Miller in the net so who cares. In my opinion that is the best team that USA has iced for a long time in international level.

 

[Big Phil]

Yzerman did the same thing with Team Canada. It's obvious that Team Canada is the deepest team in the Olympics, and they have the luxury of taking the guys like Richards, Bergeron or Toews to play the 4th line role. Savard has more offensive skill than a guy like Richards or Bergeron, and St. Louis more than Morrow, but SY was smart enough to realize that you need energy guys, & PK'ers as well.

But those PKers need to be able to score goals too. Kris Draper was a disaster. Now Mike Richards on the other hand can score if he needs to. I'd trust him to score on a 2-on-1 as much as backchecking to break up one. You do need energy guys, but I just think Burke pulled a real boner on the last 6-7 forwards. Will they even touch the puck on the ice against the elite teams?

 

[Big Phil]

You wade repeatedly into these threads with the same level of ignorance. Burke could have taken the top 12 or 13 American scorers, but he rightly surmised that wasn't going to result in the right type of team that would be capable of medaling. Instead, he chose to build a more traditional team. To say that just because this team is young means that to win now is not the objective completely misses the point. Burke and co went with the team they felt like would give the U.S. the best opportunity to not only win a medal, but win gold. Whether that will happen or not is unknown, but it is the objective.

The truth might hurt you, but the team on paper is weak. That is not a secret on HF boards by the way, American fan or no American. Trust me, as a Leafs fan I see first hand how Burke puts his stamp of approval on a team. He's been far from right many times. I guarantee you and a million other Americans on this board will want to crucify Burke if the US bombs. I'm calling him on his mistakes right now. That's the only difference

 

[Big Phil]

USA offense looks scary enough to me. I would've taken Okposo in the team, but it still looks like a talented, hungry young team going for gold this year for USA. Defense might not be top notch, but you got Miller in the net so who cares. In my opinion that is the best team that USA has iced for a long time in international level.

Define long time? Look at the lineups and results for the 1991 Canada Cup, 1996 World Cup, 1998 Olympics and 2002 Olympics. Respectively they came in 2nd, 1st, 5th and 2nd. Maybe this team beats the 1987 Canada Cup team for USA. But in the prime USA years? Not if you remember those teams

 

[Diagonaali]

Define long time? Look at the lineups and results for the 1991 Canada Cup, 1996 World Cup, 1998 Olympics and 2002 Olympics. Respectively they came in 2nd, 1st, 5th and 2nd. Maybe this team beats the 1987 Canada Cup team for USA. But in the prime USA years? Not if you remember those teams

8 years is a long time in a hockey fan's life . Your 2002 team was obviously very good yes.

 

[RabidBadger]

When did David Backes get considered a defensive specialist? Dude scored 31 goals last year, and will probably hit 20 again this year. He's been snake-bitten to this point, but to say he has less than "decent offensive upside" is beyond ridiculous.

I stand corrected having spoke without checking the stats. You may unwad your panties now.

 

[isles31]

this may not be the best possible team but this is the core they have going forward. giving them experience will only benefit them in the long run.

not including Kyle Okposo in the "core" the US has going forward is a big mistake....plain and simple, the kid can play...and he can play just about any role you need. kill penalties, very hard to get off the puck down low, plays point on PP...just mind-boggling fatso didnt put him on the team, NOR is he on the alternates.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

 

[mooseOAK*]

Were not looking for the best players Craig were looking for the right ones.

Something that Canada realized a long time ago after having teams full of stars fall flat on their faces.

 

[HockeyH3aven]

The "9 of the top 20" stat is a little misleading since they're taking 7 of the top 8. Connolly (6th) is the only guy who is really an outlier here, and his omission is simply a product of the fact that he is not the kind of center Burke is looking for as a 3rd/4th liner, and Kessler and Statsny (the top 2 centers) are ranked higher on the list than Connolly is.

I really don't see why not. Timmy is probably the best defensive forward on the Sabres, who are one of the best defensive teams in the league. He's also a key player on one of the best penalty kills in the league.

 

[Hero]

I would cry if Stempniak made the team.

 

[glovesave_35]

The truth might hurt you, but the team on paper is weak. That is not a secret on HF boards by the way, American fan or no American. Trust me, as a Leafs fan I see first hand how Burke puts his stamp of approval on a team. He's been far from right many times. I guarantee you and a million other Americans on this board will want to crucify Burke if the US bombs. I'm calling him on his mistakes right now. That's the only difference

Jeez...one would think that it might take more than 2/3 of a season and one offseason to become an expert on a GM, your team or not.

On a personal level, I find Burke somewhat annoying, quite egotistical, brash, arrogant...all of those things. I also respect the fact that he has a specific philosophy on how to build a hockey team, and he goes out and does exactly what his gut tells him in most cases. If nothing else, Burke is quintessentially American in many ways. He is headstrong, to a fault. He knows he is right, even if he isn't. At the very least, the guy is a leader of men, and all of these traits make him probably the best suited to choosing Team USA. To be honest, I find the level of dislike/hatred toward the guy amusing, and it makes me want to cheer all the harder for USA. He knows he doesn't have the embarrassment of riches that Canada or even Russia does, and in the face of that knowledge and his own limitations, he still put together what looks to be one hell of a team. I fully expect USA to medal, and I will realistically be cheering for Gold. USA is developing players so much better these days, we should have high expectations. Historically, when we as a country set high expectations, we may not reach them at first, but we do tend to reach them.

Go team!

 

[AmericanDream]

Connolly and Umberger are continuing their hot streaks. I can't believe what Connolly has turned into after the announcements were made...motivation for not making the squad???

all Tim had to do was show more of this a few weeks before the team was picked, and he would have made this squad.

I am still very sad that Umberger didn't get picked, but oh well, Callahan is stepping it up of late as well, so that might be a wash.

 

[Proffessor G DIDDY]

Huge, huge mistake. The centers easily could've (and should've) been
1. Stastny
2. Connolly
3. Kesler
4. Pavelski

Lines 2 and 3 could play a near equal amount of time. Instead we are stuck with dead weight like Chris Drury, 2 lines that won't be able to score, and miss out on Connolly's massive production.

This team is devoid of scoring. They could've went with Okposo over Backes or Callahan. Okposo creates all his opportunities by himself, having other players could be scary (in fact, if the last 6 or 7 games are any indication, it IS scary). Callahan and Backes are role players. Burke is sending a team of role players to play against stars. Yeah, it worked in 1980, but even that team says that 99 times out of 100 they lose. Don't be surprised to see this team losing 2-1, 3-2 games, and that's against the Swiss and the other non hockey powers. Canada, Sweden, and any other capable hockey country is going to beat this team by at least 5 goals.

I totally agree with the start of this statement if US took there top 12 forwards and 8 defensemen they would have had enough size, skill and experience. Instead Brian Burke selected NHL role players like Callahan, Drury and Backes.

Guerin has more experience and is in better form than Drury, he would have made a great Captain. Connolly is top class 2 way centre who's defensively responsible and offensively on song, and likewise RJ Umberger.

I get Brian Burke wanting to take players who are going to grind it out and give it their all, but do you think when Sidney Crosby is playing alongside Nash and Iginla he's going to worry about Callahan or Drury ???

I don't think the US is going to loose to teams Switzerland and they probably can beat Finland and the Czech Republic or even Russia, but really Sweden and Canada are a step or 2 ahead.

 

[Proffessor G DIDDY]

Ahhh yes, how true that statement is!

I wish we could go back and read those old H.F. message boards from 98. Nobody and I mean nobody gave the Czech Republic any play.....yet who ended up winning it? Take a look at that team and you will see a couple of star players, some good players but not "all-star" types and a very very good goaltender.

Is the U.S. that much different from the 98 Czech team?

Lets face reality here folks, if the Olympics were run like the Stanley Cup playoffs, then Canada would be the prohibitive favorites....heck I'd bet 2 of my paychecks on them, thats how confident I would be in their victory because who could touch them?.......no one!

This, however, is a very short tournament and the country that will win gold will be the one who is quickest to gel as a true team. The U.S. has just as good as a chance of capturing gold than any other country on the ice.

Without being slack to the rest of that Czech the only reason why they won was because of Dominik Hasek, the rest of the team barring if few players were horrible. They relied on Hasek so much.

Ryan Miller is great goal tender one of the leagues best but Hasek at the time was an MVP and was carrying the Sabres and the Czechs single handedly.

 

[Randall Graves*]

u guys crying about connolly are forgetting at selection time he was playing horrible

 

[Luceni]

u guys crying about connolly are forgetting at selection time he was playing horrible

Connolly should play for USA in Vancouver. He is playing great right now. And the olympic tournament starts soon.

That said, I'd rather have a player on my roster who is playing great right now, than a Player who played great a few months ago.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Connolly should play for USA in Vancouver. He is playing great right now. And the olympic tournament starts soon.

That said, I'd rather have a player on my roster who is playing great right now, than a Player who played great a few months ago.

That's fine and dandy, but you're ignoring the fact that at the time the roster was named, Connolly was playing horribly with little sign of life.

 

[#66]

Has anyone said anything about why Okposo didn't make the team? It annoys me to no end that he isn't on team usa.

I can't think of one reason that he shouldn't be there. He can play in a scoring role on the top two lines or grind it out with the best of them on the bottom 2 lines.