speeds
Registered User
Is Jessiman injured or something, just playing bad? Is US hockey just not a fan of him?
Seems kind of strange he wouldn't be selected, or is he too old?
Seems kind of strange he wouldn't be selected, or is he too old?
TMHUNH said:Something that has to be realized is that the US wasn't looking for who was better, they wanted kids who play well together, have played together, and can play certain roles. The majority of their picks played together at the WJC last year or were part of the USNTDP.
I say good for them...what is the use of having a "National Team Development Program" if you don't use it to produce your national team? It honors a designation that no doubt these kids wanted when they signed up for the USNTDP. USA is trying to build team chemistry instead of just putting an All-Star team out there and letting them try to fill the nets. Which I also might add is a similar strategy they used in the 1980 Olympics, but that is another whole situation , it won't be a miracle if the US wins, but I would definitely point to the strategic roster planning as the key, by the same token if they lose, alot of people will be wondering why the above mentioned players that are more talented were left off of the roster, so it is important that they perform well.
speeds said:Is Jessiman injured or something, just playing bad? Is US hockey just not a fan of him?
Seems kind of strange he wouldn't be selected, or is he too old?
FiveforFighting said:He's not to old. Draw your own conclusions about the rest.
FiveforFighting said:I understand what your saying but the puck does have to go in the net.
Also this is a tournament for the best players. everyone wants to see the best players perform and I'm sure that would be the case for you.
To pick role players in a tournament of this magnitude is a shame. Do you think Fans want to see a team playing the neutral zone trap at the junior level. What do you think this great tournament will turn into if it is won by a team that wins by using a trapping defense. Creative hockey is the best game going: win, lose, or draw it is what the fans want to see and pay to see. They do not want to see role players at an international junior allstar tournament.
TMHUNH said:No one said they were role players. Plenty of the players on the roster can score, the catch was most of them had to come from the U-18 team or last years WJC. So instead of taking "better" scorers like Schremp, Jessiman etc.. they took guys like Werner instead, but he is a scorer in his own right. The original argument was for Hennessy and he would be a role player anyway, so your point is pretty far fetched. The bottom line is... the USA likes to feed their roster from their "development team" instead of reaching for CHL guys like Schremp and Hennessy. For whatever reason.
TMHUNH said:No one said they were role players. Plenty of the players on the roster can score, the catch was most of them had to come from the U-18 team or last years WJC. So instead of taking "better" scorers like Schremp, Jessiman etc.. they took guys like Werner instead, but he is a scorer in his own right. The original argument was for Hennessy and he would be a role player anyway, so your point is pretty far fetched. The bottom line is... the USA likes to feed their roster from their "development team" instead of reaching for CHL guys like Schremp and Hennessy. For whatever reason.
FiveforFighting said:My point is fairly simple. Take the best players no matter what league or team they play for. Take the best players that deserve to go! The Fans deserve to see creative hockey. Keep politics out of the process. Simple!
FiveforFighting said:My point is fairly simple. Take the best players no matter what league or team they play for. Take the best players that deserve to go! The Fans deserve to see creative hockey. Keep politics out of the process. Simple!
jake1 said:Word out of Grand Forks, ND is that Drew Stafford, a forward with the University of North Dakota, will be making the trip with the US team. Whether that means a player on the US team is injured, or a player is perhaps not going to be released by his NHL team, I don't know. I guess we will know soon enough.
cagney said:It looks like Stafford will replace Dustin Brown who is still having problems with an injury...
USA Hockey
Personally, I would have taken Stafford over David Booth in the first place. Now with Brown being out, I think they need someone who can replace his offense. I doubt Stafford or Booth will be able to do that. Hopefully they don't end up having problems scoring because of these decisions.
This also makes me wonder a bit about the lines now. I figured they would have Brown with Zach Parise and Brady Murray. Now who plays with them? You could put Pat Eaves there but I'd rather keep him with O'Sullivan at this point as they've been dynamite together. Could Fritsche or Kesler end up in that RW spot? Or will they try to get Stafford on that line somehow (from what I understand, both Murray and Stafford are LW's)? Either way, they have to find someone who can really finish to play with Parise IMO.
I really don't have as much faith in the guys at USA Hockey as I'd like to have unfortunately. I'm beginning to worry that they might screw up one of the USA's best ever chances to win this thing.
Marshall said:So take a team that may have more skill, but less chemistry and teamwork so that the team can lose in a creative and appealing manner?
Take the best team. The best team is the team that has the best chance to win. I'd rather see a 'boring' 2 - 1 victory for the team I was rooting for (in this case, the US), than a 'creative' 5 - 4 loss.
Schremp got himself into this mess. I'd like to see what he could do, but understand and agree with the reasons why he was left off.