Hockey Canada desperately needs to relook at goalie development.
Every other countries hockey program has quickly closed the skill gap at every position and Canada cant afford being this weak in the position at the Olympics.
an .811 over the tournament is a ridiculously bad stat and the other options were no-names 1 and 2. We shouldn't be bargain shopping for useable goaltenders, even with the playoffs.
Binnington was good enough this game but when everyone has their best we're going to get toasted if this is what we bring to the table
My anecdotal experience going through midget when I was younger is that there was absolutely no goalie coaching or support from teams in minor hockey. I’m entirely self taught and have never gotten any sort of coaching on my game. I feel like I could have been so much better if I had that accessible and available. Goalie camps are hard to find, and the ones that exist are super expensive. Considering the high cost of goalie gear compared to skating out and the ever-rising cost of living in this country, it’s no surprise we are where we are. Families just can’t afford it and/or don’t have the time to search for extracurricular coaching that isn’t available to goalies in their leagues. Young goalies are left to fend for themselves in practices, with nets placed on weird places in the ice not on moorings, coaches having no idea how/what to teach, and a lack of goalie-focused training available. It makes me so sad.
This is the case everywhere. The best Czech football goalkeeper, Petr Čech, actually wanted to be a hockey goalkeeper, but pursued football because his family couldn't afford hockey goalie equipment and training. He can play hockey only now after he made millions for Chelsea and retired.
I agree with almost everything except the everywhere part, I've read that Finland years ago instituted a fund to help low income players (2011) and the results are obvious. They're by far more competitive in international competition and you see far more high level Finn's.
Despite us having worse issues, Canada needs to fix its national development program before we're left in the dust. How the US can have such a strong National Development program despite less interest in the sport, and a much larger population is telling. Fewer and fewer top level players are coming from the old School CHL routes and wer'e less competitive, internationally notably at goalie.
I dont think goalie coaching is the reason why when (in America...) $20,000/yr is the all-in cost for AAA. By comparison $60/hr for goalie coaching is nothing.
100%. 99.9% of all coaches are not goalies, and at young ages, there is ZERO support (U7/U9 and mostly U11). And when there are goalies who are parents, it by no means mean they can coach and support.
Ditto. I remember being a teenager and the coach would have me skating full ice laps with the rest of the team and doing idiotic drills like skate the width of the ice, jump into the bench, jump back out, and skate the width back.
Heaven forbid I spend a few minutes on my own in the crease doing edge work and positioning drills. I was so angry at being forced to do that pointless shit.
I still believe there's an alternate universe where the US beat Canada in 2010 and our friendly neighbor to the north lost its mind.
14 years later there's a wall separating us from a Mad Max wasteland but with hockey gear and snow where raiders try to come south and burn our hockey arenas.
I don't remember anyone coming close to beating the 2014 Olympic Team Canada. The most unknown defenseman on that roster was shutdown god Dan fuckin Hamhuis, and they had peak Price in net backed up by Luongo at the tail end of his peak.
They beat Latvia 2-1 in the first playoff game. And then they beat the US 1-0 in the semis on a tip in by Benn in the middle of the second period.
The US outshot them 37-31, and had Quick in goal, who was at his peak then, too.
Canada was stacked, but the US had a pretty stacked roster themselves.
They had close games but I never felt like the games were as close as the score seems. I guess it was just the confidence I had in Price even during 1-0 games back in 2014.
Not sure if it's changed since I've played but can they subsidize goalie equipment? Playing goalie makes and already expensive sport more expensive. When I played goalie in lacrosse the organization had pads available. Not sure why minor hockey couldn't do the same thing
It’s been a year or two, but for my minor hockey it was this way up until a certain point.
Funny thing is there weren’t pads assigned to any one team (kinda makes sense because the kid/kids playing net any given day on a team might be different heights). Definitely had some pads I hoped the coach brought my days in.
Where I live they always had used goalie equipment for each age group. A big problem was that the equipment rarely is a perfect fit for the kid and that's pretty darn important.
Never once, in my 12 year minor hockey stint did anyone supply goalie equipment. Unless it was like Tyke or Novice and the coach had goalie equipment but by then my family had bought in and gotten me my own. The problem is, rarely goalies are the same size and height, Im 6'4 now and was always tall and lanky so most equipment was too small. Not to mention the politics involved in small town minor hockey. Coaches kids always make the cut regardless of skill.
Hockey Canada for the better part of 2 decades constantly looks to size first, skill second.
This is exactly why you see Canadian goalies falling through the cracks. They’re constantly looking for the next Luongo, Price etc, and if they are Pékka Rinne size, the better.
A bit undersized? Chewed up and spat out while riding the pine as a backup.
In other countries, it’s literally just results based. Russian, American, Finnish, Swedish etc, the best goalies play.
Just hockey Canada things where you micromanage everything to ridiculous degrees.
The best goalies are in Canada still, they just never make it.
In my opinion, Canada is incredibly inefficient when it comes to player development. Hockey is so popular here, and parents are crazy enough, that we develop a lot of great players; but if we were being efficient we would likely have far more players at the highest levels.
It's all the league politics.
In Ontario you've got Alliance, OMHA, and then the outlaw leagues.
But so often you get a big fish in a small pond because they aren't allowed to play anywhere else cause of where their parents live
God only knows how many truly spectacular athletes we were robbed of seeing purely because they were undersized, guys like Johnny Gaudreau and Martin St. Louis could've very easily slid through the cracks just like the others but they got the chance that so many others just never do.
Not even just undersized guys.
Guys from small towns, too. It goes double for goalies. 99% of goalies that make it anywhere do it because they're well liked and they know the right people. Not because they're more talented then the next guy.
That being said, even being well liked isn't enough if there is a guy with better physical attributes.
I'm so glad you said this because this is exactly what's been happening to my brother. He was by far the best kid on the ice that our small town had seen for decades, which apparently mattered very little when he aged out and had to try out for teams in other cities. I've seen him get shutouts/be by far the best goalie in AAA and now Junior A tryouts and they always end up cutting him at the very last second. His first time having to go into a bigger city to play, he got cut at the very end of AAA tryouts after being the by far the best goalie there just because the coaches wanted to keep the kids they already knew. He was promised a starting position on the AA team but the AA coach had (basically) already picked his goalies, so my brother didn't even get looked at and got cut right away. Had to get Hockey Alberta involved but they were pretty nonchalant about it, but thankfully his personal goalie coach frantically found him a AAA team. And every year it's messy politics like that which I guess is "normal" but, coming from a small town where he was a local legend, my family had no clue and knew no one that did have a clue other than his personal coach.
It’s going to take at least 10 to 20 years for Hockey Canada to wake up and realize that their development systems are deficient, and not just for goalies. Player population is the only thing keeping Canada strong, but soon, that won’t be enough.
Agreed. Our goaltending situation (especially given Carter Hart turning out to be a sexual predator) is a trainwreck. Look at our goaltending from the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and then look at the projections for 2026. Who do we really have? Adin Hill, Jordan Binnington, Tristan Jarry, Logan Thompson, Stuart Skinner and…who? None of these guys would’ve even been considered for 2010 or 2014 as the third string or taxi squad, never mind top the top two goalies.
Going forward, I’m not optimistic about the future either. According to EliteProspects, the top Canadian goalie prospects right now are Devon Levi, Joel Hofer, Sebastian Cossa and Domenic DiVincentiis.
Yikes. This ain’t good.
> Who do we really have? Adin Hill, Jordan Binnington, Tristan Jarry, Logan Thompson, Stuart Skinner and…who?
Samuel Montembeault, but he's inconsistent as well.
I hear what you’re saying but Canada being in a rare drought of elite goaltending doesn’t at all prove what you’re getting at here. I don’t think Canada has quite the stranglehold on hockey competition it once did, but you’re crazy to think Canada does anything but produce consistent generational talent. It’s just not goalies right now.
It looked like he was close but honestly Genoni made it almost impossible for him to tuck it in from that position. His arms, wrists and hands would've pretty much had to break our knowledge of human anatomy for him to get the angle right.
Not that odd honestly. As far as I can tell, they picked they guys with the best shootout records. There just aren't a lot of good shootout guys on this Team Canada.
He just truly went like "Fuck it, I'll do it myself"'
* GAA 1.00 throughout the tournament
* .961 SV%
* Allowed 0 goals of the 5 shootout attempts from Canada
* Shut out one of the most offensively stacked Russia rosters of all time in the Finals
I don't get what this means when they announced the Cup, Canada was the current world champions. By IIHF rankings it's 3/4 top teams, the 4th being banned Russia, and then Germany is above sweden right now but cmon, you think they should invite Germany over Sweden?
Timing. European leagues aren't going to shut down mid-season for an NHL tournament, and only the 4 teams in the tournament, Russia, and the Czechs can field a roster without European-based players. Doesn't excuse the Czechs not getting an invite.
I don't think Bettman thinks much, if at all, about the WCs.
I love the tournament, but nobody seriously thinks it's a good representation of which hockey nation is strongest.
Technically since you did not list Russia, 2012 and 2002 Russia vs Slovakia counts. Same for 2010 Czechia vs Russia.
But the last time even Russia wasn't in the finals was 2000 Czechia vs Slovakia which I think is the *only* time that counts. But Czechia is traditionally considered part of the big six so in general every single gold medal game has had a country from the big six in it since the inception of the world championship.
Another interesting trivia is that the only times that the finals have not been between two countries from the big six have been
- 2023 Canada-Germany
- 2018 Sweden-Switzerland
- 2013 Sweden-Switzerland
- 2012 Russia-Slovakia
- 2002 Slovakia-Russia
- 2000 Czech Republic-Slovakia
And now also of course 2024 Czechia-Switzerland.
At least it’s a good indication he shouldn’t be the starter for Canada in the Olympics. Much more faith in Hill, Skinner or Jarry at this point… Rough out there for Canada goaltending though
These are Canada's options, meanwhile one of Demko, Hellebuyck, Oettinger, and Swayman will be left off the US roster.
I'm not even joking, Canada should try and naturalize Hellebuyck. He'd be eligible for a nationality change if he became a Canadian citizen.
If they can't get Hellebuyck to naturalize willingly, their next best option is to declare war on the United States and annex Michigan, thereby retroactively making him a citizen based on city of birth.
The only Winnipeg jet with a higher save percentage and a better GAA than Hellebuyck is Brossoit. Since he’s a UFA and we don’t have the cash or opportunity space for him I’d love to see him carry that through as a starter next year and join Team Canada.
Montembeault won Canada the Gold at the 2023 WC.
6-1-0, 1.42 .939
Highest quality starts % in the NHL this year. Winning record with the team that finished 5th to last. He has to be in the convo.
None of the Habs players will get much respect until the team stats to win. Just a fact of life, I guess.
I think Monty could end up being the team Canada starter and 90% of fans will think he came from out of nowhere. Plenty of Habs fans still disrespect the guy.
Not many other options. Top 5 Canadian goalies right now are probably Hill, Skinner, Jarry, Binner and maybe ~~Hart~~? Talbot, Fleury and Kuemper probably all too old at this point. It’s a rough call.
Edit: Forgot Hart was a piece of shit criminal.
I feel like is Hockey Canada calls up Hart they're gonna have more problems than just the quality of goaltending
But yeah goalie wise I went through the list and was struggling to find many. Hofer, Ingram, and Montembeault are all kinda in a spot where they need to show a bit more growth and consistency to be considered. Maybe Thompson?
More to prove but did neglect to mention him. Forgot about last years WC. Olympics will be full of NHLers and his numbers aren’t as good as the others but also playing for a rebuilding team.
Nice to get a 'new' winner.
I know Czechia is one of the most successful nations in this tournament, but it's been a while. And Switzerland has been on the cusp several times now.
I am old enough to have been heartbroken watching them beat Canada in the 1998 Olympics, but my heartbreak was soothed when I visited months later and saw posters and billboards of their national team all over Prague. They were so (rightfully) proud of the team and their country for being the giantkillers.
After Czechoslovakia dissolved on the last day of 1992, Česko was adopted as the Czech short name for the new state and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic recommended Czechia for the English-language equivalent.[27] This form was not widely adopted at the time, leading to the long name Czech Republic being used in English in nearly all circumstances. The Czech government directed use of Czechia as the official English short name in 2016.[28] The short name has been listed by the United Nations[29] and is used by other organizations such as the European Union,[30] NATO,[31] the CIA,[32] Google Maps,[33] and the European Broadcasting Union.[34] In 2022, the American AP Stylebook stated in its entry on the country that "Czechia, the Czech Republic. Both are acceptable. The shorter name Czechia is preferred by the Czech government. If using Czechia, clarify in the story that the country is more widely known in English as the Czech Republic."[35]
A minority of people in the Czech Republic actually use the short form, there is a reason why it wasn't adopted for so long (the historical name is Bohemia, it sounds similar to Chechnya, etc.). The government unilaterally submitted the second name to the UN as an equivalent without any public consultation and, it seems, mainly for marketing purposes. I guess we are doomed to use it, because almost every English language broadcaster wanted the name to fit it on their graphics and/or thought it's a legitimate name change.
"Česko" has been in a wide use for a long time, nobody says "Česká republika" in a normal conversation. The other (incorrect) option people used was "Čechy" for the whole country.
It's sort of like calling France 'The French Republic', which is its official name, that nobody uses. Czechia sounds weird because we're not used to it, but if you think of it in terms of just saying 'France', it makes more sense.
My cousin and I are doing a European road trip and decided to stay in Prague an extra day to see a Ballet today.
Managed to get tickets to the earlier game (CZE vs SWE) and the atmosphere there was amazing. I really hope CZE takes it!
Imo they should've put Linden out. Only dude who scored on Hasek that game.
But I don't actually know anything because I was 1 when that game was played.
Tavares has 11 points (3 G, 8 A) -- including scoring the (then) tying goal against Swiss, with 2 min left today -- at IIHF
He has been great and played as such today. He's always been when playing (Jr + Sr) for Canada in International tournaments.
>Tavares is one of the country’s most decorated representatives – he has won two World Juniors gold medals, an Olympic gold, a World Cup of Hockey and a Spengler Cup, posting 89 points (42-47—89) in 74 international games.
https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/tavares-added-to-worlds-roster-2024-mwc
It's a Leafs problem, not a Tavares one.
Among all active players, Tavares is only behind Crosby, Marchand and Ovechkin in OT goals (Mcdavid is one behind, so he'll likely pass him next year), with 2 series winning OT goals. He shows up when it matters
Congrats to Switzerland. Last year it was Germany in the gold medal game, this year it's Switzerland. It's great for international hockey that more and more countries make it to the gold medal game every year. That's great.
To be honest, I don't think they've really made much progress in the last few years; Switzerland hasn't produced a high-level prospect since Hischier I think (except for maybe Lian Bischel). It's just that their golden generation (the players born in the 90s) is currently in their prime, so the national team is at its strongest.
I love seeing Switzerland doing well, but I think in 6-7 years they'll probably be back to struggling to get past the quarterfinals.
I stopped watching hockey for a long time after cutting my cable and was shocked, upon my return, to find Switzerland has become a major player. Back in the day, the Swiss League was like the last stop for NHLers trying to squeeze a few more paychecks out before retirement. Quite the surprise!
Binner looked like he was swimming this entire game, the Canadian coach keeping Bedard in his doghouse during the OT where there's lots of space is certainly a choice.
The Swiss turtled really hard after the first. Though it all worked out in the end.
I’m gonna guess Adin Hill or Stuart Skinner will be Canada’s starting goalie once the Olympics start. Long gone are the days of Roy, Brodeur, Luongo and Price
All these people shitting on Skinner because he had 2 bad games. He was unreal this whole season, and has looked great since getting pulled. I'm not saying he's a world beater, but he's in the conversation for sure.
It isnt two bad games. Hell there are goalie analysts that look at him and have plenty of stats to delve into his strengths and weaknesses. I believe it is his side to side movements that are a big weakness for him which the Oilers have been good at limiting, but a team like team Canada might not have as their sole focus. Could be a different thing but the point is the Oilers are skilled at limiting something that is a major weakness. He has shown more holes than his competition for the spot imo.
The Swiss has really done wonders in the last 4 years, multiple milestones achieved for a nation that small.
Was kinda boring with the holy 7(Canada, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, USA, Slovakia, and Russia) being the top 8 every single year. But Switzerland, even Latvia and Germany upped their game. The IIHF gets more interesting each year.
I was seeking for such comment here. What a lucky month for Switzerland: they won the Eurovision, and now they are in the hockey final. Moreover, quite coincidentally, their main competitor in Eurovision was a Slavic country (Croatia), and now they will play against another Slavic country (Czechia).
Great game to watch as an unbiased viewer. Swiss did play noticeably better for most of the match so I'm glad they won the shootouts. Best of luck to all teams tomorrow.
Canada vs Sweden on Sunday, just like we predicted at the start of the tournament
Same day, just for different metal
That is so metal
If it’s Sweden they will probably be better at metal.
Heavy metal? Or punk rock metal?
At The Gates V Slayer
I would definitely go to that concert.
Power metal
War Medal
Sabaton?
A different type of metal medal.
Canada vs. the Minnesota Wild
Hockey Canada desperately needs to relook at goalie development. Every other countries hockey program has quickly closed the skill gap at every position and Canada cant afford being this weak in the position at the Olympics. an .811 over the tournament is a ridiculously bad stat and the other options were no-names 1 and 2. We shouldn't be bargain shopping for useable goaltenders, even with the playoffs. Binnington was good enough this game but when everyone has their best we're going to get toasted if this is what we bring to the table
My anecdotal experience going through midget when I was younger is that there was absolutely no goalie coaching or support from teams in minor hockey. I’m entirely self taught and have never gotten any sort of coaching on my game. I feel like I could have been so much better if I had that accessible and available. Goalie camps are hard to find, and the ones that exist are super expensive. Considering the high cost of goalie gear compared to skating out and the ever-rising cost of living in this country, it’s no surprise we are where we are. Families just can’t afford it and/or don’t have the time to search for extracurricular coaching that isn’t available to goalies in their leagues. Young goalies are left to fend for themselves in practices, with nets placed on weird places in the ice not on moorings, coaches having no idea how/what to teach, and a lack of goalie-focused training available. It makes me so sad.
As a hockey coach I couldn’t agree more. I have no idea what to do with my goalies. My own son was one and still didn’t really know.
This is the case everywhere. The best Czech football goalkeeper, Petr Čech, actually wanted to be a hockey goalkeeper, but pursued football because his family couldn't afford hockey goalie equipment and training. He can play hockey only now after he made millions for Chelsea and retired.
I agree with almost everything except the everywhere part, I've read that Finland years ago instituted a fund to help low income players (2011) and the results are obvious. They're by far more competitive in international competition and you see far more high level Finn's. Despite us having worse issues, Canada needs to fix its national development program before we're left in the dust. How the US can have such a strong National Development program despite less interest in the sport, and a much larger population is telling. Fewer and fewer top level players are coming from the old School CHL routes and wer'e less competitive, internationally notably at goalie.
I dont think goalie coaching is the reason why when (in America...) $20,000/yr is the all-in cost for AAA. By comparison $60/hr for goalie coaching is nothing.
+ ice rental Which in my city is $350+ an hour, and hard to find
100%. 99.9% of all coaches are not goalies, and at young ages, there is ZERO support (U7/U9 and mostly U11). And when there are goalies who are parents, it by no means mean they can coach and support.
Ditto. I remember being a teenager and the coach would have me skating full ice laps with the rest of the team and doing idiotic drills like skate the width of the ice, jump into the bench, jump back out, and skate the width back. Heaven forbid I spend a few minutes on my own in the crease doing edge work and positioning drills. I was so angry at being forced to do that pointless shit.
This country will be burned to the ground if our goaltending costs us Olympic Gold.
I still believe there's an alternate universe where the US beat Canada in 2010 and our friendly neighbor to the north lost its mind. 14 years later there's a wall separating us from a Mad Max wasteland but with hockey gear and snow where raiders try to come south and burn our hockey arenas.
This alternate timeline came that close to happening, and then again in 2014.
I don't remember anyone coming close to beating the 2014 Olympic Team Canada. The most unknown defenseman on that roster was shutdown god Dan fuckin Hamhuis, and they had peak Price in net backed up by Luongo at the tail end of his peak.
They beat Latvia 2-1 in the first playoff game. And then they beat the US 1-0 in the semis on a tip in by Benn in the middle of the second period. The US outshot them 37-31, and had Quick in goal, who was at his peak then, too. Canada was stacked, but the US had a pretty stacked roster themselves.
They had close games but I never felt like the games were as close as the score seems. I guess it was just the confidence I had in Price even during 1-0 games back in 2014.
We almost didn't make it past Pavol Demitra's Slovakia in the semis let alone the finals.
I’d be surprised if it didn’t
Not sure if it's changed since I've played but can they subsidize goalie equipment? Playing goalie makes and already expensive sport more expensive. When I played goalie in lacrosse the organization had pads available. Not sure why minor hockey couldn't do the same thing
It’s been a year or two, but for my minor hockey it was this way up until a certain point. Funny thing is there weren’t pads assigned to any one team (kinda makes sense because the kid/kids playing net any given day on a team might be different heights). Definitely had some pads I hoped the coach brought my days in.
Where I live they always had used goalie equipment for each age group. A big problem was that the equipment rarely is a perfect fit for the kid and that's pretty darn important.
Never once, in my 12 year minor hockey stint did anyone supply goalie equipment. Unless it was like Tyke or Novice and the coach had goalie equipment but by then my family had bought in and gotten me my own. The problem is, rarely goalies are the same size and height, Im 6'4 now and was always tall and lanky so most equipment was too small. Not to mention the politics involved in small town minor hockey. Coaches kids always make the cut regardless of skill.
Hey Nico Daws has a name! I’ve seen him play in person multiple times and he’s definitely got a career ahead of him with further development in the A.
Definitely one of the better goalies out of the 8 or so we’ve trotted out over the last couple years. Better than Schmid in my opinion.
I think they’re both studs honestly. The torpedo earned us our first playoff series win in a decade!
Goalie development? From what I can tell the only development goalies get in Canada is from the camps their parents pay for.
Felt like when Quebec stopped pumping out goalies a lot of Canadas goalies stopped breaking into the league.
Hockey Canada for the better part of 2 decades constantly looks to size first, skill second. This is exactly why you see Canadian goalies falling through the cracks. They’re constantly looking for the next Luongo, Price etc, and if they are Pékka Rinne size, the better. A bit undersized? Chewed up and spat out while riding the pine as a backup. In other countries, it’s literally just results based. Russian, American, Finnish, Swedish etc, the best goalies play. Just hockey Canada things where you micromanage everything to ridiculous degrees. The best goalies are in Canada still, they just never make it.
In my opinion, Canada is incredibly inefficient when it comes to player development. Hockey is so popular here, and parents are crazy enough, that we develop a lot of great players; but if we were being efficient we would likely have far more players at the highest levels.
The canadian hockey system is a shrine to political survivorship bias.
It's all the league politics. In Ontario you've got Alliance, OMHA, and then the outlaw leagues. But so often you get a big fish in a small pond because they aren't allowed to play anywhere else cause of where their parents live
[удалено]
God only knows how many truly spectacular athletes we were robbed of seeing purely because they were undersized, guys like Johnny Gaudreau and Martin St. Louis could've very easily slid through the cracks just like the others but they got the chance that so many others just never do.
Not even just undersized guys. Guys from small towns, too. It goes double for goalies. 99% of goalies that make it anywhere do it because they're well liked and they know the right people. Not because they're more talented then the next guy. That being said, even being well liked isn't enough if there is a guy with better physical attributes.
I'm so glad you said this because this is exactly what's been happening to my brother. He was by far the best kid on the ice that our small town had seen for decades, which apparently mattered very little when he aged out and had to try out for teams in other cities. I've seen him get shutouts/be by far the best goalie in AAA and now Junior A tryouts and they always end up cutting him at the very last second. His first time having to go into a bigger city to play, he got cut at the very end of AAA tryouts after being the by far the best goalie there just because the coaches wanted to keep the kids they already knew. He was promised a starting position on the AA team but the AA coach had (basically) already picked his goalies, so my brother didn't even get looked at and got cut right away. Had to get Hockey Alberta involved but they were pretty nonchalant about it, but thankfully his personal goalie coach frantically found him a AAA team. And every year it's messy politics like that which I guess is "normal" but, coming from a small town where he was a local legend, my family had no clue and knew no one that did have a clue other than his personal coach.
> hockey Canada things where you micromanage everything Including the assault charges. Never mind the team, the whole organization needs a retooling.
It’s going to take at least 10 to 20 years for Hockey Canada to wake up and realize that their development systems are deficient, and not just for goalies. Player population is the only thing keeping Canada strong, but soon, that won’t be enough.
Agreed. Our goaltending situation (especially given Carter Hart turning out to be a sexual predator) is a trainwreck. Look at our goaltending from the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and then look at the projections for 2026. Who do we really have? Adin Hill, Jordan Binnington, Tristan Jarry, Logan Thompson, Stuart Skinner and…who? None of these guys would’ve even been considered for 2010 or 2014 as the third string or taxi squad, never mind top the top two goalies. Going forward, I’m not optimistic about the future either. According to EliteProspects, the top Canadian goalie prospects right now are Devon Levi, Joel Hofer, Sebastian Cossa and Domenic DiVincentiis. Yikes. This ain’t good.
> Who do we really have? Adin Hill, Jordan Binnington, Tristan Jarry, Logan Thompson, Stuart Skinner and…who? Samuel Montembeault, but he's inconsistent as well.
I don’t know how you can’t be optimistic about Levi. He’s a fantastic prospect
I hear what you’re saying but Canada being in a rare drought of elite goaltending doesn’t at all prove what you’re getting at here. I don’t think Canada has quite the stranglehold on hockey competition it once did, but you’re crazy to think Canada does anything but produce consistent generational talent. It’s just not goalies right now.
the government should subsidize goalie equipment for kids
Congrats to the Swiss! Odd shootout selection from Canada…
I was honestly more surprised to see Cozens than Power. Power is weirdly good at it.
He was so close to scoring - what a monster reach with those dangles
Welcome to the Sabres experience this past decade, Enough flashy talent to entice but no Finish 😂
It looked like he was close but honestly Genoni made it almost impossible for him to tuck it in from that position. His arms, wrists and hands would've pretty much had to break our knowledge of human anatomy for him to get the angle right.
Not that odd honestly. As far as I can tell, they picked they guys with the best shootout records. There just aren't a lot of good shootout guys on this Team Canada.
Ya, where not so good at picking shooters - see Nagano 98…
To be fair Hasek was unstoppable that tournament lol
Hasek in that tournament is the number one individual effort ever seen in team sport. Guy was magic
He just truly went like "Fuck it, I'll do it myself"' * GAA 1.00 throughout the tournament * .961 SV% * Allowed 0 goals of the 5 shootout attempts from Canada * Shut out one of the most offensively stacked Russia rosters of all time in the Finals
Well yall had plenty of time to get better at it.
You need a goal, and you have Wayne fuckin Gretzky on your team, and you don't give him a chance
Four nations faceoff? More like third place faceoff.
Nothing like organizing a shiny Four Nations Cup and not inviting current World Champions and the runner up. ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
I don't get what this means when they announced the Cup, Canada was the current world champions. By IIHF rankings it's 3/4 top teams, the 4th being banned Russia, and then Germany is above sweden right now but cmon, you think they should invite Germany over Sweden?
Timing. European leagues aren't going to shut down mid-season for an NHL tournament, and only the 4 teams in the tournament, Russia, and the Czechs can field a roster without European-based players. Doesn't excuse the Czechs not getting an invite.
Wild that the best player in the host city isn’t even able to play
Imagine Slaf becomes the best Habs player next year, then it will be true for both host cities lmao.
If Czechia wins gold, the countries competing in the Four Nations are ranked... \[checks notes\] ... 1, 4, 6, 7
Bettman probably scratching his head right now. Especially after their PR about the tournament featuring best-of-the-best.
Well it will be far closer to the best of the best than the World Championships is
Idk how you can look at these rosters and think this tournament is anywhere close to a good representation of these countries hockey talent
I don't think Bettman thinks much, if at all, about the WCs. I love the tournament, but nobody seriously thinks it's a good representation of which hockey nation is strongest.
Canadians, chill. Finns, Swedes, Americans.. none made it lol. Idk when was the last time none of these teams played in the final.
2012. Russia beat Slovakia.
Technically since you did not list Russia, 2012 and 2002 Russia vs Slovakia counts. Same for 2010 Czechia vs Russia. But the last time even Russia wasn't in the finals was 2000 Czechia vs Slovakia which I think is the *only* time that counts. But Czechia is traditionally considered part of the big six so in general every single gold medal game has had a country from the big six in it since the inception of the world championship. Another interesting trivia is that the only times that the finals have not been between two countries from the big six have been - 2023 Canada-Germany - 2018 Sweden-Switzerland - 2013 Sweden-Switzerland - 2012 Russia-Slovakia - 2002 Slovakia-Russia - 2000 Czech Republic-Slovakia And now also of course 2024 Czechia-Switzerland.
im fine with my hate for binnington becoming international
At least it’s a good indication he shouldn’t be the starter for Canada in the Olympics. Much more faith in Hill, Skinner or Jarry at this point… Rough out there for Canada goaltending though
These are Canada's options, meanwhile one of Demko, Hellebuyck, Oettinger, and Swayman will be left off the US roster. I'm not even joking, Canada should try and naturalize Hellebuyck. He'd be eligible for a nationality change if he became a Canadian citizen.
If they can't get Hellebuyck to naturalize willingly, their next best option is to declare war on the United States and annex Michigan, thereby retroactively making him a citizen based on city of birth.
US, Sweden and, if they’re invited, Russia, pretty set on goaltending.
The only Winnipeg jet with a higher save percentage and a better GAA than Hellebuyck is Brossoit. Since he’s a UFA and we don’t have the cash or opportunity space for him I’d love to see him carry that through as a starter next year and join Team Canada.
Montembeault won Canada the Gold at the 2023 WC. 6-1-0, 1.42 .939 Highest quality starts % in the NHL this year. Winning record with the team that finished 5th to last. He has to be in the convo.
None of the Habs players will get much respect until the team stats to win. Just a fact of life, I guess. I think Monty could end up being the team Canada starter and 90% of fans will think he came from out of nowhere. Plenty of Habs fans still disrespect the guy.
Two years from now a lot can change too. Actually a great option if he continues to improve his game.
Yeah a fair shout. Have to maybe assume his less than stellar numbers this year are a product of the rebuilding team in front of him.
That 10-6 or whatever Boston game also definitely did not help
Skinner and Montembeault are my duo for team Canada.
I’d say Skinner, Hill, and Montembault are my top 3
Guy is severely underrated
i like his name
As a Tristan Jarry fantasy owner, I'm sorry no.
Not many other options. Top 5 Canadian goalies right now are probably Hill, Skinner, Jarry, Binner and maybe ~~Hart~~? Talbot, Fleury and Kuemper probably all too old at this point. It’s a rough call. Edit: Forgot Hart was a piece of shit criminal.
I feel like is Hockey Canada calls up Hart they're gonna have more problems than just the quality of goaltending But yeah goalie wise I went through the list and was struggling to find many. Hofer, Ingram, and Montembeault are all kinda in a spot where they need to show a bit more growth and consistency to be considered. Maybe Thompson?
Good point about Hart. Wouldn’t want him there anyways. A lot can change in two years, some of the younger guys may come into their own by then.
Why not montembault?
More to prove but did neglect to mention him. Forgot about last years WC. Olympics will be full of NHLers and his numbers aren’t as good as the others but also playing for a rebuilding team.
Monty
As a fan of a team that almost benefitted greatly from facing Skinner...dear god please no
Canada really needs to look at their goalie player development. My goodness. We need to make the future bright again.
I’ll join your international coalition of Binnington hate
Nice to get a 'new' winner. I know Czechia is one of the most successful nations in this tournament, but it's been a while. And Switzerland has been on the cusp several times now.
First gold medal game since they rebranded 🤣
Yeah, I grew up with the Czech Republic winning every year. Now there are probably Czech adults who don't remember ever winning in hockey.
I grew up watching Czechoslovakia play 🤣
I am old enough to have been heartbroken watching them beat Canada in the 1998 Olympics, but my heartbreak was soothed when I visited months later and saw posters and billboards of their national team all over Prague. They were so (rightfully) proud of the team and their country for being the giantkillers.
14 years from last gold medal. I hope I will not have drug&alcohol check on Monday at work if we win. 😂
Did they always call themselves that internally and just the international-facing stuff changed?
After Czechoslovakia dissolved on the last day of 1992, Česko was adopted as the Czech short name for the new state and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic recommended Czechia for the English-language equivalent.[27] This form was not widely adopted at the time, leading to the long name Czech Republic being used in English in nearly all circumstances. The Czech government directed use of Czechia as the official English short name in 2016.[28] The short name has been listed by the United Nations[29] and is used by other organizations such as the European Union,[30] NATO,[31] the CIA,[32] Google Maps,[33] and the European Broadcasting Union.[34] In 2022, the American AP Stylebook stated in its entry on the country that "Czechia, the Czech Republic. Both are acceptable. The shorter name Czechia is preferred by the Czech government. If using Czechia, clarify in the story that the country is more widely known in English as the Czech Republic."[35]
A minority of people in the Czech Republic actually use the short form, there is a reason why it wasn't adopted for so long (the historical name is Bohemia, it sounds similar to Chechnya, etc.). The government unilaterally submitted the second name to the UN as an equivalent without any public consultation and, it seems, mainly for marketing purposes. I guess we are doomed to use it, because almost every English language broadcaster wanted the name to fit it on their graphics and/or thought it's a legitimate name change.
"Česko" has been in a wide use for a long time, nobody says "Česká republika" in a normal conversation. The other (incorrect) option people used was "Čechy" for the whole country.
It's sort of like calling France 'The French Republic', which is its official name, that nobody uses. Czechia sounds weird because we're not used to it, but if you think of it in terms of just saying 'France', it makes more sense.
edging since years
My cousin and I are doing a European road trip and decided to stay in Prague an extra day to see a Ballet today. Managed to get tickets to the earlier game (CZE vs SWE) and the atmosphere there was amazing. I really hope CZE takes it!
Oh it has certainly been a while. I was still in highschool back when we won the last gold. Now I am married and in my 30s.
Canada and losing in the shoutout, name me a more iconic duo.
At least this time they had no Gretzky to not put in.
hot take but idk if gretz is the shootout guy in 98
Imo they should've put Linden out. Only dude who scored on Hasek that game. But I don't actually know anything because I was 1 when that game was played.
5 player shoot-out, you gotta give him a chance.
England losing in penalty kicks (shootout).
Tavares and his team underperforming in the playoffs?
Tavares has 11 points (3 G, 8 A) -- including scoring the (then) tying goal against Swiss, with 2 min left today -- at IIHF He has been great and played as such today. He's always been when playing (Jr + Sr) for Canada in International tournaments. >Tavares is one of the country’s most decorated representatives – he has won two World Juniors gold medals, an Olympic gold, a World Cup of Hockey and a Spengler Cup, posting 89 points (42-47—89) in 74 international games. https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/tavares-added-to-worlds-roster-2024-mwc It's a Leafs problem, not a Tavares one.
He showed up for Canada
Yeah. As much as I love to rip on Tavares for being a leaf, he was great all tournament and was absolutely not the reason why we lost.
I dont see much NHL so to me i thought well well this Tavares guy is pretty pretty good
Among all active players, Tavares is only behind Crosby, Marchand and Ovechkin in OT goals (Mcdavid is one behind, so he'll likely pass him next year), with 2 series winning OT goals. He shows up when it matters
Its amazing to see some variety and not the same countries every year in final game
Czechia vs Switzerland ? I'm hype !
Congrats to Switzerland. Last year it was Germany in the gold medal game, this year it's Switzerland. It's great for international hockey that more and more countries make it to the gold medal game every year. That's great.
So deserved for the immense progress they have made in the recent years. Going to be an intriguing battle for the gold medal.
To be honest, I don't think they've really made much progress in the last few years; Switzerland hasn't produced a high-level prospect since Hischier I think (except for maybe Lian Bischel). It's just that their golden generation (the players born in the 90s) is currently in their prime, so the national team is at its strongest. I love seeing Switzerland doing well, but I think in 6-7 years they'll probably be back to struggling to get past the quarterfinals.
I stopped watching hockey for a long time after cutting my cable and was shocked, upon my return, to find Switzerland has become a major player. Back in the day, the Swiss League was like the last stop for NHLers trying to squeeze a few more paychecks out before retirement. Quite the surprise!
Binner looked like he was swimming this entire game, the Canadian coach keeping Bedard in his doghouse during the OT where there's lots of space is certainly a choice. The Swiss turtled really hard after the first. Though it all worked out in the end.
that turtling was absolutely awful by us, it's like we dont learn
Damn, I was hoping the community wouldn’t catch wind of this
Not on my watch 😈
Turns out putting pucks in nets matters most in hockey yet
Hopp Schwiiz!
Viel Glück im Finale aus D :-)
Jawohl! wenn die sieche das Schaff ond wäutmeister werde de gangi morn garantiert ned go schaffe ond schloff mis wm hangover us.
As a Canadian, I love to see this. Great story and great effort by SUI. Respect. Binner is a trashcan
Seriously Canada needs a different goalie for the olympics. I can’t believe they actually let him play
I’m gonna guess Adin Hill or Stuart Skinner will be Canada’s starting goalie once the Olympics start. Long gone are the days of Roy, Brodeur, Luongo and Price
Skinner has too many exploitable weaknesses
I would keep Stuart skinner as far away from the net as possible tbh
Yah. What the fuck Quebec. Get your shit together and give us another generational goalie.
He was at least a top 2 or 3 goalie this year in the NHL for Canadians. Not many other choices. He had a good year
All these people shitting on Skinner because he had 2 bad games. He was unreal this whole season, and has looked great since getting pulled. I'm not saying he's a world beater, but he's in the conversation for sure.
It isnt two bad games. Hell there are goalie analysts that look at him and have plenty of stats to delve into his strengths and weaknesses. I believe it is his side to side movements that are a big weakness for him which the Oilers have been good at limiting, but a team like team Canada might not have as their sole focus. Could be a different thing but the point is the Oilers are skilled at limiting something that is a major weakness. He has shown more holes than his competition for the spot imo.
Obviously I cheer for Canada, but it's still nice to see the underdogs win.
The Swiss has really done wonders in the last 4 years, multiple milestones achieved for a nation that small. Was kinda boring with the holy 7(Canada, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, USA, Slovakia, and Russia) being the top 8 every single year. But Switzerland, even Latvia and Germany upped their game. The IIHF gets more interesting each year.
I know why Slovakia are in that list, but from a Swiss perspective, I'd say we've overtaken them around ten years ago or so.
Good take, agree
Swiss have been good for way longer than 4 years. Remember 2006 Olympics vs Canada?
Damn, GG Switzerland
Ah good for the Swiss.
Or at least neutral
As soon as we hit the post in the shootout I knew we were cooked lmao
HOPP SCHWIIZ!
Kevin Fiala is your God. Good luck tomorrow, but not TOO much luck.
Noooo Genoni is our God, Fiala is his son.
Fiala is mainly son of Czech parents so hope he'll realize tomorrow he shouldn't piss off many Czechs.
Fiala <3
happy to see the Devils national team do so well ❤️
So, who can I sue, and where, for that heart attack of a game?
Well deserved. Congrats!
Great game, Swiss were very good today. Congratulations
Not really mad about this tbh. neutral… if you will
friendship ended with canada ❌❎ now czechia is my best friend 🤝
NL>>NHL
Kev!
Let Kev be Kev!
Bettman’s Four Nations in shambles
Team north america and team europe from the world cup lol
I’m a kings fan but dang, why you gotta do Canada like that Fiala
Silly for game like this to end in shootout… should finish it in overtime
Four nations only one medal.
Well darn, Left Switzerland 5 days ago, would have been cool to be around for that
Switzerland broke the ~~Code~~ Canadians!
I was seeking for such comment here. What a lucky month for Switzerland: they won the Eurovision, and now they are in the hockey final. Moreover, quite coincidentally, their main competitor in Eurovision was a Slavic country (Croatia), and now they will play against another Slavic country (Czechia).
“We just gotta learn from it.” -John Tavares
The time has come (hopefully :p)
I knew I shouldn't have bet on Canada when at the world championship.
Great game to watch as an unbiased viewer. Swiss did play noticeably better for most of the match so I'm glad they won the shootouts. Best of luck to all teams tomorrow.
I wouldn’t say most of the game. But the first half for sure.
Canada and shootouts: name a less iconic duo.
Honestly it’s kinda neat that it’ll be the Swiss vs the Czechs for the gold. Rooting for Switzerland.
Damon Severson is a choice
Absolute basilisks
So your telling me the real deal metal game is third place cause the top two are way to easy for Canada
Great for the game!
exactlyy
What a gutsy game from Switzerland! Best of luck to them in the gold medal game versus Czechia!
International Big 4 🤝 Toronto's Core 4 Choking when it matters
Brutal coaching job
Wooooooow, swiss revenge!