Canada/US Rematch Game thread
Kent Wilson
January 02 2013 11:12PM
Four Flames prospects face-off this morning in a Canada/US rematch. Johnny Gaudreau, Pat Sieloff and Jon Gillies for the red, white and blue versus Tyler Wotherspoon for the Canucks.
Gaudreau had the lowest draft rank of the four (4th round), but is currently the biggest name. The BC star got off to a slow start, but has managed five points in his last two games, includinga hat trick versus the Czechs. In the games I've seen, Gaudreau had a number of chances but no finish, so it's good to see the puck start bouncing his way.
Wotherspoon, Sieloff and Gillies aren't as quite as integral as Gaudreau currently, although Wotherspoon has become a regular fixture on the Canadian blueline.
The first match between these clubs was close fought but ended in Canada's favor. This one should be a good one.
Feel free to share your thoughts in this thread. Fair warning for those who are watching a recording though: the comment string may contain spoilers.
"but has managed five points in his last two games"
6 actually. 2 goals 1 assist against Slovakia, 3 goals against the Czechs.
also interesting (but mostly irrelevant) to note that Markus Granlund is currently 2nd in tournament scoring with 9 points (according to the official IIHF statistics, which count SO winners as actual goals).
Gaudreau heating up for the US, has me a little worried for Canada.
Subban is going to have be on his game for the whole 60 min tonight, tomorrow... whatever, and Canada better figure out how to stay out of the box for this game.
This game is going to be a lot different from the first game they played, hopefully it has the same outcome though.
USA!!!! My boy gaudreau lookin niceee these past 3 games
GO FLAMES GO!!!!
OMG JONNY WHATA MOVE/SHOT!!!! WOOOOOOOO USA!!!!
Woo woo Johnny Goo!
Did Nuge dress??
PP so maybe he can do something?
On the biggest stage, against the best players of his age, Gaudreau is dominating. Maybe this kid is for real? He could have 8 points today
Oh my Gaudreau! This kid is amazing. It was just a matter of time before he scored that 5th goal, he was buzzing all period, and he was buzzing all game. When he gets his chances, you just get the feeling he's going to bury them, and he does. It's awesome to watch. He could have had at least 3 additional assists tonight if guys finished the chances he set up.
This guy is a for-real talent. Won't be surprised at all if he finishes the tournament as leading scorer. I wasn't all that impressed with him in the first game against canada, but he totally blew me away in this one. Go Gaudreau Go!
I think Canada wins this in a seven game series but boy were they ever flat tonight. Little bit of life in the third but overall terrible...
In other news Gaudreau is getting better in leaps and bounds as this tournament goes on. If his teammates could finish he'd have a pile of assists to go with his pile of goals! Dangerous every time on the ice tonight, thought this was his best game. Not sure on his current height and weight but if he hits 5'8, 175 before turning pro, I'm a believer!
I can't get over how young he looks though... Could pass for a ninth grader no prob...
I watched the 1st period. Candada looked flat and couldn't get any momentum especially in the offensive zone. Gaudreau is a Real talent, he can stick handle in a phone booth, can skate with speed, but his big talent is that he is as great a passer as Alex Tanguay, who I believe is the best passer in the NHL. It's hard not to get excited about this kid. I'm really impressed how good this kid is compared to his peers.
When you have a turd like Scheifle on your team, you don't deserve to win.
I guess Team Canada can't even compete properly when they have one legit NHLer and a plethora of first round picks on the team. Should be embarrassed.
Watched until 3:15 and then was worried about my performance at work today so I shut it down :) First time watching Gaudreau live and in that closely. Thoroughly impressed.
Canada was incredibly flat.
Gaudreau though...holy crap.
Nice start - you gotta finish that poem!
How good was Gaudreau, really? It was easy to be wowed by him, but I still have this vision in my mind of him standing around watching the play, hoping it came to him - and it didn't for several games. Then BAM! The puck has had his name on it since. It's just seemed a little too easy.
But there can be no denying he has special talent, and has played very well. He's had good chances and he's buried most of them, and set up some other very good chances that didn't get buried. Again, small sample size of viewings - I'm still thinking he may be a good asset to "sell high" to help out some problem positions (C, RW, D). LW we actually have some prospects already, and it's going to be a very big leap for him to get to the next level.
@Steve
Completely agree with your comments. I bagged John Gaudreau in an earlier post based on an opinion that he is exceptional skill will not be able overcome his lack of size to compete in the NHL on a regular basis. As a Flames fan, I really hope I'm dead wrong.
However, this tournament looks to have at least significantly boosted his status as a highly rated prospect, ie. who could potentially turn into a Martin St. Louis. I agree that if the Flames could trade/package him for a first round pick/former first round pick or highly touted prospect, they should move quickly.
The only risk, which could be big or small depending on your view, is that if he does turn into another Martin St. Louis! As a Flames fan, that would sting badly again and this is probably the key reason why Johnny Hockey is unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. He has the type of skill that the Flames will need to compete with the Oilers in the future.
johnny hockey was outstanding. wow what a lesson. hockey canada may want to avoid the politics and select on talent next year. subban stunk, reinhart struggled and where was the nuge when it mattered? spott is gonna have alot of explaining to do. better yet, the committee that selected him has alot of explaining. beating the russians appears to have been the focus. hats of to the americans great game. howsley was masterful, pressure the canucks and make pk 2.0 beat you. gibson allowed the americans to play with confidence. sorry broivert but your brother isnt an alumni.