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Originally Posted by transplant99
Yeah i dont disagree with any of this other than the bolded....because thats what worked for them to win the Gold. I refuse to criticize success personally.
I think the opposite comparison was the 87 Canada Cup roster.
I would argue that was the most purely offensively talented group this country has ever assembled.
They won of course but it was nail biting crazy 6-5 games in the best of 3 final with 2 going to OT.
Point being though, that was really how the game was at that time. Wide open offensive push, defense be damned hockey. We were really good at it too. Also maybe the single most entertaining tournament I ever witnessed in any sport to this day.
But thats not the game anymore. Even in the playoffs now, if you cant grind it out, up and down the ice, you aren't gonna win. That's how coaches operate now and this iteration of TC is an example. Whether it works or not remains to be seen but its pretty easy to see what/why Cameron has done what he has even if i disagree with him on some of the choices.
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I'm actually not sure this is true...and even if it is then it doesn't explain leaving off Misa and Parekh who just proved they could win by winning the memorial cup.
Colorado won a cup without grinding very much at all, Tampa won back to back. You can't be soft but in the end skill can still win.
In the end my personal feeling on this is that coaches like these types of teams better because they feel like they have more control over a team that is more of a defensive grind it out team than a team that's more of a purely talented team made up of the best players. In the end it's what the coach wants to have control over.
But as a fan I don't want to see that TBH. In the end winning or losing is made up of a lot of different factors...roster, coaching, reffing, luck, other results, etc and this iteration of Canada might win, or the iteration of Canada with Sennecke, Misa, Yakemchuk, and Parekh might have won - both have a chance at success.
But as a fan in these major international tournaments I don't want to see Chris Kunitz playing with Crosby instead of Claude Giroux, or Kris Draper on a team instead of Sydney Crosby.
I want to see the best players playing together and Canada being entertaining. Canada winning the tournament by playing like they are some underdog team that needs to grind their way to victory is boring to me, even if they end up winning.