World Junior Hockey Championships (WJHC 2013)

[Bender]

What a collapse. I had a bad feeling about this one all the way from training  camp starting with Subban's poor play then followed by the loss to Finland to the myriad of suspensions, to the high goals against Germany, to the lack of coherent play in half the games, to the complaints against the officials.

The talent should have been there but the team just didn't execute. I honestly think the coaching and management did this team in.

Hopefully it will force Hockey Canada to wake up and smell the coffee and really reevaluate what has gone wrong in the last few years. Other teams have caught up while we've stopped improving. Unacceptable.

 

[Boston Leaf]

I know most don't care fort the gold medal game right now. But it looks like these last 5 mins may be exciting. Being american I am all USA of course

 

[Boston Leaf]

GOLD FOR USA   Love it

 

[Stebro]

Congrats to Team USA. I don't expect us to win, when we only play well for 20/60 minutes. The thing that annoys me the most is they pass too much in the wrong situations, they have to learn to play more simple.

 

[Bender]

GOLD FOR USA   Love it

Boourns!

 

[Boston Leaf]

Congrats to Team USA. I don't expect us to win, when we only played well for 20/60 minutes. The thing that annoys me the most is they pass too much in the wrong situations, they have to learn to play more simple.

We'll see you again in next years finals.. You'll get home ice ..will be great

 

[Kin]

Eh, what can you do? Some years it just isn't your year.

 

[Stebro]

So I guess this is the time when I go into my 2 week period of not reading magazines, and avoid hockey at all costs

 

[maplesyrup]

Tyler Biggs was a +3 in the 3-1 victory so at least there's that.  :-\

 

[ZBBM]

Going home without a medal for the first time in 14 years hurts. What the bleep happened?

Entitlement?  I know that's an easy snap judgment but the adulation heaped on these guys by the Canadian media is ridiculous.

That, and goaltending.  I haven't followed Subban, but I hope his hype doesn't lead him down the Primrose Path of Poggefication.

 

[Redleaf]

Congrats to Team USA. I don't expect us to win, when we only play well for 20/60 minutes. The thing that annoys me the most is they pass too much in the wrong situations, they have to learn to play more simple.

The US deserved it this year. Congrats to them. Team Canada should be concerned moving forward in all international tournaments. They have a true hockey power on the rise in the USA. Time for another hockey Canada summit ? biggest focus for Canada should goaltending!

 

[Jalili]

It looks like HC has been taken down a notch, which is something they needed anyway.

 

[Kin]

I really don't get the doom and gloom. International hockey is getting more competitive. Last year's draft class was historically bad for Canadian forwards. Short tournaments can yield strange results. One tournament doesn't mean that things need changing or that a new approach needs to be found.

 

[caver]

Agreed. I don't see it as Canada falling off as much as it is the other hockey countries improving. Heck, the Swiss were giving the traditional hockey powers fits in this tournament. The bar has been set higher.

 

[Bender]

I really don't get the doom and gloom. International hockey is getting more competitive. Last year's draft class was historically bad for Canadian forwards. Short tournaments can yield strange results. One tournament doesn't mean that things need changing or that a new approach needs to be found.

Nothing wrong with exploring ideas.

 

[Jalili]

I get the feeling that you wouldn't see so many people up in arms if there was NHL hockey to speak of, because a: we'd have other things to talk about, and b: we wouldn't have had such a "powerhouse" lineup with NHL players that was perceived as too good to get spanked let alone beaten.

 

[Kin]

I really don't get the doom and gloom. International hockey is getting more competitive. Last year's draft class was historically bad for Canadian forwards. Short tournaments can yield strange results. One tournament doesn't mean that things need changing or that a new approach needs to be found.

Nothing wrong with exploring ideas.

Sure, but it shouldn't be predicated on the idea that one year without a medal after 14 straight with one is some sort of travesty that needs to be corrected.

 

[Jalili]

I really don't get the doom and gloom. International hockey is getting more competitive. Last year's draft class was historically bad for Canadian forwards. Short tournaments can yield strange results. One tournament doesn't mean that things need changing or that a new approach needs to be found.

Wow that's definitely true and something we overlooked. Not only was it bad for Canadian forwards, it was terrible.

The top Canadian forward taken was Tom Wilson at 16th.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I really don't get the doom and gloom. International hockey is getting more competitive. Last year's draft class was historically bad for Canadian forwards. Short tournaments can yield strange results. One tournament doesn't mean that things need changing or that a new approach needs to be found.

Bingo.

I also don't get this country's apparent anger towards a team of teenagers.

 

[hockeyfan1]

I really don't get the doom and gloom. International hockey is getting more competitive. Last year's draft class was historically bad for Canadian forwards. Short tournaments can yield strange results. One tournament doesn't mean that things need changing or that a new approacgh needs to be found.

Bingo.

I also don't get this country's apparent anger towards a team of teenagers.

To the Team Canada players, winning the gold was their raison d'?tre for being here in the first place.  Winning the bronze would have been consolation at at least having salvaged some pride amongst themselves.

Neither happened because the competition was that much better than Team Canada was as a team collectively.  That should tell one a lot about this year's tournament results.  Consistency is the key for any team in sports to be successful, and this year's Team Canada did not exhibit that when it counted the most.

Even if the Canadians had lost to USA, the score could have been closer and the effort more productively consistent than what had actually transpired.  It would have made them feel better to know that they had played a tough close game.  Instead, they were practically trounced in their 5-1 loss to the USA, and then went on to the Bronze medal game only to lose a shooting match with Russia that ended up in OT. That last and decisive Russian OT goal epitomized inconsistency once again.

Hockey is our passion in Canada and we expect to see our team elevate themselves to greatness when it comes to playing internationally, because, afterall, the world's best players also play in the world's biggest and best junior league (CHL),  be it whether they're Americans, Russians, etc.

Which gives the impetus on why Canada's juniors needed to elevate themselves to a higher plateau. Tighter competition due to more talented players means one needs to be their best at all times.