Burns the best player on Team Canada?

[tinyzombies]

Is it just me or does this guy look dominant to you?

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[whitesox_2000_22*]

I think it is just you )

 

[L3DZ3P]

I think it is just you )

Yeah it is.

 

[X-SHARKIE]

Stewart, Richards, Carter, Phaneuf, Dawes, are a few names of players who have been better then Burns IMO.

 

[KariyaIsGod*]

Crosby has been the best player.

He has become a sparkplug who can should be scoring points at will if not for Mr. Tambelinni's hand-eye prblems.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Crosby is dominant with the puck, create great scoring chances for himself and for other, plus he backcheck very well. Also, he is the most spectacular player for team Canada, but IMO, he's not the best, yet.But it's clear that he is the most skilled junior player in the world. No body has that vision and that puck control skill that Sid has. Next year, he'll be pretty unstoppable. Durocher handles his situation well. He don't put any pression on Sid and let him play the way he likes to. If Mario was using him more, Sid would have more points, but instead the coach let him time to develop his game correctly, which is great because Crosby is not the heart and soul of this team this year, so we prepare him for next year. Great job by M. Durocher!

Burns is the MVP for team Canada. He maybe not the most skilled player out there but he brings everything to the table: offense, defense, physical presence and great leadership. This guy is simply awesome. We do not always notice him first, but he's always there doing the right thing. I'm very impressed by Brent Burns.

 

[Steelerman]

I'll give him credit- before the June draft I knew nothing about him, never saw him play. I can see why the Wild are excited about his potential, but he's got a ways to go to reach that level. He wouldn't have made the team if Staal and Horton were available, but he's earned his spot on the roster.

Still this year's experience can only help prepare for next year's tourney in Grand Forks. He could be quite the force in that tournament...

 

[tomerez]

Mr. Tambelinni's hand-eye prblems.

Huh? Please elaborate because from what I've seen Tambellini has been great. Used his speed and skill to score and create oppurtunities. He's made his fair share of mistakes but I've been satisfied with his performance.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Huh? Please elaborate because from what I've seen Tambellini has been great. Used his speed and skill to score and create oppurtunities. He's made his fair share of mistakes but I've been satisfied with his performance.

I agree. the only thing Tambellini is lacking is ice time, same as Sid; You can't convert all your chances especially the high speed kind that are being created out of almost nothing.

 

[Epsilon]

Huh? Please elaborate because from what I've seen Tambellini has been great. Used his speed and skill to score and create oppurtunities. He's made his fair share of mistakes but I've been satisfied with his performance.

It's just the hype train making up excuses. Tambellini has been very good. I'm not sure Crosby would rank as one of Canada's top 10 players right now.

 

[tomerez]

I'm not sure Crosby would rank as one of Canada's top 10 players right now.

I think he would.. he's been a fixture on the PP and great with Tambellini. He creates a chance almost every time he's on the ice.

 

[Epsilon]

I think he would.. he's been a fixture on the PP and great with Tambellini. He creates a chance almost every time he's on the ice.

I'd have both the first and second lines, Paille, Fleury, Coburn, and Phaneuf ahead of him, so that's 10 guys right there.

 

[HfxMoose]

I think Crosby is easily one of the best on this Canadian team. Everytime hes out there they get a good scoring chance or he makes a good play or whatever. If he was on the top line I truly believe he would have at least 10 pts already. Oh well we'll have to wait till next year when he'll be a veteran

 

[ZombieMatt]

Alright, to touch on both aspects of this debate.

1)I don't personally think Burns has been the best, but he has been one of the better in my opinion, behind Getzlaf, Phaneuf, Stewart, and Crosby I feel. However, this is hardly surprising when you consider that he's been playing against men recently in the NHL, against the BEST competition in the world, so it just makes sense that his game has been elevated.

2)Crosby has excelled. I was a doubter going into this tournament, but he possesses such an amazing skill set, I can't deny him now that I've watched him. He has great strength on the puck, is like a pitbull in the corners, has a great shot and the balls to aim for the tightest corners, the ability to shift gears, and is fairly consistent on the back check. He hasn't gotten tons of ice time because the top line has been incredible, and the second line has looked much better than it probably is becaue of the pure dominance of Stewart. As well, he's short probably 5 assists from people missing wide open nets that he has given them on nice passes. I believe Getzlaf missed a doozy of a wide open net today on the PP off of a Crosby pass from the side boards, and Tambellini has missed a few before as well.

 

[KariyaIsGod*]

It's just the hype train making up excuses. Tambellini has been very good. I'm not sure Crosby would rank as one of Canada's top 10 players right now.

Ah, here we go. Always gotta' have one guy trying to bring Crosby down...

See, Tambellinni has been good but the point I am making, which cannot be disputed is that he has failed to convert on several opportunities from Crosby. That's not to say he hasn't played well though, because many others have also missed opportunities but if Tambellinni could convert a couple more, Crosby would have 10 points by now. I wasn't trying to knock Tambellinni.

Burns has been great. Lots of guys have stepped it up, I just feel Crosby has been the catalyst to so much. Even something as trivial as forcing the other team to take penalties.

 

[Epsilon]

Ah, here we go. Always gotta' have one guy trying to bring Crosby down...

See, Tambellinni has been good but the point I am making, which cannot be disputed is that he has failed to convert on several opportunities from Crosby. That's not to say he hasn't played well though, because many others have also missed opportunities but if Tambellinni could convert a couple more, Crosby would have 10 points by now. I wasn't trying to knock Tambellinni.

Burns has been great. Lots of guys have stepped it up, I just feel Crosby has been the catalyst to so much. Even something as trivial as forcing the other team to take penalties.

You can do these if if ifs for just about any decent offensive player you want to pick. Funny how pointing out what has actually happened rather than hyping up hypothetical scenarios to justify out-of-whack predictions is "bringing a guy down". But I shouldn't expect anything less from someone who claimed that Crosby is "twice the player" that the NHL's number 2 scorer is.

 

[canucksfan]

Best player for Canada has either been Stewart, Richards or Phaneuf. Stewart has been dominant on the forcheck and he has 4 goals and 4 assists. Richards has played great at both end of the rink and has been a great PKer. Phaneuf has been Canada's best defenceman.

 

[Epsilon]

Best player for Canada has either been Stewart, Richards or Phaneuf. Stewart has been dominant on the forcheck and he has 4 goals and 4 assists. Richards has played great at both end of the rink and has been a great PKer. Phaneuf has been Canada's best defenceman.

You pretty much nailed it here. I would say that Burns and Dawes probably round out the top 5.

 

[gb701]

I think he would.. he's been a fixture on the PP and great with Tambellini. He creates a chance almost every time he's on the ice.

For someone getting PP time, with two fine wingers, and creating chances "almost every time", he has actually accomplished much less than either predicted or hoped for.

The poster who noted he would have a hard time making the "top ten" on this squad has it right - and that is NOT a knock on Crosby. But to pretend he is up there right now is just wishful thinking.

The kid has at least a year of maturing before he leads Canada - and the only reason I don't think it is 2 years is that there is a gap in the 86's that he will fill.

 

[Epsilon]

For someone getting PP time, with two fine wingers, and creating chances "almost every time", he has actually accomplished much less than either predicted or hoped for.

The poster who noted he would have a hard time making the "top ten" on this squad has it right - and that is NOT a knock on Crosby. But to pretend he is up there right now is just wishful thinking.

The kid has at least a year of maturing before he leads Canada - and the only reason I don't think it is 2 years is that there is a gap in the 86's that he will fill.

Thank you . Some people seem to think you are trashing a guy because you actually have the nerve to observe that other players on this very good team are contributing more (at both ends of the ice). What I find sad is that this team is definitely a favorite for the finals as is and yet people want to change it up for the sole purpose of getting more personal stats for Crosby.

 

[Fedz]

TO me this is how i see it.

Stewart>>Burns


And is it just me or has Brayden Coburn relatively quiet, and unproductive?

 

[Epsilon]

TO me this is how i see it.

Stewart>>Burns


And is it just me or has Brayden Coburn relatively quiet, and unproductive?

I think he's been good, not a ton of production (which is surprising) but one of the better defensive presences on Canada's blueline. He's been the 2nd best d-man behind Phaneuf.

 

[gb701]

Thank you . Some people seem to think you are trashing a guy because you actually have the nerve to observe that other players on this very good team are contributing more (at both ends of the ice). What I find sad is that this team is definitely a favorite for the finals as is and yet people want to change it up for the sole purpose of getting more personal stats for Crosby.

I agree - what has actually impressed me as much as anything so far (and I am not sure how impressed we can be given that the competition has looked so weak - are we really that strong?) is the way the coaches set lines and d-pairings that really seem to take advantage of what the players bring to the game. The result has been that the hyped players look more average while the ones I did not know much about look better than expected. I really like Burns and Gorges for example, neither of whom I knew much about.

Having said that, I actually think the top Canadian is Phaneuf on D - but he may have to break a sweat as they move into the medal round.

 

[Epsilon]

I agree - what has actually impressed me as much as anything so far (and I am not sure how impressed we can be given that the competition has looked so weak - are we really that strong?) is the way the coaches set lines and d-pairings that really seem to take advantage of what the players bring to the game. The result has been that the hyped players look more average while the ones I did not know much about look better than expected. I really like Burns and Gorges for example, neither of whom I knew much about.

Having said that, I actually think the top Canadian is Phaneuf on D - but he may have to break a sweat as they move into the medal round.

In a pure measure of "power" I think this team isn't as good as last year's (as in, if they were to play against each other I'd bet on last year's team) but it is better relative to the rest of the competition (I think they are the best team by a bit over the USA, whereas last year I felt they were behind Russia and about even with the USA and Finland). I also agree that keeping the lines steady has helped with the team success.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Stewart's been better than Burns by a long shot. Dan Paille is the type of guy who quietly gets things done, I'd name him an MVP before Burns. The whole Crosby/Dixon/Tambellini line has been AMAZING.

~Canucklehead~