William H Bonney
Registered User
Adam Fox is playing himself into lock status. What a year he's been having to follow up his impressive rookie campaign.
Olympics: Team USA 2022
- Thread starter JiggsNY
- Start date
William H Bonney
Registered User
Carlson. Columbus is a dumpster fire, but Jones hasn't been playing up to his standards for awhile.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
I hope he and Werenski rebound next season under what is likely to be a new coaching staff. We have a deep pool of d-men though so it won't be a disaster if one or both don't make it. I believe they will though.
So based on all of that, fill in the blanks on defense ?
Slavin - McAvoy
_____ - Fox
_____ - Carlson
Werenski - Jones
is Hughes still a lock ? McDonagh ? Suter ? Hanifin ? Lindgren ? Grzelcyk ? Krug ?
Slavin - McAvoy
_____ - Fox
_____ - Carlson
Werenski - Jones
is Hughes still a lock ? McDonagh ? Suter ? Hanifin ? Lindgren ? Grzelcyk ? Krug ?
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
I don't think Hughes is a lock but I think he has a very good chance of making it. I don't think he needs as much insulating as his rough stretch with the Canucks this year would seem to indicate. That wouldn't be an issue on the U.S. Olympic team anyway. Others that I think are under serious consideration would be guys like McDonagh, Pesce, Suter, Petry, Trouba, Marino, and Pionk.
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Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
You would play him with Slavin like he does on the Canes. Here's my defense:
Fox/Carlson
Slavin/Pesce
Werenski/Jones
McAvoy/Hughes
The only one out of position would be one of Fox/Carlson. I think they could make that work.
As a Nucks fan loving this lineup. If Demko plays like he has does he have a chance to usurp Helly?
Quinn averages less points on the PP than a guy like Cale. I know you hate him but he's a top pairing D at 21 who like the whole team had a rough start to the season defensively. He has been much better the last 21 games and provably hits another level next season.
Not gonna lie, will be cheering for team USA next year. Just an amazing group of young players and they could definitely be the best team in the Olympics.
I wonder in Josh Norris can squeak into the team if he continues to progress next season. The chemistry between him and Tkachuk is really good and hes pretty good defensively already.
I wonder in Josh Norris can squeak into the team if he continues to progress next season. The chemistry between him and Tkachuk is really good and hes pretty good defensively already.
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Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
I think he could, if he takes his game to a higher tier. I think that Eichel, Matthews, and Larkin will be three of the four best centers. And we have a lot of quality wingers, so I can't really see a center making it at winger. If Norris can jump over the rest of the centers besides those three, he could make the team.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Yeah, Norris is an interesting choice. I like him a lot as a player and he might be a better current fit than a guy like Hughes who is making progress but might not be ready for this level of competition. It's an expanded roster though so maybe there is room for both.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
J. Hughes is playing very well down the stretch and putting up the points. If he has a good off season and starts off well next season do you consider him for that third line center role and bump Larkin down to the 4th line? Pair him with a guy like B. Tkachuk and someone else that has strong goal scoring instincts (Jake Guentzel?) I've also noticed Gaudreau and M. Tkachuk playing together of late and playing well. Put them with someone like Matthews? Gaudreau could fill the Marner role and Tkachuk could be an amped up version of Hyman who usually plays on their line.
Like both lines a lot .... who would you have with Eichel ? Kane & Debrincat ?
Or maybe go:
Tkachuk - Matthews - Gaudreau
Guentzel - Eichel - Kane
Tkachuk - Hughes - Debrincat
____ - Larkin - ___
Or maybe go:
Tkachuk - Matthews - Gaudreau
Guentzel - Eichel - Kane
Tkachuk - Hughes - Debrincat
____ - Larkin - ___
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Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
I'd keep Kane and DeBrincat together. Not sure if they are a good fit with Eichel though as both he and Kane like to have the puck a lot. We have some good depth now so this is a tough exercise. Some very good players are going to be left off this team.
Agreed - fun to try and figure out the options .... how about this then:
Debrincat - Matthews - Kane
Gaudreau - Eichel - Tkachuk
Tkachuk - Hughes - Guentzel
____ - Larkin - ___
Debrincat - Matthews - Kane
Gaudreau - Eichel - Tkachuk
Tkachuk - Hughes - Guentzel
____ - Larkin - ___
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
I could see something like that. So many mane names to choose from. On that 4th line you could have Rust and Connor.
Sweet !
Debrincat - Matthews - Kane
Gaudreau - Eichel - Tkachuk
Tkachuk - Hughes - Guentzel
Connor - Larkin - Rust
... then maybe either Pavelski or Miller as the 13th Forward ... for position versatility, PK and faceoffs.
D we had ......
Slavin - Pesce
Werenski - Jones
Hughes - McAvoy
Fox - Carlson
Then in Goal; assume ....
Hellebuyck
Gibson
Demko
TEAM USA 2022 ... ha ha
Debrincat - Matthews - Kane
Gaudreau - Eichel - Tkachuk
Tkachuk - Hughes - Guentzel
Connor - Larkin - Rust
... then maybe either Pavelski or Miller as the 13th Forward ... for position versatility, PK and faceoffs.
D we had ......
Slavin - Pesce
Werenski - Jones
Hughes - McAvoy
Fox - Carlson
Then in Goal; assume ....
Hellebuyck
Gibson
Demko
TEAM USA 2022 ... ha ha
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
I think the roster size is 22 skaters and three goalies. That means they can go with 14 forwards and eight d-men. I think Pavelski will likely make it. He's still very good, can play in all situations and is very good on the PP. There's going to be a lot of debate about a good number of forwards. I don't see too many as pure locks.
even better ... I would then go either Coleman or Miller as my 14th Forward then ... adds some more PK, speed, versatility and chippiness
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
I like Coleman as a player but he doesn't belong anywhere near an Olympic team. Miller I could potentially see but he's a hot head who goes off the rails quite a bit.
KopitarFAN
Reno Sucks!
It's gonna suck if they don't participate in the Olympics and shoehorn in a tournament in September with a "Young stars" team again, taking guys like Fox, Q. Hughes and B. Tkachuk away as options.
It never made sense to me when they did that in 2016.
Let's face it. The NHL would love nothing more than the USA winning a best-on-best. That would be good for hockey's popularity in the USA, and consequently, good for the NHL's economics.
Having an "North American Under-23" team hurts the USA much more than it does Canada.
Canada has the depth to compensate for losing its top young players. The USA doesn't have the same type of depth.
All that Under-23 team did in 2016 is cost the USA a chance to use Matthews, Eichel, Gaudreau, etc. on Team USA.
