Canadian players which are MISTAKES on the roster thus far

[Rakiet*]

4 games into this tourney and I'm absolutely not impressed by the results or lack of that Canada is producing. I wouldn't call for an over-haul of the entire team but there has to be at least 2-3 players who could have been left off the roster in place of different kinds of players. Its just three players so what would you want..more speed? size? youth? Maybe if you had a Crosby or Phanuef that would have an impact on the team in general because they would be pressured to play their best simply out of fear the up and coming generation. But Do Not center this thing on the youth question, you haven't really heard much concern about the larger ice surface, I know theres at least a couple players left off the roster who could be of advantage in that area. Lets get down to the problem and pick out the players left off the list that are worthy given the current circumstances

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[ProngerRocks]

wont change a thing except drop bertuzzi from the roster - this team is good enough on paper

its easy to critize when a team is lsoing.
lets see what happens in the medal round

 

[Fan-of-#9]

Bertuzzi.

 

[Borlag]

I'd say that only Pronger is a mistake as to me it looks like his foot injury bothers him much more than what was initially thought. McCabe could also be thought as a mistake , but not in the sense that his selection was a mistake, just the way he's being used.

As for the rest of the guys, they're basically all underachieving and no matter how much second guessing there is, that could happen no matter who'd replace [insert name(s) here].

 

[cbj21]

Pronger is too big, heavy and slow

 

[Jumptheshark]

Pronger is injured

on paper the team should have gotten gold

 

[Sotnos]

I dunno if I'd even drop Bert, but he needed a slap upside the head for the penalty he took vs. Switzerland when Canada was on the PP.

The roster is fine, they just need to get it together, which they are capable of doing. They need to put the past two games out of their heads.

 

[Chandler55]

this is ridiculous, do you guys change your blackjack strategy each time you play? the best blackjack player is a robot, and the same applies for hockey, just let the team gel like in 2002.

 

[Vincent_TheGreat]

Its not mistakes in the roster selection, its the players themselves, they have to play better! PERIOD!

 

[sabresrat]

McCabe.

It always seems like the questionable player on a roster can be directly connected with the person coaching the team

 

[joe sacco]

a few guys i'd have liked to see on the team would be paul kariya, alex tanguay, and sidney crosby...the team still has a little time to turn things around (which i think they will) so we should hold off on the judgement calls for now

 

[shawn_kemp*]

the problem is not with the selections. they just play worse than their opponents, period. Spezza or Staal wouldn't change much.

yes, the Switzerland loss was a fluke, but the Finland game wasn't.

 

[GKJ]

The guy Canada misses is Scott Neidermayer. He is Canada's best defenseman as other guys are old, and some guys can only play one way. Wade Redden is fine, but he isn't as good as Scott Neidermayer

 

[nneate]

McCabe.

I don't see why everyone is writing off the team already, they aren't eliminated yet and they have the players to win this thing, it's up to them and the coaching staff.

 

[Make]

Bertuzzi hasn't impressed me at all.

 

[Sotnos]

I don't see why everyone is writing off the team already

People here blow very hot and cold, frequently with only a few minutes between the two.

 

[Towelie*]

Bertuzzi hasn't impressed me at all.

Bertuzzi has being one of Canada's better forwards. People hate Bertuzzi so much they can't effectively evaluate him.

 

[Buffaloed]

The mistake is choosing an all-star team instead of complimentary players around a handful of stars. A Canadian team assembled around players who knew their roles and were comfortable with them would roll over the opposition. They should look to past Stanley Cup champions for their model. Team Canada in these olympics reminds me of the USA's basketball team in 2002.
see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38887-2004Aug27.html

 

[Zaddik]

wont change a thing except drop bertuzzi from the roster - this team is good enough on paper

its easy to critize when a team is lsoing.
lets see what happens in the medal round

Bertuzzi.

Bertuzzi hasn't impressed me at all.

he is tied for the team lead and he is a big body in front of the net, so he hasn't exactly been useless despite what many biased responses you all have uttered. but he's on the same boat as the rest of the team, so he's not clear from criticism. but he should not be taken off the team.

on topic: bouwmeester is useless. why oh why is he on the team?

 

[Miller Time]

Out: Doan, Draper, one of Pronger/Blake

In: Staal, Spezza, Phaneuf


I don't buy the "we need grinders" crap. This ain't the NHL. The ice is bigger which means Skating and creativity are at a premium. Guys with as much skill as Staal and Spezza would help our scoring woes (not too mention the Heatley/Spezza chemistry factor).
Having those guys play offensive roles and then asking guys like Smyth, Sakic, Richards to pick up the defensive slack would have been better than having Doan and Draper in the lineup.

I also think that Tanguay might have been a better pick than St-Louis... but they are pretty even.

Phaneuf should be here on talent AND on his level of play this year. The guy is a pure gamer and would be showing much more determination and energy than Pronger or Blake.

Gretzky wanted to reward guys who have been with the team in the past... That's all fine and good, but he shouldn't have said so publicly cuz what he got is a bunch of guys playing without the passion and energy that you get with guys that don't feel entitled to anything.

 

[Team_Spirit]

The guy Canada misses is Scott Neidermayer. He is Canada's best defenseman as other guys are old, and some guys can only play one way. Wade Redden is fine, but he isn't as good as Scott Neidermayer

Al MacInnis too , he was a rock .

 

[puck57]

I LOVE the way people are so quick to jump to say this one should have been selected instead of this player, etc. How do you know another player selected would do any worse or better than the one selected- you don't- it's all conjecture. If Crosby or a few of the younger guys had gone- who knows- they might have only won one game or could have won all so far- YOU DO NOT KNOW and will never know. You roll the dice- on paper all the players selected have the potential to get a gold medal for Canada and so far have not played to their full potential- it has NOTHING to do with them being selected and all to do with their play on the ice. They have not come together as a team for whatever variety of reasons- until that is resolved they will continue to have the problems we have seen in these last 2 games. The clock is ticking and only THEY have the power to do something about it- not Gretz for selecting them, not Quinn as their coach- but they have to go out and do it.

 

[Eddie Vedder]

The mistake is choosing an all-star team instead of complimentary players around a handful of stars. A Canadian team assembled around players who knew their roles and were comfortable with them would roll over the opposition. They should look to past Stanley Cup champions for their model. Team Canada in these olympics reminds me of the USA's basketball team in 2002.
see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38887-2004Aug27.html

Exactly. With so much offense in the NHL this season, TC and teh staff seemed to have gotten carried away with the offensive firepower. We are very much missing an effective grinding line/checking line. Doan is the only one throwing some decent hits on a regular basis the last 2 games. Id like to see a pure checking line made out of smyth - draper - doan. Play St. Louis the limited mins that doans been getting, but we badly need some physical play to dictate the pace of the game and we cant do it with every line trying to score.

 

[Ironchef Chris Wok*]

Bert did take a stupid penalty in the Swiss game, but he's actually doing stuff along the boards and in front of the net. Put him with Nash and Thornton, becuase he's nto clicking with Sakic and Iggy.

McCabe is useless. He's not even getting his big point shot away.

The only reason Draper has been useful so far is that 1) He's a good PK guy and 2) THere has been like 2000 PK's a game. He has NOWHERE the offensive skills to be playing 5 on 5 in thsi kind of tourney with the type of talent available.

Pronger looks hurt.

 

[Zaddik]

Bertuzzi has being one of Canada's better forwards. People hate Bertuzzi so much they can't effectively evaluate him.

exactly, which is the problem this board has. they hate this guy so much they don't even care about his performance, all they care about is just bashing the crap out of him. it's absurd.