WJC: World Junior Journal: Did Team Canada Brass Get Final Roster Right? (THW)

[UpsideHockey]

2 out of 3 ain't bad (2013 Draft eligibles, that is). Surprised Lipon made it over Shinkaruk (or over a couple of other forwards for that matter).

Here are my final musing after the final cuts:

Intro:

CALGARY – Team Canada named its final 23 man roster today, releasing the last eight players that will not join the team across the pond to Ufa, Russia for the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship.

11 of the players are from the OHL with 6 each from the QMJHL and the WHL (if you include grad Ryan Nugent-Hopkins).

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins leads an exceptionally talented Team Canada squad to Ufa, Russia for the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship (Dustin Bradford/Icon SMI)

Did Team Canada Brass get it right? Truthfully, it was tough for head coach Steve Spott and crew to go wrong given the talent they had at their disposal. While I may not have agreed with each and every selection, I can see why they chose the players they did. Each player chosen can fulfill various roles, some more specific than others.

With the abundance of riches available as the NHL lockout persists, this squad has to be favoured for gold in Ufa.

Should things go awry in the tournament, two players omitted may be later reflected upon by pundits alike, wondering if they could have been difference makers.

Read on...
http://thehockeywriters.com/world-junior-journal-did-team-canada-brass-get-final-roster-right/

Click to read more...

 

[Statsy]

All in all they picked a pretty good team, though with the talent available it probably would have been difficult not to. I would have preferred Corrado to Wotherspoon and McNeill or Shinkaruk to Camara, but those are small quibbles. As is often the case, I'm sure some of the players that are disappointing picks to the critics will grow on them with more viewing.

 

[UpsideHockey]

All in all they picked a pretty good team, though with the talent available it probably would have been difficult not to. I would have preferred Corrado to Wotherspoon and McNeill or Shinkaruk to Camara, but those are small quibbles. As is often the case, I'm sure some of the players that are disappointing picks to the critics will grow on them with more viewing.

I agree Statsy.

Watching the events unfold live, the strengths of both Wotherspoon and Camara were very evident and the third and final game of selection camp. Wotherspoon was simply solid defensively; playing a safe but effective game. Camara showed his physical play and tenacity, as well as glimpses of being able to contribute offensively. Maybe not the sexy picks everyone was looking for, but Spott and crew got their guys.

 

[Lessy]

Realistically I'm sure everyone will second guess some of the selections, myself included but this is a team that on paper should win the gold medal regardless. I don't think this is even debatable with the best defensemen in the tournament (Hamilton) and 4 of the best 5 forwards (RNH, Huberdeau, Scheifele, Strome). It's safe to say that if Spott doesn't win with this roster he won't be back next year and taking Murphy after a mediocre year/camp will add to the microscope. Maybe I would have gone with a bit more beef, say McNeill/Wilson over Lipon but all in all this is still the team to beat.

 

[1Gold Standard]

More or less they picked the team I would have picked except maybe for Murphy...
I like Shinkaruk, but I said in October that at this point I'm taking Drouin over Shinkaruk and Lipon based on the result he's put up in the Dub, he deserves to be there.

Still going to be a tough tournament to win, big question just like every year over the past several years, will we get the goaltending we need? but we got the horses to win it... Gold medal game....

 

[NyQuil]

It's a bit funny to say that the performances at training camp matter when the best goalie at camp gets sent home.

 

[Statsy]

It's a bit funny to say that the performances at training camp matter when the best goalie at camp gets sent home.

Paterson didn't give up a goal so I don't think Brossoit won the title of best goalie in camp. Subban was easily the worst, but I'm looking for him to rebound in the pre-competition games. If not... "Grab a seat, Malcolm". Lol.

 

[Leafidelity]

I think the roster is fine. The major role players are all there, were mostly debating 5-7th dmen and 3rd string goaltending.

 

[tc 23]

Everyone will have their own opinions on how it should look like but the roster is fine. There were tough decisions made and you can't really go wrong with any of the choices. They wanted certain roles filled and they picked players who could fill them.

 

[Cudo]

I think the coaching staff already had Binnington & Subban (top two goalies in OHL and saw alot of their play throughout the season) picked for 2 of the 3 spots, leaving Brossoit and Paterson to battle it out for the final spot, and Paterson was the best goalie in camp and out played Brossoit by a slim margin, giving him the third and final spot.

I don't know why all the hate for Subban?? He made the team, get over it, Don't know if it's due to his brother or the bruins, but people appear to be waiting for a reason to jump all over him, I don't think Brossoit would have faired alot better if he played against the CIS team. Anyway, there's two other goalies on the roster that will be ready to compete for the top spot if Subban plays poorly so i'm not worried about it.

Say what you want about Subban but if a game came down to a shootout there's NO other goalie i'd want in net besides Subban!

 

[Statsy]

I don't think a lot of people do have a problem with Subban. One stinker goal doesn't change who this guy is. He's athletic and has the right mentality to be the go-to guy.

 

[SmellOfVictory]

It's a bit funny to say that the performances at training camp matter when the best goalie at camp gets sent home.

It does matter, but it's far from the only consideration. Subban was basically a lock from the outset, so it was between Brossoit and Binnington (similar histories), and Binnington happened to beat him out. I'm not particularly happy about it, but it's not indefensible.

 

[UpsideHockey]

It does matter, but it's far from the only consideration. Subban was basically a lock from the outset, so it was between Brossoit and Binnington (similar histories), and Binnington happened to beat him out. I'm not particularly happy about it, but it's not indefensible.

My thought was that it was between Paterson & Brossoit, with Paterson having the slight edge in camp despite Brossoit's excellent showing.

 

[Vankiller Whale]

I may be biased because I'm a Canucks fan, but Corrado scored 2 goals in 3 games and didn't allow a single goal while he was on the ice throughout training camp. If the training camp did matter, he absolutely should have been on the team. But if the team was already determined beforehand, why bother inviting him at all?

 

[Statsy]

I may be biased because I'm a Canucks fan, but Corrado scored 2 goals in 3 games and didn't allow a single goal while he was on the ice throughout training camp. If the training camp did matter, he absolutely should have been on the team. But if the team was already determined beforehand, why bother inviting him at all?

Make it three goals in four games including the SSS, two of them being game-winners. I hear what you are saying, but the fact that Wotherspoon made the team instead of Dumba means that the team was not fully predetermined. It just seems to me that they took Wotherspoon over Corrado for reasons other than quality of play, which just doesn't sit right with me.

The other point worth consideration, as far as the camp goes, is that there is still this impending threat of player recall from the NHL, meaning that some of the cuts would be brought back in, therefore it still made sense to have them there in the heat of the camp competition.

 

[Richiebottles]

Not even inviting Fucale is a big big deception for me. Unacceptable for team Canada IMO.

They did do a good job with the Quebecois issue though. Much better than previous years and I like this team a lot more than in previous years. Good skill all around. They have a legit chance if the lockout doesnt end.

 

[UpsideHockey]

2 games in for Team Canada, and now the real fun begins.

Any hindsight 20/20 vision going on with readers? Who would you have wish Hockey Canada would've brought over if they could of?

I'm still "all-in" for Hunter Shinkaruk.