WHC 2015 - Prague/Ostrava

[Stizzle]

I thought Couts really played like a star player in this tournament.

Indeed... **** you, Berube.

 

[phil162888]

I thought Couts really played like a star player in this tournament.

G and Couts were great today! Couts was one of the best forwards in the first period

 

[Harold Bingo]

Screw ROR, Flyers need this guy.

 

[Beef Invictus]

G and Couts were great today! Couts was one of the best forwards in the first period

**** you Berube

 

[Blooger Tron]

Screw ROR, Flyers need this guy.

Nah I don't need to see Giroux naked anymore.

Those hashtags from Giroux are pretty funny.

 

[CodyTheHuman]

I love Giroux. I can't wait to see him win a cup

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Kovalchuk is a loser, not surprised he took his ball & went home.

 

[PALE PWNR]

https://twitter.com/HockeyDrunk/status/600113708916957184

I thought it was Voracek at first with that greasy neck beard

 

[kudymen]

So to finish the tournament:

Giroux: 10GP, 3G, 7A, 10P, +11. (Canada's de facto 1C, Canada's best Forward, Best player in Final, 2nd amongst all tournament forwards in +/-.)

Couturier: 10GP 3G, 4A, 7P, +13. (Led all tournament forwards in +/-.)

Voracek: 10GP, 3G, 7A, 10P, +0.

Raffl: 7GP, 1G, 2A, 3P, -2. (led Austria in points, Forward TOI and +/-.)

Schenn: 2GP, 1G, 0A, 1P, +4.

Streit: 8GP, 0G, 2A, 2P, -5.

Lauridsen: 7GP, 0G, 1A, 1P, -5.

I believe it has also been said yesterday that Couturier has finished the whole tournament without having any goal against scored at 5 on 5, if it stayed like this its even more impressive

 

[Stizzle]

i believe it has also been said yesterday that couturier has finished the whole tournament without having any goal against scored at 5 on 5, if it stayed like this its even more impressive

He also lead the team in plus/minus...

 

[OriginJM]

coots is such a monster. what a pick.

 

[Van Buren Boy]

Actually he didn't end with the best +/- on the team. Jake Muzzin was a +14.

Also impressive was that G was going against the other team's #1 line and was a +11 with only one even strength goal against.

 

[GKJ]

Maybe there's a schism between NHL Russians and KHL Russians. KHLers "love their country more" or something.

There always was, in some fashion. Before the Vancouver Olympics there was that schism between the Malkin people and the Ovechkin people and Kovalchuk was supposedly the conduit between the two keeping them together. Looks like Malkin is one of the ones who stayed out there with Ovechkin. How times change!

Looks like the other guys standing there with Ovechkin and Malkin are Dadonov, Tihkonov, and Kulikov.

 

[Beef Invictus]

The Russian program just seems to be a total gongshow. Like how they tried to tie the whole Ukraine/West mess into things right before their team lost to the US. Why even do that?

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

The Russian program just seems to be a total gongshow. Like how they tried to tie the whole Ukraine/West mess into things right before their team lost to the US. Why even do that?

On the ice they really need to overhaul their development for defensemen. They are so far behind Canada, USA, & Sweden in that regard.

I think a problem is that they pigeon hole their players at a young age into a certain role. I know Zadorov left to come over Canada because he was unhappy with the way he was being developed. He felt they weren't giving him enough of chance to be an offensive player.

 

[Beef Invictus]

On the ice they really need to overhaul their development for defensemen. They are so far behind Canada, USA, & Sweden in that regard.

I think a problem is that they pigeon hole their players at a young age into a certain role. I know Zadorov left to come over Canada because he was unhappy with the way he was being developed. He felt they weren't giving him enough of chance to be an offensive player.

Yes, the lack of D talent coming from Russia is pretty strange. They have plenty of offensive talent. they have plenty of guys who can play hockey.


I would theorize that their youth development isn't as structured and system-oriented as NA development. We can see the results in the number of highly creative skilled forwards who seem confused on defense. While such development seems to have benefits for flashy offense, I can't imagine it being a good way to produce reliable defensemen unless they're pure naturals.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Yes, the lack of D talent coming from Russia is pretty strange. They have plenty of offensive talent. they have plenty of guys who can play hockey.


I would theorize that their youth development isn't as structured and system-oriented as NA development. We can see the results in the number of highly creative skilled forwards who seem confused on defense. While such development seems to have benefits for flashy offense, I can't imagine it being a good way to produce reliable defensemen unless they're pure naturals.

It's pretty bad. They don't really have quality or quantity. The countries I mentioned that are well ahead of them have secondary options that are better than Russia's first options.

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

Debate the topic, not the poster.

 

[Curufinwe]

I'll just put the picture back up.

 

[Striiker]

Debate the topic, not the poster.

Booooooo boooooo HC booooo rules booooo

 

[Jtown]

Coots could score a 100 pts in prague. It doesn't matter. That has no impact at the nhl. We have already seen him go through huge point droughts during his career. He had what two defelction goals and 1 rebound goal? Is that really enough for us to annoint him as a scorer at the nhl level?

 

[Curufinwe]

What Couturier showed at the world champs is how dangerous he can be offensively using his body down low and getting to the net. He doesn't need to score 25 goals to be good offensively when he can protect the puck and make passes to open teammates like that Ekblad goal.

 

[Jtown]

What Couturier showed at the world champs is how dangerous he can be offensively using his body down low and getting to the net. He doesn't need to score 25 goals to be good offensively when he can protect the puck and make passes to open teammates like that Ekblad goal.

Where was that during that 40 game stretch where he had 10 points? Btw find me another center in the league who got as much even strength ice time as him and had a similar stretch.

 

[Striiker]

Couts scoring at the WC is a good sign because it showed he could keep up with an allstar team and be relied on as one of their most important players. He was his usual awesome defensive self, but he was also part of a dangerous line that routinely kept their opponent pinned in their zone, even against the better teams.

This is more of a good sign of him moving in a positive direction than a prediction of his play next year. We're not expecting .7 ppg play, but he's improving, which is what's important.

 

[Jack de la Hoya]

A bounce-back year by Read will also improve Courturier's production. How many points did he lose last year because Read just couldn't finish high-quality chances at his normal clip?