USA WJC thread

[knights2005]

On behalf of Ducks fans and probably some OSA fans, thank you team USA, you have now lit a fire under Bobby's ***.

Even if someone did light a fire under his ***, he would probably just sit there and take it. Ryan does more talking than playing, which is odd because he hasn't accomplished anything in 3 years with OS. He is literally a man among boys in the O right now but he plays like the latter the majority of the time. With his size, he should be pulverizing defencemen on every forecheck and driving to the net with purpose. He certainly has the tools to be able to do these things, but I question whether he has the drive and whether he will ever have it. If he played with just a fraction of the passion that Steve Downie does for example, he would be unstoppable and probably with the Ducks right now. Perhaps he was given too much too soon with that 2nd overall pick, which isn't looking very good right now.

 

[FearTheFlyers]

with no ryan it seems this team does not have any egos or primadonnas on it, so i guess we'll see how that pans out.

Where the hell do people get this stuff from?


Seriously.

 

[xIsle]

Anyone knows who's the captain for team U.S.A.?

 

[St.Louis sports fan]

I was thinking the same thing.I thought he was damn good in the games i watched him in last year and that he was a regular pain in the *** to play against,like a less skilled Brian Gionta.He forechecked like a son of a ***** and was always buzzing around making life difficult for whoever had the puck and drawing penalties,just the kind of guy every team needs.

The U.S brass must have thought so too because he's back.When a guy is so small like that and stinks the joint out he isn't likely to get an invite back,they would just pick another option(and they sure as hell had them).

Can't see why any U.S fan would think he's a bad choice from what i saw of the guy last year.

My point was that at last years tourney he did not finish any of the chances he had. If the U.S is going to go anywhere he has to. Last year was my first chance to see Nate play and based on that he was just another player who skates around and accomplishes nothing. Having said that he has produced in past tournaments and at BC so I'm hoping I'm wrong. I will be rooting for him all of the way. This team is just not deep enough to carry another "sparkplug" who doesn't score. Maybe the Olympic-sized ice will help his game.

 

[espo*]

My point was that at last years tourney he did not finish any of the chances he had. If the U.S is going to go anywhere he has to. Last year was my first chance to see Nate play and based on that he was just another player who skates around and accomplishes nothing. Having said that he has produced in past tournaments and at BC so I'm hoping I'm wrong. I will be rooting for him all of the way. This team is just not deep enough to carry another "sparkplug" who doesn't score. Maybe the Olympic-sized ice will help his game.

Hmm,he looked fine to me.I guess he could score more but he was'nt there for that and with the talent they had he should'nt have had to be anything other then the type of player he was.

We'll see what happens this year i guess.

 

[petrklima85]

Anyone knows who's the captain for team U.S.A.?

I would be shocked if it wasn't one of the 2 Johnson's................my best guess would be JJ, this is his 3rd WJC. Hot headed a bit, but Chelios probably wouldn't have gone as far as he has if he didn't play with a similar attitude.

 

[Tim*]

Does anyone know if this will be on cable tv or TVU? I have Cablevision if that helps.

 

[bigd]

I would be shocked if it wasn't one of the 2 Johnson's................my best guess would be JJ, this is his 3rd WJC. Hot headed a bit, but Chelios probably wouldn't have gone as far as he has if he didn't play with a similar attitude.

JJ may be an alternate but Fraiser will be the Captain. You don`t just give the C to a player because of his draft status. That player has to truely be a team player willing to sacrifice body and sole for the betterment of the team. He doesn`t have to be the best player on the team but he should be the most respected!

 

[AnThGrt]

JJ may be an alternate but Fraiser will be the Captain. You don`t just give the C to a player because of his draft status. That player has to truely be a team player willing to sacrifice body and sole for the betterment of the team. He doesn`t have to be the best player on the team but he should be the most respected!

If you follow JJ you would know that that he is exactly what you just defined. JJ was suspended short while ago, because someone ran his goalie and he dropped then and beat the @#$% out of the person. I also believe there is quite some respect for a player who is going to be there for his third time around

 

[orangeandblack]

JJ may be an alternate but Fraiser will be the Captain. You don`t just give the C to a player because of his draft status. That player has to truely be a team player willing to sacrifice body and sole for the betterment of the team. He doesn`t have to be the best player on the team but he should be the most respected!

i agree fraser will probably be the captain, with mueller, ej, jj, or skille as alternate captains

 

[Gutchecktime]

The games might be webcast on www.tsn.ca At least the Canadian ones, but I would think they'd show a bunch of US ones too. They are pretty good with their coverage.

 

[BigT2002]

Gotta love them Minnesota boys lol

 

[bigd]

If you follow JJ you would know that that he is exactly what you just defined. JJ was suspended short while ago, because someone ran his goalie and he dropped then and beat the @#$% out of the person. I also believe there is quite some respect for a player who is going to be there for his third time around

That will get you respect from your teamates in a long college hockey season but in a short International tournament like the World Juniors that will get you suspended and cost your team a chance to medal! When the tournament is over you haven`t won anything including your teamates respect.

 

[Habsfan18]

I don't feel like searching the entire thread, so can somebody please tell me the roster?

Thanks.

 

[Spectacular_Bid]

If you follow JJ you would know that that he is exactly what you just defined. JJ was suspended short while ago, because someone ran his goalie and he dropped then and beat the @#$% out of the person. I also believe there is quite some respect for a player who is going to be there for his third time around

Jack Johnson did not make the team as an under-ager. This will be J. Johnson's second trip to the WJC's not his third.

 

[Spectacular_Bid]

i agree fraser will probably be the captain, with mueller, ej, jj, or skille as alternate captains

Brian Lee might wear a letter. He is the only three year guy on the team. On a seperate topic, how can Mueller wear #88? I thought that in international play you couldn't wear numbers higher than 30 something?

 

[Danny30]

Frankly, I don't think he's been much better at all. He just looks out of position all the time and just does not seem to be a very good goaltender even at the NCAA level. His save percentage has fallen a lot as well. He's OK, not exactly awful, but just middle of the road. I have a lot of question marks over him such as his ability to re-position himself after a shot, his work ethic, and some other things.

The best parts of Frazee's game are his ability to reposition himself after the shot, his flexibility / reaction time, and playing his angles. The things that worry me about him is his concentration and his confidence, which he has shown marked improvement on this year over last.

Frazee lost 20lbs over the summer, and even Lucia has mentioned how hard Frazee works in practice now. Last year was a different story. What you are saying is spot on with last year, but resemble nothing of his play, or style this year.