Angry Little Elf
My wife came back
I don't understand, he was the captain of NJ at the time and was one of the best D-men of those years. Why was Stevens left off?
Sports Illustrated said:Gretzky mentioned that the selection committee came up with a list of six players (three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie) whom they would turn to in such situations but declined to mention the five position players on this list. Gretzky did acknowledge that Burke would be the choice in goal and Sportsnet.ca reports Calgary's Derek Morris, Ottawa's Wade Redden, Edmonton's Anson Carter, Philadelphia's Keith Primeau and Boston's Joe Thornton would be the other five choices.
In 1998 the Canadian team had a bunch of grinders and solid defense-first players--Rob Zamuner, Shayne Corson, Scott Stevens. It didn't go so well.
I don't understand, he was the captain of NJ at the time and was one of the best D-men of those years. Why was Stevens left off?
Looking at that roster, it really shows how disappointing the careers of Redden, Jovanovski and Brewer ended up being. They were supposed to be the next Neids, Pronger and Blake and other than some flashes here and there, they have been disappointments. Hopefully this next generation, with the likes of Subban, Doughty, Pieterangelo and Keith fare better long term.
Looking at that roster, it really shows how disappointing the careers of Redden, Jovanovski and Brewer ended up being. They were supposed to be the next Neids, Pronger and Blake and other than some flashes here and there, they have been disappointments. Hopefully this next generation, with the likes of Subban, Doughty, Pieterangelo and Keith fare better long term.
It was an amazing turn-around where the Canada went from 4-1-1 in 1998 (19 GF, 8 GA) to 4-1-1 in 2002 (22 GF, 14 GA).
It was an amazing turn-around where the Canada went from 4-1-1 in 1998 (19 GF, 8 GA) to 4-1-1 in 2002 (22 GF, 14 GA).
Ha, I don't think I'd ever realized those were the actual stat lines. Funny what the difference between an embarrassing national failure and a rousing success amounts to.
Team Canada 2002 improved with every game. Goal scoring was not a problem for them once they got their feet wet. In 1998 it was a problem.
Sports Illustrated said:The star and owner of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins was joined by defensemen Rob Blake of the Colorado Avalanche, Scott Niedermayer of the New Jersey Devils, Chris Pronger of the St. Louis Blues and forwards Paul Kariya of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Owen Nolan of the San Jose Sharks, Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche and Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings.
"There's always controversy in players selected," said Gretzky, the executive director of the Canadian national team. "We felt in selecting these eight players ... that these eight players will don the sweater and play extremely well for us and be a big part hopefully of bringing us a gold medal."
Among the toughest players to leave off the list was St. Louis defenseman Al MacInnis, Gretzky said.
Or maybe it has little to do with the exchange of Scott Stevens and company for Eric Brewer and a lot more to do with playing Belarus in the semifinals instead of the Czech Republic? Belarus let in 32 goals in the other five games they played in the 2002 tournament; the Czech Republic let in just 5 goals in their other five games in 1998. Canada in 1998 beat Belarus by a large margin in round robin play, and Canada in 2002 still couldn't beat the Czech Republic when they met them in round robin, so nothing really changed there except the order in which they played the teams. Still couldn't score more than two on Finland in 2002. Still beat the USA by a three-goal margin. Scored more on Sweden in 1998. Beat Kazakhstan in a blowout in 1998 but barely beat Germany in 2002.
Looking at that roster, it really shows how disappointing the careers of Redden, Jovanovski and Brewer ended up being. They were supposed to be the next Neids, Pronger and Blake and other than some flashes here and there, they have been disappointments.
I never really understood people's love affairs with Brewer (and Morris) at the time. A non-zero number of people around the game seemed to be under the impression they'd wake up one day and Brewer would have transformed into a meaner Raymond Bourque overnight.
It was so strange. I never saw anything from him that indicated this was even a remote possibility. Jovanovski, yeah. He very occasionally would show flashes of brilliance. But Brewer was sort of just a guy doing his job adequately and never looked capable of more than that, to me at least.
Brewer made the team because of Kevin Lowe's input only, Redden was clearly a notch ahead in 2001-2002.
Deserving players left off Olympic roster: [Final Edition]
LeBrun, Pierre. Kingston Whig - Standard [Kingston, Ont] 17 Dec 2001: 18.
Wayne Gretzky said Saturday that Team Canada had a list of six players ready to join the Olympic team in case of injury.
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Wade Redden of Ottawa and Derek Morris of Calgary are probably the two defencemen in question, with Scott Stevens of New Jersey an outside possibility, while Alex Tanguay of Colorado, Anson Carter of Edmonton and Mark Recchi of Philadelphia should be the three forwards.
...
lack of mobility
Stevens, 37, was a victim of age and his lack of mobility on the big ice. He wasn't great in Nagano in '98 so there was no reason to think he'd be better four years later.
He said he wasn't too disappointed.
"I had a great experience the last time," he said. "I'm just going to take the break and spend time with my family and get ready for the stretch drive. I'll be cheering for them."
Ominous rumblings at Olympic deadline: There's doubt that Canada will opt for youth, speed, skill: [Final Edition]
Willes, Ed. The Province [Vancouver, B.C] 14 Dec 2001: A73.
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While details are a little fuzzy, the intelligence circulating in hockey circles is that TC's front office suddenly is enamoured of a couple of proven veterans, and that a group of richly deserving youngsters are on the outside looking in. This group includes the Canucks' Ed Jovanovski.
If that's the case, the men entrusted with our national team learned nothing from '98.
"All things being equal, you go with experience," assistant general manager Kevin Lowe said at the Team Canada training session in Calgary in September.
And, if all things are equal, that's fine. But if you think Scott Stevens is a better player than Jovanovski, or Derek Morris or Eric Brewer at this stage, I'm not sure you should be picking our national team.
Again, this is far from a certainty, but the rumblings have it that Stevens, the sturdy plowhorse from New Jersey, has taken one of the two available blueline spots (Rob Blake, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger are in; Al MacInnis and Adam Foote are locks) on Team Canada.
Stevens, to be sure, is a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. He's also 37, struggled mightily in last year's Stanley Cup finals and has been exceedingly average this season on a slumping New Jersey side.
Olympic roster: Who and when?: [Final Edition]
Dowbiggin, Bruce. Calgary Herald [Calgary, Alta] 06 Dec 2001: F3.
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Based on their play early in the season, defencemen such as Scott Stevens, Jay McKee, Wade Redden, Richard Matvichuk and Ed Jovanovski will need some above them on the depth chart to be injured if they're to make the trip.
The Great One's team: [Final Edition]
LeBrun, Pierre. Daily Bulletin [Kimberley, B.C] 29 Jan 2002: 6 / FRONT.
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Gretzky wanted a team that blended youth and experience with the emphasis on speed and skill -- especially on defence.
Say hello to Brewer and Ed Jovanovski, a pair of young blue- liners who skate like the wind. Gretzky said goodbye to gritty veteran Scott Stevens, a player whose game didn't fit the mould of this Team Canada.
Gretzky passed over the NHL's all-time winningest coach in Scotty Bowman and picked Pat Quinn for his head coach because he thought Quinn would share his vision of a quick-transition team.
Works Cited
Dowbiggin, Bruce. "Olympic Roster: Who and when?" Calgary Herald: 0. Dec 06 2001. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 .
LeBrun, Pierre. "Deserving Players Left Off Olympic Roster." Kingston Whig - Standard: 18. Dec 17 2001. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 .
LeBrun, Pierre. "The Great One's Team." Daily Bulletin: 0. Jan 29 2002. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 .
Willes, Ed. "Ominous Rumblings at Olympic Deadline: There's Doubt that Canada Will Opt for Youth, Speed, Skill." The Province: 0. Dec 14 2001. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 .