Olympic Hockey The Day After….

Neither Canada or the US are in the medals for hockey at the Olympics. Am I disappointed, of course, am I angry, No. I am not angry. I understand that more than ever their is parity within the world ranks and some of the European teams are full of talent and I can say some of the teams, Russia and Sweden are more talented than both the Canadians and Americans. You may disagree and as fans that is our right but in the end we were beaten by better teams.

So what happened, well the coaching was non-existent almost like they thought they had it in the bag. The player selections were made two years ago and it was like it was the old boys club, if you did not know the secret handshake you did not get into the clubhouse. With the next Olympics in Canada it will be a different team possibly from the managment on down. The main difference is the players need to be playing effectively in the NHL before you are assured of a ticket to the games. Yes you need some experience but if that means leaving off players because they “lack experience” in international hockey then the players that are on the team had better be performing at a higher level.

It is easy for everyone to criticize the player selections, the coaching selections and the management team when we are comfortable sitting on our couches at home. It is a minefield to be part of the process as Wayne has said from the start it was his team and he would be responsible if things went awry. Well he has stepped up and accepted the responsibility and will decide if wants to try it again in 4 years. My question is a simple one who else do we have and will they do a better job. It is all a throw of the dice. Remember Bobby Clarkeand his regime and the “stellar coaching” of Mark Crawford (left the greatest player on the bench during the shootout! Bonehead!)

Changes are necessary what they are I am not sure, I know we all have ideas good or bad. In the end it will be determined by whomever wants to step into this political quagmire and make the hard decisions that the fans will tear apart no matter what happens.