Zero Americans and only one Finn in the “Triple Gold Club”

[ZEBROA]

It's not arrogance, but indifference. If by step up you mean step up and try to win, the US can't because its best players are engaged in the Stanley Cup playoffs for another six weeks when the WHC begins play. Canada has a much deeper pool.... most of whom don't really care either, but even the third-tier Canadians who go are good enough to win sometimes.

Third-tier American players aren't so competitive against the world's best, and especially not when those nations play like it's the tournament they care most about, which is often the case.

Let's just say that the US loss to host Latvia in the Bronze medal game was a very minor blip on the radar in the US. Scheduling is an enormous part of the reason why that indifference persists among US fans, whose attention is on the NHL when those WHC games occur. It's a little better when the tournament is in North America, but only a little.

Nice responce, my mind was clouded by a realy bad day.

Swedes has started to get interested about jwc quite resent. The games are almost always in the middle of the night here (like with NHL). Olympics is most popular here, and after that WHC (even if many disagree, many watch). NHL should at last schedule for Olympics and WHC every second year. Because it is a big deal for hockey in the world. And if hockey around the world gets more popular, NHL will get more good players to choose from. And more followers who pay through watching streems and buy merch. Now kids who watch olympics start playing curling instead. That sucks.

And please no NHL World cup. That is like a allstar fake tournament. Will never be like the Olympics.

 

[thrillhous]

It’s always cute when people act as though a world championship gold is all that important. The tournament is fun to watch, I still watch parts of it each year, but it really isn’t very meaningful.

 

[Grifter3511]

WJC should be part of the triple crown instead of WHC

And please no NHL World cup. That is like a allstar fake tournament. Will never be like the Olympics.

It's literally the exact same thing, with a different name, and a better final (best of 3 over single game).

 

[Albatros]

Hasek didn't really go to world championships. Czech Republic was extremely strong in the late 90s and early 00s, so he could have gotten a gold if he wanted to. But he didn't seem to want to.

He's said that not being nominated for the 1985 World Championships was perhaps the biggest disappointment in his career.

 

[WarriorofTime]

That's a myth people have been propagating to justify losing to the Czechs in 1998.
In reality Czechia's team defense won them gold. They were outshot only twice the entire tournament.
Czechia even outshot both Canada and Russia in the semifinal and final games.

Guys like Jiri Slegr played impeccable mistake free hockey and deserve any/all accolades they receive.

They played a trap and played it well

WJC should be part of the triple crown instead of WHC

Why would a junior tournament rank ahead of a senior tournament? Silly concept. If you want to be serious then just say it should be a double gold club and leave it at that.

 

[ZEBROA]

WJC should be part of the triple crown instead of WHC

It's literally the exact same thing, with a different name, and a better final (best of 3 over single game).

It is not the same, only NHL players. No juniors that play in europe, like when Forsberg made that penalty shot against Corey Hirch. When Russia played,and for Finland no KHL players. No small hockey countrys that upset big countries(trust me Sweden knows) . Not near the same exposure to the rest of the world.

The teams composed by players from Europe make me throw up a little. Dont care about Sweden that tournament. Will only hope team Europe win to expose the fake. What is the national anthem of Europe?

 

[12ozPapa]

Cool accomplishments for those players but really not sure what the point is here. However, it’s a ViD post so who knows.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

That's a myth people have been propagating to justify losing to the Czechs in 1998.
In reality Czechia's team defense won them gold. They were outshot only twice the entire tournament.
Czechia even outshot both Canada and Russia in the semifinal and final games.

Guys like Jiri Slegr played impeccable mistake free hockey and deserve any/all accolades they receive.

I just looked it up and Hasek had a .961 in this tournament. ???

 

[Grifter3511]

Why would a junior tournament rank ahead of a senior tournament? Silly concept. If you want to be serious then just say it should be a double gold club and leave it at thathat.

Idk.

Because one's the best junior players in the world, and the other is the best available seniors who are interested in playing?

Because you'd be a winner in adolescence (wjc), internationally (olympics) and professionally (nhl)?

As opposed to internationally, professionally and pseudo-internationally?

That's all. Idk. I dont care.

 

[Fatass]

I thought the triple hold was the WJC, the Olympics, and the Stanley Cup. The WJC isn’t really high end, best players because the Cup playoffs are going.

 

[Janvonpobben]

Half the people on that list is invalid since fake olympics is on it. Finland never won a best of best tournament.

 

[Dingo]

Is this a thing people care about?

It would mean more if it was a ‘double gold’ club, wherein it was the Stanley Cup and an actual best on best international Gold, imo.

I can tell this list is pretty insignificant because Hasek is not on it and he hard carried the Czech team to Olympic Gold

So, there's no way you could argue that Jiri Slegr has better international achievements. IMO if anything, triple gold should be Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold and World Junior Championship

Ya, those would be the best three. You only get two shots at the Juniors though, and although you are playing with the best of the age group, most of those guys won’t be going on to the show - it isnt a best on best of the same level as the Olympics or World Cup (when either are done correctly, I mean)

 

[socko]

Phil Kessel was probably a little past his prime in 2016 (I think his prime was more like 2013) but when you put Abdelkader on the team over him, you don't really deserve to win. Not sure if World Cup counts in this thing, but either way.... that was unforgiveable.

 

[mattihp]

If you'd asked me to guess who the Finn was, I'd wager you a gold medal I wouldn't have thought of Vateri Filppula.

Is VATeri Filppula Valtteri's more expensive cousin?

 

[mattihp]

WJC should be part of the triple crown instead of WHC

It's literally the exact same thing, with a different name, and a better final (best of 3 over single game).

It's not the same. It's the NHL's rules which allow some players play for the wrong country and disqualify others from playing with their country.

Add to that the countries of Younggunistan and Leftoveria that competed in the last world cup. Silly gimmick tournament.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Canada usually brings its C team to the WHC and manages to win Gold

surely the US can field a B team and do that too

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Phil Kessel was probably a little past his prime in 2016 (I think his prime was more like 2013) but when you put Abdelkader on the team over him, you don't really deserve to win. Not sure if World Cup counts in this thing, but either way.... that was unforgiveable.

Penguins fans here and I fiercely question the notion that Phil Kessel was past his prime in 2016. Heck, he may have been playing his best hockey while the NHL was refusing to send players to the 2018 Olympics. Even if his regular season numbers were slightly down at the time, that playoffs coupled with the Americans lack of scoring depth made his absence completely inexcusable. The Americans did not have the offensive depth to leave a guy coming off a 22 point Stanley Cup-winning run at home and rightly got clowned.

John Tortorella is a jackass and a buffoon. That's why Phil Kessel wasn't on that team. Phil didn't play hockey the 'right' way, regardless if the wrong way just won him a Cup. The Americans proceeded to score all of 5 goals while securing 0 points playing the 'right' way. Torts prioritized two-way players only for Team USA to fall behind early in each game and not have the manpower to mount a comeback.

I don't even respect the World Cup and Tortorella's buffoonery still infuriates me years after the fact.



Regardless. Phil realizing the uselessness of the World Championships early on is what killed his shot at triple gold as much as the what-if games with the Olympics and World Cup. Despite spending most of his 20s on a team that didn't make the playoffs, Kessel last played at the World Championships before he could legally drink in the US.

 

[socko]

Phil got a lot of PP points in Pittsburgh but his prime years were spent in Toronto where he relied more on open ice rushes, kind of like a poor man's McDavid, than PP points. Better teammates in Pittsburgh for sure, but he was a better player himself in Toronto. But that playoff run he had in Pitt was magical, the highlight of his NHL career.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Canada usually brings its C team to the WHC and manages to win Gold

surely the US can field a B team and do that too

The USA doesn’t bring a B team. It brings like a W team. AHL guys and college players.

 

[valet]

i never understood why the stanley cup was grouped in here. it’s not even an international competition. it’s almost 100% the opposite. all cup winners rely on players from different nations

the modern era nhl has basically destroyed international play. the worlds are a joke. the olympics are a joke. the world cup is a fantasy that the league promotes as ‘maybe’ happening just to string people along…. etc. it’s detrimental to the game and their decision making process is a total mystery to me