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Snapshots: US-Canada Rivalry, Injury Updates

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Though the comments were tepid, many top tier Canadian players took exception to some of the late hits by Team USA during the American squad’s 4-2 victory yesterday. Jonathan Toews was careful with his comments, but was blunt about some of the questionable hits doled out by the aggressive Americans. Via the Chicago Tribune, Toews had this to say:

“Without saying too much, I think there were a couple of borderline hits there where our guys were put in some awkward positions and there’s not much you can do there. The one on Weber was the right call there. We just have to try and protect ourselves and expect that the officials are going to do what they have to do. We have no problem with the chippiness and the physical play (but) it doesn’t matter where you’re playing, I think you always have to respect the player when he has his back to you.”

Toews wasn’t the only one making careful comments. Captain Sidney Crosby and netminder Carey Price both agreed that some hits “crossed the line.” Nick Cotsonika writes that Mike Babcock put the onus on the referees to control the rough play during a game between two rivals:

“There were lots of scrums tonight. They were generated by the players. The referees can clean that up in two seconds. All you’ve got to do is put people in the box. No more scrums.”

The US and Canada meet again in exhibition play tonight.

In other hockey news:

  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc writes about the concern every team has with the injuries as the World Cup begins its tournament play with an exhibition tilt. With injuries to Marian Hossa, and Marcus Kruger, Blackhawks players were understandably concerned when two significant players from their team suffered injuries. Hossa’s, as it turns out, will not limit him and Europe coach Ralph Krueger said it’s “all green lights” for Hossa to play in Saturday’s game. Kruger, Kuc reports, has a more mysterious upper body injury and will be held out of play during Saturday’s Sweden’s exhibition game against Finland. Both Patrick Kane and Toews, when asked about the possibility of injury, shrugged it off and attributed it to a risk that’s always there, regardless of the circumstance.

Snapshots: Price, World Cup

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The World Cup of Hockey exhibition round kicked off on Thursday, with Russia beating Czech Republic, Finland defeating Sweden, and Team North America shutting out Team Europe. Though we’re only one day into the pre-tournament action, there have already been some injury concerns. With that in mind, the eyes of the hockey world will be on Team Canada goaltender Carey Price when the Canadians take on the United States in the first game of back-to-back exhibition contests. Price will make his hotly anticipated first start since November.

When asked about Price, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said he expects him “to be great”, before asking that needed any elaboration.

USA left winger and Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty told TSN’s Mark Masters that, on a personal level, he’s happy to see Price “put on the pads again… because I know he suffered last year”. Pacioretty said he wasn’t able to share any secrets on scoring on Price because “there are no secrets on how to beat Carey”.

Captaincy Notes: Fisher, Pavelski, Vacancies

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Mike Fisher is set to become the next captain of the Nashville Predators, according to recent reports. The team has scheduled an afternoon press conference on Thursday, and Adam Vignan of The Tennessean says he has been told that the “major announcement” is that of the 2016-17 captains, with Fisher atop the list. An alternate with the Ottawa Senators and then immediately with the Predators following his trade, Fisher was always the most likely candidate. Vignan points out that Fisher is one of just four players on the current roster over the age of 30, and as a veteran presence on a young team, it is a natural fit for his locker room presence to translate to his captaincy. A veteran of over 1,000 NHL game and a complete two-way player, Fisher is the perfect example for Nashville’s young, impressionable players to work toward. Shea Weber himself said that he “knew” who his replacement would be at captain, so it seems as though Fisher will be universally accepted in his new role. Although no news has leaked as to who Fisher’s alternates will be, many have suspected that Weber’s true replacement, P.K. Subban, may be a top candidate.

In other captain news:

  • John Tortorella has named Joe Pavelski the captain of Team USA for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. The San Jose Sharks forward will be assisted by alternates Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild. Pavelski has been on a leadership role of late, taking over as the captain of San Jose last season after a captain-less 2014-15 campaign featured a locker room power struggle between a young core and older veterans, including former Sharks captains Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. For the same reason coach Peter DeBoer named Pavelski captain, Tortorella did as well, and that is his impeccable locker room presence and chemistry with his teammates. Kane will be somewhat new to captaincy, even as an alternate, as Jonathan Toews (a Team Canada alternate), Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook have the official leadership roles locked up in Chicago. Suter meanwhile, has been an alternate captain on Team USA before, at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and serves in the same role with the Wild under Mikko Koivu (the captain of Team Finland).
  • With the captain vacancy filled in Nashville, there are now just four openings remaining across the NHL. There has been much speculation that Connor McDavid will take over in Edmonton, but what of Carolina, Florida, and Toronto? It seems likely that alternate Jordan Staal will follow in his brother’s footsteps and take over the leadership role for the Hurricanes, though the dark horse candidate may just be the rare goalie captain in Cam Ward, who has spent his entire career in Carolina. If you don’t think that matters, look around the league. 20 captains and at least 32 alternates are lifelong members of their respective teams. By that logic, young Florida stars Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Huberdeau, both recently extended long-term, look to be prime candidates. However, Jussi Jokinen and Derek MacKenzie served as alternates last season and may need to make up for the lost leadership of the departed Willie Mitchell, Brian Campbell, and Dave Bolland. Up in Toronto, well, your guess is as good as any. Veterans Brooks Laich and Joffrey Lupul are good veteran leaders, but neither is guaranteed ice time. Auston Matthews is the future, but it’s hard to see anyone being named captain without playing a single game. It could be that the Leafs wait to name a captain, but if they do want one in place prior to puck drop on the 2016-17, James van Riemsdyk seems like the best choice as of now.

Snapshots: World Cup

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When looking at the rosters for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, it’s hard not to be intrigued by the United States roster.

Initial lines via USA Hockey (changing each day):

Max Pacioretty – Joe Pavelski – Patrick Kane
Zach Parise – Derek Stepan – Blake Wheeler
Justin Abdelkader – Ryan Kesler – T.J. Oshie
James van Riemsdyk – David Backes – Brandon Dubinsky
Kyle Palmieri

Ryan Suter – Dustin Byfuglien
Ryan McDonagh – John Carlson
Jack Johnson – Matt Niskanen
Erik Johnson

Ben Bishop – Cory Schneider – Jonathan Quick

The goaltending is superb, but USA lost out to Canada 1-0 at the 2014 Sochi Olympics despite a lights out performance by Quick. Other than obvious picks like Patrick Kane and Joe Pavelski, there are some surprising choices, like no Phil Kessel and grinders like Justin Abdelkader making the cut.

It’s a different philosophy than the States’ rivals Canada: their bottom six features five number one centers, a very good second line center, and a first line winger. USA GM Dean Lombardi told ESPN’s Craig Custance that “it’s no different than putting together an NHL team … this had to be about team and identity.”

In other World Cup news:

  • USA named their captains Wednesday: as expected, Pavelski will wear the C, with Kane and Ryan Suter wearing As.
  • Russia also named their leadership group: Alex Ovechkin will be captain; Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeni Malkin will be assistants.
  • Back in the U.S., TSN’s Gary Lawless posited that USA coach John Tortorella is wrong to force his views on his players. Yesterday, Tortorella told ESPN that any player who protested the American anthem like NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick would stay on the bench for the whole game. Lawless argued that while it’s admirable that Tortorella wants to honor his son, an Army Ranger, he shouldn’t be able to arbitrarily block someone from doing their job and publicly shame them for exercising free speech.

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