I have to say, that was a fun game. I’m just in from the final game of Team Canada’s selection camp, against a team of CIS All-Stars.
Let’s start with the good news. First, we got to see Tyler Fiddler playing for CIS All-Stars. In true Fiddler fashion, he threw one of the first big hits of the game, then left the game after getting hit in the face with a puck. Fiddler was a great Calgary Hitmen and it’s always nice to see former Hitmen after they’ve moved on.
More good news, the players that had the night off should be able to rest easy knowing they’ve probably made the team. On defense, Brandon Gormley, Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Murray all had the night off. Up front, Brandan Gallagher, Freddie Hamilton, Mark Scheifele, Jaden Schwartz, Devante Smith-Pelly and Mark Stone had the night off. Joining them in the press box were Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden, out with injuries but expected to have roster spots if they’re healthy. That leaves four spots on the blue line and up to 13 forward spots.
Tuesday morning we got word of the first cuts. I was very surprised to see Mark McNeill and Mathew Dumba among the first cuts. Another player in I included in my first draft of the team, Michael Ferland, also didn’t make the cut. Among the other cuts, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Brenden Kichton and Zack Phillips didn’t make much of an impression on me at Sunday’s practices. Max Reinhart played well during Sunday’s practice but ultimately didn’t do enough to stand out from the rest of the squad.
Wednesday morning we’ll get the final roster. Based on tonight’s game, I’ve got a dramatically shuffled lineup, so let’s get to it.
Assuming Huberdeau and Howden won’t be able to play, let’s go with a top line of Gallagher, Scheifele and Smith-Pelly. Nothing shocking there. Based on his play tonight, it may be hard to leave Michael Bournival off this team. He has a lethal release and good instincts. As there are some worries this team won’t have quite enough offense, let’s put him on the second line between Schwartz and Stone.
Coach Hay challenged Brett Connolly to be better, and tonight Connolly responded. It’s hard to imagine he’ll be left off the team, and I think he’d fit in nicely on a line with Brett Bulmer, whose physical play left quite and impact on tonight’s game, and centred by Hamilton. I’m taking the fourth line right out of tonight’s game and slotting in Tanner Pearson, Boone Jenner and Tyler Toffoli as the energy line. Pearson and Jenner disrupted the game with their physical play, and the line combined for three goals in the physical game.
I’d give the 13th forward spot to Phillip Di Giuseppe, who’s impressed since this selection camp started. He’s earned a spot on this team, though it’s possible there’s no real role for him to fill.
The cuts include Brad Ross and Phillip Danault, who played great tonight. Christian Thomas stood out on the top line with Di Giuseppe on the opposite wing, although Ryan Strome in the middle didn’t play quite as well as his linemates did. Lastly, Ty Rattie also just didn’t seem to have quite enough going his way to make this club.
On defense, I always thought the defense corps would be Canada’s greatest strength at this tournament, but as I’m picking the final lineup, I’m having a hard time cutting forwards while I’m having a hard time finding seven defensemen. Let’s pair Gormley and Hamilton, and give Murray a strong partner in Alex Petrovic, who was a real stand-out tonight. Petrovic plays a fairly conservative game but he picked his spots well tonight, and really made a name for himself in this game. For the third pair, Nathan Beaulieu and Cody Ceci played together, and they played very well together. Beaulieu was good at Sunday’s practice but was outstanding in the game tonight. Ceci was similarly impressive, and both are the kind of player that can really put the power in power play. I’d be shocked if there’s no room on the final team for both guys.
I can’t figure out the seventh spot. I have Ryan Murphy penciled in as another power play option right now. Certainly, the team was expecting Jamie Oleksiak to make an impression at camp. He did a lot of really good things in this game, but I often found he was out of position or simply not making the best possible play. Mark Pysyk, a guy I considered a lock Monday morning, didn’t do much to stand out tonight, nor did Scott Harrington. Joe Morrow played well, and although I spent all day hoping to see him unleash his slapshot, the opportunity never arose. It could go any which way between Murphy, Oleksiak and Morrow. For now, Murphy’s my pick.
Lastly, in goal, it’s going to be the Mark Visentin show. I liked Tyler Bunz earlier in the week, and think he still has a good chance. But Scott Wedgewood was by far the best of the four goalies tonight and I assume he has the edge.
We’ll see how close I came in a couple of hours when the final cuts are announced. All of these young men played well and should be proud of their efforts. This team is looking great, even before the team is official.
Gallagher – Sheifele – Smith-Pelly
Schwartz – Bournival – Stone
Bulmer – F. Hamilton – Connolly
Pearson – Jenner – Toffoli
Di Giuseppe
Gormley – D. Hamilton
Murray – Petrovic
Beaulieu – Ceci
Murphy
Visentin
Wedgewood
sayssteve 