Hockey Canada named their 22 player roster for the summer Ivan Hlinka U-18 tournament tonight:
http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/172031/la_id/1.htm
Gee, how can you tell the head coach is from the OHL? Just five of 22 players are from the WHL and four from the QMJHL or the Quebec midget league. So 13 of 22 are from the OHL or the Ontario midget league, including a staggering 10 of 13 forwards.
Four of seven defencemen are from the WHL, so the 'dub is slightly over-represented there, by one player. And no goalies from the WHL, which I don't really have a problem with as the '94 birth year does not seem to be the strongest group of goalies the WHL has ever had. But come on, ONE forward from the WHL? Nine WHL forwards went to the camp and eight got cut. By comparison, 13 OHL forwards went to the camp and ten of those made the team.
It's hard to swallow that guys like Troy Bourke and Connor Rankin got cut - guys I thought should be near-locks to make that team. I admit I know very little about many of the OHLers on the team but all I can say is this better be the highest-scoring team at this tournament if the OHL coach is going to justify picking almost exclusively forwards from his league. Just win, baby.....anything less is going to leave him wide open to criticism, again, about the "Team Ontario" bias that a lot of WHL and QMJHL fans think exists with this summer team....
7 comments:
Totally agree but its happened before so not at all surprised. Bit surprised Driedger didn't even get invited to the camp, he got invited to the goaltending camp but not the actual team camp, go figure.
Like Alan said, the '94 group of goalies in the WHL is not the cream of the crop, and Driedger falls into that category.
This BS has been going on far too long. We can all remember Kyle Beach referring to this team as "Team Ontario" and the crap he got into saying so, but it's true. Look at the low number of WHLers invited to the National Jr tryouts. I am more than disappointed that our League President and others aren't screaming bloody murder. The OHL is NOT a better league and in fact they didn't even win the Mem Cup this year. Picking OHL head coaches and a new eastern based Chief Scout, Hockey Canada has become Hockey Ontario. As a WHL fan I am sick of this nonsense and sick of our League not doing something about it. We can all remember after losing a couple of years at the World Jrs, Hockey Canada came running to Brent Sutter for help. He picked the right number of Western Guys and won gold. He turned that program around. C'mon Robison get off your donkey and raise some crap!
I have to agree with you Alan. I was at the last 2 games and I am not sure why Magee and Olsen were cut.
They kept Laughton and Campagna who basically did nothing.
I think the Defense was mostly right but I thought Pulock was above both Pelech and Matheson and I am guessing they didn't want to be "biased" there.
Last year they cut a bunch of WHLers and barely won the gold medal game against a weaker American team. This was once a tournament we dominated but lately it seems the spread is less and less.
I agree as well. But this kind of bias and nepotism in player selection is the same thing that kids face at lower levels of Midget and the even at the WHL. So.... really not surprised at all.
The team will not be as effective missing a few of the cut WHL forwards.
The final game last year for gold was 1-0 Canada. The winning goal scored by...Ryan Nugent-Hopkins...from where you say....WHL! This has been going on far too long and has gotten worse under Pendergast.
Well it goes on EVERYWHERE. Depending on what Hockey Canada team is iced, and wherever the coaching staff is from, the roster will lean in their favour. They seem to blame it on not really knowing the players. Choosing players they see all the time.
I thought they had a head scout to tell them who to roster.
I know a kid from Ontario, that has attended WHL main Camps(he lives out west now).I have heard MANY of these supposedly unbiased scouts, who are supposed to be the best at picking out talent say" I will never give a roster spot to a kid from Ontario over a western kid" even if he deserves it. I hate Toronto/Ontario.
You never see unbiased behaviour and will never see the best on the ice. I think that is why these rosters are so disappointing and their success representing is usually sub par.
I think it is time to wipe the entire hockey slate clean and start with some new young blood coaches and some scouts that are changing with the game.
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