Are we in Canada paranoid about 2026 or should we not be worried?

[ORRFForever]

Put it this way,which you already did but i'm doing it again for good measure did, other then the U.S( and they would still be more then fine with the proposed Canadian rosters here), if this was the team any other country was going into the next best on best with these threads would be all different, it would be along the lines of....................."Look at the talent we have here now, team X has a real chance of taking it all this time around, I can't wait to get the games going, we have a tremendous chance to win gold!!"


They would be pretty giddy,

Even if it was the (Harlem) Canadian Globe Trotters vs the Washington Generals, there'd still be a bunch of Canadian HF posters saying :

"I don't like our chances!!!!"

 

[jj cale]

Even if it was the Canadian Globe Trotters vs the Washington Generals, there'd still be a bunch of Canadian HF posters saying :

"I don't like our chances!!!!"

That's just how we roll.

 

[ORRFForever]

That's just how we roll.

 

[ORRFForever]

Stankoven's gonna be a beast. Write him in for Best On Best on 5 years - if not before.

Unfortunately, if he plays the remainder of the Stars games, I do NOT think he will be eligible for Rookie Of The Year next year.

 

[Jannik Hansen]

Stankoven's gonna be a beast. Write him in for Best On Best on 5 years - if not before.

Unfortunately, if he plays the remainder of the Stars games, I do NOT think he will be eligible for Rookie Of The Year next year.

He will actually qualify, if he had been called up one game earlier then he wouldn't.

 

[ORRFForever]

He will actually qualify, if he had been called up one game earlier then he wouldn't.

Ha, ha.

I also did the math and I saw he just got in under the wire. Nice! Thanks!

 

[Crosby2010]

Stankoven's gonna be a beast. Write him in for Best On Best on 5 years - if not before.

Unfortunately, if he plays the remainder of the Stars games, I do NOT think he will be eligible for Rookie Of The Year next year.

He is often forgotten (including by me) because if I remember correctly he was hurt a lot in junior wasn't he? He did play in the WJC for Canada, but I think the reason he wasn't drafted as high was because he missed a lot of time in his draft year. But he does look like a blue chipper that's for sure. Hope the 5'8" doesn't hold him back.

 

[Crosby2010]

I am seeing the talent coming down the pipe, but you know, we could do so much better in Canada. Honestly, if they didn't make the game so expensive at the rep level then we would have even more talent coming up. I wonder how many kids it turns off considering the parents can't always afford the equipment and such. Because it is really atrocious and I honestly think that this is a big factor in how we have sort of lost a bit of our handle on the NHL (still 40%+ are Canadian, but still).

Someone else mentioned at one point that Canadian teams not winning a Cup in 30 years may have had an impact. Montreal being an also-ran for the better part of 30 years might be why Quebec has been dropping the ball with NHL talent lately. Honestly, if Quebec just did what they were doing in the 1980s and 1990s with players we would be similar to how we were 20-25 years ago. Probably would have at least 50% of NHL players. But I wonder if this plays a role. There is so much talent coming out of the Toronto area but that is probably because there are better off families there and the population is so grand, but I wonder how much it would increase if the Leafs won the Cup. Makes you wonder the ripple effect. Maybe why we see U.S. players from such formerly obscure hockey places like California and such is because of success of their NHL teams in the recent past.

 

[ORRFForever]

He is often forgotten (including by me) because if I remember correctly he was hurt a lot in junior wasn't he? He did play in the WJC for Canada, but I think the reason he wasn't drafted as high was because he missed a lot of time in his draft year. But he does look like a blue chipper that's for sure. Hope the 5'8" doesn't hold him back.

I worry about his (and Bedard's) height but, TBH, it seems like the BIG players get hurt more than the smaller players, so...

 

[ORRFForever]

Sid's 35 goal and 41st assist, tonight. He never ceases to amaze.

LAF with 2 goals, tonight.

Wyatt Johnson with 2 G & 1 A, tonight - he's 20.
54 points on the season - ONLY 9 on the PP.

Dylan Guenther with 12 G and 11A in 35 games - he's 20.

​

 

[Nucks2001]

Not worried about Canada. We’re still arguably the best country in the world when it comes hockey. Other countries have just gotten better. With that being said, there are a few areas of development that should be highlighted.

The first one is obvious in goaltending.

Winger development needs to also be focused on as well IMO. Every kid with talent shouldn’t automatically be put at centre in the Canadian system. I miss our big and powerful goal scoring wingers in Iginla, Perry and Nash. Byfield is the type of player that I think can fill this void, but we need more in this area. Again, not a huge issue as Canada shifts a lot of centres to wings, but it was something that used to put Canada over the top in years past.

Our Centre depth is the best in the world and our d-core is arguably the best as well. Just poor drafts from 2017-2019.

 

[ORRFForever]

Not worried about Canada. We’re still arguably the best country in the world when it comes hockey. Other countries have just gotten better. With that being said, there are a few areas of development that should be highlighted.

The first one is obvious in goaltending.

Winger development needs to also be focused on as well IMO. Every kid with talent shouldn’t automatically be put at centre in the Canadian system. I miss our big and powerful goal scoring wingers in Iginla, Perry and Nash. Byfield is the type of player that I think can fill this void, but we need more in this area. Again, not a huge issue as Canada shifts a lot of centres to wings, but it was something that used to put Canada over the top in years past.

Our Centre depth is the best in the world and our d-core is arguably the best as well. Just poor drafts from 2017-2019.

Correction :

"We’re still arguably the best country in the world when it comes hockey."

***

Putting our best players on the wing has worked well for us. Keep it up.

**

"Just poor drafts from 2017-2019."

2016 was crap, too.

 

[ORRFForever]

Drake Batherson is turning into a heck of a player. A big winger who can score - we always say we don't have enough of those.

 

[ORRFForever]

Seth Jarvis is my dark horse to make the team. 3 point night against Detroit. What a BEAST at 22.

 

[Kaiden Ghoul]

With the fire power up front and one of the 2 best D on the planet, the only thing that worries me is the goalie shitting the bed since its one game... Hope Hill stay healthy in the coming seasons

Toews Makar (is he eligible ?)
Rielly Pietrangelo
Byram? Doughty
Spurgeon Power?

If Power and Byram reach their potentiel lol...

 

[ORRFForever]

With the fire power up front and one of the 2 best D on the planet, the only thing that worries me is the goalie shitting the bed since its one game... Hope Hill stay healthy in the coming seasons

Toews Makar (is he eligible ?)
Rielly Pietrangelo
Byram? Doughty
Spurgeon Power?

If Power and Byram reach their potentiel lol...

We all worry about that.

 

[ORRFForever]

With the fire power up front and one of the 2 best D on the planet, the only thing that worries me is the goalie shitting the bed since its one game... Hope Hill stay healthy in the coming seasons

Toews Makar (is he eligible ?)
Rielly Pietrangelo
Byram? Doughty
Spurgeon Power?

If Power and Byram reach their potentiel lol...

We have the 3 best players in the world...

McDavid
MacKinnon
Makar
and Bedard is on his way.

Re : "Makar (is he eligible ?)

Makar was out of the country during the "incident" so, if he isn't eligible, he will be.

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

He is often forgotten (including by me) because if I remember correctly he was hurt a lot in junior wasn't he? He did play in the WJC for Canada, but I think the reason he wasn't drafted as high was because he missed a lot of time in his draft year. But he does look like a blue chipper that's for sure. Hope the 5'8" doesn't hold him back.

huh? He played 2 seasons of 59 games of a 68 game season with those missing games being due to the wjc. His 17 year old season was limited because of a COVID shortened season, also only played 6 of the 18 game schedule because he at the U-18s in Texas.


He played 37 playoff games in 3 years. Only games he's ever missed was because of Team Canada stuff.

Not sure why you thought that.

 

[ORRFForever]

He is often forgotten (including by me) because if I remember correctly he was hurt a lot in junior wasn't he? He did play in the WJC for Canada, but I think the reason he wasn't drafted as high was because he missed a lot of time in his draft year. But he does look like a blue chipper that's for sure. Hope the 5'8" doesn't hold him back.

We're all rooting for the kid.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

With the fire power up front and one of the 2 best D on the planet, the only thing that worries me is the goalie shitting the bed since its one game... Hope Hill stay healthy in the coming seasons

Toews Makar (is he eligible ?)
Rielly Pietrangelo
Byram? Doughty
Spurgeon Power?

If Power and Byram reach their potentiel lol...

Morrissey will be there for sure and I like Dobson too.

Toews - Makar
Theodore - Pietrangelo
Morrissey - Dobson/Doughty/Weegar

Rielly, Power, Byram, and I'm sure other potentials could boost themselves into the top 6.

It's a deep defensive core, especially with the emergence of Dobson. If they had a superstar goalie, this team would be almost impossible to beat with McDavid, MacKinnon, Makar, and Bedard firing on all cylinders.

 

[canuckslover10]

If Devon Levi develops in the next few years that could be a potential goalie for Canada.

 

[Despote]

Bouchard is in the team for sure.

 

[Mathieukferland]

Bouchard is in the team for sure.

Not good defensively and the right side is already stacked

 

[jj cale]

Not good defensively and the right side is already stacked

He wouldn't get a sniff if I was picking the team as his game stands right now, he is very good offensively but terrible defensively, major gaffes all over the ice pretty much every game.

He would have to improve an awful lot there before he would be a good pick, right now Bouchard giveth and Bouchard taketh away.

 

[Bijelo]

Bouchard is in the team for sure.

Bouchard are right defenseman.