December 28, 2004
World Juniors Roundup
What lessons should Team USA take away from their 6-4 win over Switzerland last night? If I was head coach Scott Sandelin, I'd be a little worried. It's one thing to give up four goals in a wide open game against Russia, but it's quite another to blow a 2-0 lead, and let Switzerland pot four goals in the final period.
At times last night, it seemed like Team USA was content to coast on its talent alone, figuring it could simply take advantage at will when the puck bounced their way. And for the first two periods, they were essentially correct, although the Swiss deserve credit for playing a disciplined defensive game in the first two periods that prevented Team USA from developing any offensive rythym. As ESPN2's brodcast team noted last night, players turn professional at 17 in Switzerland, and last night the Swiss certainly played like it.
So while Team USA's lackadaisical team might have been enough against Switzerland, and will probably be enough to defeat Belarus, I suspect it won't be nearly as successful against a more talented Czech squad they face later in pool play. And I know it won't be enough against Canada, the yardstick against which Team USA's play has to be measured each and every time. Up next for Team USA, Belarus on Wednesday night. For the remainder of the tournament schedule, click here.
And speaking of Team Canada, they stayed atop their pool with an 8-1 destruction of Sweden, with 17-year old phenom Sidney Crosby scoring twice. And speaking of Crosby, it looks like somebody in the NHLPA got to him and told him to shut up when it comes to playing in an NHL that might be populated with replacement players next season:
"If there is an NHL with replacement players, I think for me to be involved and to say that I would play in the league is not true," Crosby told TSN. "If the NHL is the real NHL with the best players in the world, for sure I want to play in it but at the same time, if it's a league of replacement players, it's not the real NHL. And with all the things going on right now with players and owners, it's not right and I don't think I'd be playing in a league like that."
Elsewhere in pool play, Slovakia blanked Finland, 2-0, and Russia defeated the Czech Republic, 4-1.
For all of your World Junior hockey needs, click here for coverage from TSN, or here for the official site. And thanks to the folks at Fox Sports World, who have added video highlights from the tourney into the nightly broadcast of Fox Sports World Report.
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» Fed Up With Hockey from BehindTheNet.org
Fun times over at Off Wing today, where the ongoing World Junior Championships brought up a recent aside by Canadian teenage phenom Sidney Crosby. His comments were interpreted by some as suggesting he might play in the NHL next year... [Read More]
Tracked on December 28, 2004 07:04 PM
One thing this tournament has done is fully sold me on no-touch icing and legalization of two-line passes. Although I haven't chased down any objective numeric data, it appears to me that given players who are used to no-touch icing rules, defenses clear the puck a lot less -- since they know it's coming back automatically, they save the clearing attempts for real emergencies.
Replacement players? Fine by me. The NHLPA hasn't done anything to show me its players are interested in playing hockey in North America under a sustainable, competitive economic system (as opposed to the half of them who are playing for less money in Europe), so to heck with them. Bring on the replacements, I just want some hockey.
Posted by:
at December 28, 2004 11:47 AM
Josh -- Can you explain a little more? Are you saying the NHLPA is ignoring the wishes of the players playing for less in Europe, or are you fed up with all of them?
And what was your beef with the players' latest proposal?
Just trying to sample opinion.
Posted by:
at December 28, 2004 12:25 PM
The original Crosby comments were pretty tame- just a kid saying he'd take any chance he could to live out his dream. TSN blew it up into a big story and then went to him again for a clarification so they could run another Sidney Crosby piece. TSN is hyping him to the roof- one of his goals last night was a typical garbage goal- the kind of stuff Draper makes a living doing- but listening to McGuire it was pure genius.
I don't want to take away from what the kid is doing but I wouldn't mind if he was treated like everyone else at his level, and yes, there are other players in the tournament at his level.
Posted by:
at December 28, 2004 12:59 PM
Beau: about 4 paragraphs into my response, I decided I'd better post it over at my place.
Posted by:
at December 28, 2004 07:04 PM
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