The Official 2010 WJC Thread

Let's say that I can forgive him for Lee over Kopitar and Staal - a lot of GMs and their staffs didn't have a great idea of what to do in that draft.

However, I can never forgive him for letting Chara walk.

SpezDispenser wrote:Let's say that I can forgive him for Lee over Kopitar and Staal - a lot of GMs and their staffs didn't have a great idea of what to do in that draft.

However, I can never forgive him for letting Chara walk.

Kopitar was a risk, Stall was not. I will never forgive the walking Alzheimer's Ad for taking Lee. NEVER.

asq2 wrote:Well, didn't see a lot of Cowen tonight. He was integral on the third goal because he's so effective at defending from basically the centre-line down.

It's pretty obvious to me, though, that A) he's still recovering from that injury, and B) he needs more time to develop his offensive game. He's a great skater and he's got an absolute hammer of a shot, so I really don't see any reason to rule out him becoming a big offensive contributor. He just needs to be handled correctly.

I think I'm now fully of the opinion that he should be in Spokane in 2010/2011.

co-sign. I 100% see, now, what you're talking about. What a bullet of a shot he has!! Decent outlet too, but his movement in the offensive zone is less impressive.

asq2 wrote:Also, I would do unspeakable things to get Taylor Hall onto the Senators. We need that type of player so badly.

I don't think there's a player on the roster or in the system that I wouldn't trade to get him. I mean that.

RobbyJ wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Let's say that I can forgive him for Lee over Kopitar and Staal - a lot of GMs and their staffs didn't have a great idea of what to do in that draft.

However, I can never forgive him for letting Chara walk.

Kopitar was a risk, Stall was not. I will never forgive the walking Alzheimer's Ad for taking Lee. NEVER.

Just wait until it gets us Filatov!

Nashville got a good pick in Gabriel Bourque... Just scored a shorthanded goal to give Canada a 2-1 lead... He's pretty fast and a nice shot too.

Anybody watching this game? What did Cormier do to get a 4 min... High sticking or... He needs to calm down a little bit. His emotions and all are great but he seems to do something out of line every game!

3-1 Canada... Jordan Eberle... Canada has a very good team... I knew that but I tought they wouldnt dominate as much... So far so good... Looking forward to seeing those Russians!

Hall with three in three games. The best thing about the kid IMO is that he backs up his tremendous skill and speed with tenacity and a willingness to fight in the dirty areas. That's the second goal where he's put in his own rebound because he doesn't just resort to fly-bys.

Is Canada setting themselves up for a fall in the medal rounds by taking so many penalties? It's so much easier for a ref to stick his hand in the air when the team has already taken so many calls. These are just prelim games, aren't they? The real fun doesn't start for another two days. I've got to say I am more than a little concerned. I'm also not hearing great things about Cowen. A year ago he was seen as a top-three pick, wasn't he? I can only hope it's because he isn't fully recovered from his injury, but he's been playing full time since October. Shouldn't he be in full mid-season shape?

I wouldn't get too concerned about Cowen. That Czech goal was more on Teubert IMO (what was he thinking?). Anyway, Cowen's defence also caused a turn-over at the Canada blue-line, leading to the Hall break-away goal.

I was gonna say the same thing, Cowen's looked really solid. The good greatly outweighs the bad.

It's not really the greatest forum to advertise his skills. Cowen captains the best defensive team by a pretty substantial margin in the WHL. His top-3 status was because of this defensive ability combined with the potential to be a great offensive contributor (great shot, great skater). He lost a year of development to his injury and most of this year will probably be up before he's at 100%.

His play with the puck is what needs to improve, and that's what this year is largely for (I also think next year should be for that as well). On an offensive powerhouse like Canada, which figures to be in the opposition zone most of the time, his greatest assets don't and probably won't get as much time in the sun. I still think it's good for him, though, because it's forcing him out of his comfort zone to a certain extent.

asq2 wrote:It's not really the greatest forum to advertise his skills. Cowen captains the best defensive team by a pretty substantial margin in the WHL. His top-3 status was because of this defensive ability combined with the potential to be a great offensive contributor (great shot, great skater). He lost a year of development to his injury and most of this year will probably be up before he's at 100%.

His play with the puck is what needs to improve, and that's what this year is largely for (I also think next year should be for that as well). On an offensive powerhouse like Canada, which figures to be in the opposition zone most of the time, his greatest assets don't and probably won't get as much time in the sun. I still think it's good for him, though, because it's forcing him out of his comfort zone to a certain extent.

Pretty much, plus, if used right, it'll be really interesting to see him against the stronger teams when they start to put some sustained pressure on us.

asq2 wrote:I wouldn't get too concerned about Cowen. That Czech goal was more on Teubert IMO (what was he thinking?). Anyway, Cowen's defence also caused a turn-over at the Canada blue-line, leading to the Hall break-away goal.

I forget who it was on the radio the guys were interviewing before the game, but when they asked how Cowen was doing, he said that play was *the only* highlight of his game so far. Sure, they haven't played a lot of games, and the *real* games have not yet started, but the point was that he was doing *just alright*.

I know *I* was expecting more. Weren't we all?

SpezDispenser wrote:

asq2 wrote:It's not really the greatest forum to advertise his skills. Cowen captains the best defensive team by a pretty substantial margin in the WHL. His top-3 status was because of this defensive ability combined with the potential to be a great offensive contributor (great shot, great skater). He lost a year of development to his injury and most of this year will probably be up before he's at 100%.

His play with the puck is what needs to improve, and that's what this year is largely for (I also think next year should be for that as well). On an offensive powerhouse like Canada, which figures to be in the opposition zone most of the time, his greatest assets don't and probably won't get as much time in the sun. I still think it's good for him, though, because it's forcing him out of his comfort zone to a certain extent.

Pretty much, plus, if used right, it'll be really interesting to see him against the stronger teams when they start to put some sustained pressure on us.

By the time we get to the medal round the level of competition should increase. We're not going to walk to the gold. So here's hoping his game rises to the occasion.

He's a Memorial Cup Champion.

wprager wrote:

asq2 wrote:I wouldn't get too concerned about Cowen. That Czech goal was more on Teubert IMO (what was he thinking?). Anyway, Cowen's defence also caused a turn-over at the Canada blue-line, leading to the Hall break-away goal.

I forget who it was on the radio the guys were interviewing before the game, but when they asked how Cowen was doing, he said that play was *the only* highlight of his game so far. Sure, they haven't played a lot of games, and the *real* games have not yet started, but the point was that he was doing *just alright*.

I know *I* was expecting more. Weren't we all?

What were you expecting? He's a dynamite defensive player but when you're with Team Canada the puck's almost always in the offensive zone. Were you expecting him to be a better offensive guy than Pietrangelo, Ellis or DeHaan?