Both the USA & Canada are OUT of the men's olympic hockey tourny already! Why? I think there are exactly 5 reasons. I'll even try justify that bold statement by thinking of them:
Over-confidence- This especially applies to team USA. In the interviews I heard, they came across as super arrogant. They acted as if they were the favorites.
Poor Player Selection- I really think Staal, Spezza and/or Crosby would have improved team Canada. And if Ryan Miller had been picked as team USA's goalie this post wouldn't exist.
Big Rinks- Let's face it, the bigger ice surfaces tend to favor the skilled Europeans. Our teams looked slower quite regularly
Poor Chemistry- This specifically applies when facing opponents with mostly non-NHLers like Latvia & Switzerland. Those guys have more experience playing with each other.
Over Matched- I think Russia's top players are just better than Canada's top players. And I know Finland is a better team than the US of A. Sure Canada has more depth, but you can only put 6 players on at a time.
3 comments:
Speaking from a Canadian's point of view, here's my opinion. Canada was not over-confident, but underconfident. They looked nervous, passed rather than shot, and defended rather than attacked.
I will agree with some poor player selection, but no one thought Staal or Spezza would have been as good as they are when selection was taking place in the summer before mini-camp. I'm not sure you can change players or not, so you could have a better point than I already think you do.
I agree that Canada looked slower. Pronger looked especially slow. Not having Scott Niedermayer was DEVASTATING. And this was the biggest weakness: Poor transition game. All the offensive chances came from solo efforts or hard forecheck. There was no smooth transition from defense to offense to create chances with speed.
Poor chemistry: definitely correct here. Europeans play with better initial chemistry than Canadians. Let those teams play together for another few weeks and you'll have different teams. But that's not hte nature of the Olympic tournament.
I will vehemently disagree with being overmatched. I will credit the Russians with playing a good game yesterday, but they were not a superior team. They were better yesterday and deserved to win, but let's not forget that they scored one more goal when it counted. That's it. Canadians make up 5 of the top 10 scorers in the NHL, 10 or the top 20, and 15 of the top 30.
I don't think Canada was over-matched in this tournament. They were too deep. Quinn loves to roll four lines. That only works if you have guys used to playing on third adn fourth lines. When Rick Nash is getting sat because you have too many good players, that is not a good thing. It's a bad thing. Canada has too many guys who are used to being the go-to players and had difficulty getting into rhythms. I don't think it's a coincidence, then, that the best players on Canada were guys who played roles: Brad Richards, Joe Sakic, and especially Shane Doan (maybe even Kris Draper). Doan is not the most talented, but he was arguably their best player.
So, I put that game in one where the team that played better won, but not necessarily the better team. One early whistle; one dumb penalty; one poor decision on penalty killing, and a more confident Russian team. That sums up the game yesterday.
tammy. canada won women's gold. usa got bronze.
ap. i agree that over-confidence was a USA issue. canada seemed to suffer from the 'play not to lose' syndrome.
Official rosters were turned in late Fall. Staal was leading the NHL in scoring that day if I remember right, but was only placed on the taxi squad.
Losing Niedermayer was prolly the worst possible injury canada could have experienced.
I'll agree canada has better depth, but I think i'd take Ilya K and Alex Ovechkin over ANY canadian.
Interesting take on the 2nd tier players being the best performers. You may be right. I think it's more a character thing though than simply a matter of not being able to get into a rythym. You've gotta have a mindset to make the most of every minute you get out there, and i just didn't see that.
thanks for the correction on the roster timing.
you'd really take Kovalchuk over Thornton? you'd really take Ovechkin over Crosby?
I think Ovechkin could be the best player in the NHL in a few years. But Crosby could be too.
The issue of character and rhythm is intimately connected. Character on the ice comes from playing the role you are given. That team was simply talent laden...and that was it. That's not an excuse; just a prognosis--and it could be a coach issue; just don't know. So, when I say no rhythm, I am close to agreeing with lack of character.
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