Didn't bother going back and quoting......but did I see someone say Russians dominate hockey?
I do agree with you though about Canadians thinking they areentitled to gold. I hear it too much here..."This is OUR game"..."Wehave the best team in the world"...blah blah...the fact is, Canada (norany other team) has been dominant in men's hockey in the last 2decades. If anything, Russia have been the most dominant hockey countryin the last 50 years winning a bunch of Olympic gold medals from the60's to early 90s. Canada has just 1 Olympic gold medal in the last 60years.
If you take a look at the annual World Championships,Russia have been far more impressive than any other country. Canada won80% of its World Championships prior to the 1960s. No team has won moreWC's than Russia since the 1960s.
So yes, Canada has some of thebest players in the world but the arrogance amongst Canadian hockeyfans does not seem to make much sense when you look at the country'sresults over the past 50-years or so. Just 5 WC's in the last 50 years(it's an annual event) and just 1 Olympic Gold in the last 15 winterOlympics
Just stating facts.
Russia with 7 Olympic Gold medals since 1960. Canada with 1.
Russia with 23 World Championships since 1960. Canada with 5.
So you tell me who's been more dominant.
Originally Posted by Never Seen B4
You'd have to see the replay.......they were skating up ice and Semin had absolutely no reason to be side by side with Boyle. I don't think Boyle skated up to him, it was more so Semin making sure Boyle felt that hit. Maybe I'm totally wrong and Boyle went up to Semin to get revenge for the hit......if that is the case, then Semin did no wrong. However, if Semin made HIS way to Boyle to rub the hit in his face....then he got what he deserved.
Yeah but you have to remember that the NHL was dominated by Canadians/Americans until just recently (last 20 years). Sure, there were some Euros playing in the NHL in the 70s and 80s but the league was like 98% North American. So of course there have been far more Canadian Stanley Cup winners than Russians.Originally Posted by cquan05
^Funny, it wasn't you I was thinking of though.
I wouldn't say Russians dominate hockey.......I really don't know how I'll explain this, maybe when I think of the NHL or hockey in general, I don't think of the Russians?. Obviously as you have shown Russia has won all the world events etc......but when I think of the best players that have played our game, and the # of Canadians on each Stanley Cup winning team throughout the years, it doesn't seem to show the Russians are the majority of players. Sounds stupid I know......I'll have to try and think of a better way to explain my side.
Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez
Yeah but you have to remember that the NHL was dominated by Canadians/Americans until just recently (last 20 years). Sure, there were some Euros playing in the NHL in the 70s and 80s but the league was like 98% North American. So of course there have been far more Canadian Stanley Cup winners than Russians.Originally Posted by cquan05
^Funny, it wasn't you I was thinking of though.
I wouldn't say Russians dominate hockey.......I really don't know how I'll explain this, maybe when I think of the NHL or hockey in general, I don't think of the Russians?. Obviously as you have shown Russia has won all the world events etc......but when I think of the best players that have played our game, and the # of Canadians on each Stanley Cup winning team throughout the years, it doesn't seem to show the Russians are the majority of players. Sounds stupid I know......I'll have to try and think of a better way to explain my side.
I think that while Canada have probably produced more quality players than Russia, it has not translated to as much international success as the Russians have experienced. My problem is with Canadians thinking that having the best players makes your team the best and that Canada are the best hockey country ever when this couldn't be further from the truth.
In the history of hockey, Canada and Russia have been pretty close in Olympic gold/world championships won. In the last 50 years, it has been mostly Russian domination. The last 10 years or so has seen a surge in Canadian international hockey success. Canada won a Gold in the 02 Olympics and have a chance to win another one on Sunday while Russia have not won an Olympic gold since 1992. Canada have also recently won more WCs than Russia.
Anyways, this increased competition is great for the game of hockey. We have 7 really good teams (Czechs, Slovaks, Swedes, Finns, US, Canada, Russia) and Switzerland aren't bad as well. It's a shame this tournament isnt in a more neutral venue as I think it'd make this tournament more wide open. It being in Canada gives the Americans a 'home ice' feel and playing at home gives an already good Canada team an added advantage.
Virtually none....in the past it was different...
Originally Posted by Mister Friendly
I just looked it up Team USA has 6 NHL All Star appearances while Team Canada has 48 NHL all star appearances.
I know more than superstars make up a team for international play but Damn!
