USA embarrassing, Czechs not much better...

After losing in overtime to Germany to open the World Championships, the USA then lost 2-1 to Denmark in another OT game. Denmark sports two NHLers in Islander Frans Nielsen and Sens rookie, Peter Regin and also 2007 first rounder Lars Eller, who scored 57 points with AHL Peoria this past season. As surprising as the Danes beating the is, perhaps it's not such a shock after all when you look at the States roster.

With only one 2010 Olympian on the roster in the form of Jack Johnson they were behind the eight-ball from the get go. Scott Clemmensen as a number one goalie on a national team of any kind is pretty much a joke. Andy Greene, Keith Yandle and even Matt Gilroy joining Johnson on defense is adequate if not overly impressive. Where the US really embarrasses themselves is in the forward brigade. Brandon Dubinsky is the only player to have notched 20 NHL goals this season, Kyle Okposo, TJ Oshie and TJ Gagliardi are fairly promising NHLers. Beyond that, there's really not much.

Norway beating the Czechs today is slightly less embarrassing. After 18 World Championship games since 1937, the Nords finally got the better of the Czechs. Norway has a similar roster that they had in the Olympics with Patrick Thoresen, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen and goaltender Pal Grotnes leading the way. The Czechs on the other hand have Jaromir Jagr, and he's getting on in age.

Comments

Geoff_9 said…
Looks like Canada wasn't too hot either :(
May 22, 2010 at 9:28 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ron Hextall and the stolen Conn Smythe Trophy

Image
Ron Hextall did not deserve the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1987....there, I said it. I recently caught game seven of the '87 finals on ESPN Classic, where the Oilers beat the Flyers 3-1. Hextall was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy to the disdain and boos of the Northlands Coliseum. Hextall was (and remains) the fourth player to win the trophy in a losing cause. Even as a teenager following these playoffs as they happened, I thought this was an injustice. Upon further inspection, I believe he only won because he was a rookie, and was the "sexy" pick as opposed to the proper pick. When looking at his numbers, it's hard to figure why he won. Hextall finished with 15 wins, 11 losses and a GAA of 2.77. Oilers, Grant Fuhr went 14 and 5 with an average of 2.46. I realize that stats cannot tell the whole story, but even if we dig further the award doesn't seem justified. His .908 Save Pct was the same as Fuhr's and tied for third behind Ken Wregget and Kelly Hrudey. Also,...
Read more

WHA Ottawa Civics, The Two Week Franchise

Image
Tom Earl, Daryl Maggs, Mark Lomenda, Gary MacGregor, Garry Swain "Please let the fans make up their own minds," Henry Feller told a press gathering. "Let them decide if they want pro hockey here. We have to average 7,000 or 8,000 in the remaining 19 home games for a break-even point." Feller was a director of the Founders Club who had interest in buying the WHA's Denver Spurs club. Ivan Mullinex, owner of the Spurs had brought his team to Ottawa in an attempt to drum up interest and save his investment. The date was January 2, 1976 and Mullinex was in debt to a Denver bank to the tune of $1 million dollars. This same day, the newly christened Civics lost their first game under the new moniker by a score of 2-1 at Cincinnati. Star of the team, Ralph Backstrom said after the game, "Our first official notice of the move hit us when we entered the Cincinnati rink and the names on the big scoreboard read: Stingers and Civics. Until that moment we were un...
Read more

Team Canada 1972, What Might have Been

Image
Guy Lafleur, if he had played in the 72 Summit Series "No way. Can you imagine what our fans would say if we allowed Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito to play for Canada in that series and either...suffered an injury that might prevent them from playing with us for a year or more?" This was the concern of Weston Adams Jr, president of the Boston Bruins as quoted on April 20, 1972. After being speculated and discussed since February 1972 at the Olympics in Sapporo Japan, the series was set to go. Early on however, controversy stirred as to who exactly would be representing Canada. Bruins GM, Milt Schmidt agreed with his boss saying, "My only interest would be to see the Russians play the Bruins for the world championship...or whatever team wins the Stanley Cup." In the Vancouver Sun a few days later, the legendary Jim Coleman responds to the American naysayers suggesting that Team Canada should be made up strictly of players from Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal ...
Read more