Metal Sludge Gossip Board

After the USAs surprising gold medal win last year, they come back to defend their title and Canada is looking to reclaim and start it's gold medal run again! I'm excited to see what is going to happened. I love the WJC it's like Olympic hockey as they are representing their entire country instead of just one city like in the NHL. Also the teams are always fast and passionate and always play very hard, sometimes in the NHL guys seem to be sluggish and slow at the start of the season and not putting their all into it. Usually WJC is all cylinders firing. Unfortunately I don't have TSN but I think there is a few sites on the net I will be able to watch the full games on. Lets go Canada bring the gold back!

The Americans are the favorite this year, as they have a lot of players returning from last year's gold medal squad - not to mention they're playing in Buffalo. Canada, as always, will be tough, but they aren't sending the most skilled team this year.

The NHL salary cap era has really changed things in this tourney. Teams would rather keep a rookie making 800K vs pay an aging veteran 2.5 million. The result is that guys who would have been available to play, as they would have been in junior, are no longer able to play in the tourney due to NHL commitments. Canadians playing in the NHL who would be eligible for the Team Canada squad are: Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Jeff Skinner, Evander Kane, Matt Duchene, and Ryan O'Reilly. If Canada has those guys, this tourney is a little different, no?

WOLF wrote:The Americans are the favorite this year, as they have a lot of players returning from last year's gold medal squad - not to mention they're playing in Buffalo. Canada, as always, will be tough, but they aren't sending the most skilled team this year.

The NHL salary cap era has really changed things in this tourney. Teams would rather keep a rookie making 800K vs pay an aging veteran 2.5 million. The result is that guys who would have been available to play, as they would have been in junior, are no longer able to play in the tourney due to NHL commitments. Canadians playing in the NHL who would be eligible for the Team Canada squad are: Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Jeff Skinner, Evander Kane, Matt Duchene, and Ryan O'Reilly. If Canada has those guys, this tourney is a little different, no?

No arguments there. I do think the USA team is the team to beat this year. Last years USA team was excellent they did win the gold, and I know a lot of those guys will be back. Still you can't count out Canada yet. I heard for the WJC for Canada they normally get over 30,000 tryouts. Out of a pool that large you are going to find some gems. Anyway I am excited to see how the USA, Canada, Sweden and Russia all pan out this year it'll probably be some close games this year.

I can't wait for this to start, I look forward to it every year, I'll even take days off from work if I know Canada is playing (if they are doing well in the tourney, lol) Last years final was heartbreaking, especially with Eberle's 2 goals to tie it...USA is the team to beat, looks like Canada is icing a BIG team, maybe not as skilled as last year, should be a gooder!

i love international hockey. that ot goal last year was insane.

Wow. All I can say is wow...

biggest meltdown in canadian hockey history

That's what you get after that Sid Crosby goal in the Olympics. You can't have everything.

saw the highlights on ESPN, was hoping Canada lost and they did

That was incredibly brutal. To allow five goals in the third like that... it was like they just gave up. Credit to the Russians, but ultimately I don't give a shit about hockey. Lots of folks around here crying in their beer last night, though.

World Junior Russian Hockey Team Kicked Off Flight in Buffalo
http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.as ... &catid=292

CHEEKTOWAGA, NY - Team Russia has an extended stay in Buffalo after being kicked off their flight early Thursday morning for being drunk. The team is now at the Days Hotel while they make new flight arrangements for Friday.

According to police, the players were thrown off of a Delta flight scheduled to leave Buffalo-Niagara International Airport because members of the team were intoxicated. At that point, the team and their equipment were removed from the aircraft.

A spokesman for Team Russia addressed the media Thursday afternoon, saying that members of the team were drinking after the game. The celebration moved from the arena to the hotel, where the revelers were joined by family and friends. The decision by airline officials to eject the players after some of them had already boarded the plane, he said, was the result of an unfortunate misunderstanding.

The team was shuttled to the Days Hotel on Genesee Street after the flight took off without them. The team general manager remained at the airport until late Thursday afternoon trying to arrange a new flight out of Buffalo for the players. Sources say they will not be flying out of Western New York until Friday.

A source also tells 2 On Your Side that team officials looked into the possibility of chartering a bus to New York's JFK Airport to catch a flight to Russia, but decided against it.

The Russian hockey team won gold at the World Junior Championship on Wednesday night with a third period come from behind victory over Canada. Sources tell 2 On Your Side the post-game celebrations began in the locker room with a champagne toast, and concluded at the Adam's Mark hotel where the team stayed the night.

2 On Your Side spoke to a woman who saw some members of the team at the hotel early Thursday morning. She said they were drinking Canadian beer and in her opinion, were clearly intoxicated, but polite and not behaving in a disorderly manner.

Buffalo Police say they received no reports regarding the post-game celebrations being out of control.

Security sources who worked the tournament games at Niagara University's Dwyer Arena tell 2 On Your Side that team officials were found to be in possession of multiple bottles of Russian vodka during a security sweep and were ordered to remove it from the facility.

2 On Your Side was alerted to the problems aboard Thursday's flight by the wife of a witness aboard the plane who said the players appeared to be intoxicated.

A spokesperson from Delta confirmed to 2 On Your Side's Pete Gallivan that a group of 30 individuals were not allowed to board a flight to JFK Thursday morning, but would not comment on if it was the members of Team Russia.

Not only will the players be celebrating a World Juniors Championship when they return home to Russia, they will also be celebrating Christmas. Friday is Christmas on the Russian Orthodox calendar.

Russian team officials have not commented on the incident.

Russians, drunk? Nahhhhhhhhh, couldn't happen.

Visentin couldn't stop them(then again he couldn't stop anything) but Delta Airlines did.
Olivier Roy was a joke as well.
Cameron needed a timeout after the second Russian goal,and didn't call one.