My "inflated assessment" was this:



And your innocuous post was this:



Who comes across looking like more a jackass?

http://www.hockeybuzz.com...p?thread_id=98227&page=24
- Morris

Can't stop whining eh? What purpose does continually beating this dead horse serve? What are you trying to prove? That I, HNIC ,TSN and Team Canada were all wrong in our assessment of Hall and you were right?

Get over it, let's move on.

Who's coming across looking like a whining little girl??

Boy, I'm glad I did not give my opinion on whether or not I thought Yakupov was going to the Olympics, or be sitting beside Hall watching it on TV.

Does your interpretation of irony mean that when someone's opinion from two months ago turns out to be the same as those on HNIC, TSN and Team Canada's management group?


It's incredible that I made, what I thought at the time, was an innocuous post concerning what I thought another poster's inflated assessment of Hall's chances of being selected for the Olympics............and I've somehow destroyed the lives of a couple of Oiler fans, based on their response then, and even after the fact.



- Doppleganger

You don't know that..... You have no idea where they had hall. For all you know he's the next in line. The fact that he was chosen to be at the selection camp is evidence enough to show your stance that "hall had no chance" is false.


The ironic part was you telling someone to stop whining and saying they look like fools.

Can't stop whining eh? What purpose does continually beating this dead horse serve? What are you trying to prove? That I, HNIC ,TSN and Team Canada were all wrong in our assessment of Hall and you were right?

Get over it, let's move on.

Who's coming across looking like a whining little girl??

Boy, I'm glad I did not give my opinion on whether or not I thought Yakupov was going to the Olympics, or be sitting beside Hall watching it on TV.



- Doppleganger

Usually you're civil, but today you're not. What gives?

You don't know that..... You have no idea where they had hall. For all you know he's the next in line. The fact that he was chosen to be at the selection camp is evidence enough to show your stance that "hall had no chance" is false.
- burn

Take a look at who was at the "ball hockey" summer camp. Then take a look at who else was left off the team.

I thought St. Louis was going to be on the team, and in Hall's case not.

Big deal, it was my opinion............did not think that you, and so many others put so much stock in my humble opinions...........perhaps my track record in the past has been good enough for all y'all to look to me for guidance or something.

Usually you're civil, but today you're not. What gives?
- Morris

says the guy who called me a "jackass"..........don't like your own medicine?

Who comes across looking like more a jackass?


- Morris

.

says the guy who called me a "jackass"..........don't like your own medicine?



.
- Doppleganger

I didn't call you a jackass, I asked who comes across more like a jackass. It was always possible that the consensus would have been that it was me.

I appreciate you quoting the post I wrote four minutes ago, as if I'd forget it though.

I didn't call you a jackass, I asked who comes across more like a jackass. It was always possible that the consensus would have been that it was me.

I appreciate you quoting the post I wrote four minutes ago, as if I'd forget it though.
- Morris

Same can be said of the "Who's coming across looking like a whining little girl??" statement too.

I you want to have a civil discourse, be civil and I will reciprocate............if you want to be insulting, then take as you give.

We can move on if you want, because there in not anything here you can do to get Hall on the team now.

You don't know that..... You have no idea where they had hall. For all you know he's the next in line.
- burn

http://www.forbes.com/sit...outure-and-claude-giroux/


I agree with this article that Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Claude Giroux, Eric Staal and Martin St. Louis would be ahead of Hall to be "next in line".

Same can be said of the "Who's coming across looking like a whining little girl??" statement too.

I you want to have a civil discourse, be civil and I will reciprocate............if you want to be insulting, then take as you give.

We can move on if you want, because there in not anything here you can do to get Hall on the team now.
- Doppleganger

You said "Can't stop whining, eh?". Nothing ambiguous about that whatsoever.

But I digress. As for the bolded there was never anything either of us could do to get Hall on or off the team. We're merely people with opinions. In fact, I never expressed the opinion that Hall definitively should be on the team.

All I said was that he represented Edmonton's best chance to have someone on the Canadian team, with no reference to what those chances were.

Hemsky represented the Oiler's best chance to have someone on the Czech team
Marincin represented the Oiler's best chance to have someone on the Slovakian team
Being the only Finn on our team, Jesse Joensuu represented the Oiler's best chance to have someone on the Finnish team, though that chance was very small.

It's not that controversial a position.

All I said was that he represented Edmonton's best chance to have someone on the Canadian team, with no reference to what those chances were.

It's not that controversial a position.
- Morris

And my sin was to disagree..............and "it's not that controversial a position" either.



Even Hall himself was not expecting to make the team!

EDMONTON – Team Canada announced its 25-man roster Tuesday morning for the Sochi Olympics, and the Edmonton Oilers Taylor Hall was not on the list.

“I woke up around 8:30 and I had a voice mail from Brad Pascall just saying I’d had a good season so far but they didn’t select me for the team. Obviously, not a great phone call, but one that I was kind of expecting at the same time,” said Hall after Tuesday’s announcement.

“It’s a tough process for them, there’s so many good players in Canada. When you watch the shows this morning and you see the guys that are left off, I don’t feel too bad.”

Hall has 41 points in 38 games this season, placing him in a tie for 15th in NHL scoring, but he was considered a long shot to crack the roster.

“It’s a tough team to make, so I was going to have to do everything in my power to be on the team, and whether I think I’ve improved or not, doesn’t really matter now.”
http://globalnews.ca/news...ed-to-team-canada-roster/

And my sin was to disagree..............and "it's not that controversial a position" either.

- Doppleganger

Either you're misunderstanding, or you're opening another can of worms.

If you disagree that Hall was the Oiler's best chance to have a player on the Canada roster, then which Oiler do you think had a better chance?

My "inflated assessment" was this:



And your innocuous post was this:



Who comes across looking like more a jackass?

http://www.hockeybuzz.com...p?thread_id=98227&page=24
- Morris

And my sin was to disagree/
- Doppleganger

by posting 9 condescending laffies

by posting 9 condescending laffies
- Crimsoninja

Either you're misunderstanding, or you're opening another can of worms.

If you disagree that Hall was the Oiler's best chance to have a player on the Canada roster, then which Oiler do you think had a better chance?
- Morris

My point was and has always been that he did not have even a fair chance at being named to the team.

Mark Methot was also invited to the summer camp, I didn't think he had a chance either, so did not express any opinion on him, and was not surprised that he was not named either. I had an objective look at the summer camp roster and did not take long to see that his chances were slim to none.


http://www.hockeycanada.c...4/Orientation-Camp/Roster

My point was and has always been that he did not have even a fair chance at being named to the team.

Mark Methot was also invited to the summer camp, I didn't think he had a chance either, so did not express any opinion on him, and was not surprised that he was not named either. I had an objective look at the summer camp roster and did not take long to see that his chances were slim to none.


http://www.hockeycanada.c...4/Orientation-Camp/Roster


- Doppleganger

Methot being compared to Hall. We've seen it all folks.

Methot being compared to Hall. We've seen it all folks.
- daeth

Spin spin spin!!


Or more likely you my point went over your head.

I knew that Methot (and Hall) had no shot at the team, except I didn't bring his name up when he was injured and thought it would hurt his chance, because he had no chance to begin with.

Spin spin spin!!


Or more likely you my point went over your head.

I knew that Methot (and Hall) had no shot at the team, except I didn't bring his name up when he was injured and thought it would hurt his chance, because he had no chance to begin with.
- Doppleganger

Spin spin spin!!


Or more likely you my point went over your head.

I knew that Methot (and Hall) had no shot at the team, except I didn't bring his name up when he was injured and thought it would hurt his chance, because he had no chance to begin with.
- Doppleganger

I'm not comparing Methot to Hall!!!!!!

*compares Methot to Hall*

I'm not comparing Methot to Hall!!!!!!

*compares Methot to Hall*
- daeth

Spin spin spin!!


Or more likely you my point went over your head.

I knew that Methot (and Hall) had no shot at the team, except I didn't bring his name up when he was injured and thought it would hurt his chance, because he had no chance to begin with.
- Doppleganger

has anyone pointed out the spelling/grammatical errors yet??

I'm not comparing Methot to Hall!!!!!!

*compares Methot to Hall*
- daeth

I'm just using your stupid logic.

Canada will have the best team. They'll be the favourite based on that. All the top teams will be comprised of a majority of players in the NHL, which are mostly accustomed these days to playing on NHL ice surfaces.
- prock

Rink size is really overrated. All the best players on all the top teams are going to be just as used to the smaller NHL sized rink as Canada and USA will be. The random KHLers spread throughout Russias lineup in 2014 aren't going to be gamebreakers.
- daeth

The majority of the top players on every team plays in the NHL. The big ice surface "advantage" is a myth I think.
- daeth

The home ice isnt enough to make them the fav over a much heavier stacked canadian lineup.
And the big ice isnt gonna be a huge factor in relation to canada's team make up and far stronger depth this time around.
- hugefemale dog77

I just don't believe the larger ice surface is that much of a disadvantage for a team like Canada.

They may not simply have the best depth of talent to choose a team from, but also specifically the best collection of skaters. I mentioned Grioux and Hall and if I mentioned Crosby it was because of high quality skating specifically vis a vis the larger ice argument.

I think that if we picked Thornton, Lucic, Getlaf, Eberle, Benn, Ladd, Neal, Clarkson, Clowe, Horton, Doan and Kane, then we might have some speed problems. I think we'd fair better on the big ice if we got a few quicker guys in there.
- Morris

I've told you that everyone in this thread has acknowledged the advantage of home as well as the time zone. Although all the best (save for kovi) will be in the NHL and have to deal with the same time zone issues.


You keep harping on the ice as an advantage when it's been proven with cold hard facts not to make a difference.

Time zone and home ice are(may be) an advantage, all the rest is just noise.
- burn

Canada will have the best team, but not necessarily the best team suited for the International sized ice in Sochi. I would suggest the Russians and the Finns will have teams best suited for the International sized ice.

Canada has not won any Medal of any type, during the Olympics, when playing on International sized ice, since 1994.

The Russians and Canadians are probably co-favourites heading into these Olympics.

Some predictions have Finland giving Canada a run for their money in the groups stage. (http://bleacherreport.com...-the-2014-winter-olympics) If any team runs into a hot goaltender, one loss can change a lot of things in a short tournament.

The point I've been trying to make in this thread for almost a year now, is that the size on the ice surface is a big factor and cannot be dismissed as easily as some posters here have been doing. I've taken a lot of crap from those who did not agree with me, but I'm not the only one who thinks the ice surface matters.

Bigger ice, different game

Olympics: Foot speed, quick thinking crucial to success in Russia

By Stephen Whyno, The Canadian Press January 15, 2014


Fifteen feet can make all the difference in Olympic hockey, possibly between a gold medal and nothing.

After a turn on NHL rinks in Vancouver, the tournament returns to international-sized ice in Sochi next month. The playing surface is still 200 feet long, but instead of being 85 feet wide, it's 100.

That may not sound like much, but the big ice is a big deal. It affected how Canada, the United States and other countries constructed their rosters and will undoubtedly play a role because of how different the game is with the blessings and curses of more room to work with.

"It's a different set of dynamics going onto the bigger ice," Peter Chiarelli of Canada's management team said. "This is going to be a lot about speed and character and quickness of thinking, too. You've got the bigger surface, and you can get lost on that surface quickly if you don't think quickly and accurately."

Players have to think quick even if they might have an extra second or two compared to life in the NHL.

The fundamentals of shooting the puck and scoring goals are the same, but players, coaches and general managers with international experience know this is a slightly altered version of hockey than the one played in North America.

"You've got a couple more seconds to make decisions," Swedish centre Nicklas Backstrom said. "It's going to be a challenge for all players to go over there. Everyone's going to adjust."

With 150 NHL players making up the vast majority of those competing, it'll be a widespread adjustment.

"First couple games it's going to be different for us," Russian winger Alex Ovechkin said. "It's not a question. Soon as the tournament gets going, it's going to be much easier for us."

But it figures to be easier on Europeans, who grew up playing on larger ice, than on North Americans.

At the 2006 Games in Turin, Sweden beat Finland in the gold-medal game, and the Czech Republic won bronze over Russia. Canada and the U.S. weren't close to the podium.

International ice wasn't the only reason for those disappointments, but 2014 rosters have a noticeable resemblance to 2006 as GMs put an emphasis on constructing smooth-skating teams who should be better equipped this time.

"It's a factor," Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman said.

"If we're on a smaller ice surface, we probably look at things a little bit differently ... The game's about skating and not so much about physical play."

Skating acumen earned Jay Bouwmeester a spot on Canada's blue-line, while Joe Thornton didn't seem to be a fit up front. Max Pacioretty and Blake Wheeler made the U.S. team at forward over Bobby Ryan, whose specialties lie elsewhere.

"Certainly we wanted mobility, we wanted some skaters, we wanted a skating dimension," Team Canada's Ken Holland said.

All Yzerman, U.S. GM David Poile and their staffs can hope is that they've prepared for the big ice without over-thinking it. When the tournament begins Feb. 12, it'll be up to the players to figure it out.

That could be a gradual process.

"Realistically, you adjust as the team adjusts, as the team gets comfortable," former Canadian defenceman Chris Pronger said in a phone interview. "There'll be guys that get it a little bit later, get it a little bit earlier, but once, to a man, everybody somewhat grasps the concept, then it starts to take hold and you're able to really function as a unit."
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