Posts Tagged ‘Team Canada’

Dylan Olsen makes Canada’s junior team

December 15th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

When the Canadian World Junior training camp closed up shop last year, defenseman Dylan Olsen didn’t survive the final round of cuts and was sent packing. This time around, the outcome was more desirable for the Blackhawks’ first round pick (28th overall) in 2009, as it was announced Wednesday morning that he was selected to the 2011 squad. He is just one of the two players that made the team from the collegiate ranks.

Forward Brandon Pirri, who was also invited and attended the training camp, was one of the nine players released this morning. He will no longer experience the hoopla that surrounds the Canada’s selection process to their national junior team, and return to the not-so glamorous surroundings of Rockford, Illinois

Olsen and Co. will have 11 days to prepare for their first match of the World Junior Hockey Championship against the Russians on Boxing Day (December 26) in Buffalo, New York.

On the American front

Forward Jeremy Morin and defenseman Nick Leddy were invited to Team USA’s selection camp, which begins Thursday, and will compete with 27 other players for a spot on the 22-man roster. Morin was a member of the 2010 gold medal winning team, but whether he’ll attend the camp is still up in the air. Injuries to players such as Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane could keep him in Chicago indefinitely.

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Olsen and Pirri invited to Canadian WJHC selection camp

November 29th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Hockey Canada announced their 39-man World Junior Hockey Championship selection camp roster on Monday. Two Blackhawks prospects – defenseman Dylan Olsen and forward Brandon Pirri – will be in attendance starting December 12 in Toronto, Ontario. The roster will need to be trimmed down to 22 players before the championship tournament begins in Buffalo, New York on December 26.

This is Olsen’s second consecutive year at Team Canada’s camp. He didn’t make it past the final round of cuts last December, but has a great shot to make the team this time around despite the competition on defense. Three blue liners are returning from 2010′s silver medal squad (Jared Cowen, Ryan Ellis and Calvin de Haan). Olsen is having his best collegiate season to date with the top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (WCHA).

Pirri has spent the majority of the season with the Rockford IceHogs (AHL), and will be made available by the Blackhawks for the selection camp and World Junior’s if need be. This is his first invite to a Canadian national training camp.

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Canada Wins Gold

February 28th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Blackhawk Gold Medalists

Canada won the game the mattered. They won the gold medal, and that put a smile of this writers face. Sidney Crosby put the game-winning goal past Ryan Miller in overtime to clinch the 3-2 victory over the Americans. It was a great game. The Canadians went up 2-0 in the first period, but they attempted to coast into the win and the Americans were able to tie it up at 2-2 with less then a minute to play in the game. Team USA played with their hearts out, and surprised the hockey world with their Olympic tournament performance.

The Americans medal run caught the attention of a nation that views hockey as a fringe sport. That’s a positive when twenty-four of the thirty teams in the league reside in the United States, right? There could be a few new fans of the sport, and as far as Gary Bettman is concerned more money brought into the league.

The best player in the game was a little known American named Patrick Kane. Heard of him? Kane set up both goals by creating space and getting the puck on the net. The first was a deflection from Ryan Kesler, and the second Zach Parise was able to knock in a rebound. Jonathan Toews scored his first goal of the tournament in this game (on top of his seven assists), and was arguably the best forward in the tournament. Duncan Keith had assist in the match.

Anyways, NHL hockey resumes tomorrow night in Colorado. The first game for the Blackhawks is on Tuesday in New York vs. the Islanders. Red Rising will return to its usual ‘lemming dribble’ – someone once used that phrase when describing the blog. Not going to lie, that person is right about half the time.

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Canada vs. USA Redux – Gold Medal Game

February 28th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! A rematch of last week’s American upset over the Canadians will take place in the gold medal round of the Olympic tournament. It should be a great game, and the Canadians will do their darndest to exact revenge on the Americans. Each team took a different road to the gold medal game, but nothing should be taken away from what both teams accomplished in the 2010 Olympic tournament.

Team USA

Going into the tournament the Americans were regarded as a dark horse to make it as far as they have. Most of the team’s success can be attributed to the stellar play from their goalie, Ryan Miller. No one realistically thought they could make it this far, and apparently the young American squad didn’t get the memo. They haven’t trailed at any point of the five games it took to get to the gold medal game. The Americans earned a first round bye and the first overall seed in the tournament bracket after winning each game in the round robin, and had their way with the Swiss in the quarterfinals and the Finns in the semifinals.

Team Canada

In the case of the Canadian team, they improved on their seventh place finish four years ago in Torino, Italy. As important as this game is to the Canadians, the quarterfinal game against the Russians was bigger. If Team Canada lost to the Ruskies and didn’t have the opportunity to medal, the whole nation would have been on suicide watch. Anything less then gold wouldn’t be acceptable for the host nation. A shootout win over Switzerland and a regulation loss to the Americans during round robin play was less then ideal for the Canadians. After handing Roberto Luongo the starting job, and shuffling the line combinations sparked the team’s improved play. They handled the Germans and Russians easily, and squeaked by the Slovaks in the semifinal round.

Finland 5, Slovakia 3

I didn’t watch this game. Bronze medal games are of little interest to me. Anyway, the Slovaks were unable to continue playing above expectations. The loss means that Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky won’t return to the Blackhawks with a medal. Hossa had an assist and a goal in the game. Kopecky was held off the scoresheet.

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Olympic Semifinal Review

February 26th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

USA 6, Finland 1

This American team is impressive. They put up six unanswered goals on the Finnish team in the first period of their semifinal match-up. Team USA figured out Miikka Kiprusoff early for four goals, and pounced on Niklas Backstrom for the other two before he settled in. In the American 6-1 victory, Patrick Kane scored two goals. Kane has play has been just decent before today’s game.

Going into the Olympic tournament, I would have ranked the American national team sixth among the twelve squads participating in the Winter Games – behind Canada, Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic and Finland. I doubt I’m the only one who didn’t think Team USA would get to the gold medal game, but they have played great hockey to get there. A lot of the credit should go to Ryan Miller.

Yes, they were an underdog going into Vancouver, but comparing this American squad to the team that won gold in Lake Placid is getting old. Any parallels drawn between the two are forced. Every player on the roster is a professional in the NHL (none of their opponents to this point can say that) making professional money. Anyway, there is no way Team USA will be overlooked on Sunday.

Canada 3, Slovakia 2

Slovakia’s rally in the third period almost spoiled a USA vs. Canada rematch. The Canadians were cruising to a 3-0 victory over their Slovak opponent until Lubomir Visnovsky scored with just over eight minutes left in the game. Ex-Blackhawk Michal Handzus made it interesting when he added a second goal with five minutes left in the game. The Canadians were able to stave off the Slovak surge for the rest of the period to clinch a gold medal game birth for the team.

The 3-2 semifinal win means a rematch of last Sunday’s USA vs. Canada game will take place this Sunday. Only winning by one goal over Team Slovakia shouldn’t worry anyone. Over the course of the tournament they defeated the Russians in round robin play, and eliminated the Swedes in the quarterfinals.

On the Blackhawk front – of the five that played in this game, none tallied a point.

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Olympic Hockey Day Nine

February 24th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

A face only a mother could love

A brief write up on how the six Blackhawks have done in the last twenty-four hours of the Olympic tournament. Also, for all the people that visit looking for Jonathan Toews’ jersey number, he wears 16 on Team Canada (Joe Thornton is 19).

Canada 8, Germany 2 (Tuesday)

Yesterday’s post does its job.

Slovakia 4, Norway 3 (Tuesday)

In last night’s late game Slovakia beat Norway 4-3. It’s a shame since we will no longer see or hear the name Tore Vikingstad in the Olympics. The Norwegians made things interesting with their two goals in the second period to tie the game at 3-3, but Miroslav Satan put the Slovaks on top with his third period goal. Marian Hossa had an assist in the game, and Tomas Kopecky was on the ice for the game-winning goal. Slovakia will face the Swedes in the late game tonight.

USA 2, Switzerland 0

Those pesky Swiss gave the United States a run for their money in their quarterfinal match this afternoon. Jonas Hiller and Ryan Miller were great for their respective teams, but Zach Parise put one by the Swiss goalie early in the third to spoil his solid game – he stopped forty-two of the forty-three shots faced. Patrick Kane didn’t crack the scoresheet. The Americans will play Finland on Friday. No one thought Team USA would make it this far.

Canada 7, Russia 3

The Canadians played with the sense of urgency they needed to beat the Russians in an elimination game. It appeared as though they just overwhelmed the Ruskies from the get go going up 4-1 in the first period. Team Canada was just better in every aspect – offense, goaltending and physical play. Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith had two assists each, and Brent Seabrook didn’t tally a point in this game. Toews was great on both ends of the ice all game.

I hate to see such a talented team get knocked out of the tournament this early, but it’s better that it was the Russians then the Candians. Seeing the Canada come out so strong gives me hope for the rest of the tournament. After going to overtime with the Swiss and losing to the Americans I was a little worried. Next up, the Canadians will play the Slovaks in the semifinal round.

Slovakia 5, Sweden 4

Well, the Slovaks completed a guaranteed Sweden- and Russian-less Olympic semifinal round. No one could have predicted that. The Slovakian win also guaranteed all six Blackhawks would participate in the semifinal round – giving each ‘Hawk a chance to return to Chicago with a medal around their neck. Hossa had three assists against the Swedes, and Kopecky scored the game-winning goal. The underrated Slovak team will attempt another upset of the Canadians this Friday.

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Olympic Hockey Day Eight – Canada 8, Germany 2

February 23rd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Canadians were able to beat a team they were expected to in the Germans 8-2. This game was used as a tune-up for the Russians – which they face tomorrow night. The line combinations worked – especially that of Eric Stall, Sidney Crosby and Jarome Iginla – and the goaltending from Roberto Luongo was virtually mistake free. The Germans pressed hard in the final two periods and scored two goals because of it. Luongo will get the start tomorrow.

On the Blackhawk front, Duncan Keith had two assists in the game and Jonathan Toews had one helper. Those two have been solid for the Canadian national team during the Olympics.

A day off is always nice, but the Canadians will benefit from having played an extra game going into the match-up with the Ruskies. To the Canadian team tomorrow’s game against Russia is bigger then the one against the Americans. Not only because of the potential for elimination, but the two have been butting heads for so long as the top teams in international hockey. This match-up was touted at the gold medal game going into the Olympics. Team Canada will have their hands full with the physical Russian team and a lot of firepower.

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Olympic Hockey Day Seven – USA Wins

February 22nd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Well, that hockey game didn’t go the way I would have liked. The United States beat my Canadians 5-3. So I drowned my sorrows in a few pitchers of Kokanee at the bar, and now I’m a little hung over (still) sitting at the airport in Vancouver. The Americans watching the game at the bar full of pissed off Canadians did make it out alive.

Jimbo did a decent job recapping the game in the comment section of yesterday’s pre-game entry, so here it is:

“Too bad for the Canadians. They were not playing their best game. And Ryan Miller was playing a terrific game. The US seemed to control the puck quite a bit in the offensive zone, despite the lower number of shots. Some of the US goals were lucky, but they were able to show they could stand up to an elite team. Personally, I don’t see this as all that huge of an “upset” and am getting a bit tired of the “miracle on ice” talk. But even with top seed in the quarters, the US will still have to go up against Finland if they make it to the semis (which they probably will since the play the winner of the Swiss/Belarus match).”

It won’t be easy for Canada, though. They will have to play an extra game and play a very tough, very physical Russia in the quarters.”

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Olympic Hockey Day Six – USA vs. Canada

February 21st, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Team Canada

Big game today – Team USA vs. Team Canada – to determine the overall winner of Group A and a possible first round bye. Four Blackhawks will skate in the game – Patrick Kane (USA), Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook (Canada). The Canadians are favorites, but the Americans are going to bring it and there has already been some trash talking from the classy (sarcasm) Ryan Kesler. Mr. Kesler will find out soon enough that the Canadians do their talking on the ice.

Anyway, this game should live up to its bill. The top teams – Canada being one – haven’t had the cakewalk they expect when rolling through their respective groups. The Russians lost to Slovakia, the Swiss took Canada to a shootout and the Belarusian team even challenged the Swedes. It has led to some exciting hockey – even among the lesser-hyped teams. Today’s game could arguably be the most anticipated game. Even in Whistler, all the way up the mountains, there is a lot of buzz. Too bad for the Americans – who have been playing good hockey – they won’t escape this game with a win.

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Olympic Hockey Day Four, And The Hobson Shuffle

February 19th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

All six Blackhawk Olympians were in action yesterday. In the late game, Marian Hossa played a major role in the Slovakian 2-1 (SO) upset over the Russians. He scored the team’s lone goal in the third period to tie it up and take it to overtime. Hossa took part in the shootout as well, but couldn’t put one past Ilya Bryzgalov. In the seventh shootout round Pavol Demitra clinched the victory over the offensively potent Ruskies for the first upset of the Olympic tournament. This was the Slovak’s second game in as many days. Tomas Kopecky did nothing – surprised?

The Canadian team ran into Jonas Hiller in net for Switzerland. As ‘Hawks fans we know how good Hiller can be in net when the Ducks visited the United Center in January. Anyway, the Swiss goalie limited the Canadians to only two goals. Jonathan Toews tallied another assist (his second) yesterday, and Brent Seabrook is only seeing about eight minutes of playing time. The Swiss were able to get two past Martin Brodeur and took this game to a shootout as well – Toews was picked for the shootout but didn’t score. Canada avoided the upset when Sidney Crosby scored in the fourth round (his second attempt) of the shootout.

Norway didn’t provide much resistance for the United States in their 6-1 loss to the American squad. Patrick Kane scored his first Olympic goal. Tomorrow’s game vs. Team Canada should be a great one to watch. Ryan Miller will see a lot more shots then he did against the Norwegians (11 shots) – the Canadians had forty-seven shots on Hiller.

In the system –

Forward Adam Hobson was recalled to Rockford from Toledo yesterday. He’s been up and down a couple times in the last few weeks. In eleven games with the IceHogs, Hobson has two goals and one assist.

Changes have been reflected on our In the Organization page above.

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