OT: IIHF World Championship 2015 (Red Wings players @ tournament)

[SimplySolace]

Interesting. He doesn't sound very interested in going back to Michigan. "It couldn't hurt." is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

That and the mention of "Maybe make Detroit" I found interesting

 

[ebis]

Tatar and Jurco played their 2nd game yesterday. Tats is OK though he needs to find his scoring touch. Jurco has been an absolute stud, one of the best Slovak players.

 

[TeemuS]

so lucky win for Slovakia and refs looool. That hit on Kopitar was 2min penalty, but no call and then goal for 1-1. Slovaks are bad. period.

 

[ebis]

so lucky win for Slovakia and refs looool. That hit on Kopitar was 2min penalty, but no call and then goal for 1-1. Slovaks are bad. period.

No it wasn't. Even Kopitar said in his post-game interview that it was a perfectly clean hit and that it was his mistake.

 

[TeemuS]

Dude, Slovakia couldn't beat small Slovenia fair, they needed refs helps. Thats just pathetic for such hockey nation as Slovakia. Remeber Sochi?

 

[ebis]

Dude, Slovakia couldn't beat small Slovenia fair, they needed refs helps. Thats just pathetic for such hockey nation as Slovakia. Remeber Sochi?

Calm down. I like Slovenia, the progress you've made in the past couple of years is amazing and you will become a top 10 team pretty soon. As for this year, I'm sure you will beat Norway and Denmark and stay in the elite division for good. I hope you also manage to steal some points from Finland and USA, you would help us a lot. Best of luck.

MOD

 

[WesNichols14]

Larkin looks good today. and is getting some praise on the gdt

 

[SimplySolace]

Larkin seems to be struggling with faceoffs in this tournament, maybe it's just me.

 

[WesNichols14]

my only confusion is that if he is a 4th liner then why didn't he play 4th line minutes?

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Larkin almost scored a BEAUTY.

 

[TheBabcockScowl]

Larkin almost scored a BEAUTY.

Stepping his game up since Holland and Babs are there to watch him

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Larkin had a good first period. Could probably use a little more patience, though. He had a few odd angle chances where he would have been better served hanging onto the puck.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Larkin looks really good. No surprise at this point.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Larkin seems to be struggling with faceoffs in this tournament, maybe it's just me.

I believe that there are different faceoff rules in international play. I am not sure if that is an excuse or not.

 

[TheBabcockScowl]

Larkin seems to be struggling with faceoffs in this tournament, maybe it's just me.

I don't think so, I actually think the opposite. In fact, on the final faceoff - up 1 to 0 and in their defensive zone - USA's coach had Larkin out there just to take the faceoff (he came off the ice the first chance he got)

 

[jcbio11]

Tatar has been weak. Just doesn't have it.

Jurco's been one of the better players.

 

[detredWINgs]

Tatar has been weak. Just doesn't have it.

Jurco's been one of the better players.

Tatar doesn't really have a chip on his shoulder right now. This isn't surprising.

 

[Chex LeMeneux]

Tatar has been weak. Just doesn't have it.

Jurco's been one of the better players.

I had heard Jurco has been fairly mediocre as well, so this is nice to hear.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Tatar doesn't really have a chip on his shoulder right now. This isn't surprising.

He was really good for Slovakia last time (the Olympics?). Played with a lot of fire. So it should be a little bit surprising.

 

[joe89]

I don't think so, I actually think the opposite. In fact, on the final faceoff - up 1 to 0 and in their defensive zone - USA's coach had Larkin out there just to take the faceoff (he came off the ice the first chance he got)

He's not in the tournament top30, don't know where to find stats beyond that. Arcobello is top10 for the tournament, only American on the list. #30 has 52%.

 

[detredWINgs]

He was really good for Slovakia last time (the Olympics?). Played with a lot of fire. So it should be a little bit surprising.

Theres a pretty big difference between playing in the Olympics in the midst of your rookie season where your coach had you as a healthy scratch and on a short leash versus coming off a season where you established yourself as an NHL goal scorer and go-to presence playing in the World Championships which most NHL players worth a damn eschew in favor of golfing and drinking.

Jurco should be using this time to re-establish himself. Tatar can take it or leave it.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Larkin needs to improve his finishing ability/shot. So many chances, just hasn't been able to cash in very often.

Tatar still isn't the waterbug he was. Wonder if its fatigue.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Larkin needs to improve his finishing ability/shot. So many chances, just hasn't been able to cash in very often.

Yeah. I thought this game showed his limitations right now. He's got NHL skating, defense, and hockey sense, but his offense is not ready yet. His puck protection in traffic still needs work. He doesn't get open to shoot nearly enough, and when he does, his mechanics don't always seem quite right. In general, I thought he rushed the play a little too much today. He had some wonderful passes, and I think that continues to be his best element offensively, but he could have done even better.

So, he's got all of that going on with his game. But then it hits you: he's not even 19 yet. He just needs to work on this stuff. It's not like he has fundamentally bad hands or a lack of creativity or something. It's just that he needs a chance to develop. and the more I watch him, the more I think that going to Grand Rapids next year would be a mistake for him, because he would immediately take on a huge defensive role, but probably wouldn't play a big offensive role right away. and that would be the wrong kind of developmental work for him this early on. There will be time for that next year, or maybe even the year after.

So that's why I think he should go back to Michigan.

 

[SimplySolace]

Larkin looking good on the PK against Russia's superstars

 

[Boomhower]

Yeah Larkin looked pretty strong against the Russians today. He played a lot of minutes.

He was mostly just straight line speed, immediately followed by a hard shot though. There doesn't appear to be much offensive creativity at this level. He also struggled with turnovers in the 3rd period.

But I'm sure that will come as he grows more experienced at the higher levels, because there is no doubt he was a noticeable cog... which is the main thing, even if he was a little rough around the edges.