Men's Olympic hockey

[CarltonTheBear]

The real reason Mike Smith was on the team:

 

[pmrules]

Do they name a 5-player all-tournament team?

They did:

Selanne-Granlund-Kessel
Karlsson-Doughty
Lundqvist

 

[LittleHockeyFan]

James Duthie ‏@tsnjamesduthie  5m
At 25, Toews has 2 Cups, 2 Oly gold, 2 WJr gold, 2 WC medals (gold/silver). And his name is close to "Twos" if you write it while drunk.

I've never been a huge Toews fan, but that is one hell of an impressive resume to retire with, let alone have at the age of 25.

it's time to start then, you're a couple years behind us.

 

[Leafaholic99]

James Duthie ‏@tsnjamesduthie  5m
At 25, Toews has 2 Cups, 2 Oly gold, 2 WJr gold, 2 WC medals (gold/silver). And his name is close to "Twos" if you write it while drunk.

I've never been a huge Toews fan, but that is one hell of an impressive resume to retire with, let alone have at the age of 25.

it's time to start then, you're a couple years behind us.

I intially only like Toews because he was from Winnipeg, which is a good reason, but when you watch him play wow, its impressive.

 

[Stebro]

IOC have apologized to Sweden for how they handled this, but dont want to leave any other comments right now.

 

[Kessel Run]

I hope they give him a silver medal.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Here are some stats:

Points leaders:  Kessel (USA)/Karlsson (Sweden)  -- 8 each
Goal leaders  :  Kessel (USA)/Grabner (Austria)    -- 5 each
Assist leaders:  Van Riemsdyk (USA)                    -- 6

GAA leaders  :  Price (Canada)                            -- 0.59
                    :  Hiller (Switzerland)                      -- 0.67
SV% leaders :  Price (Canada)                            -- .972
                    :  Hiller (Switzerland)                      -- .972

Tournament standouts (MVPs):
Forwards    :  Kessel (USA)                          Maple Leafs
Defence      :  Karlsson (Sweden)                  Senators
Goalie        : Price (Canada)                          Canadiens


How nice that all three MVPs all play for Canadian-based teams! 

http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=95480

 

[Jalili]

James Duthie ‏@tsnjamesduthie  5m
At 25, Toews has 2 Cups, 2 Oly gold, 2 WJr gold, 2 WC medals (gold/silver). And his name is close to "Twos" if you write it while drunk.

I've never been a huge Toews fan, but that is one hell of an impressive resume to retire with, let alone have at the age of 25.

it's time to start then, you're a couple years behind us.

I intially only like Toews because he was from Winnipeg, which is a good reason, but when you watch him play wow, its impressive.

It was Toews' performance in 2010 for Canada that solidified my respect for him. He rose to the occasion as Canada's best forward and it wasn't particularly close. This time he was good again as usual.

The guy just wins everywhere he goes.

 

[bustaheims]

I mean, I don't think a Gold justifies every decision but I do think that one of the things that became clear as the tournament wore on is that the guys who I really questioned being there like Benn, Vlasic and even St. Louis to some degree really fit into what it was Babcock wanted to do in terms of being big, fast, constantly pressing and really responsible defensively.

So, you know, every now and then it is nice to get a reminder that these guys know what they're doing.

Yeah. It definitely doesn't mean that they made all the right decisions, just that they made enough of the right decisions.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Liked this quote:

?There were numerous complaints that we didn?t score,? said Canadian head coach Mike Babcock. ?I thought we were dominant. I thought we played great today.

?The first thing I guard against is you talk about great defence, sometimes we get confused. Great defence means you play fast and you have the puck all the time so you?re always on offence. We out-chanced these teams big time, we didn?t score. We were a great offensive team. That?s how we coached. That?s what we expected. We didn?t ask guys to back up.?

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

Per Kypreos' Twitter:

"It's believed St.Louis did ask #Lightning 4 trade when left off Canada. I'm told some #NHL clubs not sure if he still feels the same way now"

If true, I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I think it's kind of crummy to try to manipulate Yzerman the Canadian GM via Yzerman the Lightning GM.  I don't envy Yzerman having to deal with that kind of pressure to sort out what's best for both of his teams.

 

[Jalili]

If true the only person who looks bad is St. Louis.

I tend to think the trade request probably did happen. St. Louis seems like the type of proud little guy with a chip on his shoulder who would take things personally.

I really doubt anything will come of it though. It was probably resolved internally back in January. That he ended up making the team probably makes the request a non-issue now.

But if it came out back in January I think the story would have blown up and we probably would have seen him being added to the team in a different light, perhaps as an act of appeasement by Yzerman.

 

[Redleaf]

I mean, I don't think a Gold justifies every decision but I do think that one of the things that became clear as the tournament wore on is that the guys who I really questioned being there like Benn, Vlasic and even St. Louis to some degree really fit into what it was Babcock wanted to do in terms of being big, fast, constantly pressing and really responsible defensively.

So, you know, every now and then it is nice to get a reminder that these guys know what they're doing.

Yeah. It definitely doesn't mean that they made all the right decisions, just that they made enough of the right decisions.

Which is all anyone can ask for, right?

 

[Redleaf]

Liked this quote:

?There were numerous complaints that we didn?t score,? said Canadian head coach Mike Babcock. ?I thought we were dominant. I thought we played great today.

?The first thing I guard against is you talk about great defence, sometimes we get confused. Great defence means you play fast and you have the puck all the time so you?re always on offence. We out-chanced these teams big time, we didn?t score. We were a great offensive team. That?s how we coached. That?s what we expected. We didn?t ask guys to back up.?

I really believe Carlyle is preaching the same sermon. He's just getting varied results. But then again, he's not coaching a team of all-stars either.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Liked this quote:

?There were numerous complaints that we didn?t score,? said Canadian head coach Mike Babcock. ?I thought we were dominant. I thought we played great today.

?The first thing I guard against is you talk about great defence, sometimes we get confused. Great defence means you play fast and you have the puck all the time so you?re always on offence. We out-chanced these teams big time, we didn?t score. We were a great offensive team. That?s how we coached. That?s what we expected. We didn?t ask guys to back up.?

I really believe Carlyle is preaching the same sermon. He's just getting varied results. But then again, he's not coaching a team of all-stars either.

If so he's failing spectacularly at implementing it, because they're ahead of only Buffalo in possession metrics, easily the worst team in the league.

But I don't believe he's 'preaching' that style anyways.  Leafs give up possession too much.

 

[Kin]

Yeah. It definitely doesn't mean that they made all the right decisions, just that they made enough of the right decisions.

Well, in the context of this particular sort of tournament where Canada's B or C teams would have been legitimate gold medal threats, I look at it more in the sense of there being more than one right decision.

 

[Kin]

If true, I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I think it's kind of crummy to try to manipulate Yzerman the Canadian GM via Yzerman the Lightning GM.  I don't envy Yzerman having to deal with that kind of pressure to sort out what's best for both of his teams.

Well, except if it's true(and I'd say that's a pretty big if), it wasn't really an attempt at manipulation because the decision had already been made and, presumably, St. Louis wouldn't have known that Stamkos wouldn't have been able to go.

Although, that said, along with the rumours about Cujo feeling slighted by his benching at the 2002 Olympics even the possibility of that does raise the question of whether or not a Hockey Canada should have permanent positions for their head coaching and GM jobs.

 

[AlmosGirl]

I feel bad for Sweden/Backstrom.  I understand anti-doping but Claritin as a banned substance is F'ng stupid. 

Hmmm. There is a prescription grade Claritin though. It's stronger and I wonder if something different in it. My daughter takes it for her seasonal allergies as the over-the-counter Claritin doesn't work. Just kinda thinking out loud.

 

[bustaheims]

Hmmm. There is a prescription grade Claritin though. It's stronger and I wonder if something different in it. My daughter takes it for her seasonal allergies as the over-the-counter Claritin doesn't work. Just kinda thinking out loud.

It also wouldn't surprise me if different parts of the world have slightly different formulas for the various brands. The Russian Claritin could contain a banned substance that the North American or Swedish version does not.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I feel bad for Sweden/Backstrom.  I understand anti-doping but Claritin as a banned substance is F'ng stupid. 

Hmmm. There is a prescription grade Claritin though. It's stronger and I wonder if something different in it. My daughter takes it for her seasonal allergies as the over-the-counter Claritin doesn't work. Just kinda thinking out loud.

Was there not a cold medication a few years back that was said to improve reflexes?

Also, here is an article from 2001....Backstrom should of known full well what drugs were banned and approved

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/sneeze-olympic-cold-remedy-ban-irks-players-article-1.920057