I think the Czechs are due for a good dusting. Why not us? I’m sick of those guys. That 3:0 match in Germany ’08 where that 40 yard Rosicky bomb broke my heart. The 5:1 drubbing in Italia ’90 where someone must have said something to Wynalda about his momma, because he hit a dude and got sent off for his trouble.
Having gotten that out of my system, I think that if Coach Bob does this right, and the Czechs field their first team we are probably more likely to lose. I think Coach Bob should get a last look at the bubble guys and be certain who should remain on with the team through the World Cup Finals. I think it’s worth sacrificing a result to figure this out. If the Czechs field their reserves, our ‘B’ guys could very well make a game of it or at least make it clear who isn’t comfortable playing up when it’s World Cup time.
Good wholesome exercise in the sun never hurt nobody either…except in rather extreme cases involving skin cancer…
I hope no one from either side gets hurt.
About teams from Eastern Europe:
The tackles are “no nonsense” – our boys might want to leap over those.
Look out for the counter. Granted that is a de rigueur sort of thing now in football, but that is the bread and butter of the Eastern European game. Thus managing risk by not taking so many risks. Better to punish us when we risk pushing up numbers and lose the ball.
If we lose the ball we may not be seeing it again for quite some time.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
USA Hockey/2010 IIHF World Championships: Where Were You?
USA Hockey won a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament. The United States men’s team are ranked 5th in the world.
At the Germany 2010 World Ice Hockey Championship the United States struggled to score goals and possess the puck, were beaten three straight times and eliminated.
The United States selection for the Germany 2010 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championships lost to first Germany in front of nearly 80,000 spectators (2:1 sudden death OT), then Denmark (2:1 sudden death OT), and finally Finland (3:2) resulting in their unceremonious, and perhaps undeserved, exit from the tournament.
None of the losses was an embarrassment on the scoreboard. But if you were to look at the record of the United States team over the years in major international tournaments, you would see that they have rarely lost to either Germany or Denmark. Thus the results were quite embarrassing regardless of the score. This raises the question “Why did we crash out of this tournament in such spectacular ‘crash and burn’ fashion?”
Was the selection not strong enough? Was the effort not enough? Were our opponents simply better regardless of who we put in a United States sweater? Had the Stanley Cup Finals poached the best players from the USA team?
The USA had some mean talent to be sure at the IIHF Worlds:
Brandon Dubinsky, who was, quite frankly, unlucky to not be selected for the Olympic team for Vancouver 2010.
Jack Johnson of the Los Angeles Kings, who was selected for the Olympics and still saw fit to represent his country after playing 92 matches between the NHL season, the Olympic tournament, and the Stanley Cup’s first round. He was the only player who accepted an invitation to be on this team of those that represented the USA in the Olympics.
Scott Clemmensen, a fine goaltender. He certainly has given the New York Rangers fits over the years while he played for their bitter Hudson River rivals the New Jersey Devils.
And the talent level doesn’t decrease at all after these three...however the experience level in international competition drops dramatically.
If it was the goal of USA Hockey to get more of its young stars experience on the world stage regardless of the result, then mission accomplished.
If not, the Germany 2010 tournament raises some serious questions about the selectors at USA Hockey, the desire of the American players to represent their country or perhaps both.
It’s easy enough to round up the highest level of talent for the Olympic Games ice hockey tournament. The Olympics presents a global stage to showcase the ability of hockey players with a captive television audience of billions. The IIHF Worlds on the other hand is probably not seen by that many people in the United States and it is likely that the USA selectors struggle to scrape up a competitive team.
This begs the question “Are the IIHF World Championships not as important as the Olympic ice hockey tournament?”
It’s not difficult to imagine a player’s agent advising them to decline participation in the IIHF Worlds. After the grueling 82 match season of the NHL, and in some instances the first round of the Stanley Cup, plus perhaps other international competition such as the Olympics or the IIHF World Junior Championships, one could see how players might be a bit sore and tired. Perhaps they are even carrying an injury after that level of prolonged gritty competition.
The conclusion that it seems safe to draw, is that representing the United States in the Olympics is glamourous, and doing the same for the IIHF Worlds is anonymous. That is a sad commentary on the national pride of our ice hockey players.
Part of the problem is the timing of the IIHF Worlds, which begins during the Stanley Cup Finals. The only players from the NHL that are available for selection for the IIHF Worlds, are from teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Finals, and teams that are eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup.
Jack Johnson represented his country in both tournaments. Alexander Ovechkin represented his country in both tournaments.
I have the greatest respect for the men that wore the USA sweater in this year’s edition of the IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship. They battled hard, and did their best.
But could we have fielded a more experienced team?
So for America...why not:
Chris Drury
Brian Boyle
Zach Bogosian
Tim Gleason
Ryan Malone
Mike Lundin
Rob Schremp
Keith Ballard
Phil Kessel
Erik Johnson
Ty Conklin
David Backes
James Wisniewski
Bobby Ryan
Matt Niskanen
R.J. Umberger
Ryan Whitney
Patrick O’Sullivan
Tom Gilbert
Lee Stempniak
Chris Butler
Drew Stafford
Jason Pominville
Ryan Miller
Tim Kennedy
Patrick Kaleta
Paul Gaustad
Ryan Stoa
Paul Stastny
Jon-Michael Liles
Craig Anderson
Rob Scuderi
Jonathan Quick
Scott Parse
Jeff Halpern
Dustin Brown
Colin Wilson
Ryan Suter
David Legwand
Francis Buillon
The list of eligible players to represent the USA in the IIHF World Championship is larger than this, but I grew weary and a bit jaded compiling it.
It is my hope that in future international tournaments that USA Hockey publish the list of players invited, and also a list of players that decline the opportunity to represent their country, perhaps showing a reason of why they chose not to participate.
American professional hockey players...where were you when America crashed out of the 2010 IIHF Worlds?
Were you invited by the USA Hockey selectors? Did you decline? Were you hurt? Did you have a family emergency?
Where were you?
At the Germany 2010 World Ice Hockey Championship the United States struggled to score goals and possess the puck, were beaten three straight times and eliminated.
The United States selection for the Germany 2010 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championships lost to first Germany in front of nearly 80,000 spectators (2:1 sudden death OT), then Denmark (2:1 sudden death OT), and finally Finland (3:2) resulting in their unceremonious, and perhaps undeserved, exit from the tournament.
None of the losses was an embarrassment on the scoreboard. But if you were to look at the record of the United States team over the years in major international tournaments, you would see that they have rarely lost to either Germany or Denmark. Thus the results were quite embarrassing regardless of the score. This raises the question “Why did we crash out of this tournament in such spectacular ‘crash and burn’ fashion?”
Was the selection not strong enough? Was the effort not enough? Were our opponents simply better regardless of who we put in a United States sweater? Had the Stanley Cup Finals poached the best players from the USA team?
The USA had some mean talent to be sure at the IIHF Worlds:
Brandon Dubinsky, who was, quite frankly, unlucky to not be selected for the Olympic team for Vancouver 2010.
Jack Johnson of the Los Angeles Kings, who was selected for the Olympics and still saw fit to represent his country after playing 92 matches between the NHL season, the Olympic tournament, and the Stanley Cup’s first round. He was the only player who accepted an invitation to be on this team of those that represented the USA in the Olympics.
Scott Clemmensen, a fine goaltender. He certainly has given the New York Rangers fits over the years while he played for their bitter Hudson River rivals the New Jersey Devils.
And the talent level doesn’t decrease at all after these three...however the experience level in international competition drops dramatically.
If it was the goal of USA Hockey to get more of its young stars experience on the world stage regardless of the result, then mission accomplished.
If not, the Germany 2010 tournament raises some serious questions about the selectors at USA Hockey, the desire of the American players to represent their country or perhaps both.
It’s easy enough to round up the highest level of talent for the Olympic Games ice hockey tournament. The Olympics presents a global stage to showcase the ability of hockey players with a captive television audience of billions. The IIHF Worlds on the other hand is probably not seen by that many people in the United States and it is likely that the USA selectors struggle to scrape up a competitive team.
This begs the question “Are the IIHF World Championships not as important as the Olympic ice hockey tournament?”
It’s not difficult to imagine a player’s agent advising them to decline participation in the IIHF Worlds. After the grueling 82 match season of the NHL, and in some instances the first round of the Stanley Cup, plus perhaps other international competition such as the Olympics or the IIHF World Junior Championships, one could see how players might be a bit sore and tired. Perhaps they are even carrying an injury after that level of prolonged gritty competition.
The conclusion that it seems safe to draw, is that representing the United States in the Olympics is glamourous, and doing the same for the IIHF Worlds is anonymous. That is a sad commentary on the national pride of our ice hockey players.
Part of the problem is the timing of the IIHF Worlds, which begins during the Stanley Cup Finals. The only players from the NHL that are available for selection for the IIHF Worlds, are from teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Finals, and teams that are eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup.
Jack Johnson represented his country in both tournaments. Alexander Ovechkin represented his country in both tournaments.
I have the greatest respect for the men that wore the USA sweater in this year’s edition of the IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship. They battled hard, and did their best.
But could we have fielded a more experienced team?
So for America...why not:
Chris Drury
Brian Boyle
Zach Bogosian
Tim Gleason
Ryan Malone
Mike Lundin
Rob Schremp
Keith Ballard
Phil Kessel
Erik Johnson
Ty Conklin
David Backes
James Wisniewski
Bobby Ryan
Matt Niskanen
R.J. Umberger
Ryan Whitney
Patrick O’Sullivan
Tom Gilbert
Lee Stempniak
Chris Butler
Drew Stafford
Jason Pominville
Ryan Miller
Tim Kennedy
Patrick Kaleta
Paul Gaustad
Ryan Stoa
Paul Stastny
Jon-Michael Liles
Craig Anderson
Rob Scuderi
Jonathan Quick
Scott Parse
Jeff Halpern
Dustin Brown
Colin Wilson
Ryan Suter
David Legwand
Francis Buillon
The list of eligible players to represent the USA in the IIHF World Championship is larger than this, but I grew weary and a bit jaded compiling it.
It is my hope that in future international tournaments that USA Hockey publish the list of players invited, and also a list of players that decline the opportunity to represent their country, perhaps showing a reason of why they chose not to participate.
American professional hockey players...where were you when America crashed out of the 2010 IIHF Worlds?
Were you invited by the USA Hockey selectors? Did you decline? Were you hurt? Did you have a family emergency?
Where were you?
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