Hypothetical: Who WOULD have the better team if Crosby and Brule were playing?

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joe_shannon_1983*

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Unlike last years tournament, this years tournament doesn't have players playing in it who would normally be in the NHL. I, for one, think this is unfortunate since not every team is the best it could possibly be. Due to this, the winner this year won't have the "undisputed aura" that last years winner did.

It is pretty much assumed by most that the U.S.A. has the best team on paper this year. But I wonder if things would be different if a team like Canada had of been able to use Crosby and Brule this year.

So the question is simple: If Canada had Crosby and Brule on their roster, would they have the best team on paper? Or would the title of "best team on paper" still go to the U.S.A.?

I must note that I mean no harm by this thread, and I hope that this thread doesn't turn into a flame-war. This is completely hypothetical. So lets try to keep things clean.

I am just wondering who would have the better team if all things were completely equal, like they were last year.

I personally think that is it very hard to say. Crosby and Brule are two very good players, but they still are only two players, and U.S.A. still probably has a depth advantage.

I think it is very hard to say. What do you think? And remember, this is completely hypotehtical, so try not to turn this into a flame-war.
 
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Fripp

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I think Brule getting the MVP in the prospects game last year and Crosby leading the Memorial Cup in scoring answer that. Not unbeatable, but certainly the favored team.
 

Transported Upstater

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Crosby's too good for this tournament anyways. IMO, guys averaging a PPG in the NHL have no need for playing exclusively against their own age group when they gain more experience by playing the best in the world every game.
 

McGuillicuddy

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TransportedUpstater said:
Crosby's too good for this tournament anyways. IMO, guys averaging a PPG in the NHL have no need for playing exclusively against their own age group when they gain more experience by playing the best in the world every game.

That's probably true, it's just too bad that the U20 tournament is never a tournament of the best junior-aged players in the world. Rather, it is a tournament of the best junior-aged players in the world who are not good enough to play in the NHL. I think this hurts Canada more than any other country, and puts us at a slight disadvantage.
 

Steve466

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Everyone talks about Brule like he would be a guarantee if he weren't injured. As I recall, Brent Sutter was not at all impressed with him during the summer eval camp. I like Brule and all, but he would've had to fight his way onto this team like the rest.
 

monster_bertuzzi

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Steve466 said:
Everyone talks about Brule like he would be a guarantee if he weren't injured. As I recall, Brent Sutter was not at all impressed with him during the summer eval camp. I like Brule and all, but he would've had to fight his way onto this team like the rest.

Buddy, well first of all if they were lucky enough Columbus would let him go - he was about a slam dunk to make that squad.
 

Steve466

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monster_bertuzzi said:
Buddy, well first of all if they were lucky enough Columbus would let him go - he was about a slam dunk to make that squad.
Buddy, well all I said was that Sutter wasn't high on him and he would've had to fight to make the team like everyone else. What about that is wrong?
 

Transported Upstater

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Steve466 said:
Buddy, well all I said was that Sutter wasn't high on him and he would've had to fight to make the team like everyone else. What about that is wrong?



If Sutter wouldn't put a healthy Brule on this team, he's a moron. Period. I don't care about his infatuation with certain players; Brule would be arguably the best player on the team. There would be NO excuse, no matter what Sutter could say, for Brule not to be on the team if he was healthy and available.
 

surixon

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TransportedUpstater said:
If Sutter wouldn't put a healthy Brule on this team, he's a moron. Period. I don't care about his infatuation with certain players; Brule would be arguably the best player on the team. There would be NO excuse, no matter what Sutter could say, for Brule not to be on the team if he was healthy and available.
Agreed, plus when healthy Brule has contributed on c-bus and has arguably been one of their better players at 18, it's too bad hes having some bad luck with the injuries this year, but that will all change as he matures and gets stronger physicaly.
 

Cole Caulifield

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McGuillicuddy said:
That's probably true, it's just too bad that the U20 tournament is never a tournament of the best junior-aged players in the world. Rather, it is a tournament of the best junior-aged players in the world who are not good enough to play in the NHL. I think this hurts Canada more than any other country, and puts us at a slight disadvantage.

It gives chances to lesser players to get valuable experience playing with the best and against the best. While we never really ice the strongest line up possible, it helps develop more good NHLers.
 

Form and Substance

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Even with the addition of Brule alone, I'd give us a slight edge but a a very slight one. If you top that with Crosby then yes there's no way we lose this tourney.
 

sunb

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Crosby may be one of the best players the WJC would have ever seen if he were to play. Put him on line with Brule and Toews and they may challenge (although unlikely to match) the fabled Naslund - Forsberg - Sundstrom and Bure - Fedorov - Mogilny lines.
 

gbl1p

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Crosby would dominate this tournament, he has shown the ability as an 18 yr old to jump into the top line and play ppg in the big show. Maybe Pittsburgh will let him play his last year as a 19 yr old next year :sarcasm:
 

coppernblue

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crosby would have dominated this tournement offensively, while brule would score at will along with being able to play REALLY physically
 

67Cup

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It would be very, very close with Crosby and Brule playing for Canada. I would still pick the US narrowly because they would be the more balanced team and I'm not sold on Pogge for Canada. Crosby would be absolutely dominating though.

This is almost exactly backwards in my opinion. The US is favoured over Canada, as it should be, not because it is more balanced. (Canada has more first rounders, if I count correctly and they are spread through various positions on the team.) The US is favoured because it has High end, offensive difference makers like Kessel and Ryan. Canada may have some difference makers, Cogliano perhaps, but right now nobody knows for sure who they are. Crosby and Brule would supply precisely what the Canadian team seems to lack at present.

In a short tournament anything can happen, particularly in a hypothetical tournament. :) But with Crosby and Brule or even Crosby alone, the odds would shift in favour of Canada in my opinion.

"Not sold on Pogge?" Because he wasn't a number one draft choice? lots of great goalies are not first rounders. Some of them, eg. Joseph and Belfour, aren't even drafted. What can be said is this: Pogge has developed very nicely through his Junior career and this year has produced the best overall goaltending record in the CHL, hands down. Nobody knows how he, or anybody, will produce until the puck is dropped but the track record suggests he will do very well.
 

Injektilo

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Steve466 said:
Everyone talks about Brule like he would be a guarantee if he weren't injured. As I recall, Brent Sutter was not at all impressed with him during the summer eval camp. I like Brule and all, but he would've had to fight his way onto this team like the rest.


This guy's got a point actually, Wolski played 9 games in Colorado (hasn't Brule only played like 7 total for Columbus?) and got 6 points, and didn't even get an invite to camp. Just because you played in the NHL doesn't mean you're guarenteed to make the WJC team.




Watching Crosby play in a tournament like this would be something special. He might be so good that he'd be dragged down by his teammates even, I don't think that anyone on the current team is as good as Patrice Bergeron was last year.
 

67Cup

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Injektilo said:
This guy's got a point actually, Wolski played 9 games in Colorado (hasn't Brule only played like 7 total for Columbus?) and got 6 points, and didn't even get an invite to camp. Just because you played in the NHL doesn't mean you're guarenteed to make the WJC team.




Watching Crosby play in a tournament like this would be something special. He might be so good that he'd be dragged down by his teammates even, I don't think that anyone on the current team is as good as Patrice Bergeron was last year.

Agreed that Brule's NHL careeer doesn't tell us much at all. But we do know that Brule was a dominant, high end offensive talent in Junior and this is a Junior tournament. It's reasonable to suppose, on that basis alone, that Brule would have made and contributed to Canada's Junior team...hypothetically speaking of course.
 

Injektilo

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67Cup said:
Agreed that Brule's NHL careeer doesn't tell us much at all. But we do know that Brule was a dominant, high end offensive talent in Junior and this is a Junior tournament. It's reasonable to suppose, on that basis alone, that Brule would have made and contributed to Canada's Junior team...hypothetically speaking of course.


Yeah, I think it's pretty safe to say that Brule would have made the team were he available. But looking at Wolski's case, I don't think anyone can guarentee that eh would have made it. Crosby on the other, you can pretty much bet your life savings and all your children that he'd make the team.
 

monster_bertuzzi

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Injektilo said:
This guy's got a point actually, Wolski played 9 games in Colorado (hasn't Brule only played like 7 total for Columbus?) and got 6 points, and didn't even get an invite to camp. Just because you played in the NHL doesn't mean you're guarenteed to make the WJC team.

Wolski is no Brule IMO.
 
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