Everyone one was bad in the US game, starting with RNH through the entire line up.
Everyone one was bad in the US game, starting with RNH through the entire line up.
That's what they effectively did, yet lost.
In the US game that truly mattered, the big offensive players Scheifele, Strome, Huberdeau were a combined -8. The three, plus RNH, didn't do anything offensively either.
I think you may be one of the many that underestimate the competition at these championships. The Swedes, Russians and Americans are producing excellent young players that are capable of winning in any given year.
IMO Hockey Canada needs to re-evaluate the processes it uses in the selection of the coaches. Over the past several years coaching seems to have had as big an impact on the results as the players.
As far as players not living up to expectations, they did the job until the US game. In the semi-final they looked ill-prepared, disorganized and showed little emotion. The result was no one looked good at all.
IMO when a team as a whole plays this poorly, the coaching/management needs to be evaluated more so than the players.
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ChocolateLeclaire
Registered User
I re-watched the game yesterday and I am absolutely baffled by the positioning these players took on the US goals. These are quality, skilled players skating around like chickens with their heads cut off.
On the first goal, it's astonishing seeing FOUR Canadian players setting up shop in front of their own goalie! That is ALL coaching. Spott should be fired...on the spot.
I feel bad for Subban. Very few goalies would stand a chance with the fartastic performance of the guys in front of him.
Systems and positional play break down real fast when one team comes out much harder than the other. Sometimes the problem is teams want to defeat is more than we want to defeat them. It was obvious from the first couple minutes that the US had more jump. The varying levels of things like adrenaline that give athletes jump and motivation aren't easy to control. When you match two equal teams together but one wants it more, that team will drown the other out.
Defensively and at goaltender more times than not that defense outplays us. Jones and Connor Murphy were better than anyone we had. And gibsons a better goalie than subban. If anymore nfl and nba players have kids in hockey at a young age were gonna start getting destroyed. Seth jones is a pretty special prospect and he'd be the best Canadian defensive prospect in a long time IMO.
JonnyMacSen
2nd round Chlapik!
I don't believe one game serves as the basis for deciding which players are better, what the semi-final showed was one team was ready, the other one not.
The Canadian team played the worst game I could have imagined, yet had many chances to close the gap in the second period. While Gibson definitely played well, the Canadian forwards helped him out immensely by consistently missing the net.
On the defensive side, why was team Canada collapsing in the defensive zone given the US defense had been creating most of the offense? This strategy effectively gave Subban zero opportunity on the all important first goal, as well as the second.
It seemed to me like Spott and his staff had a poor game plan, compounded by the team coming out flat.
Karma for not having Ceci even in the selection camp
The selection camp has turned into a political decision making process IMO.
Hockey Canada needs to have a permanent GM that makes personnel decisions and then selects the coach most suitable to the style of play that fits the players.
The purpose should be to build the best team possible, not just pick the best players based on scouting reports, statistics or because of prior year participation.
The time has passed where the players can overcome mistakes in team composition, the competition is just too good and getting better.
IMO this version of Team Canada was ill constructed, considering some of the elite talent that was there to build around.
Didn't decide that in one game. No game plan works when one team comes out harder for 60 than the other. The US roster was dangerously underrated and this became apparent where I noticed American dmen I liked in scrimmages only to find out they were close to being cut like mike Reilly. Don't think there's a dman in the tournament capable of more than jones.
They probably collapsed because they couldn't contain the speed and motivation of the Americans. What would you do if you cant win races to pucks and are overwhelmed when you have the puck? You retreat into survival mode and try and hope shots hit you and not the mesh.
ThAt, or just one of those games where one team had more than the other. I bet sports psychologist don't have all the answers as to why this happens although sometimes they probably do
Keep them to the outside, be strong positionally, block passing lanes, deny their tendencies and above all let the goaltender see the puck.
Basic stuff, not mensa like at all.
Five guys chasing the puck isn't a breakdown or survival mode, it is chaos. It showed a complete lack of discipline and commitment to team play.
Add to this a hefty dose of turnovers not caused by anything other than poor decisions and/or passing ability, and the score is 3-0 pretty quickly.
I have no idea why the team was so flat, but my guess is too many people associated with this team were looking at gold, not the next game.
Poor decisions are forced. One team came out harder. One team got scared. Positional hockey does become Mensa type stuff when the words "oh ****" are repeating in your head. The US set a tone we couldn't match. Hell broke loose in a lot of the game
Must be something that keeps you from executing the easy stuff when it's stuff they've been doing since they started playing AAA. The more your being out skated the harder it is to do the easy things right
ChocolateLeclaire
Registered User
After the second goal when it was apparent Canada was rattled, that was Spott's time to call a timeout and settle down the kids. He didn't and the piss-poor play continued.
Not to mention that Spott and his staff had nothing drawn up to neutralize the attack of the US defense. Everyone and their dog knew that the US activated their D more than any other team which allows for the ability to create odd man rushes the other way if defended properly. Apparently the Canadian coaching staff never got that memo.
Spott should be fired immediately. He was a terrible coach.
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