Got on this note late this year due to travel woes...
Without the NHL, the best hockey is on right now @ World Juniors in Russia. Team USA blew out Germany but lost a tough one to Russia.
The NHL network will show the USA vs. Canada game @ 4:30 Sunday, and then the matchup vs. Slovakia on Monday.
These are current and future stars in a wide open format that's worth checking out.
Link: USA Wolrd Junior
12/29 9:10 AM | IP: Logged |
Russia beat USA 2-1 yesterday.
The Bruins have a slew of prospects playing... Dougie Hamilton, Malcolm Subban, Anthony Camara (all from Canada) and Alexander Khokhlachev (Russia).
12/29 11:28 AM | IP: Logged |
This annual tourney is my favourite annual event. I never miss it (try to watch it live, but will record and watch later if necessary).
I'm Canadian and I love the coverage it gets here (I'm in Toronto). TSN's coverage (which I believe is what the NHL network will show in the U.S.) is always stellar and they give it the standing it deserves (always get TSN's #1 hockey team to call the games -> even in non-strike seasons) as it always delivers huge ratings in Canada. By huge I mean until the last few years when TSN started to cover the Grey Cup and the 2010 Olympics World Junior games (generally Gold Medal games held in North America) were something like 18 of the top 20 all time ratings high on TSN.
I'm not feeling good about Canada's chances this year as I see the team really struggling to score. Also there isn't a lot of size on the team to generate a good cycle/forecheck other than Camara (Manch mentioned him above). As well, every game Canada has got off to a very slow start which would not be prudent against the States especially since the States looks like the bigger and faster team (this year). Subban has settled down as the games progress, but he's got off to a very slow start in each of 2 tourney games he's played (and the 1 pre-tourney game against Finland). There is a lot of skill on Canada's team, but I don't like our chances coming back against better team's if we fall behind as I don't think there'd be 1 way traffic in those games as there was in the games against Germany and Slovakia (were down 2-0 and 3-1 vs. Slovakia and were down to 10 forwards after 2 were given game misconducts and the 13th was serving his 2nd game of a 3 game suspension).
I expect the U.S. to win the game that starts in a few hours time, and I'm also expecting Russia to beat Canada tomorrow meaning that Canada would have to play the 2nd place team in Pool A (likely the Czech Republic) to get another shot at Russia in the semis. The U.S. finishing 2nd likely would play Finland with the winner (I would favour the U.S. big) playing Sweden in the other semi.
I'll try to come back some time tomorrow to give my thoughts on the game b/w Canada and the U.S.
As an aside, I wish the game was on Dec. 31st -> it had become and almost annual tradition to have those 2 play on New Year's Eve (when possible) the last few years. That being said, I don't play the tourney organizers for the way the did the schedule as the home team (Russia this year) always gets the best schedule and this year is no exception.
12/30 1:24 AM | IP: Logged |
1. Game should absolutely be on 12/31...no doubt about it. If we can't adopt Russian kids at least we should keep that. Kudos to Canada for the win.
2. Both Canada and the US will have their fates partly decided by officiating. These are no doubt the 2 most physical teams, I'd give the US an unusual slight edge there this year. If the refs let both teams play, they'll make the final four. Give us what I saw in USA vs. Germany and it will be a tough road.
3. I think you're selling Canada a bit short due to their depth and Nugent-Hopkins is the best player in the tournament.
4. The USA/Canada/Russia pool is pretty crazy - Slovakia is no joke.
5. I like the US goaltending situation. Gibson has looked quite good and the kid from Providence is respectable.
6. US top line of Miller, Gaudreau, and Grimaldi is a cool combo: 2 small but shifty guys with a pretty gritty captain in Miller.
12/30 9:49 AM | IP: Logged |
Originally posted by NoleMoreTears:
4. The USA/Canada/Russia pool is pretty crazy - Slovakia is no joke.
5. I like the US goaltending situation. Gibson has looked quite good and the kid from Providence is respectable.
when I saw the pools, I thought that the only good thing for the US is that if they get 3rd, they will go into the quarters after facing some tough competition. Back to back 2-1 losses is tough, but we'll see if they have some character.
I didn't see the game this AM, but I like Subban. He makes some crazy saves but often times the goals he gives up, are soft or mistake driven.
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The raw talent is definitely there. It remains to be seen if he can take coaching and become a "professional," as it were. Without knowing him personally, I'd rather have the raw ability in my organization and see if there's humility and discipline to make him into a legit tender. If nothing else, he will push the envelope of all the goalies in the pipeline.
12/30 12:07 PM | IP: Logged |
Thomas has probably played his last game in Boston, and I see Raska hanging on for a couple of years while Subban is brought along. I think playing between the pipes is perhaps the quickest way to see NHL ice time.
12/30 2:18 PM | IP: Logged |
Originally posted by Manch.:
Thomas has probably played his last game in Boston, and I see Raska hanging on for a couple of years while Subban is brought along. I think playing between the pipes is perhaps the quickest way to see NHL ice time.
Mmmm, I'm not sure about that. The filter for goalies is very very tough. A good OHL or NCAA player can find a role as 4th line forward, etc. Due to the funneling of sheer numbers, a good goalie in those same leagues rarely gets a chance and is lucky to find a good situation in ECHL or Europe. Organizations that spend high picks on tenders covet that and are reluctant to make room for prospects that fell under the radar. In contrast, forwards and D fall under the radar all the time but can latch on in a reserve role and really make things happen.
As another example, it's not unusual for an NCAA skater to finish his season and go straight to the show - Nathan Gerbe, Matt Carle, etc. have all done this in the past couple years alone. Not only that, they got PP time and made major playoff contributions. I can't recall seeing a goalie make that happen, at least not from NCAA.
Since the #1 plays ~3/4 of all hockey minutes, guys who are #6 in an organization need a lot of luck or a trade.
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I know it's a couple of days later, but my thoughts on Canada's last 2 games vs the U.S. and Russia.
Just a general comment about the U.S. game as both teams really seems to be gripping the stick really tight which lead to a lot of sloppy play IMO. It was probably the ugliest Canada/U.S. game in at least 10 years (i.e. before Parise). Both goalies played well, but both teams also made the opposition goalies look better than they actually played.
I don't feel good about a potential rematch with the U.S. in the semis especially since the U.S. will be the home team in that game despite being the lower seed (stupid IIHF rule about whoever is the home game in the first meeting becomes the road team in the return game).
Canada was much better against Russia as: a) we had the entire team available for the first time; and b) we finally established a cycle game -> crucial when we were trying to hold onto/build the lead in the 3rd period. This was in large part to Boone Jenner's availability (1st game of the tourney for him).
I fully expect both the U.S. and Russia to win their respective quarters and could see any of the 4 teams remaining winning the tourney from there. Both those semis (Canada/U.S and Russia/Sweden) are pick'ems IMO.
1/1 2:44 AM | IP: Logged |
USA routs the Czechs and is on to the semifinals vs. Canada...probably the live air is very early Thursday morning on NHL network.
The US has some good things in place but are still struggling with spacing in both ends of the ice. That will be a problem vs. Canada by goalie John Gibson has been outstanding so far. Spcial teams for the US have been excellent, they'll need that.
The likely stars for Canada have been good but Camara really impressed me when I watched. The B's might have something there as this kid really plays hungry. Drouin is very skilled but it's hard to say if he can translate it to the next level, he's only 17.
I still can't figure out the officiating, but it is in Europe. The really troubling part is how quick the IIHF has been with suspensions for some fairly minor stuff.
1/2 1:37 PM | IP: Logged |
CGs to the U.S. for winning the game today and good luck in the finals against the winner of Russia/Sweden.
I don't know what it was this year, but usually Canada/U.S. brings out the best in each other (or at least the U.S. always seems to play their best against Canada), but this year it seemed like both brought out the worst in each other.
Both teams played terrible again today, but I do give the U.S. credit for actually scoring.
I feared that Canada's lack of goalscoring would be a problem at some point in the tourney which is why I felt like the U.S. and Russia would win in the pool play and again the U.S. would win today, and unfortunately for me I was correct tonight.
2005 this was not.
1/3 6:30 AM | IP: Logged |
What a run by the Americans. The big win over the Czechs suprised me.
Looks like the game vs Sweden on Saturday is going to be at 8:00 AM.
1/3 12:07 PM | IP: Logged |
This loss is going to seriously wound Canada. Every year that Canada hasn't won in the past, the refrain has been the same. "Well, yeah, but our 5 or 6 best U-20 guys are all in the NHL, and no team has to deal with that kind of handicap. If we had our full team, we'd kill everyone."
Well, they had their full team this year, due to the lockout. Including last year's NHL rookie of the year runner-up. And they got drilled in a non-competive blowout.
And I strongly disagree with the notion that the US didn't play particularly well today. They were dominant for large stretches.
1/3 12:58 PM | IP: Logged |
The US played very well. In this type of format it's fun because you get to see teams improve literally from period to period as they get more comfortable with each other. The spacing and lanes the Americans were taking were flat out superior to Canada, and vast improvements since the Slovakia game.
A big reason for that is the confidence they have in Gibson, so even though Canada wasn't dominant, he remains the key. Once the US got the second goal you could sense Canada was a bit resigned and that's because of Gibson.
I was unsure about how deep Subban was playing in net in the preliminary round - he was very inconsistent in his depth and it really hurt in the semifinal. Way too deep on a couple goals; 2 others he had no chance because his skaters were looking around for someone else to do the job.
The Canadian coach, Spott, will take most of the heat here. He was already a controversial choice.
US plays Sweden for gold @ 8 AM Saturday on NHL.
1/4 8:11 AM | IP: Logged |
Originally posted by Rishi:
This annual tourney is my favourite annual event. I never miss it (try to watch it live, but will record and watch later if necessary).
I'm Canadian and I love the coverage it gets here (I'm in Toronto). TSN's coverage (which I believe is what the NHL network will show in the U.S.) is always stellar and they give it the standing it deserves (always get TSN's #1 hockey team to call the games -> even in non-strike seasons) as it always delivers huge ratings in Canada. By huge I mean until the last few years when TSN started to cover the Grey Cup and the 2010 Olympics World Junior games (generally Gold Medal games held in North America) were something like 18 of the top 20 all time ratings high on TSN.
I'm not feeling good about Canada's chances this year as I see the team really struggling to score. Also there isn't a lot of size on the team to generate a good cycle/forecheck other than Camara (Manch mentioned him above). As well, every game Canada has got off to a very slow start which would not be prudent against the States especially since the States looks like the bigger and faster team (this year). Subban has settled down as the games progress, but he's got off to a very slow start in each of 2 tourney games he's played (and the 1 pre-tourney game against Finland). There is a lot of skill on Canada's team, but I don't like our chances coming back against better team's if we fall behind as I don't think there'd be 1 way traffic in those games as there was in the games against Germany and Slovakia (were down 2-0 and 3-1 vs. Slovakia and were down to 10 forwards after 2 were given game misconducts and the 13th was serving his 2nd game of a 3 game suspension).
I expect the U.S. to win the game that starts in a few hours time, and I'm also expecting Russia to beat Canada tomorrow meaning that Canada would have to play the 2nd place team in Pool A (likely the Czech Republic) to get another shot at Russia in the semis. The U.S. finishing 2nd likely would play Finland with the winner (I would favour the U.S. big) playing Sweden in the other semi.
I'll try to come back some time tomorrow to give my thoughts on the game b/w Canada and the U.S.
As an aside, I wish the game was on Dec. 31st -> it had become and almost annual tradition to have those 2 play on New Year's Eve (when possible) the last few years. That being said, I don't play the tourney organizers for the way the did the schedule as the home team (Russia this year) always gets the best schedule and this year is no exception.
Rishi-
So this is a big event for Canadians whether the NHL was on strike or not? That's good to know--- I've really become a fan of international games (for the sports I like)....nothing like country pride.Posted from wireless.rivals.com
Posted on 1/5 10:39 PM | IP: Logged
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CGs to the U.S. on winning Gold. Always seems like a bad goal (Grimaldi's first) ends up being a huge turning point in big games and today's game was no exception. That goal seemed to deflate the Swedes, and while they held themselves in the game with strong defensive play, it allowed the U.S. to seemingly have 1 ways traffic for a huge chunk of the game there.
Canada not winning the Bronze was disapointing, but I give Russia all the credit as every time Canada tied the game Russia retook the lead. They never got down on themselves and kept going.
6-5 was a fitting score (as pointed out by the commentary in the game) as so many huge Canada/Russia games in the past have had that scoreline such as game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series, all 3 87 Canada Cup games and the a couple times in the last few years at the World JRs.
1/6 5:24 AM | IP: Logged |
It always amazes me how these young players can adapt styles so quickly. Most of the tournament was officiated and played like the Euro leagues. Then the gold-medal game was straight NHL-style in every way and both teams seemed to adjust seamlessly. Sweden did an excellent job within their typical cycle and collapse systems -- US defense was just a little too rangy and Gibson played so well when he had to.
I wasn't sold on Seth Jones seeing him before but he made incredible strides in this tournament and you can see as the moments and play got bigger, so did he. If not the #1 pick in June, he's surely #2.
I love this tournament and, now that we'll surely get the big boys out, it's a perfect "preseason"!
1/6 9:42 AM | IP: Logged |
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