I totally agree with everything you've said here. Worrying about bringing more CHL'ers is completely missing the point. This group of players was having serious problems with the fundamentals of being a team. It doesn't matter what kind of experience you have against the players on the other team if you make a pass that's five feet behind the player you're passing to. There were countless plays where my jaw literally dropped. It's almost like I was watching the polar opposite version of the '10 team.
That's a bit contradictory there.
There wasn't a single Finnish CHL'er on the ice the other night. If anything, the NTDP kids have a lot more experience playing against (and beating) the Finnish players. That experience didn't really make a difference either way.
Personally, I'd like to see us succeed using our own system. The Russians (and the Swedes more recently) do a great job of using players from their own system to be an annual force at this tournament. Why can't we do it that way? We certainly have the resources at our disposal. Why should we be the only hockey country on Earth that can support an elite hockey development system yet rely on sending our players to another country's development system?
The NTDP was created because we weren't getting results using players who'd come through either NCAA or CHL hockey and had barely played together. It's certainly been very successful at the U18 level but if the NTDP can't solve the U20 tournament, what can? Maybe it's really more about improving development at the youth level like many have said over the years.
I respect a lot of things you say Cagney and you usually have great knowledge overall. I am not arguing with your views, but I will respond to your points to me because I think you are off a bit on some things...
you talked about it not being a CHL issue in your first post. I agree fundamentally things were off 110%.....you also state that we couldnt make a pass and the team looked polar opposite to the 2010 team. Again I agree 110%.....
But.......
IMO., that backs up all my CHL talk. We fundamentally looked bad because we simply didnt have the right players on the team. We couldnt make passes because we had less talented players on this team then what we could have had. This team did infact look polar opposite from the 2010 team because we had less CHL Americans on the squad as well.
All of your isues in your first post are my issues as well. We simply left so many of the right guys at home, that this team couldnt do the little things it needed to do imo. A guy like Shane Prince or Jared Knight can flat out pass the puck to anyone...they have proven and showed us ALL that the past 3 years. Those two players alone are gigantic upgrades over two of the kids we brought along, as both would have helped the flow of the game and both would have helped to create much more offense then what was created.
Same goes for Matt Nieto and Vincent Trocheck. Both of these kids are very capable passers that would have been upgrades in that department as well. Right off the bat you add those 4 kids in our lineup as well as Stefan Noesen, and I firmly believe that this team is fundamentally better, much more agressive, and much more creative as well.
So yes, imo the CHL Americans is still the HUGE issue here as those kids are big time upgrades over what we had.....and though I tried to put a smiley face on things when the team was announced, in my gut I did not like at least 4 of the forwards picked for this squad.....
I still believe in having a more balanced team like the 2010 squad is the way to go, and that having more CHL kids on this team is better for us overall. As many will know some of the players they will be going up against and that the pace of the game and the physicality of the CHL will prepare those kids better for the WJC. Not going to budge a single bit on this belief.
I still am not sure I follow your development ideas for USA Hockey. Are you saying to send just our USNDP team to the tourney every year? I cant imagine doing that regardless of the success they have at the u18 and u17 tournaments.
you talk about Sweden and Russia using their own development teams to help their WJC teams, but both of those countries are now losing more of their top end players to the CHL as well. Even Finland is losing some of their top players to the CHL. not sure I follow you on that one either.
I have no problems with the CHL, it is the most competitive league for its age group in the world, and continues to produce high level players. I dont look at the CHL as really developing players, many of the top kids already had those talents before going there. Pat Kane didnt need the CHL to be a stud, he already was. Nail Yakupov same thing. The CHL certainly helps players with its pro schedule and style of play, but I do not consider the CHL as really developing American kids.....and even if I did feel that, I wouldnt care less as that is an available path for those kids, we still will have many kids go through the USHL and on to the NCAA, so why not have both?
The problem is fairness and how our selection processes are usually full of issues year in and year out involving CHL Americans......especially non USNDP ones. You cant please everyone and people will always look to ***** at something, but how is it almost every year when selecting these teams, it is always the CHL Americans that are the ones on the cut list??? every time.
