I watched the Canada vs. Norway match from Vancouver yesterday and it was a fairly interesting game. I thought the Canadians were a bit tentative and maybe a tad awestruck by the occasion (which is saying something for a group of NHLers) in the first period. Obviously Babcock got them fired up between periods and much of the rink wide passing in the offensive zone turned into direct shots on goal. Once Canada starts shooting, driving the net and playing the puck down low, there isn't a team in this Olympics that will stop them.
A few things I noticed:
- Iginla fit like a glove with Crosby and Nash. Crosby's ability to find the open man and Iginla's ability to get open with his stick on the ice in shooting positions will be lethal for Canada's opposition. I think that game by itself showed that Calgary in the summer must try and move one of those stud defenceman they have for a centre that can get Iggy the puck;
- I could write a whole blog entry about Rick Nash. I love watching the guy play. He's fast, he's big, he drives to the goal, he's got great hands, he plays the man and he hustles back to play a good defensive game. It is a pity he re-signed, I would have loved for Burke to throw the bank at him and bring him to Toronto. Yesterday, in five-on-five play, he was the best player on the ice;
- Roberto Luongo continues to mystify me. He seemed like he was constantly fighting the puck, reaching for things rather than letting it come to him. When he would venture outside of his crease to play the puck, well, it was an adventure to say the least. Then again, he stopped all fifteen shots. Still, for me, it is Brodeur from here on in - he will play his role of Sweeper/Keeper which should help Canada's very mobile, puck moving defense look better;
- I'd like to watch more of Duncan Keith - he's just solid. I will be watching more Kings hockey just to watch Drew Doughty develop - that move he put on the Norway defenceman yesterday was silky, the guy is still looking for his jock. Oh, and there was that hit! I saw Doughty play live earlier this year in LA, I enjoyed it;
- Babcock will be the difference maker in this tournament for Canada. When you watch him run his bench and then compare that to Ron Wilson, its a joke. Babcock is "in" the game, a line has a good shift, he gives them a quick break and throws them back out there. He spent the first ten minutes of the game getting everybody a turn to get them into the game right away. He juggled his lines effectively to shift energy players around - his use of Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews and Mike Richards was amazing to watch;
- The depth on the team is staggering - if Perry, Getzlaf and Stoll are your third line, you're in good shape. Mike RIchards as your spare forward is also pretty enviable;
- It will be interesting to see how the game of the defencemen change when they have a tougher opponent. They were high-flying, wheeling and dealing, coast-to-coast and very mobile against Norway. It is going to be fun watching Keith, Seabrook, Weber and Pronger knuckle down against the Russians or Swedes;
- Shea Weber is the business - put him in a proper hockey market and he's going to win some Norris Trophies. He and Phaneuf are like the prototype of the modern Canadian defenceman - big shot, aggressive, quick and physical;
- Best thing we ever did was reinstate the touch up rule for offsides, kids are learning to play the puck offensively as defencemen again. There is a ten year hole in Canadian hockey history in relation to offensive defencemen - you had Orr, Bourque, Coffey, Neidermeyer and then nothing until the 2005 batch;
- Speaking of 2005, seven players on Team Canada played on the Gold Medal Junior team in 2005 - that's just amazing. I think people like the Hunter brothers and the Sutter brothers should all be given kudos for their work in developing young players, they have their fingerprints on quite a few of the best young players Canada has produced in the past five to ten years.
I'm looking forward to the Swiss game tomorrow!