HFBoards Team Canada 2020: 3LW

Who SHOULD be Team Canada’s third line left wing?


  • Total voters
    87
  • Poll closed .

Dominance

99-66-4-9-87/97
Sep 30, 2017
7,844
12,337
The Land of Hockey
Tavares claimed the third line centre spot pretty convincingly. I like it, he’s a very well-rounded player who doesn’t really need a specific type of player to excel with. Who should be the third line left wing beside JT?

This series of polls is an exercise to collectively put together the best roster Canada could field if they were to play an international game on New Year’s Day.

The process for filling out the team as follows:

1. Fill the forwards, moving from centre to wing to wing, with remaining centres also eligible. A guy like Giroux might be best deployed higher up in the lineup on the wing; it is up to the voters to decide.
2. Fill the defense. All defenders will be available for each side. Up to the voters to determine the importance of correct handed-ness.
3. Fill the goaltenders.

If we receive a good amount of participation, I may continue to make a 2020 Team Canada B, Team USA, Team Scandinavia, Team Rest of World, and so on as demanded.

Here is the pool of players I will be working with. Open to suggestions (i.e. shifting Giroux to a winger group).

C: Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon, Bergeron, Tavares, Seguin, Duchene, O’Rielly, Point, Scheifele, Couturier, Giroux, Monahan, Couture, Stamkos, Johansen, Toews, Strome, Dubois, Barzal, Domi, Horvat, Nugent-Hopkins, Kadri, Schenn, Getzlaf, Athanasiou, E. Staal

LW: Marchand, Hall, Huberdeau, Benn, Skinner, Debrusk, Hoffman, Drouin, Kane, Schwartz

RW: Stone, Marner, Reinhart, Marchesseault, Mantha, Anderson, Gallagher, Bailey, Konecny, Smith, Wilson

LD: Giordano, Chabot, Morrissey, Keith, Girard, Theodore, Murray, Nurse, Matheson, Vlasic, Brodie, Chychrun, Sanheim, Dunn, Muzzin

RD: Burns, Doughty, Rielly, Spurgeon, Dumba, Letang, Pietrangelo, Pulock, Parayko, Weber, Subban, Ellis, Barrie, Ekblad, Hamilton, Montour, Makar, Savard, Severson

G: Price, Fleury, Murray, Holtby, Dubnyk, Hart, Binnington, Jones, Smith, Crawford, Blackwood

With that out of the way...who should be Canada’s third line left wing?

Hall - McDavid - MacKinnon
Marchand - Crosby - Bergeron
x - Tavares - x
x - x - x

x - x
x - x
x - x

x
x
 

Dominance

99-66-4-9-87/97
Sep 30, 2017
7,844
12,337
The Land of Hockey
This is by far the toughest decision yet, I think. Tons of excellent options; you can’t go wrong with any of them.

In the end, I went Huberdeau. Natural LW, super underrated offensive and defensive game, and he’s had incredible success with Barkov, who plays a similar game to that of Tavares.
 

Trap Jesus

Registered User
Feb 13, 2012
28,686
13,456
Maybe..

Point - Tavares - Marner

Marner is decent defensively, and Point is above average. Tavares is average.
It's just something Canada rarely does, they seem to like having more balance throughout their lineup. I guess the closest thing they had to that in 2016 was Tavares-Giroux-Stamkos.

The first line here is just something that strikes me that it would never happen. There's zero responsibility on that line it's just 3 high-flying players. I don't even think their offensive games complement one another all that well.
 
Last edited:

Dominance

99-66-4-9-87/97
Sep 30, 2017
7,844
12,337
The Land of Hockey
It's just something Canada rarely does, they seem to like having more balance throughout their lineup. I guess the closest thing they had to that in 2016 was Tavares-Giroux-Stamkos.

The first line here is just something that strikes me that it would never happen. There's zero responsibility on that line it's just 3 high-flying players. I don't even think their offensive games complement one another all that well.
McDavid and MacKinnon are both reasonably responsible defensively, and Hall is no slouch, either. Not sure what you’re going for here. It’s not like the other team would ever have the puck, anyhow, and the forecheck would be incredible.
 

Regal

Registered User
Mar 12, 2010
24,866
14,248
Vancouver
I'm kind of torn here. I think Stamkos should be on the team due to the PP and if he's not on the top 2 lines he only really makes sense here, but at the same time, Trap Jesus is right that there's a lack of elite defensive play for the 1st and 3rd line if that happens (assuming Marner is the RW here), though I'm not sure if Scheifele is the answer. I'm wondering if O'Reilly would be a good fit then as a do it all type for the line, as he's played a hybrid LW next to Duchene in the past. This would leave a potential Giroux-Couturier-Stone 4th line, which I like as it's very good defensively but Giroux adds more offense than someone like ROR.

The other option would be to use Stone as the RW here with Stamkos, then do a ROR-Couturier-Giroux/Marner line.

Then there's Point who would help with defense as well. Really tough calls here.
 

Merrrlin

Grab the 9 iron, Barry!
Jul 2, 2019
6,768
6,925
McDavid and MacKinnon are both reasonably responsible defensively, and Hall is no slouch, either. Not sure what you’re going for here. It’s not like the other team would ever have the puck, anyhow, and the forecheck would be incredible.

I imagine the 2nd line would be the matchup line. All 3 are good defensively, with the Boston duo being above average and exceptional. Bergeron could take the important faceoffs.

Then you would have an O'Rielly led 4th line that would be a true shutdown.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dominance

wetcoast

Registered User
Nov 20, 2018
22,506
10,298
Time to jam Scheifele awkwardly into this spot.

This could work but i went with,

This is by far the toughest decision yet, I think. Tons of excellent options; you can’t go wrong with any of them.

In the end, I went Huberdeau. Natural LW, super underrated offensive and defensive game, and he’s had incredible success with Barkov, who plays a similar game to that of Tavares.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad