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umteman
PickupHockey Pro
USA
662 Posts |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
 Posted - 01/05/2016 : 18:05:06
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| jake Virtanen for MVP.....lol.....team Finland i mean haha |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2016 : 12:46:52
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quote:
Originally posted by The Duke
jake Virtanen for MVP.....lol.....team Finland i mean haha
I'm not a huge fan of Virtanen, and haven't been since the Canucks drafted him, however, I don't put the Canadian loss on his shoulders entirely. I actually felt bad for him on the original call (of the two) as it was very weak for that point in the game but he needs to control his emotions and not take the stupid slashing penalty after that. I felt even worse for Hicketts and his penalty as that was so flukely it's not even funny.
Virtanen didn't lose them that game, the team did. Now, I know that's an easy way out, but I'd personally put more blame on the goalie and the coach than I would Virtanen. First off, the goaltending was terrible. You shouldn't be giving up that many goals in a big game and yes, the D has to take some of the blame. BUT, the goalie was not good. No sugar coating it, he just wasn't good. Secondly, the coach. IMO, he could have made a goalie change, but his biggest blunder was actually having Virtanen on the ice at that point. He had done very little all tournament and wasn't much better that game, save for the one steal and set up he had on the one goal. The guy is volatile. He's too risky till he matures and learns and I don't think I'd have had him out there myself.
In the end, the better team won. This tournament is always pretty crazy and competitive. Considering we only lost by that 1 goal to the eventual champs, it'd seem we could have won it all, which is true in this single knockout format. However, I'd be willing to bet that if we played Finland 10 times, they'd win at least 7 or 8 times. I just think they were a better team this time around, esp on the bigger ice. |
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Beans15
Moderator
Canada
8286 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2016 : 13:57:03
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Yeah Alex, I would agree with most of what you said. Canada is not the junior powerhouse it once was and the rest of the world has caught up. I would also blame the salary cap world of the NHL a little bit as there are more young drafted players who could be at the tournament that are playing in the NHL at a low salary for an NHL team. Fewer Canadian players are developing a year in juniors after being drafted and that has seriously depleted the talent pool. Injuries aside, think about a team Canada that would include. McDavid, Bennett, McCann, Ekblad, and Fabbri. That's quite a different team.
The other issue with Canada was exemplified by Virtanen but it wasn't his fault entirely. Ultimately, team Canada was terrible undisciplined and were simply not talented enough to give the opposition the number of power plays they gave up.
Not good enough on the ice and too much time in the box. That is not often a recipe for success.
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2016 : 21:43:47
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Well said Beans. Every year it's brought up, the idea of how much better Canada could be. Same goes for other countries of course but it seems Canada is affected the most year in year out. Sure, the USA would have enjoyed seeing Eichel, Hanifin and Larkin wearing the red white and blue but it really doesn't compare to Canada (however McDavid was hurt anyway).
You are so right about the salary cap and teams keeping their youngsters to keep their numbers down. It's something that I really hadn't given a lot of thought to actually.
You are so correct about team discipline or lack thereof. It was their downfall. When your goalie isn't bailing you out and you continue to take bad penalties, it's inevitable, you won't win in a "lose and go home" style tournament very often. |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2016 : 12:33:49
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agree with all said guys. 4 main points , brought by each of you.
1 ) Goaltending wasn`t stellar
2 ) Other countries have caught up and are playing Canadian style hockey, skating ability has excelled for the ( used to be ) non-competive countries.
3 ) Coaching was sub-par in my opinion, very undisciplined team.........which brings me to point number 4....
4 ) What the hell was Virtanen doing on the ice after over and over again proving he was a liability to this team.....goes back to coaching. |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2016 : 13:41:01
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quote:
Originally posted by The Duke
agree with all said guys. 4 main points , brought by each of you.
1 ) Goaltending wasn`t stellar
2 ) Other countries have caught up and are playing Canadian style hockey, skating ability has excelled for the ( used to be ) non-competive countries.
3 ) Coaching was sub-par in my opinion, very undisciplined team.........which brings me to point number 4....
4 ) What the hell was Virtanen doing on the ice after over and over again proving he was a liability to this team.....goes back to coaching.
Exactly the point I made above! Or see below.....
quote:
Originally posted by Alex116
IMO, he could have made a goalie change, but his biggest blunder was actually having Virtanen on the ice at that point. He had done very little all tournament and wasn't much better that game, save for the one steal and set up he had on the one goal. The guy is volatile. He's too risky till he matures and learns and I don't think I'd have had him out there myself.
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World Juniors 2016 
