USA - Sweden U-18 gold medal final

[DaBoltsNIsles]

WooHoo!!

 

[Curtrain]

Congrats Team USA! Great game.

 

[postmaster]

alright!!! that's what I wanted to see.

 

[filosofy29]

USA!!! Nice. I know Canada doesn't always get to send all of their best and brightest, but it's nice to see that we're closing the gap a little here.

 

[puckhead]

USA!!! Nice. I know Canada doesn't always get to send all of their best and brightest, but it's nice to see that we're closing the gap a little here.

US team stays together and plays together all season. So this is a tournament that is really in their wheelhouse (that's 6 golds for them now, russia is next with 3). It has been a very good development system, as seen by their success in the World Junior Championship.
Sweden has started to do that too, or at least keep the team together for a longer time ahead of tournaments.

Canada has a different philosophy, letting the players develop with their own teams, and literally coming together just for tournaments (plus a couple of try out / orientation camps throughout the year). For this tournament, the junior teams take priority, so as Dash said, only those players whose teams are out of the playoffs will go. Much like the World Championships). For the World Junior Championships, the players will miss up to a month of their junior team's season to participate in that tourney.


Very impressive comeback today. I didn't think they'd be able to get 2 on the Swedish defense in the 3rd.
Once OT started, they were playing to win.... Swe kind of looked beaten already.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I read on another site that team Russia didn't send the best team they could. That some of the players on their team were given the spots due to shall we say favors. Is this true?

 

[pixburgher66]

I read on another site that team Russia didn't send the best team they could. That some of the players on their team were given the spots due to shall we say favors. Is this true?

It's Russia...nothing would surprise me. I forget who it was that was saying it on here, but they talked about an article done in the 90's I believe when the NHL tried to have affiliations over there, specifically the Pens branch, and how it failed because of the Russian mob. VERY interesting read.

But, on topic:
USA! USA! USA! Three Pittsburgh boys on the squad as well. EPIC.

 

[puckhead]

I read on another site that team Russia didn't send the best team they could. That some of the players on their team were given the spots due to shall we say favors. Is this true?

Russia also send their best only to the WJHC.
They have a summit series tour each year that they play All-Star teams from the QJMHL, OHL and WHL... they tend to bag that one, and use it as a scouting mission for the World Juniors.

though I believe they do have their teams mostly playing together throughout the year as well.

 

[devs30rko]

Awsome job updating everyone dash and co. I could watch yesterday, so this OS clutch