January 9th, 2010 Coach's Corner with Ron MacLean & Don Cherry Hockey Night in Canada

[ragecave518]

i didn't know the americans only started playing hockey at 14-15 years old; only after they went to canada of course. seems to me they most likely started playing and learning the game in the united states at 4-5 years of age. i like cherry, he's a funny guy, but don't bitch at the kids for playing in the major juniors in canada if those teams are recruiting them there.

[dafuksup]

dan ryder is in jail right now for armed robbery. (serious)

[sugmegpls]

Whats with the dog?

[BARCACROSSESTHEALPS]

I love Cherry, but he's basically the Canadian version of "the ugly American". He can never give credit to any other national team except Canada. But, again, I love the guy! He's just a militaristic Canadian, which we aren't used to seeing in the States. The thing is, Canada is the best at hockey, but the sport is growing everywhere, and someday it'll be like baseball; we used to own it and exported it, now many countries know how fun it is. Canada should be glad more countries appreciate it.

[KRug47]

@BARCACROSSESTHEALPS same with basketball

[AZCprez23]

that guy wears an awful lot of suits with flowers on them.......

[lmaozedong99]

When was the last time canada won anything important? lolol they can't win at the senior level.

[brendonbrendon921]

Most gold at winter Olympics ever, and they won the world championship for mens "senior" hockey. Soooo stfu

[jkrx]

Lol whats cherry on? Russia is world champions and Sweden is reigning Olympic champions... He shouldve said canada is one of the best. ;D

[ejang7711]

More like Hockey Night in Toronto.

[CanadaRocker11]

yeah so, it's filmed in toronto. most of 1/3 of canada's pop. is in southern ontario

[walkoff2]

He's right.

[montag14226]

I'm not necessarily directing those comments at you, jazzguitar. There was another poster that laughed at the thought of arguing hockey with Americans. That's what ruffled my feathers.

[montag14226]

The "average American" doesn't exist. Too vast a country, too many sectional interests, too many people. My problem with Canadians immediately discrediting the "average American" who talks hockey, much less PLAYS hockey, is that you assume this false sense of superiority over ALL Americans. That's the ignorance. Living along the border, I myself have more in common culturally with Canadians than I do Californians. Don't lump as all together and assume that we don't know what we're talking about.

[ldf399]

@montag14226 great point, Just make sure you know that all Canadians aren't ignorant and think all americans know nothing about hockey.

[kingofturdmountain]

@montag14226 the average american is retarded

[montag14226]

Canadians can be very condescending and pretentious when it comes to hockey. And it's all so unnecessary! Again, nobody doubts your dominance in this sport. Don't let Cherry's appeals to disrespect fool you. That junior American team showed nothing but class and deference in all their interviews, a fact the Coach conveniently failed to mention. And please, stop assuming Americans can't have every bit of the same passion and knowledge of hockey than Canadians. It shows your ignorance.

[jazzguitar2010]

Yes, Americans CAN have the same passion and knowledge as Canadians. No disagreement. However, ask the average American about hockey and they'll be clueless. "Who won the Stanley Cup last year?" Ask the average American, and they won't know what the Cup IS. Ask the average Canadian, and probably 75% will know, and 100% will know what the Stanley Cup is. Hockey is water cooler material every morning in most Canadian workplaces. It's not ignorance, it's just that we love hockey.

[FendKrus]

nicklin 30112 you are right numbers equal more players but canada has the system in place theCHL is the provider of most of the NHL do you watch much hockey because canada has only sent our pros 3 times winning gold in the usa ending your run of 2 on your soil...dont ask me how you won gold in 60 we do remember the 80 where russia play down 5 on three for the whole third period i hope it is a CAN vs USA final....

[ciwoe]

Good rant Mr. Cherry!!! Go Canada Go!!!

[jazzguitar2010]

It amazes me how ignorant many Americans are about hockey and the Olympics, etc., They actually think the "50 year drought" at the Olympics is representative of Canadian talent. Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Clark Gilles, Denis Potvin etc., did NOT play at the Olympics in 1980. Internationally, at the pro level, over the past 30 years or so, Canada's won about 70% of full participation PRO tournaments. The rest of the world accounts for the other 30%.

[cwgatti]

Canada is America's hat.

[olias88]

@cwgatti the hat that makes america look good

[forkliftpilot]

why are my fellow Canadians debating hockey with Americans?? i mean really. cmon now , develop your own players south of the border, win more then twice

@ the wjc, win some Olympic golds , get some americans winning the rocket richard trophy.. then we will talk hockey ,until then forget it!!!!!!!

[Nicklin30112]

@forkliftpilot Canada hasnt done anything at the olympics besides 2002. USA has abetter program now. Wanna know why? Sheer numbers we have a bigger population...it was only a matter of time until we passed you

[jazzguitar2010]

NHL players (which includes mostly Canadians) have only been in the Olympics in 3 years (98, 02, 06). Before that, Canadians (aka: NHL players) weren't allowed to compete in the Olympics, and hence the drought. It's the same principle as the juniors this past year. It's called NHL, pro league, and the best of the best make the pro league and have no time to compete in the Olympics or juniors. Yeah, greater population, you should be WAY ahead, but you're WAY behind. It's called Canadian Heart.

[forkliftpilot]

@jazzguitar2010 exactly! forget debating this with the americans they think with there hearts and not there heads, they dont look at the facts or the numbers .we have 5 players in the top ten in points in the NHL u.s has one in the top ten .if the CHL didnt realese our players to the NHL till there 20, there wouldent be a wjc cause we would win every year!

[forkliftpilot]

@Nicklin30112 and the united states hasn't won a olympic gold since 1980!! we have won 7 golds you have won 2, most of our golds have been won without NHL players, in wjc we have 15 gold ,you have a measly 2 gold medals.. so how do you think the u.s has "PASSED" canada"?

[dsjunior1388]

@Nicklin30112 Theres only been one Olympics since then, and the Canadians finished out of the medal too.

[dsjunior1388]

@forkliftpilot 1960 and 1980 we won Olympic Gold against the greatest hockey team in the history of the game.

[forkliftpilot]

@dsjunior1388 no you didnt cause canadas best players were in the NHL and not allowed to compete!!!!

[sfo01]

@forkliftpilot I'm late to the party here, but...we would love to develop our own players in America. But the CHL seems to LOVE them enough to poach them away. so don't give me that Canadian arrogance since your league seems to like our players enough to entice them away anyways. Let them develop where they want. Don't rag on me because I'm an American that BLEEDS hockey year round and actually knows a thing or two. Go ahead... argue with me. I can do this all day.

[achsdu17]

Truth be told I don't hold much hope for the US at the Olympics. We only have one real line that I think can play against Canada and that line would have Stastny at center with Kane on the wing. Ryan Miller is a NHL elite goalie in my opinion and he's going to have to keep us in games against Canada, Russia, Finland and Sweden if we want to medal. Way I see it the Olympics will show the present hockey powers. These world Juniors only show the future and what to expect.

[jazzguitar2010]

The only other country that is close behind Canada in hockey is Russia. They've always been our greatest rival. The rest of the countries experience "bumps" in their success (Cze in late 1990s, early 2000s, Sweden of late, etc.). Canada is consistent throughout. U.S.A? 1996 against Canada in World Cup, 2004 juniors, 2010 juniors. That's about it. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but the U.S. just isn't on our heels because Canada's B team didn't get the lucky bounce in OT. It's just media hype.

[dsjunior1388]

@jazzguitar2010 Sweden?

[jazzguitar2010]

Yes, Sweden's always been in the mix, more so lately with the Olympics. Historically as well Canada and Sweden have had some close ones, but Canada's virtually always had the upper hand. The Swedes have great players though, and are a definite threat in Vancouver.

[tony20sbestfan]

Okay, couple things here, first of all, I respect Don Cherry and his suit collection. Second of all, there are other U.S.-born players that would have been eligible for the tournament, it's not just Canada that faced this, with that said, Canada's quality of players were higher. What this also tells me is that U.S. hockey is reaching new heights and gaining on Canada in general (U17 and Juniors) in the next couple years. For American hockey fans, it's exciting.

[jazzguitar2010]

Unlikely that the U.S. is gaining at all on Canada. For the past 5 years, Canada's swept the U17 and the U20. It's only this year that the U.S. squeaked out golds against them, and as noted, at least for the U20, against Canada's B team. Hardly "new heights" as you suggest. Let's see what happens at the Olympics, that should truly put the U.S. talent on exhibition. If Miller doesn't play stellar, U.S. won't even be noticed. They'll be lucky to be ahead of the Finns. New heights you say?

[crazytalk0]

Canadians should just shut up!

Put your best team on the ice if the this tournament means so much to your nation's honor! Let your hockey play speak for itself. Otherwise you end up sounding like a bunch of louts...or shall I say a bunch of Don Cherrys. Anybody who knows hockey respects the fact that the Canadians are the best in the world! However the world is becoming allot smaller and fast.

[Jpashkovsky]

Ummm...we would put our best team on the ice if we could. But the NHL wont let us take our NHL eligible players who can play in the WHJC

[iLuvBarRefaeli]

@crazytalk0 Even Soviet coaches in the past once said we are skilled we can compete with the Canadians, but we don`t have the heart of the Canadians. This is the reason Canada wil always be the top hockey country in the world, the heart and passion, at the Vancouver olympics, Canada could have iced multiple teams to take home the gold, leaving out guys like Stamkos, Richards, Lecalvalier, Carter, Giroux, Myers, Duchene, Taveres, etc and still having Skinner, Hopkins, Hall,Eberle, et all devop

[jazzguitar2010]

Believe me, Canadians such as Don don't "like" pointing this stuff out. But neither do we like Americans pretending like they're on par with us - they're not, not even close. If Americans would have taken the victory in silence, and pointed out that Canada didn't have even close to their best team, Don wouldn't have sounded off. But, Don's only correcting the misconception that some carry. It's "ugly," but it's true. Having said that, U.S. played well, it's good to see. See you at the Olympics.

[montag14226]

Probably, but what's your point? Americans are not saying we're a better hockey nation than Canada - we're not as dumb as we look. The problem with many Canadian hockey fans is they're too self-righteous to see that everyone, even the Euros, though they tend not to openly admit to it, accept Canada as the gold standard in hockey. So there's really no need to make excuses for getting silver rather than gold once every six years. It's as petty and obnoxious as the "Hockey is Our Game" signs.

[jazzguitar2010]

I hear you, but you sound like someone who knows hockey. Many Americans (and Canadians) aren't aware of the things I mentioned in my post, just like they can't figure out why 50 years past between gold medals in the Olympics. Same reason - Canadian players were too busy in the NHL and couldn't compete in the Olympics. Hockey people know this, but many others are clueless about these things. At the juniors, Canada sends a team to compete, all the while knowing they're usually sending a B team.

[jazzguitar2010]

Do any of you remember what the Canadian team looked like in Grand Forks a few years ago? You know, the one with Crosby and company, that blew away the competition on route to the gold? They were so good because of the lockout the year prior, so Team Canada was STACKED. The same thing would have happened this year had Canada had their 10 or so juniors who are TOO GOOD to play in the juniors, and are already in the NHL. Canada would have SMOKED the Americans in the final. Congrats to the U.S..

[montag14226]

Good point, achsdu. Come to think of it, my alma mater, Miami, has relied on Canadians for years.

The thing is, coach, is that you're bordering on contradiction by lauding the Canadian junior program for its superiority. No doubt it develops talent, but that's but one aspect of the game, right? Make no mistake, these kids are Americans, and for two weeks in Saskatoon, their domestic clubs matter nothing. In the end, 23 Americans were better than the Canadians. Don't take it personally.

[achsdu17]

Quick shout out to Jason Zucker and Matt Donovan. Great job representing the US and the University of Denver!

[achsdu17]

Canada has many fine athletes in the NCAA as well, hell my school The University of Denver has a lot of great Canadian prospects on their team. Patrick Wiercioch & Joe Colborne are the biggest Canadian prospects we have and are highly talked about by the NHL but did Colborne even get a invite... no. Wiercioch had an invite but was dismissed one day in. Plane and simple Canada doesn't respect the US system and that was their downfall this year.

[montag14226]

Nobody's questioning Canada's ability to develop young talent. It's unparalleled, you're right there Coach. International players flock there, and why not? It offers the best opportunity to develop their professional skills. People have been leaving their native land in search of better opportunities for centuries. Chis Columbus comes to mind. I'd venture to guess that the US' developmental program, which you are so quick to discredit, encouraged these players to go to Canada.

[achsdu17]

Plane and simple the US out skated, out hit and out played Canada for the most part of both games. No where did Canada look like the all dominate team we've seen in the past until they played desperate.

Another thing this team wasn't just compiled of US Canadian Junior players alone... half the team plays NCAA college hockey. Canada rejects the NCAA and I'm happy this blend of Junior and College put team Canada away.

[achsdu17]

Ok... I'll say this now. I won't dis Canada, I know they have a freakin great team and probably has the best hockey development in the world at this time. That said Canada put themselves in a two goal deficit twice. Yes they came back both times but they shouldn't of put themselves in that hole in the first place and our goals were not off rebounds or little plays like that. Our goals were off mistakes Canada made and our players just finishing...

Continuing on another post.

[ICEHOCEY77]

SAME SUIT AS NOVEMBER 14th! EQUAL AIR TIME DON PLAY THE USA BOYS SINGING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM LIKE YOU DO FOR THE CANADIAN BOYS!!

[happinessruns2u]

OMG HIS SUIT!!!! hahahah

[korky94]

Don Cherry this is a new low for you. stop crying. stop making excuses. point out the fact that your boys didnt play like a team and didnt want it as much and your goaltender blew..

[lrn2playnub]

LOL U MAD