[News] TSN naming all-time Team Canada

[CMPunk]

[troutman]

What was the criteria?

[CMPunk]

Originally Posted by troutman

What was the criteria?

https://www.tsn.ca/tsn-hockey-s-all-...nada-1.1476095

Basically it comes down to performance in senior men's competition. It's a free for all.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by troutman

What was the criteria?

One, whereas NHL team all-timers must have played at least 225 regular-season games with their NHL teams, there is no minimum for inclusion on Team Canada. Sample sizes are just too small for too many players. That is why you will find Bobby Orr (seven Canada Cup games), Paul Henderson (eight NHL Summit Series games, plus eight WHA Summit Series games) and John Tonelli (eight Canada Cup games) on the team. Their impacts were colossal, if not their game totals.

Two, for the NHL all-time teams, players were slotted at the positions they played for those teams. That led to players such as legendary Toronto centre Darryl Sittler being squeezed out. On Team Canada, however, coaches have a history of picking a surplus of centres and playing them on the wing to maximize skill level. Two of the most famous goals in international hockey history were scored by centres playing wing: Sittler was on left wing with Marcel Dionne when he scored the 1976 Canada Cup-winning goal and Mario Lemieux was on right wing with centres Wayne Gretzky and Dale Hawerchuk when he scored the 1987 Canada Cup-winning goal. And consider this: 11 forwards on Team Canada 2016 could be classified as centres.

Three, the Team Canada all-time lineup has been expanded to 23 (plus a foundational player) to conform with international roster sizes. For that, we say thank you. That gave us three more much-needed spaces: one each for a goalie, a defenceman and a forward.

[transplant99]

I'm pleased to say the least.

[Titan]

Wow. Pretty impressed Iggy made that list. Another reminder of how highly he is thought of around the league. That seems like a silly comment but I think he could have easily been overlooked by the eastern media bias. Weird to see Steve Yzerman as the 'extra' player.

A bit surprised to see weber on defence. How scary offensively would that d corp be? Crazy.

[Titan]

Also, I know you have to judge by the era they played in but if you were to time machine a Phil esposito to today would he even be in the league? And the opposite if you put Sid or Iggy back in Phil's day would they have 200 goals? Neat.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I'm pleased to say the least.

that's really cool

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Titan

Also, I know you have to judge by the era they played in but if you were to time machine a Phil esposito to today would he even be in the league? And the opposite if you put Sid or Iggy back in Phil's day would they have 200 goals? Neat.

I'm curious as to why you think he wouldn't be.

Dude was a beast of a player.

If it's a question of fitness, well you can apply that league wide at the time. Training camp was actually a "get back into playing shape" camp back in the day.

But as far as his skills....he had them in spades.

[looooob]

I'm going to throw out the name of one of my favourites when I was a kid- now I understand why he didn't get placed- center for this team is likely the deepest imaginable, but it may not be a name everyone thinks of as he wasn't a gritty leader type or associated with any particular moment


Gil Perreault


why? well first I think only he and Dionne (who didn't actually dress in 72) were members of the 72/76//81 first 3 editions of the "Canada Cup or equivalent" teams


in 72 as a young pup he only played 2 games, but did score 2 points. In 76 he tied with Hull for the top scoring forward on Team Canada In 81 he was famously placed on the dream line with Gretzky and Lafleur- they were tearing the tournament a new one as I recall it when Perreault got hurt


in the end 19 points in 13 games in these 3 tourneys

[troutman]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

https://www.tsn.ca/tsn-hockey-s-all-...nada-1.1476095

Basically it comes down to performance in senior men's competition. It's a free for all.

So, not the best players that ever played for Canada, but based on performance internationally. Otherwise, you might put in Larry Robinson or Patrick Roy, and take out Henderson and Tonelli

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by troutman

So, not the best players that ever played for Canada, but based on performance internationally. Otherwise, you might put in Larry Robinson or Patrick Roy, and take out Henderson and Tonelli

Im guessing its players that played in tournaments beyond the WC's.

Strictly where it was best on best.

[alan21]

Heater from the corner all day.

[DoubleK]

I feel like Bergeron is missing from the list, but I don't know who you'd take off to make room.

[Buff]

So if he doesn't make the all-time team, how did Ryan Smyth deserve the moniker of "Captain Canada"?

I never liked it and this just helps me to validate my disdain for that title on Smyth.

[Salt Water Cowboy #10]

where's Lindros? tough to pick

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by Salt Water Cowboy #10

where's Lindros?

Still KO'd on the ice after getting flattened by Stevens?

[looooob]

Bobby Hull is another interesting name to contemplate on the left side


was arguably (after Orr and Esposito) Canada's top offensive force circa 72 but was precluded from competing on that team


he played for the less noted WHA version in 74 and led that whole tourney in scoring, then in 76 as I mentioned above he comes back as a WHA player and is still Canada's top scoring forward

[troutman]

Bryan Trottier is my all-time favorite all-around center. He also played for the US though.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by troutman

Bryan Trottier is my all-time favorite all-around center. He also played for the US though.

yes. it was hard to keep things straight in those years- all of a sudden you would have Trottier or Tony Esposito playing for the States, but then you'd have Peter Stastny playing for Canada