OT: Winter Olympics 2014

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The Zetterberg Era

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Figured we should have an area to discuss this, obviously we can talk about the Wings players going or just general discussion of the various nations. The preliminary US Roster was released today as many of us know Howard included to the surprise of many.

Just think we should have a thread, might be more important for February but why not have a thread dedicated to discussing it.
 

SoupNazi

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I am looking forward to the rest of the rosters being announced over the next week.
 

The Zetterberg Era

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Not in love with the Orpik inclusion, but he does have a specific role. Completely agree with Yandle being left at home, I don't have him in my top 10 in terms of guys I want to bring defensively when looking at roles and the quality of competition I expect them to encounter.

Howard as #3 is based on his track record, interesting to note he was #2 entering this year.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/10195703/how-us-hockey-team-bound-sochi-olympics-was-named

Fascinating but long read for those interested a lot of it centers on Bobby Ryan, Jimmy Howard, Jack Johnson and Keith Yandle.

I think Saad and Jack Johnson are the first injury replacements for Team USA.
 

Frk It

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Was just about to make this thread, but not mad that you beat me to it TZE.

As far as Team USA goes...

Not a fan of both Orpik and Paul Martin being named to Team USA. Would have much preferred Yandle and Jack Johnson over those two. On big ice I like the idea of having a guy like Yandle.

Bobby Ryan being left off for the forwards is a head-scratcher to me. Would prefer him over Pacioretty personally, and I actually like Max quite a bit.

I saw a lot of people griping about Wheeler being named to the team, but I like it, I think he is one of the most underrated wingers in the league.
 

Heaton

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Was just about to make this thread, but not mad that you beat me to it TZE.

As far as Team USA goes...

Not a fan of both Orpik and Paul Martin being named to Team USA. Would have much preferred Yandle and Jack Johnson over those two. On big ice I like the idea of having a guy like Yandle.

Bobby Ryan being left off for the forwards is a head-scratcher to me. Would prefer him over Pacioretty personally, and I actually like Max quite a bit.

I saw a lot of people griping about Wheeler being named to the team, but I like it, I think he is one of the most underrated wingers in the league.

I disagree. While I like Ryan and would like him on the Wings - I don't think he's a guy that you take to the Olympics, I think he shies away at bad times. I think there's a big reason why the Ducks tried to trade him for a few years and why he was given up for less than you would think a young, right handed, 30+ goal scorer would fetch.

I like the team very much and think they'll give a lot of teams fits. They can skate and hit.
 

The Zetterberg Era

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Was just about to make this thread, but not mad that you beat me to it TZE.

As far as Team USA goes...

Not a fan of both Orpik and Paul Martin being named to Team USA. Would have much preferred Yandle and Jack Johnson over those two. On big ice I like the idea of having a guy like Yandle.

Bobby Ryan being left off for the forwards is a head-scratcher to me. Would prefer him over Pacioretty personally, and I actually like Max quite a bit.

I saw a lot of people griping about Wheeler being named to the team, but I like it, I think he is one of the most underrated wingers in the league.

Martin had the one bad year in Pittsburgh outside of that he has been very good. They are going to pair him with Suter as the #1 pairing the fact he can play both left and right side is also huge.

I don't like Yandle at all, especially for this tournament and with the emergence of Cam Fowler. Yandle has to play on the left side and he is weak defensively. The gain he gives them on the PP isn't enough for me.

Ryan and Yandle were both omitted for problems in their game that have long been known. The qualities they bring were not deemed enough.

Jack Johnson for me is the first in line should an injury happen.
 

RedWingsNow*

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How many were in the program? I believe Parise, JVR, Howard....
 

Frk It

Mo Seider Less Problems
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I disagree. While I like Ryan and would like him on the Wings - I don't think he's a guy that you take to the Olympics, I think he shies away at bad times. I think there's a big reason why the Ducks tried to trade him for a few years and why he was given up for less than you would think a young, right handed, 30+ goal scorer would fetch.

I like the team very much and think they'll give a lot of teams fits. They can skate and hit.

Fair enough.

I still like the team overall, those were just two small gripes I had. I can understand leaving Ryan off the team, at the expense of certain players, I just don't know if Pacioretty would be a guy I'd do it for. Just my opinion there.

I like the team very much and think they'll give a lot of teams fits. They can skate and hit

Agreed. This is my favorite thing about Team USA. They were absolutely beastly on the forecheck in 2010. If only we had better centers!
 
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Frk It

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Martin had the one bad year in Pittsburgh outside of that he has been very good. They are going to pair him with Suter as the #1 pairing the fact he can play both left and right side is also huge.

I don't like Yandle at all, especially for this tournament and with the emergence of Cam Fowler. Yandle has to play on the left side and he is weak defensively. The gain he gives them on the PP isn't enough for me.

Ryan and Yandle were both omitted for problems in their game that have long been known. The qualities they bring were not deemed enough.

Jack Johnson for me is the first in line should an injury happen.

Martin is a good player, but top pairing defenseman in the Olympics? Not a huge fan of that move.

With Yandle, I disagree with you. Again, remember, this tournament isn't being played on NA ice. I think a lot of Yandle's flaws would be minimized on the big ice, and I think he could have an impact similar to Rafalski in 2010 if he was given a shot. Yandle has been top 5 in D-scoring for what, like the last 5 years? The guy knows how to create offense.

But all in all I do like the team, and I'll trust the guys responsible for picking it.

Any ideas of how the lines will shake out?
 

The Zetterberg Era

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Martin is a good player, but top pairing defenseman in the Olympics? Not a huge fan of that move.

With Yandle, I disagree with you. Again, remember, this tournament isn't being played on NA ice. I think a lot of Yandle's flaws would be minimized on the big ice, and I think he could have an impact similar to Rafalski in 2010 if he was given a shot. Yandle has been top 5 in D-scoring for what, like the last 5 years? The guy knows how to create offense.

But all in all I do like the team, and I'll trust the guys responsible for picking it.

Any ideas of how the lines will shake out?

If we were Team Canada I would agree, but Yandle is a disaster in his own zone. We need to play well across all three zones and within a structure to be successful. Remember our two playoff series with him, the Wings made no secret they thought he was their worst defensive D-man and attacked him at every single possible point. Yandle is not physical, cannot check top opponents (this is the biggest for me), cannot pk, and cannot play on the right side. That is a lot of strikes, what he brings wasn't enough to knock off his many slights.

Erik Johnson or Jack Johnson I will listen to arguments on, but Yandle's role especially with the coaching staff preferring Pavelski on one of the PP points is not necessary and should one of the bigger guns go down to injury just carrying him as a PP specialist is asking for it.
 

Vladdy84

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Dec 1, 2011
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Do you guys think Miller will be the primary starter since Quick has struggled lately?

I'd be curios to know if Dekeyser was considered at all for the team.
 

Kyleftlx

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May 9, 2010
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Do you guys think Miller will be the primary starter since Quick has struggled lately?

I'd be curios to know if Dekeyser was considered at all for the team.

If you read the article, it says that Dekeyser was one of the lower tier guys that were on the "bubble". There were quite a few "bubble" players, though. While he was on the bubble, there were guys like Erik Johnson who were on the entire other side of the whiteboard, who basically weren't even looked at as a real threat to make the team at the start of the evaluations.

Dekeyser's knocks were that he's young and inexperienced on such a big stage... there's not much else against him. He promptly got injured and USA basically erased his name from the board entirely as a result of it. It basically says he's not ready *yet*.
 

The Zetterberg Era

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Fair enough.

I still like the team overall, those were just two small gripes I had. I can understand leaving Ryan off the team, at the expense of certain players, I just don't know if Pacioretty would be a guy I'd do it for. Just my opinion there.



Agreed. This is my favorite thing about Team USA. They were absolutely beastly on the forecheck in 2010. If only we had better centers!

Patches is more versatile and has better foot speed, he can play up and down the lineup. Interesting that the USA management and coaches basically all saw Ryan as a Top 6 or bust type player and he quite clearly busted there.

Oddly enough I think the Wings played a huge part in the fate of Yandle and Ryan as their poor performances in the playoffs in particular against us were probably a big factor. Yandle even put up points while being used by us to lose the game, kind of why I don't care about his point production. If he could play both sides he would be more attractive though and he needs to be just a little better defensively. If we want to take a defensive liability PP type, Big Buff is probably a better option anyway.

By the way the advantages we assume Yandle will bring on open ice (yeah assume we have seen six games of it and he struggled at his lone World Championship) carry with them the reverse element as well. There is more room to catch him up ice, more room to expose him defensively, that should be looked at as well.
 

SoupNazi

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Feb 6, 2010
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Do you guys think Miller will be the primary starter since Quick has struggled lately?

I'd be curios to know if Dekeyser was considered at all for the team.

I do think Miller will be the starter.

If Dekeyser keeps improving I do see him getting some serious consideration in 2018.
 

The Zetterberg Era

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Do you guys think Miller will be the primary starter since Quick has struggled lately?

I'd be curios to know if Dekeyser was considered at all for the team.

Already partly answered, but Quick is still their #1 starter right now even with the injury at least that is their plan as of today.
 

Frk It

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Patches is more versatile and has better foot speed, he can play up and down the lineup. Interesting that the USA management and coaches basically all saw Ryan as a Top 6 or bust type player and he quite clearly busted there.

Pacioretty is a more versatile player than Ryan, for sure. But Ryan is more talented

Kind of depends who the top 6 wingers are. Kane, Kessel, Parise, and who is the 4th?

I think Ryan could have been a good upgrade over that 4th winger.

Also seems kind of redundant having JVR, Max, and Wheeler.
 

The Zetterberg Era

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How many were in the program? I believe Parise, JVR, Howard....

A huge chunk of this team played in the USMNTDP or spent time there in the case of Parise, not always thought of in the truest sense of how they do it.

Howard
Fowler
Faulk (even from Minnesota)
Shattenkirk
Suter
Kesler
Kane
Kessel
Parise
JVR

A lot of the Minnesota guys didn't go through this system and I am pretty sure a couple of guys are actually just old enough it wasn't around or was newly forming so not really what it represents today. What I find interesting is the number of guys with USHL seasons on this team, there are quite a few. But bless Don Cherry if we win they will have all been developed in Canada.
 

The Zetterberg Era

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Pacioretty is a more versatile player than Ryan, for sure. But Ryan is more talented

Kind of depends who the top 6 wingers are. Kane, Kessel, Parise, and who is the 4th?

I think Ryan could have been a good upgrade over that 4th winger.

Also seems kind of redundant having JVR, Max, and Wheeler.

My guess is they bought into JVR and Kessel on the same line. So that would answer that and it seems to follow that logic when you read through the Burnside article. He was in the discussion with all those guys, but disappeared pretty quickly.

You could tell a couple months in they thought they needed to be faster, they weren't slow but they wanted to be even quicker, that was a tough blow for Ryan. A massive gain for Wheeler, who is massive and has incredible wheels making his placement on any line not an issue.
 

Frk It

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My guess is they bought into JVR and Kessel on the same line. So that would answer that and it seems to follow that logic when you read through the Burnside article. He was in the discussion with all those guys, but disappeared pretty quickly.

You could tell a couple months in they thought they needed to be faster, they weren't slow but they wanted to be even quicker, that was a tough blow for Ryan.

Ahh, never heard of the part about team speed. That would certainly make sense.

As Heaton pointed out, great thing about this team is that it is big, strong, and mobile. Physically we should be able to impose our will on teams. I love watching the big guys go after people (Backes, Brown)

What do you think the line-up will look like?
 

odin1981

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Suprised that pavelski didn't make it from what I gather. Not like usa is loaded with talent and he is a very good 2 way center and killer at faceoffs.
 

The Zetterberg Era

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Official USA Roster

Jimmy Howard (G) 29 1984-03-26 Ogdensburg, NY, USA 183 99 L 18/19
Ryan Miller (G) 33 1980-07-17 East Lansing, MI, USA 188 75 L 13/14
Jonathan Quick (G) 27 1986-01-21 Milford, CT, USA 185 96 L 22/23

John Carlson (D) 23 1990-01-10 Natick, MA, USA 188 97 R 17/18
Justin Faulk (D) 21 1992-03-20 South St. Paul, MN, USA 183 93 R 13/14
Cam Fowler (D) 22 1991-12-05 Windsor, ON, CAN 185 89 L 17/18
Paul Martin (D) 32 1981-03-05 Minneapolis, MN, USA 185 91 L 14/15
Ryan McDonagh (D) 24 1989-06-13 Arden Hills, MN, USA 185 97 L 18/19
Brooks Orpik (D) 33 1980-09-26 San Francisco, CA, USA 191 100 L 13/14
Kevin Shattenkirk (D) 24 1989-01-29 Greenwich, CT, USA 180 87 R 16/17
Ryan Suter (D) 28 1985-01-21 Madison, WI, USA 185 91 L 24/25

David Backes (C) 29 1984-05-01 Minneapolis, MN, USA 191 99 R 15/16
Dustin Brown (LW/RW) 29 1984-11-04 Ithaca, NY, USA 183 95 R 21/22
Ryan Callahan (RW) 28 1985-03-21 Rochester, NY, USA 178 85 R 13/14
Patrick Kane (RW) 25 1988-11-19 Buffalo, NY, USA 179 82 L 14/15
Ryan Kesler (C) 29 1984-08-31 Livonia, MI, USA 188 93 R 15/16
Phil Kessel (RW) 26 1987-10-02 Madison, WI, USA 183 92 R 21/22
T.J. Oshie (RW) 27 1986-12-23 Mt. Vernon, WA, USA 180 88 R 16/17
Max Pacioretty (LW) 25 1988-11-20 New Canaan, CT, USA 188 100 L 18/19
Zach Parisé (LW) 29 1984-07-28 Minneapolis, MN, USA 180 89 L 24/25
Joe Pavelski (C/RW) 29 1984-07-11 Stevens Point, WI, USA 180 86 R 18/19
Paul Stastny (C) 28 1985-12-27 Québec, QC, CAN 183 93 L 13/14
Derek Stepan (C) 23 1990-06-18 Hastings, MN, USA 183 76 R 14/15
James van Riemsdyk (LW) 24 1989-05-04 Middletown, NJ, USA 191 95 L 17/18
Blake Wheeler (RW) 27 1986-08-31 Robbinsdale, MN, USA 193 93 R 18/19

http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=1626
 
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