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Post by blny on May 14, 2015 20:00:12 GMT -5
Didn't see a thread, thought I'd start one with the notion of perhaps scouting/identifying prospects for the Habs.
I've watched a few of the games, happening to catch a couple featuring the Czech team. Jan Kovar (Koh-vash) is constantly involved. Only 5'11, but he's listed over 200lbs. Skates well. Plays in KHL, and has been amongst the league point leaders the last two years. Right handed shot. He signed an extension for next year according to Elite Prospects, if I read it right. Likely has an out clause. He's 25.
I wonder if the Sekac story soured any potential future deals with international players. If not, he might be worth a look. Could be a cheaper way to add offense.
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Post by jkr on May 15, 2015 6:36:39 GMT -5
I don't know if offense in the KHL translates to offense in the NHL. The only recent moves I remember are Sekac and Kuznetsov of Washington. Neither of them have put up the numbers like you might have expected. Bring back Kovalchuk.  |
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Post by blny on May 15, 2015 13:00:21 GMT -5
Kuznetsov was very dangerous in the games I saw. Just missing some finish, but I think that will come with experience. IMO, whether it be Sekac, Kuznetsov, or Kolar, bringing in one of these guys is low risk. Is it likely any of them become first line players? No. Is there a chance they become strong secondary offense? Yes.
In the case of Kuz, he was a Caps draft pick in his first draft eligible year. Turns 23 next week.
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Post by jkr on May 16, 2015 9:40:18 GMT -5
Watching Canada & the Czech Repuplic & I see that Plekanec is already over there playing.
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Post by blny on May 16, 2015 11:38:58 GMT -5
Ovi went over to play for Russia too. Championship is in CR, so Tomas' going isn't all that out of the ordinary. He was likely headed home regardless.
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Post by Tankdriver on May 16, 2015 13:05:43 GMT -5
Personally I think that if you didn't play in the round robin, you shouldn't be allowed to play in the playoffs. So no Ovechkin, Plekanec, etc. should be allowed.
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Post by blny on May 16, 2015 13:59:11 GMT -5
Personally I think that if you didn't play in the round robin, you shouldn't be allowed to play in the playoffs. So no Ovechkin, Plekanec, etc. should be allowed. Completely agree. There should be a last day for roster changes. |
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Post by jkr on May 17, 2015 17:08:54 GMT -5
Canada with a dominant performance win the Gold - 6-1.
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Post by blny on May 17, 2015 17:31:09 GMT -5
Tactics all tournament based on speed, transition, and attacking. A shame you have to go to the IIHF to see Canadians do it en mass.
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Post by Dschens on May 17, 2015 17:38:23 GMT -5
Tactics all tournament based on speed, transition, and attacking. A shame you have to go to the IIHF to see Canadians do it en mass. My sentiment as well, let them play on the bigger surface in the NHL. Btw I've heard on TV that the US colleges play on the bigger ice too. So where's the problem? |
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Post by CentreHice on May 17, 2015 21:28:54 GMT -5
Gold Medal ArticleThis is Canada's first gold since 2007, and with the win Sidney Crosby becomes the 26th member of the Triple Gold Club and the first to captain all three championship teams.
Canada outshot the Russians by a whopping 37-12 margin.
"We knew they are good off the rush, strong on the puck," said Canadian defenceman Jake Muzzin. "We had to play tight defence and hard on those guys to eliminate their chances. They did get some opportunities but Smitty was there to make some big saves but for the most part we stayed to our plan and executed it."
By going undefeated and winning every game in regulation, the Canadians also go home with a little extra cash – one million Swiss Francs, to be precise, courtesy of a promotion by Infront Sports & Media.
"You expect to come here and have tight games," Crosby said. "You look at the semi-final: 2-0. It could have gone either way. Today, we just played a great game. We buried our chances. Our depth really showed. We had a lot of forwards who could contribute, but our defence was able to add to the offence. Our goaltending was really solid. All the way through, a great team effort."
Canada's perfect record included a whopping 66 goals scored and giving up but 15. Six of the top ten scorers were Canadian, including leader Jason Spezza with 14 points, Jordan Eberle with 13, and Taylor Hall with 12.
"I don’t think you come into a game like this thinking you’re going to win 6-1," said Crosby. "They are a dangerous team that even with a two or three goal lead you really can’t sit back. It was good to get a big lead there and the inside of five minutes we started to enjoy it more because we knew it was getting closer. It is not always that way."
"In the second period we threw the game away," suggested Alexander Ovechkin. "We only had one shot. Of course they played really well today, it's obvious that they're a good experienced team and they showed it today. It's a good thing for us that young players got to play against guys like Crosby, Giroux, Burns because they got some great experience."
The penalty-free opening period was a blend of nerves and skill, fear of making a critical error and blazing speed. Both teams had great chances to score, although Canada held a wide margin in puck possession.
Sean Couturier fired a rebound over the open net while being checked, and Ovechkin made a great rush only to fire high when the time came to shoot.
As it turned out, this was the only impressive moment for "Ovi", who was held in check the rest of the night.
"We were a bit nervous at the start," admitted Dmitri Kulikov. "We all felt a lot of pressure and responsibility. Right from the start we couldn't get into the game, then we tried to chase the Canadians but the boat had long sailed."
Cody Eakin opened the scoring at 18:10 when Viktor Tikhonov failed to clear the zone. Tyler Ennis got the puck and curled through the middle, then turned and fired a low shot that went off Eakin’s skate and in.
The goal, by Canada’s fourth line, came on Eakin’s third shift of the game.
The player of the period, though, was Crosby, who made several great passes to create good scoring chances for linemates Hall and Eberle.
Canada blew the game open in the middle period. It started harmlessly enough with the fourth line again. Ennis carried the puck in as Eakin fought with Maxim Chudinov in the slot. But while everyone watched this screen, Ennis curled quickly around the net, catching Bobrovski by surprise, and wrapped the puck in just 1:56 into the period.
Then Canada struck for two more quick goals. Dan Hamhuis kept the puck in at the blue line, and Eberle made a beautiful tip of the puck back in front where Crosby wired a phenomenal wrist shot over the goalie’s glove at 7:22.
Just 44 seconds later, Tyler Seguin made it 4-0 on a rush with a delayed penalty in effect. Claude Giroux looked to have lost the puck, but he whipped around and got it to Seguin alone in front. He made no mistake.
"He yelled at me and I didn’t have any more plays, so I just put it there," Giroux deadpanned.
Coach Oleg Znarok called a timeout, but Canada kept the pressure on and refused to be content. There was, after all, half a game left to play. Shots on goal in the second--14-1 for Canada, and 29-6 over 40 minutes.
Canada learned a vaubale lesson about third-period play yesterday against the Czechs. Tonight, they pressed the Russians deep in their own end. Giroux made it 5-0 at 8:58 on a power play thanks to a great pass from the side of the net by Crosby.
Russia ended Smith's shutout streak with a point shot from Sergei Mozyakin that went through the goalie's pads. That goal was the first conceded by Smith in 190:03 of play, going back four games to a 10-1 win versus Austria.
"We got better as the tournament went on, and we saved our best for last here today," Crosby said.
"Our goal just stayed the same, no matter what the score or what the team. I thought we really pushed each other to get better with each game. Some were closer than others, but when you look back to that Sweden game, that 3-0 deficit and the way we showed a lot of character, that was a big building block for our team. When we got through that, I thought our confidence was really big, and we felt like no matter what the team or the challenge, we could overcome it. That was huge."
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Post by CentreHice on May 17, 2015 21:49:43 GMT -5
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Post by Anardil1 on May 17, 2015 23:11:09 GMT -5
This was a near perfect team, one that could challenge the best ever Canadian teams in any tournament. They had what we all crave here, the four lines of skating 'furry'. Mobile d-corps. The only chink in the armour if you want to call it that, was the goaltending. But Smith came up big when it counted. It also helped that the coaching staff instilled an agressive system that resembled the Olympic team's puck pressure/pursuit that gave the opposition fits. A truly magnificent performance.
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Post by blny on May 18, 2015 13:03:13 GMT -5
Majority of Russian team leaves ice before anthem ... of those that remained were Malkin and Ovechkin. The video shows those that remained looking back at those leaving. I'd be interested to hear what those two had to say. I looked up the #s of the others who remained. There were KHL players who stayed, so it's not as if it was a snub by the KHL. www.tsn.ca/fasel-angry-after-russia-leaves-ice-before-anthem-1.285755I hope Fasel does something genuine. I'd be tempted to pull the tournament from Moscow/St Petersburg next year. This isn't the first time the Russians have shown poor sportsmanship, it won't be the last. Want them to stop and grow up? Show them their actions have consequences. |
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Post by seventeen on May 19, 2015 0:40:29 GMT -5
If you change the venue, Putin will parachute a bunch of Russians into the IIHF offices and annex the Federation, citing 'local' dissatisfaction with Leadership and hardship for Russian ex-pats.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 19, 2015 9:44:33 GMT -5
Majority of Russian team leaves ice before anthem ... of those that remained were Malkin and Ovechkin. The video shows those that remained looking back at those leaving. I'd be interested to hear what those two had to say. I looked up the #s of the others who remained. There were KHL players who stayed, so it's not as if it was a snub by the KHL. www.tsn.ca/fasel-angry-after-russia-leaves-ice-before-anthem-1.285755I hope Fasel does something genuine. I'd be tempted to pull the tournament from Moscow/St Petersburg next year. This isn't the first time the Russians have shown poor sportsmanship, it won't be the last. Want them to stop and grow up? Show them their actions have consequences. I read this earlier this morning ... it really doesn't surprise me ... after Russia was eliminated from Olympic medal contention, none (save one) of the players met with the media ... that one player who met briefly with the media was Alex Ovechkin ... If you change the venue, Putin will parachute a bunch of Russians into the IIHF offices and annex the Federation, citing 'local' dissatisfaction with Leadership and hardship for Russian ex-pats. In my opinion, they're a direct reflection of their leadership ... Vladimir Putin is constantly pointing fingers when things don't work ... he also said (paraphrase) that, "... if you win the men's Olympic gold in ice hockey, you've won the Olympics" ... well, the year he said that his team finished 5th ... this is the second time in recent memory where I remember a highly-talented Russian team having their butts handed to them by Canada ... good on them ... Cheers. |
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Post by Tankdriver on May 19, 2015 9:52:49 GMT -5
What sanctions could Fessel put in place? Make Russia forfeit their next international game? Exclude them from the next tournament? Fine them? In the end, nothing will happen.
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Post by blny on May 19, 2015 9:53:58 GMT -5
LOL 17 ...
Dis, it is definitely a pattern of behaviour. They've got history of being poor winners and losers.
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Post by Skilly on May 19, 2015 11:24:48 GMT -5
What sanctions could Fessel put in place? Make Russia forfeit their next international game? Exclude them from the next tournament? Fine them? In the end, nothing will happen. Relegate them  |
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Post by Polarice on May 19, 2015 12:46:20 GMT -5
Apparently it was Kovalchuk who waved them off the ice....so I could see Fessel banning him from international play for games or a year, something.
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Post by blny on May 19, 2015 13:08:59 GMT -5
Apparently it was Kovalchuk who waved them off the ice....so I could see Fessel banning him from international play for games or a year, something. As I watched, that's the way it appeared to me. A small faction following the leadership of Ovechkin and Malkin, while the KHL majority left with their 'leader'. Gotta wonder how divided that room was. |
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