So as Team Canada was clawing it's way back from a 6-1 deficit for their one chance to play for gold, of which Brendan Gallagher's giant heart played a key role in, Montreal's ye olde radio host tweeted "No question Gallagher is special. But just another reason why Habs must get bigger & tougher."
So the goal and two assists and the constant drive by the smallest man on the ice wasn't enough eh? The little guy who took a hard hit that sent him face first into the glass but he continued on without even a stagger in his step while bigger players around him were dropping like flies... I'm pretty sure we all loved Oleksiak's 6'7" invisibility act this whole tourney. Or Huberdeau's terrible rage misconduct. Or Boone Jenner loosing his mind and spearing the guy who just elbowed him. Or Stone, who found the sweet spot to score almost every game, was completely shut down. Those are the big tough guys, right?
Gallagher never quits. And if you attempt to stop him, you'll be taking a penalty hauling him down. Or he'll just go right through you. Pretty sure he would have gotten another Player of the Game belt if he didn't get the one last game.
Sadly it wasn't meant to be, as the comeback came up short by a goal post and a terrible night for projected high pick Ryan Murray (who scored a hat trick plus an assist for the wrong team by accident). But the littlest engine that could didn't give up. Heartbreaking to see him after the game, trying desperately to hold back the tears, his eyes red, attempting to speak with a lump in his throat, desperately hiding his disappointment behind his great smile.
It was a great game in the end. Russian skill prevailed (and it was beautiful), but the grit and determination from the smallest player gets taken away and spun around to comment on the need for BIG TOUGH ROAR! when the big guys were doing little to support the little guys for most of the game...
(These are the same people who bitch about the Habs not drafting a little guy named Claude Giroux while poopooing Yakupov as a potential pick...even though they're the same height. Pretty sure if Habs got Giroux at the time, you would have heard "another fucking smurf"...which is what happened when Gallagher was selected. In the 5th round).
Besides, there's a guy named Jarred Tinordi who would like to have a word with you about big and tough Habs prospects...
So the gold medal game will go down between Sweden and Russia (which I kind of predicted, though was hoping Canada would surprise), leaving Canada to fight for bronze against Finland (who were on the verge of surprising Sweden when lady luck turned around and kicked them real hard in the face). Both should be fantastic, unless Sweden does their super-efficient mechanically perfect shutdown thing and bore us all to death.
5 comments:
I agree with both sides of this debate...if I can do that.
Gallagher has a non-stop motor and the kid is truly gifted with heart and skill. The Canadiens will be lucky to have him. He won't be so easily stopped and there's always room on a team for somebody that can play bigger than their size.
That said, he's playing against teens. The NHL is full of men, many of whom play to hurt. As special as Gallagher is, it wouldn't hurt to insulate him up front with some guys that will make space for him and "protect" him, so to speak.
If Gallagher was a Hab today, the scoring forwards would consist of Gionta, Cammalleri, Plekanec, Gallagher and Gomez (if you still count him as a part of that group). That's just too little any way you slice it. Heart and determination can take you a long way, but at some point physics take over. The reach and stride of a 5'8" man will eventually be trumped by that of a 6'2" man.
As somebody who would be among "the little guys" if I were an NHL player, I always, always root for the undersized, but they need help out there, lest they be worn down to a stump before spring time.
@31 how about a brief review of the other Montreal prospects from the tourney, and some thoughts on who to draft if we win the lottery?
Watching the replay today I'm struck by how undisciplined, selfish, and flat-out stupid the Canadian team acted. Maybe the refs were calling it tight, but they should have caught onto that by the time they got their umpteenth dumb penalty.
Great recap read.
@Steve
Maybe later :)
@Kyle
Of course, being insulated is good. Tho it's not like they don't have fairly big guys either. (And I hope and pray for a Grigorenko as much as I hope Avtsin can become an NHL). I'm just hoping the big guys do their part to help and not float around while the little guys are killing themselves for the team. (Which, after watching Saku for so long, is what happens. A lot).
@93
Yes, their penalties were horrible. Not sure anyone explained to them how international hockey works...
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