Olympics: Datsyuk says this medal means more than the Stanley Cup

[varsaku]

I posted that article on Reddit just to see what people’s opinions are. I ended up getting a life time supply of salt. People can’t fanthom that there are people who have different priorities and value things differently from them. I am happy that Pavel won the Olympic gold he was looking for.

 

[Pilky01]

Seriously? He thinks getting a gold medal against high-end beer leaguers while not even technically representing his country means more than winning a Cup?
Yikes. To each their own, I guess.

Basically this.

Good for him if it makes him happy, but lol regardless.

 

[Revelation]

I posted that article on Reddit just to see what people’s opinions are. I ended up getting a life time supply of salt. People can’t fanthom that there are people who have different priorities and value things differently from them. I am happy that Pavel won the Olympic gold he was looking for.

I mean, you did post it on the website where people almost solely go to feel outraged and be sanctimonious about the most mundane stuff.

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

For years now Russia has produced these wonderful forwards and decent goalies but their defence was atrocious by best on best standards.

This was a huge achilles heel for them but with Sergachyev, Provorov, Zaitsev, Zadorov coming they will improve.

Vasilevski is capable of stealing a game in a one game showdown.

Whatever ailed Russian hockey is steadily being addressed..

 

[trader997]

Can someone please give him a concussion protocol!

 

[Zine]

Nothing like grown men on a message board telling an athlete what he should care about more.

Yikes. This thread is embarrassing.

Id like to believe they’re meathead teenagers unknowledgeable of anything outside their immediate surroundings (aka ‘OMG, Stanley Cup rocks dude!!’) but I think you’re probably right.

Good for Pasha! Quality individual who lives life on his own terms.

 

[Riddum]

Apparently Canada only cares now if they have a stacked NHL roster of superstars.

Until then, the Olympics are invalid.

There were semi-pro players on Canada's roster...

 

[EK47]

North American hockey fans need to understand that for an European hockey player winning Olympic gold or the World Championship means more to them then the Stanley cup. And i dont have a problem with that. Who are we to be judging him. thats how he feels thats how we feel period. we have to respect that, the NHL in Europe is not very important. Here in North America we have such a big ego about our Leagues.

As a swede, that's how I normally feel. Not this year however. I didn't care one bit, I mean it's not like I care about the Euro hockey tour and this tournament had more or less exactly the same swedish players, so what makes this tournament different apart from the name?

 

[VictorLustig]

There were semi-pro players on Canada's roster...

Name one please

 

[BMann]

Peoples reactions to Pavel's comments , he's mad, he's a propagandist, a communist, deluded are mere reflections of their own prejudices which have been quite evident and indeed their arrogance with regards to hockey as a global sport over the last couple of days.

Pav is also humble but according to some must have a huge ego for saying something that comes from the heart. Anyway I am sure he is losing sleep about what posters on this board think. A member of the triple gold club, one of the finest players (indeed one of the very few recent Russian players who could claim a roster spot on a Russian legends team) to grace the ice with his ingenuity and skills, a model professional, the number 13 will be raised at Little Caesars Arena sometime soon and he will be a Hall of Famer.

And as for those that claim Russia could never ever win a best on best title. Well. The netminding has come on leaps and bounds. More defencemen are coming and the offensive talent is still there. People outside of Russia still don't seem to realize the enormous damage to sporting infrastructure the collapse of Communism caused and the chaos. The loss of an enormous amount of coaching talent, athletes emigrating (many of whose children now compete for other countries) and facilities being closed or becoming unusable. It's taking time to correct and the FHR could do a lot better in many respects but slowly but surely Russian hockey is recovering. The roots are far too deep for it to have been permanently damaged.

 

[sdf]

obviously he just said thing that have not sense, i dont know he really thinks so or not it's no matter, i love his highlight videos, he is just spectaculare, and if this guy like to say some silly things i dont mind

 

[Atas2000]

talking like a true commie product... what a dissapointment.

Somebody who is using the c-word just shows a major lack of intellect and some ignorance about this world.

So there is the worth of your opinion.

 

[Lauro]

Most European players and fans held Olympic gold and maybe the WC in higher regard than the SC. It's not their fault that the NHL sometimes doesn't participate.

Winning for your country >>> winning for anUS American city

 

[Human]

Somebody who is using the c-word just shows a major lack of intellect and some ignorance about this world.

So there is the worth of your opinion.

I was part of that world. Come again...

I like this kind of reasoning. “Oh, you don’t understand”. Oh yes, I do.

Talking about ignorance... your post reeks of it.

 

[hallonskal]

North Americans really need to realize that the Stanley Cup doesn't mean anything to almost all people outside of North America. In Sweden winning a Olympic Gold is huge, even winning a World Championship is huge, winning a Stanley Cup is not. Maybe for those that are really into the NHL, but they are such a small minority. A random Swede don't care about the NHL - many don't even know what it is.

Say Peter Forsberg to a random Swede and he/she will mention the -94 Olympics, not that he has won a Stanley Cup or that he has even played in the NHL. Mention Nicklas Lidström and people will talk about the goal he scored in the Olympic final against Finland in 2006, not that he has won Norris trophies, played for the Detroit Red Wings or won the Stanley Cup several times. Say Mats Sundin and you will also hear about the 2006 Olympics, or his World Championship Golds.

Of course it is not always the same for the players, but for some players it is and it really isn't that strange. And Russia is a lot more nationalistic than Sweden is, so it's no real suprise that a Russian player will feel Olympic/World Championship Gold >>>>>>>>> Stanley Cup, no matter if there are NHL-players playing or not.

 

[Asmo0011]

I could care less as to who wins the Stanley Cup, I can enjoy the hockey game by two NHL teams maybe cheer on the one with the most Russian players but at the end of the day I could care less who wins. Olympics as well as world championships are more meaningful tourneys, as the nation is the unifying factor for the team rather then some club that's paying them salaries.

Oh someone suggested banning Russian players from NHL, that would be so awesome. Maybe our hockey system would return to what it was in USSR era. And Canadians would again be chasing our players in an attempt to injure them (hopefully this time they would face jail time for such blatant attempts at injury) in order to have a shot at wining.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Peoples reactions to Pavel's comments , he's mad, he's a propagandist, a communist, deluded are mere reflections of their own prejudices which have been quite evident and indeed their arrogance with regards to hockey as a global sport over the last couple of days.

Pav is also humble but according to some must have a huge ego for saying something that comes from the heart. Anyway I am sure he is losing sleep about what posters on this board think. A member of the triple gold club, one of the finest players (indeed one of the very few recent Russian players who could claim a roster spot on a Russian legends team) to grace the ice with his ingenuity and skills, a model professional, the number 13 will be raised at Little Caesars Arena sometime soon and he will be a Hall of Famer.

And as for those that claim Russia could never ever win a best on best title. Well. The netminding has come on leaps and bounds. More defencemen are coming and the offensive talent is still there. People outside of Russia still don't seem to realize the enormous damage to sporting infrastructure the collapse of Communism caused and the chaos. The loss of an enormous amount of coaching talent, athletes emigrating (many of whose children now compete for other countries) and facilities being closed or becoming unusable. It's taking time to correct and the FHR could do a lot better in many respects but slowly but surely Russian hockey is recovering. The roots are far too deep for it to have been permanently damaged.

Russia as exactly 0 defensemen who would make Canada or Sweden. They have as much firepower and goaltending as anyone else, but that D would be average to slightly above average in the NHL. How do you compete with names like Doughty, Subban, Pietrangelo, Burns, Weber, Vlasic and Karlsson, OEL, Hedman, Klingberg, Ekholm, Lindholm? Provorov may be close to that level and Orlov is very good but after that?

 

[BCShark]

does anyone actually believe he feels this way

 

[tarheelhockey]

The most interesting thing to come out of this tournament is the first-person perspective it gives us on seeing the USSR celebrate its Olypmic gold medals in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

 

[JAS 39 Gripen]

Canadians grow up with the NHL, its no wonder that they think that the Stanley Cup matters the most. Russians (or Olympic athletes of Russia...) grew up (at least past older gens) idolizing the CCCP hockey team and their dominance in international hockey, they had no real ties, nor access to the NHL.

I tend to agree with an earlier post noting the corruption and other things that now goes hand in hand with the olympics, IIHF and other organizations. Its pretty much a given nowdays that medals are given out months later to someone b/c the guy/girl who won had used doping.

For Dats to say something like this about a tournament they shouldve won by a landslide, its either political or the things I listed above.

For me, though, Swedens gold in 2006 means more than if the Jets won a Stanley Cup. If I was a player, I think I would’ thought the other way around, especially if my team have a waaaaaaay superior team than the rest (like OAR).

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I get why Swedes value 2006 more than a Stanley Cup win...but 2006 was a legitimate best-on-best tournament where Sweden had to beat multiple high-end teams to win. I just don't find this win to be that much more impressive than a World Championship win, a tournament that I, as an American NHL fan, barely acknowledge.

 

[gwh]

I get why Swedes value 2006 more than a Stanley Cup win...but 2006 was a legitimate best-on-best tournament where Sweden had to beat multiple high-end teams to win. I just don't find this win to be that much more impressive than a World Championship win, a tournament I, as an American NHL fan, barely acknowledge.

So how much you value NLA or SHL league championship? Not that much perhaps..

 

[billybudd]

*shrugs*

He's a Russian guy who grew up in the Soviet Union. Of course Olympic Gold means more to him than the Stanley Cup.

 

[hairylikebear]

Posters in this thread are focused too much on the competition. I doubt Datsyuk cares whether or not this tournament proves he's the best, or that Russian hockey is the best. He won an Olympic Gold in hockey which is a HUGE deal to the Russian public, and he was the team captain at that.

We have to keep in mind that Russia has been starving for this medal since 1992. They don't care how they won it (as long as they didn't get caught cheating or anything), or that politics weakened their main opposition, they just care that they won it. And to Pavel, having that effect on his home country is worth more than the personal glory he achieved from winning the Cup.

I understand why so many people want to put an asterisk to this tournament, but let the man assign whatever meaning he wants to the events in his life.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

So how much you value NLA or SHL league championship? Not that much perhaps..

The topic says Stanley Cup, so I stuck with Stanley Cup.

But...c'mon...what's more impressive to a soccer fan/player: winning the Premier League or winning the Allsvenskan (or MLS or any number of leagues)? Obviously titles are to be celebrated, but one is more impressive than the other by sheer difficulty.

I'm not baffled that Datsyuk is happy, be happy, I'm just scoffing at the notion that a 2018 Gold means as much as, say, the 2006 Gold.