Nic Petan scores the final two goals, and Canada wins a fantastic game at the World Juniors that had been very much in doubt less than an hour earlier. Now, Canada can still win their pool, though they’ll have to raise their game to defeat the United States.
Behind the bench, after all this frenetic positivity, Brent Sutter’s gaze is, well, still sour. I mean, cheer up Brent. Is this how we ready our kids for the big leagues? By teaching them NEVER to have any fun at the rink?
C’mon, Brent. It’s Christmas time…
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Take a minute this New Years to remember The Four Broncos — Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka, and Brent Ruff (Lindy’s younger brother) —who were killed in that infamous Swift Current bus crash on Dec. 30, 1986. To this day, the MVP of the Western Hockey League is awarded The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy. If you’re ever in Swift Current, stop in the rink and view the memorial.
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My colleague Chris Boyle gives us a fine example of the perils of advanced statistical analysis, after reading this fine piece on our site today. After an incredible amount of analysis, Boyle has discerned that the leading trio of goaltenders for Team Canada in Sochi is Carey Price, James Reimer and Braden Holtby.
The amount of work that goes into the piece is heroic, but in the end, the heat charts, transition passes and deflection saves percentage point to Reimer as a Top 3 Canadian goalie — when most of us aren’t even sure if Reimer is better than Jonathan Bernier on the Maple Leafs.
This isn’t to belittle the findings, but to say that this piece makes the point that advanced stats are still in their infancy. Or, at least, our acceptance of them should be.
We’re still unsure if the veracity of these numbers is such that it can detect what the eye cannot see — that Reimer is an elite international goalie. Or, if you are of the mind that Reimer is a nice goalie, but not one who should be included in that conversation, do these findings eloquently belie that stats don’t tell the whole story?
Digest the piece, then ask yourself: Is James Reimer a Top 3 Canadian goalie? To this eye, no chance. But to the advanced stats purveyor, perhaps he is. Either way, someone should tell Randy Carlyle what he has there.
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Damn our competitors!
Between all of the night games on Sportsnet, and all of their World Junior and Spengler Cup games during the day, how is a guy supposed to, (ahem) spend time with family?
Hey, honey. Pass the pretzels. Kids, the remote!
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Pascal Dupuis and Dennis Seidenberg — two extremely valuable support pieces on Stanley Cup calibre hockey teams, both gone for the season. How much less a player is Zdeno Chara without his trusty sidekick Seidenberg? Does Chris Kunitz find himself with that much more checking attention now that Dupuis is gone from Sidney Crosby’s far wing? Either way, Mike Cammalleri gets more valuable by the day for the Calgary Flames … The headline that could not have surprised us less on Monday: “Lions fire Jim Schwartz.” Like, one day after the season? What took so long? … Patrick Sharp, one of the nicest — and most under-rated — guys in the NHL … The Toronto Maple Leafs have two regulation wins in the last 20 games. Discuss among yourselves … The Calgary Flames are doing this rebuild perfectly. They’re competitive as hell, but after trading away a few parts at the deadline, they’ll settle nicely into a Top 2 or 3 draft pick. … Ryan Suter averages 29:40 of ice time through a half a season, and he has one goal for the Minnesota Wild. How is that possible? … Michael Del Zotto can’t make the Top 6 of the New York Rangers on a lot of nights, but I keep reading where they’re asking for a Top 4 defenceman in trade. Huh? … Remember when NHL teams used to make trades before March? Today you build your team in the summertime, then live with it ‘til the deadline. Then, you might be able to add a bit part or two. Bo-rinnnnng … Nail Yakupov is a prime example of a kid who never learned a lick of defensive or team play in junior, and is now lost inside an NHL system. He’ll be fine of he listens to his coaches in Edmonton and patiently learns the game, the way Taylor Hall did. If he listens to all the voices we suspect are in his ear — his agent, his family, his friends — the process will take much longer.
