IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
Regardless of whether Slovakia wins the Bronze Medal, Demitra has been the best player in this tournament and has been his team's most valuable player. If the US wins the Gold Medal, perhaps I'll change my mind for Miller. But IMO Demitra has been the best player.
This is the beauty of international hockey, the natural advantages that Canadiens and Americans have in the NHL are eliminated, and players' talent shows through moreso because they are playing within a more natural system. Who would have guessed Demitra would be this good in these Olympics?
Olympics are a completely different game than the NHL, and Demitra has just proved that.
My All Star Team:
Pavol Demitra - Ryan Getzlaf - Zach Parise
Brian Rafalski - Shea Weber
Ryan Miller
All Star Teams tend to look at points more than anything. Why did I include Getzlaf? He's really stepped it up when it counts just like Parise. Their last two games have been phenomenal.
Top Forward: Pavol Demitra
Top Defenseman: Brian Rafalski*
Top Goaltender: Ryan Miller
* - That could change if Shea Weber has another monster game.
MVP - Pavol Demitra if SVK can hang on, but a shutout for Miller would definitely change my vote....if I could.
Olympics are a completely different game than the NHL, and Demitra has just proved that.
Maybe so, but more than anything it proves Demitra's mindset and determination are night and day when assessing his play internationally vs. his NHL play.
In addition to being the MVP in my book, he also had the best goal (the slapshot) and the best shootout goal (game winner against Russia). Also was involved in the most heart-breaking moment (so far), with that last second shot against Canada - that save or cross-bar shot.
Maybe so, but more than anything it proves Demitra's mindset and determination are night and day when assessing his play internationally vs. his NHL play.
Which is extremely frustrating when you watch him play in the NHL for the Canucks, where has THIS Demitra been?
Maybe so, but more than anything it proves Demitra's mindset and determination are night and day when assessing his play internationally vs. his NHL play.
I think you're drawing improper conclusions. Demitra has the ability to shine in international hockey because it is a different game. Plus, he is surrounded by other Slovak players. Imagine a Canadian or American playing 80 games in the KHL. Different hockey culture. Plus, Demitra isn't a young guy. 82 NHL games with its physical, North American hockey culture is difficult to handle for a player his age.
Demetra will be on the all-tournament team, at least he should. MVP? Don't know, he's been really good, but I think to be MVP he needed to bury one of those two chances last night.
Demetra will be on the all-tournament team, at least he should. MVP? Don't know, he's been really good, but I think to be MVP he needed to bury one of those two chances last night.
I don't know how you "bury" a bank-shot from behind the net. The second, last second shot either was a very lucky save or a cross-bar or a combination. I don't think you can fault Demitra in the least bit.
Demetra will be on the all-tournament team, at least he should. MVP? Don't know, he's been really good, but I think to be MVP he needed to bury one of those two chances last night.
He probably would have burried it if Luongo wasn't in net. Not many goalies would stop a shot like that.
Demitra will be on the all-tournament team, at least he should. MVP? Don't know, he's been really good, but I think to be MVP he needed to bury one of those two chances last night.
I think the analogy would be that Demitra hit one that was going out of the park, its just that the guy playing left field climbed the wall to steal his home run.
I think you're drawing improper conclusions. Demitra has the ability to shine in international hockey because it is a different game. Plus, he is surrounded by other Slovak players. Imagine a Canadian or American playing 80 games in the KHL. Different hockey culture. Plus, Demitra isn't a young guy. 82 NHL games with its physical, North American hockey culture is difficult to handle for a player his age.
As a Blues fan, I have watched Demitra since 1998. So I am not making an assessment of him from a 7 game sample size. This is a career trend. And just to analyze these games, because of the NHL rink the games have been much more NHL style compared to other Olympics and Demitra has still been dominant. Look at his 3rd period against Canada, 1 of the 2 most physical teams in the tourney.
The joke in STL back in the day was if you ever needed a dominant performance against Columbus on a Tuesday in October, Demitra was your guy. Against the Wings in April, not so much. Demitra was an outstanding regular season player for many years but his game tailed off noticeably come playoff time. He was soft and timid and not mentally tough.
But when he put on that Slovakia sweater, he was a totally different player in important international games. Even when he was piling up the points in STL in the late 90s-early 2000s, it was just b/c of his talent. He never paid a price to score. We know how talented he is and was in his prime, but when he plays for Slovkia he plays with the energy and hunger of a Ryan Johnson. You see how incredible he is when he puts the two together. That was always very frustrating as a Blues fan.
Demitra is player that epitomizes the popular thought that Europeans care more about a gold medal than a Cup.
As a Blues fan, I have watched Demitra since 1998. So I am not making an assessment of him from a 7 game sample size. This is a career trend. And just to analyze these games, because of the NHL rink the games have been much more NHL style compared to other Olympics and Demitra has still been dominant. Look at his 3rd period against Canada, 1 of the 2 most physical teams in the tourney.
The joke in STL back in the day was if you ever needed a dominant performance against Columbus on a Tuesday in October, Demitra was your guy. Against the Wings in April, not so much. Demitra was an outstanding regular season player for many years but his game tailed off noticeably come playoff time. He was soft and timid and not mentally tough.
But when he put on that Slovakia sweater, he was a totally different player in important international games. Even when he was piling up the points in STL in the late 90s-early 2000s, it was just b/c of his talent. He never paid a price to score. We know how talented he is and was in his prime, but when he plays for Slovkia he plays with the energy and hunger of a Ryan Johnson. You see how incredible he is when he puts the two together. That was always very frustrating as a Blues fan.
Demitra is player that epitomizes the popular thought that Europeans care more about a gold medal than a Cup.
While there's some truth here, I think this is more extreme than reality. While with the Blues, he had some bad injuries multiple times, but played in the playoffs anyway. It was no surprise that he was ineffective, and he deserves credit just for suiting up.
And I think the knock on Demitra being soft grew primarily out of instances when he was 1. on a team that wasn't giving him any support, so he became the scapegoat, and 2. was playing injured. Because when he was healthy, he was always a good penalty killer and never coasted. I remember seeing him playing a lot around the net, scoring a lot of goals in the blue paint, and making a lot of great plays while being pulled down or hit.
But, sadly, people remember the player who left the team more so than the player in previous seasons. And Blues fans remember the reasons the player didn't bring home the Cup more so than the reasons the team didn't bring home the Cup. Because, unfortunately, the loudest ones are fair-weather fans who don't understand the game that well. I'm confident that if MacInnis wasn't forced to retire when he was, Blues fans wouldn't be so happy about his statue, because they would have turned on him, too.
There's no arguing that injuries have seriously affected Demitra, especially from his last season with the Blues and getting worse up to now, basically. And he's not a big, physical guy. But his rap as a perimeter player who is invisible in games that matter because he doesn't care about winning the Cup is a gross oversimplification that is born more out of ignorant fan grudges than a fair assessment.
nope if he buried that goal against luongo then yes but I don't think he wins it. Miller probably if he shines win or lose tomorrow. He's going to face 40+ shots you can definitely count on that.
