05-06 World Junior Favourites
- Thread starter Letang fan 58
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Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Jason MacIsaac said:
You mean:
Johnson
Lee
Lashoff
Thelen
Chorney
Brennan
Yandle
Sauer
There's enough experience there to "get by."
Jason MacIsaac
Registered User
Your say not mine. It will be interesting to see how it plays out though, I like your top two Johnson and Lee but after that you have alot of cough up machines. I think Sauer will surprise though.Rabid Ranger said:
Jason MacIsaac said:
Probably about the same. Apart from Barker, most likely all of Canada's key d-men will be '87s. Their '86 backliners aren't really that impressive.
Many are 1st rounders (US and Canada) but experience and age difference plays a factor. That's why Russia could be dangerous as they most likely will have a huge number of '86s on the team.
Jason MacIsaac
Registered User
Only two will be 87's IMO....Bourdon and Staal. I like our 86 group, mean big and physical. Fistric reminds me alot of Stuart for the USA a couple years ago.Zine said:
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Rabid Ranger said:
Only cough up machine I can think of is Lashoff.
If there is a weakness, it could be an overall lack of physical play.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Zine said:Only cough up machine I can think of is Lashoff.
If there is a weakness, it could be an overall lack of physical play.
Well, to be fair we don't really know who's going to be on the team. The guys I've mentioned are my personal favorites, not necessarily that of the U.S. brass. Besides, the U.S. squad that won gold wasn't an exceptionally phsycal bunch (with the exception of Stuart) but it got the job done. The U.S. squad this year will probably be similar.
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The States will be the paper favourite going in no question.They have tons of talent no matter who they pick from lines 1-4 and from what i've read of the players it's a nice mix of player playing styles.They'll get challenged though and we'll have to wait for the first few games to see how they handle the "favourite" tag in a hostile enviroment.They have to get all that talent going in the same team direction and sometimes it's not easy.
U.S,Canada,Finland and Russia all have a good shot i'd say but i think the early money would be on the States.
U.S,Canada,Finland and Russia all have a good shot i'd say but i think the early money would be on the States.
I'm thinking that it will come down to Canada and the States with Finland and Russia (depending on weather they have Malkin available) also being threats. Canada's defence is unmatched by arguably anyone and their depth is excellent. They also have Brent Sutter behind the bench. However, the Americans have a strong defence themselves and a few star forwards. Should be fun to watch.
Yep,most likely better then last year as far as competitiveness is concerned.As much as i enjoyed watching Canada pound on everyone last year(and believe me i enjoyed itAndrew_11 said:
) there was'nt much drama seeing us basically winning the game before the 2nd period even began.It won't be that way this year and the games will be better as far as excitement goes.
Douggy
Registered User
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Douggy said:
I believe Schneider wil be the starter with either Frazee, Ben Bishop, or Jonathan Quick backing him up. What I want to know is if the U.S. brass is considering Jeremy Duchesne?
nomorekids
The original, baby
I wouldn't be surprised to see Jeff Frazee get the job, after how good he was at the U18s.Douggy said:
Letang fan 58
No More Fleury
nomorekids said:
Ya, I think it depends how much the US brass weigh College/CHL play VS International experience. That said, if I am not mistaken, I think Schneider was just as impressive as Frazee when he played at the U18's. Schneider has played excellent in both years of NCAA too.
The only factor that could stop Schneider from starting was his poor showing at the one game he played last year at the WJC. If they way this a lot, then his chances are less.
Letang fan 58
No More Fleury
Rabid Ranger said:
what happend to the pens draft pick gogilski or whatever his name was? will he not be on this team? is he to old now, i thought last year was his first junior tourney, didnt he get picked over johnson?
Letang fan 58
No More Fleury
cyclops said:
It will be nice that Canada will have a home ice advantage for the 2nd year in a row at least that will help us hopefully as well.
From what I've been reading, Frazee put on a good 20 pounds of. . . uhhhh . . . eating muscle over the summer. At times, it seems, it's affecting his game. I, of course, can't vouch for that as the only Minny game that was on the NHL Network up here occurred on a VERY long night shift for me.
Pete Rock said:
I hear that Frazee hasn't looked great this year. I used to think he was a lock, he's probably the best 87 US goalie and I thought they would want him to get the experience. However, it really sounds like Ben Bishop is making a real good case for himself. I wouldn't mind taking two 86's.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Spectacular_Bid said:
I still think Frazee is the most likely to be the back-up, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Bishop, Quick or even Bill Sauer.
ALF AmericanLionsFan
Registered User
From everything I have read Malkin will not be available for this tourney. It looks like his club team will only allow him to be available for the Olympic games. They don't want to overwork him I guess.Andrew_11 said:
I would also like to know which defensemen are returning for the Americans. Last year their defense was pathetic, and when that Schneider kid came in, he let in a couple of terrible goals. I would easily take the Canadian defense over the Americans anyday, with the exception of Johnson. What does the American forward group look like? What about Canada?
In any other year I would say that the US is the favourite, but this year, in Vancouver, Canada will also be in contention for the gold.
In any other year I would say that the US is the favourite, but this year, in Vancouver, Canada will also be in contention for the gold.
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