Phil Kessel reminded the hockey world how much they’ve been missing him as of late. The Pittsburgh Penguins sniper was left off Team USA’s roster at the World Cup of Hockey, a questionable decision at best considering he led the team in scoring at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Kessel absolutely roasted the American team, perhaps more specifically the brain trust, towards the end of the 4-2 loss to Team Canada in a near-perfect tweet.
Just sitting around the house tonight w my dog. Felt like I should be doing something important, but couldn't put my finger on it.
— Phil Kessel (@PKessel81) September 21, 2016
It was hilarious, but also hilariously telling: Kessel was not on the ice for the Americans and they suffered, only able to muster two goals through two games at the World Cup on Hockey. With Tuesday night’s loss to Team Canada the Americans were eliminated from the tournament.
And that’s a good thing. The team’s lack of scoring has been evident, and not adding players like Kessel and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson to their line-up only highlighted how stuck in the past USA hockey at the best-on-best level is.
Skill and speed, not size and grit, has become the core of successful teams at the NHL level. How then could the American brain trust overlook the fact that this is only amplified in shorter tournament play? Now they cannot, and the internal hand-wringing will begin.
But sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can pick yourself back up. Let this woeful showing at the World Cup of Hockey be the inspiration the team needs to tear apart their methodology and become more in-tune with the style of game being played by the world’s best.
Sure, the team can state that they were built to beat Canada. But meanwhile, their scheming resulted in rolling out the lumbering Justin Abdelkader with Patrick Kane, one of the Americans’ few high-end threats. Abdelkader is a player whose even-strength points production on average through 60 minutes in the NHL last season put him with the likes of Brian Gionta, Troy Brouwer and super-pest Ryan Kesler.
And while we’re on the subject: let Canada’s calm, cool dismantling of the Americans last night serve as notice to those who believe that agitators should take the place of skilled players in a tournament. Kesler did his best to physically intimidate Canada Captain Sidney Crosby, to absolutely no avail. Even when Abdelkader took a run at Canadian goalie Carey Price, Price calmed the Canadian players that rushed to his defense. Why retaliate when the Americans were going to be given a penalty anyway? Agitation may work with those who can fall victim to it on weaker NHL rosters, but the best players in the world are often the best at keeping their cool as well.
But all hope is not lost here: Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Auston Matthews and Dylan Larkin all represent the kind of high-end skill that Team USA desperately needed throughout their first two games. They’re currently playing for the Under-23 North American team and depending on when and what format the next tournament takes, could be available for Team USA selection. Matthews, yet to even play his first NHL game, is the kind of crown jewel that is needed on a line with a Kane: in Monday’s 4-3 barnburner of a loss to Team Russia, Matthews logged 20:57 of ice time, second only in forwards to wonderkid Connor McDavid.
And that’s what’s needed for Team USA moving forward: taking more chances on players with skill instead of proven veterans who’ve been able to maintain the grind of an 82-game NHL regular season. In tournament play, that kind of mojo and experience only goes so far. Often, one quick loss can throw a team off course very quickly, as could be argued was the case with this team. The loss to Team Europe was surprising and despite the early goal against Canada, breaking Carey Price’s incredible 229-minute international shutout streak, Team USA could not maintain momentum. By the end of the second period, once Canada’s depth became evident and they started toying with the Americans, the looks on the bench were of morbid defeat.
Joe Pavelski is a fine NHL captain and one of the most consistent scorers in the league but matching him on a line with James Van Riemsdyk, himself a fine but not high-end scoring threat, isn’t going to produce the goals needed to win tournament games. Team USA Coach John Tortorella said some were “overthinking” his constant changing of his lines before the Canada game, but perhaps extended thought before the tournament on his tactics might have helped. Why he continued to split up Pavelski, Kane and Max Pacioretty, three of the team’s few legitimate scorers, and surround them with middle-of-the-road talent was perplexing.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with having a team identity and adhering to it, as Tortorella did by moving Abdelkader up the lineup. Tortorella said that Abdelkader played the “style of game” that the US wanted, but therein lies the problem: sticking to your team identity will only drive you deeper into the ground if your identity is a dated one.
