The World Juniors (Hockey)

[Easy Drifter]

I am very jaundiced about NHL hockey and hardly ever watch a game. Being a Leaf fan may explain part of that. Strange, as I was the property of the Boston Bruins. Only old timers will understand that.
I have been watching some of the World Junior games. Now that is real hockey as it should be. Canada vs US was one of the best played games I have ever seen. Canada won 7 to 4 but Canada's last 2 goals were scored into an empty net.
Tonight's Canada Russia game was edge of the seat. Canada slightly outplayed Russia but with seconds to go Russia was leading 5 to 4 for their first lead in the game. Canada tied it up.
The 10 minute overtime still left it tied.
The shootout decided it in Canada's favour as we scored 2 goals to zip.
Up to that point the Russian Goalie had been superb and really had kept them in the game. Having been a goalie (a few games a Jr. A level) I really felt for him.
Russia took a lot of penalties, some questionable, that really hurt them.
I would hate to be a ref.!
The final will be Canada vs Sweden on Monday.
I will not miss it.
Somebody said the Leafs were playing tonight. Big deal.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Drifter...if Canada played their beat, this game wouldn't have been close. The Russians got lucky with a few easy goals. Once Tokarski got serious, and the boys got a lucky bounce, they were outplaying the Russians, but the outcome definately was in doubt because of a lack luster effort until they were down a goal....

[Easy Drifter]

WOW WOW WOW! What a game! That was hockey! 5th straight Gold for Canada in the World Juniors. Sweden played well and 2 Cdn. goals in the 5 - 1 game were empty netters. :D :D :D :D :D

[Mark in Oshawa]

Drifter...that was fun, no two ways about it... The Swedes were in this right up to the 3rd Canadian goal being scored. Then they seemed to lose their composure. Canada took some dumb penalties but Tokarski was just incredible tonight.

To the rest of the world....we thank you for coming and look forward to next year...but you better bring the A game eh?

[Easy Drifter]

There is a rumour the Swedish goalie is going to get a special Gold Medal for Diving! :D
Torkarsky is good and his butterfly exceptional. I do think he goes down too much and too quickly. The NHL shooters will soon just go upstairs on him, especially on the stick side, when he gets there, which he will. The Juniors didn't seem to figure that out. I will bet Pat Quinn saw that as will any good scout. It can be fixed if he listens. He does have a good glove hand too.
Not hard to figure out I was a goalie. He is a heck of a lot better than I was even in my dreams.
I only managed a couple of Jr. A games before back to B.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Drifter...I think Tokarski will make the NHL but you are likely right. I also think he has Vesa Toskala moments where he lets in the odd soft goal.

The missus and I were talking today about whether Taveres was the best player or not. I came around to the fact he isn't a good enough skater to really be out of this world and I noticed his goal scoring dropped off when they played the Russians and the Swede's who took away the passing lanes to him. It pained me to pick this up being a Generals fan and knowing he likely will be playing elsewhere in the next few weeks....

Cody Hodgson was the player of the tournament for me. It seems he was a buzzaw and was in every game and was a crucial factor for the Canadians....

[A.F.F.]

I think Tokarski will make the NHL but you are likely right. I also think he has Vesa Toskala moments where he lets in the odd soft goal.


For the record, they should be called as Jarmo Myllys moments. He is the one who taught them to Finnish goalies :mark:

Anyway. Congrats Canada for gold medal.
Our future on ice doesn't look too bright.

[Firstgear]

Our future on ice doesn't look too bright.

Alot brighter than our future in F1.

[Tomi]

Our future on ice doesn't look too bright.

Agree, small ice, and putting 14-15 years old kids in roles, kills the creativity.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Tomi...I think you can be creative on a smaller ice surface. It isn't THAT radically smaller. No one can watch Crosby, Ovechkin or Malkin and say they are not creative.

It isn't the smaller ice surface by itself...it is the overcoaching and lack of forethought of the people making the rules to allow the best players to be the BEST players. That is, maybe make hockey 4 on 4 (that is a last resort) but at the very least design rules that discourage the trap.

[Tomi]

Tomi...I think you can be creative on a smaller ice surface. It isn't THAT radically smaller. No one can watch Crosby, Ovechkin or Malkin and say they are not creative.

It isn't the smaller ice surface by itself...it is the overcoaching and lack of forethought of the people making the rules to allow the best players to be the BEST players. That is, maybe make hockey 4 on 4 (that is a last resort) but at the very least design rules that discourage the trap.

Well, the Russians has played most of their hockey carreer on big ice, and the best and most creative players comes from there in my opinion (offcourse there is exceptions,but in general), 4 on 4 gives the players more space, the same does bigger ice, I think here in Finland it was a stupidity to make the ice smaller, it was done only to fit more spectators in the arenas.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Tomi...it is exactly why the NHL had a perfect opportunity with all the new arenas built in North America to go to a big ice and it wasn't going to happen.

As for the creativity of playing on the big ice and how it breeds more creative players, I would only point to Canada's game against Russia this year in the WJC and you would realize the creative plays and the best playmakers and scorers were not wearing the Russian sweaters. The Canadians seemed to out play the Russians and were very quick to use their quick hands and skating to make plays. The Russians have great skill but their game wasn't as polished (look no further than the defenseman trying to score on the empty net with 35 seconds left and missing the net from his own blue line. If he skates to the redline as Canadian coaches beat into their Defense in that situation, he doesn't get nailed with Icing when he missed)and the coaching was the let down.

Us Canadians took about 30 years to get it through our heads about coaching and playmaking being needed to be changed to what was happening in Europe but it isn't the small ice that stops creativity, it is a lack of coaching and having coaches allow players to develop natural skills. No one told Wayne Gretsky how to be what he is, he learned it in his backyard rink...and THAT is truly small ice....

[Easy Drifter]

The number of Cdn. kids that learned to skate and play on backyard rinks and farm ponds are legion. The vast majority of pro players originally come from small towns, villages and farms. Most small towns have at least outdoor rinks and backyard rinks are common in rural Canada. Quite a few players come from small to mid sized cities but not many, in relation to population, from the major cities.
Although he never made it as a player Eric Jensen (the Formula Atlantic owner and driver) learned to skate on a farm pond. He played hockey in arenas but initially learned on a pond. He also played road hockey in the shipping room of the Jensen Greenhouses in Newcastle Ont. with his dad (Bruce Jensen) a top Atlantic driver in the 70's) and myself.
Eric played goal and I did a lot of coaching as that was what I had been. Guess I wasn't too successful as a coach.
The Jensen's moved to Fla. where they also had extensive greenhouses. So much for hockey in those days. Still not many rinks and naturally no frozen ponds.
Jill, Eric's older sister, now runs the Newcastle operation I believe.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Drifter...they still had Jensen Motorsport's home address as their farm in Newcastle up to a few years back. The race shop wasn't there but their website had the address there. That said..that was two or three years ago.

AS for playing hockey outdoors in Canada...sadly it is something in our culture we are losing and it is very sad really.....

[Tomi]

AS for playing hockey outdoors in Canada...sadly it is something in our culture we are losing and it is very sad really.....

It's the same here, nowdays in the south where i live it's impossible because of the global warming (simply no ice), when i was a teenager, we did play 3 month winter series outside on nature ice.
That same reason makes it impossible for young guys to do training by them self, thats the problem too.

[A.F.F.]

You can't even do it for hobby. It's expensive and even the smallest kid's teams have coaches. If you're not good enough, you don't get icetime. No wonder the skates turn to violin faster than daddy can spell hockey :mark:

[Mark in Oshawa]

In Canada you can still find outdoor rinks or ponds to play on in a lot of areas in Winter. Not so much down here in the cities but out West and in Quebec there is a possiblity of playing outdoors in an unscripted enviroment. We however see less of it because kids have more distractions and we adults tend to organize everything.

Bobby Orr grew up playing on the frozen Seguin river in Parry Sound. Gretzky on his backyard rink and on the Speed River near his grandmother's house. That unscripted play and boundry free game is impossible really to match nowadays unless the kids decide to go look for a place to play without adults.

Kids nowadays are more likely to kill time playing video games and listening to bad hip hop music than going out on a cold day playing hockey on a pond.....

[Easy Drifter]

There is one outdoor rink here in the Harbour and 2 in Waubaushene. Midland of course has a modern Arena. Coldwater has an Arena and at least 1 large backyard rink. The Coldwater River is usually too fast flowing for the ice to be safe but the Wye river near St Marie among the Hurons sometimes has kids playing hockey.

Bruce's Race Shop at the farm only had room for 1 car with a back room for engine building. Both were heated by a single wood stove so you were usually too hot or cold in the winter.
The hockey usually took place while waiting for the shop to get warm enough to work in in the morning.

[raikk]

Alot brighter than our future in F1.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that.. Canada is starting to be recognized world wide in karting.. with our guys winning the Rotax Max nations cup in 2007 and Pier Marc Oulette winning by almost a lap .. then Canada went to the Leopard enduro finals and has won 2 in a row.. maybe not now but I think the future is bright for Canada to come across one of the gifted kids one of these days..


and hurray Canada lol