World Cup: 2016 World Cup — Team Canada

[driller1]

Canada's depth is so good that you could go with Letang, Seabrook, and Muzzin instead of Pietrangelo, Burns, and Subban, and nothing would change that much, even though Subban is better than Letang, Burns than Seabrook, etc. It's similar to offence. I'm pretty confident that we could go with Spezza, Neal, and Sharp instead of Getzlaf, Perry, and O'Reilly - and nothing would change that much. Just an example.

Except for Muzzin, you've listed a slew of right handed defensemen and Babcock likes Righty-Lefty on each of his pairs.

The right side is pretty locked up with Doughty and Weber on the first two pairs and probably Pietrangelo and Subban as the 3rd and 4th Right D, just like Sochi.

The interesting battle will be for the Left D position, where Duncan Keith is probably the only lock. You can make a case for Muzzin, Vlasic, Giodano, J-Bou to fill those slots.

 

[86Habs]

Except for Muzzin, you've listed a slew of right handed defensemen and Babcock likes Righty-Lefty on each of his pairs.

The right side is pretty locked up with Doughty and Weber on the first two pairs and probably Pietrangelo and Subban as the 3rd and 4th Right D, just like Sochi.

The interesting battle will be for the Left D position, where Duncan Keith is probably the only lock. You can make a case for Muzzin, Vlasic, Giodano, J-Bou to fill those slots.

Vlasic should get the benefit of the doubt, given his continuing high level of play and his performance in Sochi. And Brodie should be added to the list of capable LHed defencemen who will get a good look for this team.

 

[Skobel24]

Giroux - Crosby - Stamkos
Hall - Toews - Bergeron
Benn - Seguin - MacKinnon
Perry - Getzlaf - Tavares

Doughty - Keith
Weber - Subban
Vlasic - Brodie

Price

 

[xxxx]

Vlasic should get the benefit of the doubt, given his continuing high level of play and his performance in Sochi. And Brodie should be added to the list of capable LHed defencemen who will get a good look for this team.

I would still leave a room opened for Giordano. Don't forget he was a Norris contender last season until he got hurt. Now the struggles we see might be due to that injury too. If he can get back on the same level as last year, I take him. Of course right now I'd have Vlasic or Brodie or Muzzin probably.

 

[HispanicAtTheDisco]

Giroux - Crosby - Stamkos
Hall - Toews - Bergeron
Benn - Seguin - MacKinnon
Perry - Getzlaf - Tavares

Doughty - Keith
Weber - Subban
Vlasic - Brodie

Price

I don't think MacKinnon will be eligible for the team, he'll be with team North America.

 

[Minister of Offence]

If Mark Stone is still one of the best RW in the game then I suppose he should probably get a nod for this team. ;-)

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

Stamkos Crosby Bergeron
Hall Getzlaf Perry
Marleau Toews Carter
Benn Tavares Seguin
Giroux Nash

Keith Weber
Vlasic Doughty
Brodie Pietrangelo
Subban

Price

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

If Mark Stone is still one of the best RW in the game then I suppose he should probably get a nod for this team. ;-)

Just have to beat out the many, many better centers that will be shifted to wing

 

[Minister of Offence]

Just have to beat out the many, many better centers that will be shifted to wing

I'm not seeing that as necessarily a problem given some of the names that are fitting into the lineups of most of these mock teams.

 

[xxxx]

There's a lot of good players that can eventually play RW. And Stone is one of them. But the competition is very strong. Stamkos, Perry, Giroux, Bergeron, Sharp, Seguin, Carter, Toffoli, Nash, Little. Any of these players can end up playing RW. I think there's like 70-80% chance that Perry, Stamkos, and Seguin are the first three.

 

[chubeyr]

Nice to see T J Brodie getting props from fans around here. If this were last year Gio should be there too but he is a shell of himself right now. Injury and time off took a toll and he is just starting to find his game.

Brodie though has been awesome. I love Drew Doughty as a hockey player, hes got the total package. Brodie isnt as aggresive, but is probably the better skater. I strongly recommend all fans to watch T J Brodie play. It is a treat to watch. Brodie on the small north american ice is a treat to watch, on international ice I would love to see it.

I am not going to bad mouth others who are eligible. You cant make a bad choice unless its John Scott lol. I just hope Brodie gets a real serious look.

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

Canada has extremely weak left hand defensemen going forward. It's a shade of the talent they use to have. Not many elite prospects coming up also.

Guess that's what happens after you have an entire era of Niedermayer and Pronger leading the way.

 

[JackSlater]

Canada has extremely weak left hand defensemen going forward. It's a shade of the talent they use to have. Not many elite prospects coming up also.

Guess that's what happens after you have an entire era of Niedermayer and Pronger leading the way.

Extremely weak compared to past editions of Canada. Not so compared to Canada's actual competition.

 

[1Gold Standard]

Extremely weak compared to past editions of Canada. Not so compared to Canada's actual competition.

Cyclical thing as always, but we have a few years left of Duncan Keith's brilliance, and Vlasic (Pickles GOAT nickname) in his prime, Brodie looking ready to become a full time NT player and Rielly showing real progress and promise, I'm not ready to set off any alarm bells just yet...and if Murray finally puts it together, we're good on LHD for a while...and in pinch, Subban can always play the left side. but you're right, in comparison to our main competition, the U.S. and the Swedes, we stack up alright on LD.

 

[86Habs]

Cyclical thing as always, but we have a few years left of Duncan Keith's brilliance, and Vlasic (Pickles GOAT nickname) in his prime, Brodie looking ready to become a full time NT player and Rielly showing real progress and promise, I'm not ready to set off any alarm bells just yet...and if Murray finally puts it together, we're good on LHD for a while...and in pinch, Subban can always play the left side. but you're right, in comparison to our main competition, the U.S. and the Swedes, we stack up alright on LD.

The thing about defencemen is that they sometimes seem to come out of nowhere, and its not the high-end draft picks that eventually make it onto Team Canada but the lesser-known players. Vlasic, Keith and Weber were 2nd round draft picks, and neither Keith nor Vlasic never played for Team Canada at the World Juniors. Yet Keith is, IMHO, the best defenceman of this generation. Weber was on the 2005 WJHC team but took a back seat to Double Dion. Giordano came out of nowhere to become a viable candidate for the national team. We'll be alright in the long run.

 

[HasbeenHallzy]

Cyclical thing as always, but we have a few years left of Duncan Keith's brilliance, and Vlasic (Pickles GOAT nickname) in his prime, Brodie looking ready to become a full time NT player and Rielly showing real progress and promise, I'm not ready to set off any alarm bells just yet...and if Murray finally puts it together, we're good on LHD for a while...and in pinch, Subban can always play the left side. but you're right, in comparison to our main competition, the U.S. and the Swedes, we stack up alright on LD.

I wouldn't quite say that... Hedman, Karlsson, OEL, Kronwall, Klingberg, Edler, Brodin/Hjalmarsson/Strålman/Lindholm are nothing to sneeze at...

 

[1Gold Standard]

I wouldn't quite say that... Hedman, Karlsson, OEL, Kronwall, Klingberg, Edler, Brodin/Hjalmarsson/Strålman/Lindholm are nothing to sneeze at...

read a little closer. The discussion is LEFT HANDED D-men. so, remove a couple of your righties. not relevant to the discussion.

And I didn't say Canada on LHD is better or ahead or anything of the sort, just that on LHD at them moment, I'm fine where we stack up v the U.S. and Sweden... but there's some work to do, for sure. Is that any clearer for you?

 

[xxxx]

The thing about defencemen is that they sometimes seem to come out of nowhere, and its not the high-end draft picks that eventually make it onto Team Canada but the lesser-known players. Vlasic, Keith and Weber were 2nd round draft picks, and neither Keith nor Vlasic never played for Team Canada at the World Juniors. Yet Keith is, IMHO, the best defenceman of this generation. Weber was on the 2005 WJHC team but took a back seat to Double Dion. Giordano came out of nowhere to become a viable candidate for the national team. We'll be alright in the long run.

I agree with this. I remember, even when people were projecting the Sochi roster in 2010, no one had Subban as a possible olympic-caliber player. And there we go, he's already won a Norris.

I wouldn't even go into the future, just look at the situation right now. We have players like Muzzin or Brodie who definitely were NOT on many people's radar 4 years ago. We still have Bouwmeester or Hamhuis who could handle any best-on-best tournament without a problem. Last year was not a good year for Hamhuis, yet he played in #1 pairing with Burns at the 2015WHC and was very good. And yet again, he wouldn't even crack B roster today, doesn't mean he's not good anymore.

I think Murray, Nurse, and Rielly will be huge for Canada in the next 10 years. Maybe not immediately, but in 2-4 years I think they're gonna be elite defensemen.

 

[Nihiliste]

Canada has extremely weak left hand defensemen going forward. It's a shade of the talent they use to have. Not many elite prospects coming up also.

Guess that's what happens after you have an entire era of Niedermayer and Pronger leading the way.

I agree our left side depth is extremely weak compared to past generations.

Jake Chychrun coming up could be a big difference maker for us in the coming decade. He certainly has the potential to become an elite #1. Hopefully Morgan Reilly continues to improve. I don't see it with Ryan Murray. Hopefully we'll have another relatively unheralded defenseman or two develop into a NT level player for us by the time Keith is finished.

I think that Pietrangelo has at times shown he can play the left side.

 

[Bear12Good]

My choice

Benn- Tavares- Seguin
Crosby- Bergeron-Carter
Hall- Toews-Stamkos
Giroux-Getzlaf Perry
Duchene

Giroux
Stamkos

Keith - Seabrook
Weber- Doughty
Pietrangelo-Subban
Burns

Price,Holtby,Fleury

 

[xxxx]

1st line: Tavares - Crosby - Bergeron
2nd line: Benn - Seguin - Stamkos
3rd line: O'Reilly - Toews - Carter
4th line: Hall - Getzlaf - Perry
13th forward: Giroux

1st pair: Keith - Weber
2nd pair: Pietrangelo - Subban
3rd pair: Vlasic - Doughty
7th d-man: Burns

#1 Price #2 Holtby #3 Fleury

Duchene and Nash the hardest to leave off. Gallagher could bring an interesting element to the team. Mike Hoffman doesn't get any attention now, but that will change if he maintains this level of play and finishes with around 40 goals and 82 points for example (that would mean top10 in scoring almost certainly). Still a long-shot imo, but really when I'm watching him he looks like an all-star, I have no idea where that came from.

The reason here I moved Tavares to LW is that it opens up a room for Giroux, Carter, and Bergeron. I want all three there, but they're likely to be used as right-wingers or in a place for a 13th forward. I have Stamkos and Perry already as locks, and with Seguin there would be a necessity to leave one of the mentioned above which I don't want to.

 

[xxxx]

My choice

Benn- Tavares- Seguin
Crosby- Bergeron-Carter
Hall- Toews-Stamkos
Giroux-Getzlaf Perry
Duchene

Giroux
Stamkos

Keith - Seabrook
Weber- Doughty
Pietrangelo-Subban
Burns

Price,Holtby,Fleury

those are good selections Shame that Seabrook isn't a leftie, he would be in in that case. But that 7-man group may very well represent the best seven defensemen in Canada now.

 

[1Gold Standard]

My choice

Benn- Tavares- Seguin
Crosby- Bergeron-Carter
Hall- Toews-Stamkos
Giroux-Getzlaf Perry
Duchene

Giroux
Stamkos

Keith - Seabrook
Weber- Doughty
Pietrangelo-Subban
Burns

Price,Holtby,Fleury

TC Coach prefers D-men to play their strong side. And Weber cannot play LD. Subban can, so switch Pietrangelo and Subban. add T.J. Brodie and Giordano (both lefties and who are playing better as of late) and Canada is good to go both on LD and RD.

I doubt Seabrook makes it. I've always been a fan, but TC Coach, not so much.

 

[Bear12Good]

TC Coach prefers D-men to play their strong side. And Weber cannot play LD. Subban can, so switch Pietrangelo and Subban. add T.J. Brodie and Giordano (both lefties and who are playing better as of late) and Canada is good to go both on LD and RD.

I doubt Seabrook makes it. I've always been a fan, but TC Coach, not so much.

Right now Brody and Giordano carried out is not the best season in Calgary

Nevertheless, the choice you have is very large)

 

[1Gold Standard]

Right now Brody and Giordano carried out is not the best season in Calgary

Nevertheless, the choice you have is very large)

As I already pointed out, playing better as of late i.e. in recent weeks playing better. And believe me, that's a better option than Weber playing the left side.

but what do I care! I'm not going to watch this contrived tournament with its gimmicky teams anyway. I'll be watching baseball.