The first type was typified by Mike
Cammalleri.
Cammalleri managed 80
pts and 34 goals this season, quite a feat considering the ineptitude of the team he plays for. When you look at
Cammalleri, you realize he's basically a hobbit sized guy, he's not
particularly fast. His first two/three games for Canada, I couldn't help but wonder how in the hell
Cammalleri accomplished his 80pt season. He looked pretty much invisible most of the time, he never beat guys 1-1, he had me perplexed.
I had faith in Andy Murray however, and I knew that Murray knew
Cammalleri well. Murray's faith paid off, as
Cammalleri eventually emerged as a key member of Canada's championship team. I think his first real impact play came as Canada was trying to tie the Czechs. Dion
Phaneuf passed it to
Cammalleri, and
Cammalleri sent it to
Staal on a breakaway. In the semifinal versus Sweden, Murray named
Cammalleri an alternate captain, and it was
undoubtedly Cammalleri's best game. He brought his best when when the chips were down. As the tournament went on,
Cammalleri proved himself to be a very slick
playmaker,
albeit one who is completely invisible 90% of time. He's just one of those guys who you never notice until he scores of makes an unbelievable play.
The second type of guy was typified by Rick Nash. If you ever decide to wade into the
shitstorm that is HF, you'll realize Rick Nash tends to polarize people. There are those that think he's absolutely terrible, overrated, defensively liable, etc. And there are those that can't find enough positive adjectives to describe Nash. I have to say, I fall into the second category. Watching Nash in action in the NHL is one thing, but I watched all of that 2005 World Championship run, and while Joe Thornton was the Tournament MVP in that silver medal effort, it was Nash that blew me away. This sounds like an exaggeration, but the player I compared him to was Mario
Lemieux. He's big, he's fast, he's got hands. He did things that I've really only seen Mario do.
Undoubtedly, there is a lack of consistency factor with Rick Nash, but I saw him work magic one time, and it's hard to put that out of your mind.
To me, Rick Nash was Canada's absolute most consistent player this whole tournament. From game 1 on, no one created more offensive chances, no one drove to the net harder (or more often), no one beat guys one on one as much (or at all), and no one had individual efforts like Nash. He maybe wasn't the team's best
playmaker, or finisher, but for my money, no one was better.
While the question I had about
Cammalleri was 'how does this guy manage to get so many points,' my question regarding Nash was 'how does this guys only get this many points?' He plays such a visible style, he's always got the puck, he's always shooting. He was '
snakebitten' early in the tournament, but only by the highest of standards. Most players wish they could be
snakebitten Rick Nash style, because he just gets so many chances that its a numbers game - eventually he'll beat you.
Nash saved his best for last today. He scored a real beauty in the first period on the PP, when, as usual, he took the puck from the half boards and drove hard to the net, pulling the puck backhand and then
forehand to change the shooting angle to beat Kari
Lehtonen. When the game was reduced to a 1 goal lead with about a minute remaining, Shane
Doan did his thing by firing the puck up to Nash in the neutral zone for a 1-1 with a Finnish defender. As Nash exploded by the
defenceman, the
defenceman went for the only play he had left. Draping himself around Nash, he twisted Nash almost completely backwards. It was no use though, as Nash managed to keep his
composure and literally
deke out tournament
goaltending MVP Kari
Lehtonen, scoring his second goal of the game, and sealing the win for his team. I said earlier that I
comp'ed Nash to
Lemieux. I challenge you to watch this goal and not do the same. After the game, Nash was awarded Tournament MVP.
"I don't have to tell you that Rick Nash probably took over this tournament for us," said Canada's Mike Cammalleri. "He stepped up and he was huge.
"That was some of the best hockey I've ever seen played."
Added GM Steve Yzerman: "He was spectacular. He was head and shoulders above everyone."(Source)
This tournament was really a lesson in World Championship success. Canada may not have had the most talent, but they became more than the sum of their parts. Every player on every line and every pairing had a role in this victory. There was never a time when I witnessed a line or player out on the ice and wished they could be replaced by someone on the bench. I would be
remiss if I avoided mentioning the absolutely stellar play of Eric Brewer and Dion
Phaneuf. Some
Oilogosphere participants have mentioned Brewer's '
blonde moments' (witness his giveaway in the Slovakia game), but 95% of the time Brewer is simply a superb defensive
defencman. He's just so strong on his skates, makes great decisions, is extremely calm. I've watched him internationally 5 times, and all he does is win. We missed him in the 2005
WCs -silver. Missed him in the 2006
WCs -4
th and the 2006 Olympics -loss in quarterfinal. He has gold in 2003, 2004 and 2007
WCs, 2002 Olympics and a World Cup victory.
Dion
Phaneuf was a late edition but it is hard to see this team winning without him. He became better each game, and his instructions were to avoid the big hits and play a containment game. He had
8 points in his shortened time in Russia (Thornton had 10 when he won tournament MVP) and just looked about as good as he ever has.
Colby "Cheese" Armstrong was exemplary of the team mentality with his contributions today. He's been pretty quiet all
tournament, but his line of (mostly)
Toews and
Staal has been very good at both ends of the rink with their limited ice time. Today, with the game 2-0 Canada got a 5-3 PP and blew it, then received a penalty themselves. It was a classic setup for a '
TSN Turning Point.' Canada killed off the penalty though, and about a shift later Jordan
Staal lugged the puck into the finish zone, dropped it off to the Cheese who blasted the eventual winner past
Lehtonen. I was personally more excited for Armstrong himself than for the team, and judging by the expressions on the faces of those on the bench, the feeling was mutual. Here was a guy who has received absolutely no kudos, your archetypal unsung hero, and he just scored in the biggest game of his life. Especially when you hear about what a good guy Cheese is (coming from Lloyd and being the same age, there aren't a lot of degrees of
separation between us), it makes me even happier.
Here's a thought; how many guys on team do you think were telling Armstrong, 'it ain't easy...being CHEESY!'
Going into the game, Andy Murray was the only coach to have two gold medals in the World Championships. Coming out of the game, he's the only coach to have three gold medals.
If you stopped watching the broadcast after the game ended, you probably missed one of the more touching moments. The cameras always follow the team into the locker room, and once inside, it panned along the players cheering celebrating etc, until it came to Chris Mason (he who phoned Steve
Yzerman and said 'I know I won't play, but I want to be there to help the team), who shouted 'check out this guy!' The camera turns around, and the smallest, skinniest team Canada off-ice
personelle guy starts dancing to Usher's "Yeah." The whole team congregated around and started cheering. The camera zoomed to Andy Murray, who tried to suppress his amusement but couldn't help break out a smile.
After the tournament, the
top three players on each team were named by their own coaches, and the Flames and
Oilers were well represented. From Calgary's side, Lombardi was selected as a top 3 player for Canada, while Toby (Tobias) Peterson and Patrick
Thoresen were selected by their respective coaches.
A final thought about Team Canada's performance, from a Flames/
Oilers perspective.
Hockey Girl mentioned that she enjoyed the team as long as she ignored
Roloson. Most
Oilogosphere bloggers have mentioned numerous times how much they hate Dion. But watching the post game interviews, it was ironic that the only mention of Dwayne
Roloson's contribution to the team (a very solid contribution I might add)
came from his provincial rival. When asked by Ryan
Rishaug about Cam Ward's excellent performance, Dion made a special effort to mention
Roloson.
TSN's storyHockey Canada recap and Game SummaryIIHF story
Post game quotes from both Finland and Canada playersEvery 2007 IIHF World Hockey Championship blog entry in therealdeal Hockey
To Be PerfectHeed the Warnings...
Eric Staal is Alive and Kicking
Just Good Enough
Dion Phaneuf Joins Team Canada
Making a Mark
Shane Doan Named Team Captain
Disappointments AboundCaptain CanadaRoster Announcements
Shitsburgh's LossRoster Announcements
Roster Announcements - Carolina ContributionsCoach/Roster AnnouncementsDefenceMcKenzie Weighs in on Team Canada coaching staffCoachesGoalies