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2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships


AriGold

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Stayed up the whole game, fell asleep just before OT...

Not the best thing to wake up to.

Funniest part, the announcers were all over Ryan Murphy for what a strong game he was having, and granted he was playing much better than previous games. But it was very fitting that he was the one that got blown right by for the the dagger in the heart.

Canada will forever hate Ryan Murphy. Sorry buddy.

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I really don't understand the hype of Yakupov. He had 2 goals today, sure, but both were tap in's that even Tanner Glass could score.

He has straight line speed, and can't control it very well. That's it. Atrocious defensively and doesn't know how to use his team mates.

Yes, he has scored over 100 points in JUNIOR HOCKEY....even Byron Ritchie did that....twice.

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Here's my thoughts on the tourney, and the past few as well.

This team was not a team with a system and a style. They were a bunch of very talented players who were seemingly told "go score, and don't let them score". Canada each and every year has enough talent to adjust the style based on who is available in any given year. This year we didn't have much size and physicality, especially in the top 6. We had decent speed, but not enough to play a run n' gun game like Russia tends to and the Americans did this year. Regardless of what we chose, there was no doubt that the big 4 were gonna anchor the top 6. But what we really needed were a couple speedsters to join them. Drouin seemed like a quick enough skater, but guys like Rattie and Ritchie didn't fit the mold. I don't know much about the other guys that didn't make the cut, so I can't say if there was anyone that fit the mold. If not, then we probably have gone with a more grinding style, and added a couple big strong Zack Kassian/Marcus Foligno type players to throw some big hits on the forecheck and create some room for the other guys.

This team seemed to be stuck in the middle. Some speed, but not enough to match other teams. Some size, but not enough to use the physical side as a tool. This was easily the least physical team Canada I've seen in years. They did not play Canadian hockey. I don't remember a single hit in the entire tournament that made me go "Wow, that's gotta get his teammates going", or even just "wow" in general.

I heard someone else say it, and perhaps they are right. Maybe it's time for a full-time Team Canada coach that signs a contact with Hockey Canada and is THE coach for the U18 Championships, the Ivan Hlinka tourney, the Canada/Russia Challenge, and whatever tournament that is appropriate.

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I really don't understand the hype of Yakupov. He had 2 goals today, sure, but both were tap in's that even Tanner Glass could score.

He has straight line speed, and can't control it very well. That's it. Atrocious defensively and doesn't know how to use his team mates.

Yes, he has scored over 100 points in JUNIOR HOCKEY....even Byron Ritchie did that....twice.

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You have to admit he looked dangerous whenever he had the puck in this tournament. However what makes him dangerous here, or in Junior, or in the KHL is what is going to make him frustrate coaches and fans aplenty.

He has great speed and hands, but he is thinking all offence all the time. When the puck is in the corner in his D zone, he is hanging out by the blueline for the breakaway pass. He can get away with that now, but in the NHL it will get him benched regularly. I said from the start I would be very surprised if he turns out any better than Alex Semin, both in scoring and in being a team player.

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Here's my thoughts on the tourney, and the past few as well.

This team was not a team with a system and a style. They were a bunch of very talented players who were seemingly told "go score, and don't let them score". Canada each and every year has enough talent to adjust the style based on who is available in any given year. This year we didn't have much size and physicality, especially in the top 6. We had decent speed, but not enough to play a run n' gun game like Russia tends to and the Americans did this year. Regardless of what we chose, there was no doubt that the big 4 were gonna anchor the top 6. But what we really needed were a couple speedsters to join them. Drouin seemed like a quick enough skater, but guys like Rattie and Ritchie didn't fit the mold. I don't know much about the other guys that didn't make the cut, so I can't say if there was anyone that fit the mold. If not, then we probably have gone with a more grinding style, and added a couple big strong Zack Kassian/Marcus Foligno type players to throw some big hits on the forecheck and create some room for the other guys.

This team seemed to be stuck in the middle. Some speed, but not enough to match other teams. Some size, but not enough to use the physical side as a tool. This was easily the least physical team Canada I've seen in years. They did not play Canadian hockey. I don't remember a single hit in the entire tournament that made me go "Wow, that's gotta get his teammates going", or even just "wow" in general.

I heard someone else say it, and perhaps they are right. Maybe it's time for a full-time Team Canada coach that signs a contact with Hockey Canada and is THE coach for the U18 Championships, the Ivan Hlinka tourney, the Canada/Russia Challenge, and whatever tournament that is appropriate.

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Kind of hard to play our style with the officiating. Every big hit was called a penalty, it got to the point where our guys were simply scared to hit.

Part of the reason why guys like Tom Wilson weren't picked. As much as I don't think we deserved to win, officiating had a major influence on how we played, and the ultimate outcome.

In terms of the "wow" factor, Camara had easily the biggest hit of the tournament in the game vs Slovakia.

Also, Steve Spott and the entire selection process needs to be held accountable.

Favorable picks, bias, and just overall major politics. This isn't what hockey should be about, especially with kids.

We need to find a solidified coach and fix how the selection camp is run.

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Why Ryan Murphy was on the ice in overtime after 10 bad plays in his own zone is frackin beyond me.

He was the worst player I've ever seen put on the maple leaf. I thought I was watching a slumping Bieksa for frack sakes

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After all was said and done I think Subban provided the best goaltending Canada has had in the last few years. It's interesting how Canada tries to protect goalies so much but other countries seem to be more flexible with their goaltending. Finland swapped goalies midway in that pre-tournament game, Sweden swapped goalies for a shootout and Russia seemingly flipped a coin to determine their starters. It probably doesn't mean much but it's starting to seem odd to laugh at other countries goaltending quirks when lately Canada has been kinda weak at producing top end goalies. The last part isn't about Subban just Canadian Goaltending in general.

I can't believe how bad Hamilton was this year, he was much better last year. It reminds me of Ryan Ellis in 2010. Ellis was so good as a 17 year old in 09 but in 2010 he took a step back and made countless blunders.

It wasn't a great showing for the defence overall but I blame the forwards for some of that. Part of defence against fast, highly skilled forechecking teams is to make them play in their end. You can't expect the defence to be under constant pressure and think that good things will come from that. The Canada-US games reminded me of the LA-Van playoff games where the good guys were too content to just relieve pressure.

Overall it felt like a pretty fair loss. Canada got about what they deserved.

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