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WJC Discussion Thread


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I watched the collapse and it didn't faze me or upset me at all. These are kids, young men and they most likely haven't been in a situation like they faced in the third period.

If this were the men's Olympic team it would have been very upsetting. But not this tourny. They will learn some valuable lessons from this I'm sure. As for the stupid comments by people on TSN. That's all they are, stupid comments.

 

Let's hope Foligno and Kassian are both wearing Sabres' uniforms next year. I really like Foligno.

 

I think Foligno is the real deal. I watched Kassian closely. I think Chris Krieder and Louis LeBlanc are much more NHL ready. (players Buffalo passed on) But it is nice to see that Foligno and Kassian are the types of players Buffalo lacks.

 

Also I loved Quinten Howden's and Charlie Coyle's games. Also Buffalo passes.

 

Casey Cizikas reminds me in every way of Derek Roy. He was a draft day steal.(for the Islanders)

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The comments under the TSN.ca article right after the game were some of the most amazing that I have ever seen for a sports event. Apparently winning two silver medals in a row is proof that Canadian hockey is "in shambles." And the Canadian players "let down the whole country."

 

Seriously, how much of a loser do you have to be to tie your sense of national pride to a bunch of kids playing in a hockey tournament for teenagers? And how myopic do you have to be to feel "ashamed" or "embarrassed" by a second place finish in that tournament?

Fortunately those articles are written by one hypersensitive reporter that may or may not know what they are talking about. Its not written by a whole country. Sure we love our hockey and expect results. Why do you think we've been in 10 finals in a row and won 7 of the last 10? Because we hold a high standard. Is there something wrong with that? also we don't tie our national pride to teenagers playing hockey. Believe me theres more to Canadians national pride than world junior hockey. The U.S. winning last year and Russia winning this year is the best thing that could have happened to this tournament. If its always us winning it becomes nothing more than womans hockey with Canada/U.S. playing for gold every year. These upsets give other countries a taste and a hunger for more. That seems to be the sentiment in Canada today more than everyone laying blame at the feet of teenagers.

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Fortunately those articles are written by one hypersensitive reporter that may or may not know what they are talking about. Its not written by a whole country. Sure we love our hockey and expect results. Why do you think we've been in 10 finals in a row and won 7 of the last 10? Because we hold a high standard. Is there something wrong with that? also we don't tie our national pride to teenagers playing hockey. Believe me theres more to Canadians national pride than world junior hockey. The U.S. winning last year and Russia winning this year is the best thing that could have happened to this tournament. If its always us winning it becomes nothing more than womans hockey with Canada/U.S. playing for gold every year. These upsets give other countries a taste and a hunger for more. That seems to be the sentiment in Canada today more than everyone laying blame at the feet of teenagers.

 

This is a very, very good point. It hasn't been Canada/US every year, and it's not quite as bad as women's hockey or Olympic men's basketball, but if the game is going to grow globally, it's important that teams other than Canada win.

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This is a very, very good point. It hasn't been Canada/US every year, and it's not quite as bad as women's hockey or Olympic men's basketball, but if the game is going to grow globally, it's important that teams other than Canada win.

Also, more people are giving the Russians credit for the inspiring win rather than laying the blame on the Canadians for the collapse. Although that is what it was, the Russians can't be taken out of the discussion. They did pull off an amazing come from behind victory. On the sports programs and talk radio I've listened to this is what the focus is. The only country that considered Canada the favourite it would seem was Canada. At the beginning of this tournament we weren't supposed to win.

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Also, more people are giving the Russians credit for the inspiring win rather than laying the blame on the Canadians for the collapse. Although that is what it was, the Russians can't be taken out of the discussion. They did pull off an amazing come from behind victory. On the sports programs and talk radio I've listened to this is what the focus is. The only country that considered Canada the favourite it would seem was Canada. At the beginning of this tournament we weren't supposed to win.

 

 

You weren't. We were. We didn't, either.

 

Happens. (Cf. 2007 Buffalo Sabres.)

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Also, more people are giving the Russians credit for the inspiring win rather than laying the blame on the Canadians for the collapse. Although that is what it was, the Russians can't be taken out of the discussion. They did pull off an amazing come from behind victory. On the sports programs and talk radio I've listened to this is what the focus is. The only country that considered Canada the favourite it would seem was Canada. At the beginning of this tournament we weren't supposed to win.

I don't think anybody watching the tournament doubted the Russians had lots of talent.

The big question was whether they could play together.

 

The answer: they can for any 10 minutes at a time.

 

Finland-Sweden-Canada were all unbelievable third period comebacks.

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What's the percentage of Canadian born players in Canadian juniors? Ninety-Five percent?

Are you denying that Canadian major junior helps develop Talent from other countries? How many of the American players were loaned from their ( Canadian ) major junior teams? 4 of the Canadian players were American born and developed in Canadian major junior. Canadian major junior is what teaches these kids to play the rugged N.H.L. style. Certainly not American college hockey. Granted some very good players have come out of college hockey but that remains the exception not the norm. I'd take a kid that went through 2 or 3 years of the western hockey league over any other development league in the world. Tyler Myers is a good example.

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Are you denying that Canadian major junior helps develop Talent from other countries? How many of the American players were loaned from their ( Canadian ) major junior teams? 4 of the Canadian players were American born and developed in Canadian major junior. Canadian major junior is what teaches these kids to play the rugged N.H.L. style. Certainly not American college hockey. Granted some very good players have come out of college hockey but that remains the exception not the norm. I'd take a kid that went through 2 or 3 years of the western hockey league over any other development league in the world. Tyler Myers is a good example.

 

Terry Pegula had some comments touching on this subject. Starting at 2:15. He said (presumably NHL) management likes NCAA players because they leave school more well-rounded and with more life skills. He said the training is close to or exceeds what is offered in Canadian junior leagues. He was talking about positive comments he had received from Pittsburgh Penguin people, who apparently liked the idea of more ice availability in rural PA.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnx56yLdgpU

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Are you denying that Canadian major junior helps develop Talent from other countries? How many of the American players were loaned from their ( Canadian ) major junior teams? 4 of the Canadian players were American born and developed in Canadian major junior. Canadian major junior is what teaches these kids to play the rugged N.H.L. style. Certainly not American college hockey. Granted some very good players have come out of college hockey but that remains the exception not the norm. I'd take a kid that went through 2 or 3 years of the western hockey league over any other development league in the world. Tyler Myers is a good example.

 

Undoubtedly the CHL is the NHL feeder program. However, the NCAA is no longer the professional liability it was 2 decades ago. There are over 250 former NCAA players in the NHL right now.

 

Vanek-Leopold-Miller-Grier-Gerbe-Stafford-Butler on the Sabres roster alone.

 

(on second thought 250 sounds high, not sure where I got that number but the amount is not insignificant :)

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I played an open hockey game last night. There were about 20 guys total. Because I was curious, I asked as many of them as I had a chance to if they watched this tournament. Not only had not a single one of them watched it, but not a single one had ever even heard of it, and one kid plays D1 at Rutgers. I could understand getting that result if I was at a bowling ally, but these were all hockey players. I was very surprised.

 

I started to think that maybe I wouldn't have cared either if it wasn't in Buffalo, but then I remembered watching the games last year (God bless you NHL Network). Don't know what it means but I thought I'd share it.

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I played an open hockey game last night. There were about 20 guys total. Because I was curious, I asked as many of them as I had a chance to if they watched this tournament. Not only had not a single one of them watched it, but not a single one had ever even heard of it, and one kid plays D1 at Rutgers. I could understand getting that result if I was at a bowling ally, but these were all hockey players. I was very surprised.

 

I started to think that maybe I wouldn't have cared either if it wasn't in Buffalo, but then I remembered watching the games last year (God bless you NHL Network). Don't know what it means but I thought I'd share it.

 

It means that we're the hockey town that PA thought we weren't.

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That makes no sense. You and chz, jeez.

 

And all I did was ask a question: "Does this tournament shoot down the idea that Buffalo is a great hockey town?"

The answer was no. I don't think you would have asked the question unless you thought otherwise.

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That makes no sense. You and chz, jeez.

 

And all I did was ask a question: "Does this tournament shoot down the idea that Buffalo is a great hockey town?"

Not really. It just proves that the WJC is completely off the radar in the U.S. There are a lot of great hockey cities in the U.S. and I don't think any of them would have supported the tournament any better than we did.

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The international hockey world gave rave reviews to Buffalo’s staging of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Under-20 Championship.

 

The International Ice Hockey Federation, working with the Sabres, sold 331,297 tickets for the 31 games in HSBC Arena and Dwyer Arena at Niagara University.

 

The tournament also sold more than three million ounces of beer — or an average of nine ounces of beer for every man, woman and child at each game.

 

The number of tickets sold was second in World Juniors history, falling well short of the 453,282 tickets sold in Ottawa in 2008-09.

 

But it shattered the previous U. S. record of 193,256 in Grand Forks, N. D. and Thief River Falls, Minn. in 2004-05.

 

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article313250.ece

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