IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
I think that Russia needs to work on it's defence the most between now and Sochi in order to have the best possible shot at gold. What I noticed in this series is that the Russian defenders were not only poor at getting the puck out of their zone, but also poor at transitioning it up to the forwards to set up some offense. Canada on the other hand has an extremely mobile defence core that will help generate a lot of offense (at the cost of some defensive postioning). Going into Ufa, I'd say Canada and Russia are pretty equal offensively (depending on if any players jump up to the NHL by then). Canada has a decidedly better core of defensemen, while the Russians are stronger between the pipes.
Of course you're right, but I would make a distinction between the terrible group of defensemen that we have in the 93 and 94 born junior group and the ones who will be playing in the Olympics. As we've discussed in the past, Russians suffer from sheer inexperience in the junior age groups - they just don't know what to do. By the time they are age 25-35, their maturation level will be fully functional. Most of the Russian defensemen in the Olympics will be experienced NHL players, and there will be probably be 2 or 3 from the KHL who will be accomplished players. They will be really good skaters who will get the puck out of the zone fast. Even among the juniors, the group of D men the Russians had in Buffalo in the 2011 WJC - Orlov, Berdyukov, Pitsakin, Berezin, etc., were really good, and played really well during the tournament. This group that you saw this week just can't get out of their own way.
I don't think the reffing decided the game, whether it was bad or not. Even if it were, Russia didn't create many chances in the 3rd because they were clearly exhausted, at which point there were no leaders to 'carry' the team. They failed to convert on 2 Crucial PPs.
Some important points for Russian Roster:
1. Pedan is a PIM collector. He's bad and not WJC calibre. His lack of speed/positioning = bad penalties; proven many times.
2. Grigorenko sucked. [Period] (Slow, uninterested, giveaways)
3. Makarov > Vasilevski, right now
4. Yakupov is long away from Kuznetsov/Tarasenko level. Not bad, but he can't carry a team, YET.
5. Sigarev, Slepyshev, even Kosov were more impressive (the wonders Adult hockey can do for developement! *cough*Yak, Grigs *cough*)
6. Tkachyov is fast and uses it well. Shmelev is good 1v1, but poor defensively.
7. This team with Nichushkin, Khokhlachev, Buchnevich, Kucherov and Kadeikin has good potential for top 3 finish at WJC.
The leadership on the team came from Sigarev, Slepyshev, Kapustin and Kosov, much less so from Yakupov, and minus negative from Grigorenko.
Should an NHL lock-out carry on into December (looking likely) and all players available here's what my team would look like:
and if I were HC I wouldn't take a 13th forward, but I would opt for going with an 8th. D-man who would be Murphy only to QB the PP. In mid-season form he's be dynamic on large ice.
The goalie? Who else? we have no other choice but to ride with Subban and the number 2 is Halifax guy.
This line-up I think would be a strong contender. Of course, a few of the other 1995 players may have a shot depending on how their first half of the season goes.
J Huberdeau (93) R Nugent-Hopkins (93) N Mackinnon (95)
S Griffith (93) R Strome (93) T Rattie (93)
H Shinkaruk (94) M Scheiffle (93) S Monahan (94)
K Rychel (94) B Jenner (93) C Hudon (94)
R Murray (93)G Reinhart (94)
D Hamilton (93) M Reilly (94)
C Ceci (93) M Dumba (94)
S Harrington (93) R Murphy (93)
I think that Russia needs to work on it's defence the most between now and Sochi in order to have the best possible shot at gold. What I noticed in this series is that the Russian defenders were not only poor at getting the puck out of their zone, but also poor at transitioning it up to the forwards to set up some offense.
Bilyaletdinov will take care of that, no doubt. At WHC '12 Russia looked solid in the D-zone and on the PK, while U-20 d-men are plagued by the inability to defend their own goalie. Just as Yakushev wrote, current juniors need to mature. Orlov, Berdyukov, Pivtsakin already played a season with the adults by the time they went to WJC in Buffalo.
With these group of players like Vasilevsky, Makarov, Vasilevsky, Pedan, Sergeev, Nesterov, Yarulin, Kosov, Prohorkin , Yakupov, Grigorenko, Zlobin, Slepishev, Buchnevich and Smelev, you just cant fail.
This is why I'm careful not to say things like this, b/c I know it will jinx my team.
But it was not a bad series of games for the team.
Bilyaletdinov will take care of that, no doubt. At WHC '12 Russia looked solid in the D-zone and on the PK, while U-20 d-men are plagued by the inability to defend their own goalie. Just as Yakushev wrote, current juniors need to mature. Orlov, Berdyukov, Pivtsakin already played a season with the adults by the time they went to WJC in Buffalo.
Bilyaletdinov's defensive system was extremely successful in the WHC '12, and the team played with tremendous confidence because of it. Russia had the major share of puck possession, which can help to explain why they scored so many goals.
This is why I'm careful not to say things like this, b/c I know it will jinx my team.
But it was not a bad series of games for the team.
The series was as close to being a draw as you can get without actually being a draw (total score for both teams was 16-16). Still, there was never any reason to say that Russia couldn't possibly fail to win.
This is why I'm careful not to say things like this, b/c I know it will jinx my team.
But it was not a bad series of games for the team.
So 2 wins out of 4 = fail? Didnt know that so far. PS- my post(which was quoted by you) was answer to statement "I expect a big fail like last time in 2007".
So 2 wins out of 4 = fail? Didnt know that so far. PS- my post(which was quoted by you) was answer to statement "I expect a big fail like last time in 2007".
Certainly not I may have misinterpreted, and I didn't realize you said that in response to another post, my apologies.
Should an NHL lock-out carry on into December (looking likely) and all players available here's what my team would look like:
and if I were HC I wouldn't take a 13th forward, but I would opt for going with an 8th. D-man who would be Murphy only to QB the PP. In mid-season form he's be dynamic on large ice.
The goalie? Who else? we have no other choice but to ride with Subban and the number 2 is Halifax guy.
This line-up I think would be a strong contender. Of course, a few of the other 1995 players may have a shot depending on how their first half of the season goes.
J Huberdeau (93) R Nugent-Hopkins (93) N Mackinnon (95)
S Griffith (93) R Strome (93) T Rattie (93)
H Shinkaruk (94) M Scheiffle (93) S Monahan (94)
K Rychel (94) B Jenner (93) C Hudon (94)
R Murray (93)G Reinhart (94)
D Hamilton (93) M Reilly (94)
C Ceci (93) M Dumba (94)
S Harrington (93) R Murphy (93)
HOLY CRAP that is the most stacked D i have ever seen. Absolutely insane.
Should an NHL lock-out carry on into December (looking likely) and all players available here's what my team would look like:
and if I were HC I wouldn't take a 13th forward, but I would opt for going with an 8th. D-man who would be Murphy only to QB the PP. In mid-season form he's be dynamic on large ice.
The goalie? Who else? we have no other choice but to ride with Subban and the number 2 is Halifax guy.
This line-up I think would be a strong contender. Of course, a few of the other 1995 players may have a shot depending on how their first half of the season goes.
J Huberdeau (93) R Nugent-Hopkins (93) N Mackinnon (95)
S Griffith (93) R Strome (93) T Rattie (93)
H Shinkaruk (94) M Scheiffle (93) S Monahan (94)
K Rychel (94) B Jenner (93) C Hudon (94)
R Murray (93)G Reinhart (94)
D Hamilton (93) M Reilly (94)
C Ceci (93) M Dumba (94)
S Harrington (93) R Murphy (93)
Based on what I saw in the Super Series, Shinkaruk is in a similar position as Rattie last year... a big scorer who just isnt ready for this level
And I would take Oullet over Ceci any day, especially if we already have Hamilton, Dumba, Rielly and Murphy.
Huberdeau -- RNH -- Mackinnon would look filthy though.
Based on what I saw in the Super Series, Shinkaruk is in a similar position as Rattie last year... a big scorer who just isnt ready for this level
And I would take Oullet over Ceci any day, especially if we already have Hamilton, Dumba, Rielly and Murphy.
Huberdeau -- RNH -- Mackinnon would look filthy though.
RE: Shinkaruk I was also a little disappointed in his play at the Summit Series. But am not prepared to write him off for the Christmas tournament just yet. I'm willing to just attribute it to first games of the season, slow starter. He definitely gets an invite to December camp as Id prefer to see players of his skill level on big European ice than typical 3rd and 4th line grinders... lets go with 3 lines that can lead the attack and a 4th line that is strictly focused on playing a shut-down role. That's what my approach would be anyway. But HC and I seldom agree.
I wouldn't scream foul if HC chooses Ouellette over Ceci. both are a toss up in my opinion... but you seem to have a particular bias towards Quellette over Ceci. What is it you see that gives X the advantage over C?
RE: Shinkaruk I was also a little disappointed in his play at the Summit Series. But am not prepared to write him off for the Christmas tournament just yet. I'm willing to just attribute it to first games of the season, slow starter. He definitely gets an invite to December camp as Id prefer to see players of his skill level on big European ice than typical 3rd and 4th line grinders... lets go with 3 lines that can lead the attack and a 4th line that is strictly focused on playing a shut-down role. That's what my approach would be anyway. But HC and I seldom agree.
I wouldn't scream foul if HC chooses Ouellette over Ceci. both are a toss up in my opinion... but you seem to have a particular bias towards Quellette over Ceci. What is it you see that gives X the advantage over C?
I dont have a bias, I was convinced by another poster.
Ceci is a puck rusher and shooter, and hes known for some defensive lapses. His play without the puck needs to improve.
If we didnt have Rielly, Hamilton, Murphy and Dumba, he would make the team, but imo, we got exposed in game 3 of the series because we played most of the game with 6 D, of which 4 were offensively oriented: Rielly, Ceci, Dumba, Murphy
Oullette is a two-way defenceman, who from what I saw played very error free. I was impressed by his play in his own zone
I feel Percy can have a good shot because he is one of the few defensively minded defenceman we can bring that has good hockey sense, poise and is mobile. Certainly suitable for the big ice. Tbh not entirely sure Dumba makes it.
Based on what I saw in the Super Series, Shinkaruk is in a similar position as Rattie last year... a big scorer who just isnt ready for this level
And I would take Oullet over Ceci any day, especially if we already have Hamilton, Dumba, Rielly and Murphy.
Huberdeau -- RNH -- Mackinnon would look filthy though.
With Shinkaruk there's also a question about the benefits that came from playing with Etem. It will be interesting to see this year what he does with Etem gone.
I dont have a bias, I was convinced by another poster.
Ceci is a puck rusher and shooter, and hes known for some defensive lapses. His play without the puck needs to improve.
If we didnt have Rielly, Hamilton, Murphy and Dumba, he would make the team, but imo, we got exposed in game 3 of the series because we played most of the game with 6 D, of which 4 were offensively oriented: Rielly, Ceci, Dumba, Murphy
Oullette is a two-way defenceman, who from what I saw played very error free. I was impressed by his play in his own zone
I do have a bias, and wont pretend I dont but this is how I see it as well. Ceci just isnt as good of a player as Ouellet is right now. Ouellet is a great defensive guy, used against Yakupov in that final OT, Ceci isnt that type of player. However Ouellet can also generate comparable offense or better offense due to his year of experience. It was shwon in another thread that he is one of very few Q dmen to score 60 points at age 18.
With all the puck movers already available and Harrington the only real defensive guy, I dont see Ouellet not making this team unless he has a bad start.
I mea if you go watch that last game of the series, Ouellet played stellar defensively and can still step into a PP role because he isnt just a defensive guy
Grigorenko quote from last night chirping a bit Team Russia:
"I had forgotten how special it was to play here, said Grigorenko, smiling after the game. I could not wait to play this first game." He had not played for almost two weeks, since the Canada-Russia series. "I mean nothing against Russia, but here, the game is more structured and you know where everyone is on the ice."
Grigorenko quote from last night chirping a bit Team Russia:
"I had forgotten how special it was to play here, said Grigorenko, smiling after the game. I could not wait to play this first game." He had not played for almost two weeks, since the Canada-Russia series. "I mean nothing against Russia, but here, the game is more structured and you know where everyone is on the ice."
Sounds like he's trying to offload his invisible performance in the Super Series to lack of structure on Team Russia. Don't be surprised if he's not picked for the WJC in Ufa. He was just taking up space in the Super Series.
Didnt know that so far. PS- my post(which was quoted by you) was answer to statement "I expect a big fail like last time in 2007".
