nomorekids said:I see what you're saying...but for his one comment there...
there've been numerous "the day after never," "when hell freezes over" posts from canadian fans.
Oilers Chick said:Since when did this turn into a political thread?
1) Despite those who either refuse to believe it or simply don't know, players feeding into the various development programs such as the NTDP, USHL, etc. are NOT just from Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan or any other "cold weather" state anymore. Nowadays, there are increasingly growing numbers of players coming from such non-traditional "hockey hot bed" states like California, Texas, Arizona and yes, even Florida.
2) The development programs have gotten increasingly better over the years. Just look at a league such as the USHL and the growing amount of talent coming into that league.
JD1 said:...and I live pay cheque to pay cheque (I even know the proper way to spell the word cheque).
Guy Legend said:The day will come where America will become the number one producer of hockey talent.
Right now, the country is largely untapped. In non-traditional markets in the south, hockey has really sprung up as a game people play now. While expansion is bad in the short run in terms of talent in the league, it will end up doing the opposite. The league will benefit as a whole, something we can all appreciate.
The number of Americans in each draft has been rising (including the number of quality players). The 2006 draft will continue that trend.
BigE said:The US has a better chance at becoming the number one football (soccer) nation in the world, as opposed to the number one hockey nation.
futurcorerock said:Once they figure out a way to reduce the outragteous costs of playing hockey, the USA would own Canada like it does in Basketball, Baseball, Football, etc.
DownFromNJ said:It'll happen sooner than people expect. Bobby Ryan is a great example. A #2 overall pick coming not out of New England or Minnesota... but out of New Jersey!.
New Jersey is a great example. As little as ten years ago, we had literally one third the ice rinks we do now. Few public schools had ice hockey teams. Today? Every public school in my home county has one. Two new rinks opened last year. The place is becoming a hockey loaded area.
Ten years from now, we'll be seeing good NHL hockey players being drafted out of Florida, California, and other places.
The US is ten times the size of Canada. It's only a matter of time.
MN_Gopher said:The gap for the US on Canada in hockey is closing about as much as the rest of the world is closing in on the US in Basketball.
therealdeal said:They won 1 juniour gold medal by a lucky bounce? They are the favorites this year when 2 of Canada's best players aren't going to be playing because they're busy with the NHL and have moved on from the Junior ranks?
Canada has medaled in the last 7 straight WJC, and the US has what in those 7 years, a gold and maybe a bronze? And what did they do in the 90's when Canada won 5 straight. And aside from Kessel, what do they have? Is there any single American player playing in the NHL right now that is under 20 years old? How many are there under 22 years old that are at the top of the scoring race of their team?
If the US does surpass Canada, it won't be within the forseeable future, because Canada still produces far more top level talent than the US. Period.
Oilers Chick said:Yeah, Team USA was so bad
I suppose Team USA also just got lucky beating Russia, Sweden and Finland on their way to the gold medal game too, right?
If Team Canada is so great, then why are you making up excuses? Just curious.
Since 1977, USA has medaled four times in the U-20 WJC . The Americans won the bronze in 1986 and again in 1992. They won the silver in 1997 and the gold in 2004.
If you want to start bringing up international tournaments, why not bring up the Olympics, the U-18s, the U-17s and all of the other international tournaments that the US has been involved in. You can get a better look at how the sport (and talent level) has grown here in the US just in the last 5-7 years alone.
therealdeal said:What exactly have they done to raise these questions?
therealdeal said:I never said that the USA was bad, they were definetly a good team that year, but the game was won on a lucky bounce, there is no argument there, that is a fact.
King Henry I said:US hockey will surpass Canada when the government builds hockey rinks in urban areas across the country. Right now in the US hockey is more of a suburban sport or a sport for more priveledged kids--inner city kids play football, basketball or baseball more often than not because those sports are cheaper or more accessible.
Until that happens Canada will be the world's #1 hockey country, and I suspect that it will never change.
Uhh, no.willie said:Right. The 'outragteous' cost of hockey is the sole reason for Canadian preeminence in hockey.
And way to tool this thread up guys. We were having a nice civil discusion and - of course - it had to degenerate into a senseless, rhetoric-filled political spat.
Might as well close it or move it.
Geese_Howard said:usa will never be better then canada because for the simple reason... they dont pay enough attention to hockey, there programs are garbage compared to the rest of the world, not just canada, need proof? a USA hockey commitee person went up to mike madano, asked who he was and if he ever played for the team.
that was said on the hot stove....
USA will never surpass Canada, and you can count on that.