We Are All Cucks

They are catching up. More and more Swiss people I meet are intense hockey fans. The Germans are also becoming a perennially difficult team to beat where they used to be as much of a laugh as La(ugh)tvia or some such team. Incidentally, Latvia had a great tournament, too. The thing is...all of the above are good things. I'm looking forward to the day when Asian teams can do well, too. The growth of the game is without reservation an overwhelmingly positive thing. As long as Canada remains at the top, that is.

Agreed. Also, it would be pretty weak if they named themselves the Sea Lions. While I kind of like the name...maybe they should avoid naming themselves after the animal prey of their soon-to-be arch rival?

I think it looks nice, and it's a non-intrusive way of promoting the city (for better or for worse). Honest question, how do you feel these logos (all with prominent city names) compare to having the city name above ours?

This. I still think Kakko has the potential to seriously dominate, but it's a toss-up. The fact that they're both so talented, you have to look at other elements, and the huge trump card is the position. In the poll, I voted Kakko because I think he'll be the better player, but I still think without a doubt that Hughes goes first.

It was that Burger fellow tonight. Man, I thought he was some sort of mini-goalie, then found out he's 5'11". The Ben Bishops of the world are ruining it for everyone.

Anybody have any info on the starting goalies for the Germany/USA game? Is Grubauer still out? I really thought that Germany was legit until last nights thrashing at the hands of Canada's 5th tier team, but would be happy to see them upset the Americans.

Good post and food for thought. Just off of recent memory there are a number of 'models' that have been admired for replication. - Cup winners can influence that. When the 2011 Bruins and 2012 Kings sent a message that you had to be tough and strong. That it didn't matter how skilled you are if you didn't have BIG, MEAN players. - Then there's today where everybody wants their small, speedy skill-guy. - Developmentally, the failure of the Oilers "proved" that you couldn't just have young players thrown together without putting them in a winning environment. So, enter Lindennig saying that we had to win and develop at the same time. - Well, how well did that work out? Our re-jig became a retool became a reboot became a rebuild and we're nowhere. - For a while, the Detroit model was looked up to: slowly introduce players only after they have payed their dues in the minors, even if your high picks are there until their 20's. - Now...get your kids in as soon as possible. In our case, Utica isn't even being used, really. We just go the college route. Point is, a lot of this stuff seems reactionary, and in many cases that fails. You have to be proactive, and (just as you said) determine what the future is going to be like. Problem there? What if you're dead wrong? These people (scouts, GM's, etc.) are excellent at their jobs, but their not prophets, and don't possess a crystal ball. So, basically, if you guess wrong, you're hooped. Like in a lot of situations, I doubt there is only one way...but there are more and less effective ways. And after all that...I can't claim to know them.

Last guess on this one for me... Antero Niittymaki

Ollie Kolzig? Don't think I'm right, but I'll hazard a guess!

Pete Peters? I love this thread, haha. It reminds me of all the hockey cards sitting in my garage!

Correct. Pretty easy, but I had to represent my all-time fave!

Chico Resch of the Colorado Rockies

As happy as I am to see Demerit get the recognition, I feel YP Lee has been the best at his position for the caps this year and might have deserved a nomination even more.

The way I see this is similar to the off setting penalty and diving call people complain about in hockey. People complain about this but in a hockey game, if it is a legitimate hook or something and the guy embellishes it to make it worse, both are justifiable calls. Same deal here. Camilo clearly took an "inadvertent" tumble on the play, but buddy on SJ stuck his foot out when he was clearly beaten. Maybe Camilo should/could have been punished too, but it was still the right call.

Lol. Did Rintoul just refer to the "ginger contingent" in vancouver? I assume he feels he is part of it, along with robson, lulay and schneider. Anyone know if the Canadians or Giants have any redheads?

Okay. Now let's see what Miller can do.

From a team standpoint this is seemingly a good move. From a marketing standpoint I think Hassli brought more than some might realize. A big strong tough player does wonders to attract people who dislike soccer because of its reputation as a wuss-sport. His value as a fan favourite equals value for ticket sales. Additionally, turnover frustrates people, especially if you're not getting players back. Casual fans can't be bothered to remember every single player and I'm sure the roster spots, allocation money and multiple drafts cnfuse people too. If we win significantly more games because of this, yeah, its worth it from a marketing standpoint because winning is th bottom line. But its always a risk trading away a big name player when yourre trying to attract new fans!

Only reason he wasn't first are the letter D and P.

Kinda new this was coming after chimiento left. After le toux writing was on the wall. I agree that Rennie has done a good job with this club but it doesn't seem hassli was given a fair shot under him. Really though, from the bottom the only direction the Caps COULD have gone was up. Seems unless you're scottish or played with the railhawks last year you don't get the same opportunity.