sensei_hanson
New Member
Unless this thread has been started elsewhere, it's been eerily quiet regarding the only quality hockey we'll see this year.
From the exhibitions I watched, the only consistent performances by Canada were put forth by Brodeur and Heatley. The blueline is in some trouble from what I can tell. My guess is that Quinn rides his top four (Jovo, Redden, Foote and Neidermayer) for something like 20-25 minutes each per game. I don't like Robin Regher at all - he moves like he's wearing cement skates. Bouwmeester is a great young talent, but I question how well he'll deal with the intensity of this competition. It's not like he's been in a hockey pressure cooker with Florida the last few years. Brewer is probably the 5th d-man on the team and Hannan is just along for the ride.
The US would be a more legit medal shot if their defensive depth hadn't been raped and pillaged. You can't afford to lose guys like Hatcher, Schnieder, Leopold and Gill when your replacements are John-Michael Lilles and our former finance minister. This team only goes as far as my favourite American player, Billy Guerin, takes them.
In a major darkhorse-backing analysis, I'm picking Finland to win it all. I think Kiprusoff will continue his playoff form. I think they've got enough grinders. They're as close to full strength - Sami Kapanen is their only real loss - as they can be. I think the Ruutu brothers are going to play their way into Finnish hockey fame. I think we'll see a revived Teemu Selanne. Mostly, though, I think Kipper will be the real difference, especially when you see that every other contender, save Canada, has question marks in net.
My "I am Canadian" predictions: 1) Canada 2) Czech Republic 3) USA
My "Ignore Your Cultural Bias" predictions: 1) Finland 2) Czech Republic 2) Canada
From the exhibitions I watched, the only consistent performances by Canada were put forth by Brodeur and Heatley. The blueline is in some trouble from what I can tell. My guess is that Quinn rides his top four (Jovo, Redden, Foote and Neidermayer) for something like 20-25 minutes each per game. I don't like Robin Regher at all - he moves like he's wearing cement skates. Bouwmeester is a great young talent, but I question how well he'll deal with the intensity of this competition. It's not like he's been in a hockey pressure cooker with Florida the last few years. Brewer is probably the 5th d-man on the team and Hannan is just along for the ride.
The US would be a more legit medal shot if their defensive depth hadn't been raped and pillaged. You can't afford to lose guys like Hatcher, Schnieder, Leopold and Gill when your replacements are John-Michael Lilles and our former finance minister. This team only goes as far as my favourite American player, Billy Guerin, takes them.
In a major darkhorse-backing analysis, I'm picking Finland to win it all. I think Kiprusoff will continue his playoff form. I think they've got enough grinders. They're as close to full strength - Sami Kapanen is their only real loss - as they can be. I think the Ruutu brothers are going to play their way into Finnish hockey fame. I think we'll see a revived Teemu Selanne. Mostly, though, I think Kipper will be the real difference, especially when you see that every other contender, save Canada, has question marks in net.
My "I am Canadian" predictions: 1) Canada 2) Czech Republic 3) USA
My "Ignore Your Cultural Bias" predictions: 1) Finland 2) Czech Republic 2) Canada