Instead of Pronger AND Nieds

[SweWings 45]

i think choosing 12 power forwards was a bigger mistake.

Bergeron comes to mind as waste. Tbh I would've chosen 1 more D instead of another forward.

Edited February 23, 2010 by SweWings

[Marty Barry 230]

As a USA fan, I admire Schlonger's slow step and temper.

[GONGSHOW HOCKEY 35]

OMG the sky is falling!!!!!

Mike Green would never have made Team Canada. This team doesn't need more scorers, look at the forwards on the team. If Crosby, Nash, Getzlaf, Perry, Thornton, Marleau, Heatley etc., aren't putting pucks in the back of the net then what the heck is Mike Green going to do??

If Green we're on this team everyone would be trashing him right now saying that they should have took Doughty or Boyle. There's a reason that Yzerman didn't have Green close to his board, he can't play defense yet. By the next Olympics hopefully he shores up his play on the backend so he can play on the team.

[wiszo1mt 7]

they shoulda asked clutterbuck and helm to be some energy guys

[jeff48109 474]

role players are overrated. the 2006 team had role players like Draper, Doan and Smyth and failed miserably.

for Stevie Y, it was all going to be a crapshoot. how the hell would anyone know what will be able to mesh with who?

[Echolalia 2,961]

role players are overrated. the 2006 team had role players like Draper, Doan and Smyth and failed miserably.

for Stevie Y, it was all going to be a crapshoot. how the hell would anyone know what will be able to mesh with who?

The 2002 team had role-players as well

[jeff48109 474]

The 2002 team had role-players as well

sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. its pretty much a crap shot on whether the team gels.

[taxijim 11]

they shoulda asked clutterbuck and helm to be some energy guys

BINGO!!

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I think Doan/Smyth should've been taken over Bergeron. I like him and everything but he doesnt really belong on Team Canada, he's more of a skill guy, but we need a Smyth type to stand in front and make it hell for the goalie. All of Canada's forwards are perimeter players. As far as Mike Green, the only thing he would bring is PP goals, and that wasnt going to be more effective then the minutes Doughty/Weber take up.

[rick zombo 3,739]

The 2002 team had role-players as well

That team had leadership. 3 legendary players.

Yzerman, Lemieux, and Sakic.

Ask anyone that knows (Pat Quinn for example), and they'll tell you that these three guys lead the way.

[jeff48109 474]

That team had leadership. 3 legendary players.

Yzerman, Lemieux, and Sakic.

Ask anyone that knows (Pat Quinn for example), and they'll tell you that these three guys lead the way.

and crosby's leadership is nowhere close to those guys

[Guest Lidstromboli]

Bergeron comes to mind as waste. Tbh I would've chosen 1 more D instead of another forward.

how is Bergeron a waste?

[Yzerman191 37]

There are certain guys you just can't leave off the team, and in my opinion, Pronger, Niedermayer, and Thornton are three of them. Pronger and Niedermayer both need to step up, but they still deserve to be on that team, and there was no chance in hell Yzerman could leave them off. In retrospect, it's easy to say that the two of them are the odd men out on account of how well the young guys (Doughty, Keith, Seabrook, Weber) are playing, but there's no way Yzerman can make that decision before the tournament. And in my opinion, Bouwmeester is the only one I'd consider inserting into the lineup - certainly not Phaneuf or Green.

The powerplay is struggling, and many think Yzerman should've chosen Stamkos for that 13th forward. I keep hearing people say, "Ugh, if only we had Stamkos!" after each failed powerplay. Well guess what? They've already got about 20 guys that regularly play on the powerplay in the NHL and are struggling, so talent and scoring touch is not the problem.

Canada is going to be perfectly fine. They'll almost certainly get through Germany, and they've got the talent and the depth to beat Russia. I see the game tomorrow as a sort of workshop - Babcock will probably try to get his guys to take a solid lead, then maybe shuffle the lines around to see what works.

Also, there's no way Babcock could've put Luongo in net from the onset and not heard crap about it. It was Brodeur's job to lose and he lost it.

[Datsyuk2Zetterberg 1]

this team is obviously missing sakic.

I would gladly trade in pronger, nieds, and bergeron for sakic and green.

Keith, Boyle, Doughty, Weber have been good defensively, play green and seabrook sparingly then.

[jeff48109 474]

There are certain guys you just can't leave off the team, and in my opinion, Pronger, Niedermayer, and Thornton are three of them. Pronger and Niedermayer both need to step up, but they still deserve to be on that team, and there was no chance in hell Yzerman could leave them off. In retrospect, it's easy to say that the two of them are the odd men out on account of how well the young guys (Doughty, Keith, Seabrook, Weber) are playing, but there's no way Yzerman can make that decision before the tournament. And in my opinion, Bouwmeester is the only one I'd consider inserting into the lineup - certainly not Phaneuf or Green.

The powerplay is struggling, and many think Yzerman should've chosen Stamkos for that 13th forward. I keep hearing people say, "Ugh, if only we had Stamkos!" after each failed powerplay. Well guess what? They've already got about 20 guys that regularly play on the powerplay in the NHL and are struggling, so talent and scoring touch is not the problem.

Canada is going to be perfectly fine. They'll almost certainly get through Germany, and they've got the talent and the depth to beat Russia. I see the game tomorrow as a sort of workshop - Babcock will probably try to get his guys to take a solid lead, then maybe shuffle the lines around to see what works.

Also, there's no way Babcock could've put Luongo in net from the onset and not heard crap about it. It was Brodeur's job to lose and he lost it.

can you imagine the outcry if Stevie Y left out Pronger and Niedermayer? lol hindsight is always 20/20, but there was no way he could have left off some guys that have not showed up thus far.

[Coolio Mendez 7]

Niedermayer/Pronger are much better defencemans than Green will ever be. Green's primary asset is his shot, but Weber has a better shot and he still couldn't get it through. Green still has a weak transition game which is still Niedermayer's strength. Niedermayer also led all players in takeaways in the Canada/US game with 6 (and only 2 giveaways - lowest among the D for both teams), unfortunately he looked bad on a couple of US goals (as did Weber who should have been covering for him). As for Green, Bob Nicholson said it best this afternoon "he's got a good shot, but he doesn't have the mobility that the rest of this group has" (and he doesn't)

Seriously, I don't think Green would have helped. EX: The Swiss don't know how to design a play to kill a penalty, and Canada is mentally challenged to think outside the box to beat it. I think the only players that could have beaten the Swiss system are Bobby Orr and Mark Howe because neither would do what they were supposed to do on the power play anyway. Green would have followed the coaches plans and looked just as bad as the rest.

[kugz 12]

I really do think even though phaneuf is having a not so good year... He should have been there. I think he would've turned his game up a notch and been big for Canada

[Datsyuk2Zetterberg 1]

I really do think even though phaneuf is having a not so good year... He should have been there. I think he would've turned his game up a notch and been big for Canada

phaenuf would be about 10 times as worse as nieds. Nieds looks pretty slow but his decision making is still pretty decent. Although he might've been an improvement on Pronger.