Your Expectations for 2015 WC

[Raptor1990]

Just wondering - did you learn Russian in school, or can you just understand most of it when you hear it?

None of them, i just stated my own opinions on "Russian NT" and asked if Galimov said the same.

 

[Yakushev72]

Ok, you probably think, that Fetisov-Kasatonov and the KLM line are still playing for us then...let me break it to you - they are not and we don't have the players to play offensive hockey vs. this Canada team. We don't even have the players capable of playing systematic hockey any more. So yes, we need Anisimov's and Kulemin's of the world.

I couldn't disagree more! These guys are not needed because they don't contribute offense, and if they contribute on the defensive end, its not plainly visible IMO. Of the two, Kulemin seems plainly more valuable than Anisimov, but I believe its psychologically impairing when you realize that these guys are on your Olympic team. We don't need defensive specialists among forwards, we need guys who can raise the shot total above 4 shots per period (12 overall).

I appreciate the fact that Kulemin and Anisimov are very hard working, and always give 100% effort. But that shouldn't be the primary consideration in selecting a player, because all players should be expected to contribute a full effort. I'm just saying that it would be better for the domestic league if, all things being equal, they choose a talented KHL player over an equally talented NHL player. If the NHL player gives them a better opportunity to win, then that's different.

 

[BlitzSnipe]

I couldn't disagree more! These guys are not needed because they don't contribute offense, and if they contribute on the defensive end, its not plainly visible IMO. Of the two, Kulemin seems plainly more valuable than Anisimov, but I believe its psychologically impairing when you realize that these guys are on your Olympic team. We don't need defensive specialists among forwards, we need guys who can raise the shot total above 4 shots per period (12 overall).

I appreciate the fact that Kulemin and Anisimov are very hard working, and always give 100% effort. But that shouldn't be the primary consideration in selecting a player, because all players should be expected to contribute a full effort. I'm just saying that it would be better for the domestic league if, all things being equal, they choose a talented KHL player over an equally talented NHL player. If the NHL player gives them a better opportunity to win, then that's different.

Well, all the players are expected to, but many don't - Ovechkin was mostly floating around, despite having scored a goal. Effort is a huge factor - guys like Plotnikov, Shirokov, Anisimov, and Tikhonov, with their gritty play, caused more problems for the Canadian defence than Kovalchuk did, for eg. Malkin picked up his play towards the end and it did look like he was trying very hard. Don't know, overall, the Russian coaching staff needs to take this seriously, examine all the errors and get this fixed up, because our team needs to be able to at least honourably compete against the Canadians.