Paging "hckynut"

On 2/14/2014 sfnative said:

Hello John,

I've been following the Olympic ice hockey games and am wondering what your opinion is regarding the two teams representing the USA. Realizing it's quite possible that your interest is relative to NHL or local teams only, would appreciate your take, if you have one.

Having grown up in California, I had no exposure to ice hockey, but did play field hockey in college (am 66), so have an appreciate for athleticism, speed, the importance of everyone playing on the same page, having the best grounding possible in the basics before proceeding to next level, etc.

Am appreciating the team play, smarts and speed I'm seeing out of our men and women.

Would appreciate your eval of our folks.

Thank you!

Hi to you sfnative,

I spent most of my day at the hospital, for myself this time not my wife. Not exactly the way I figured on spending Valentine's Day, which also happens to be our wedding anniversary. This is now the 15th so no longer "Our Day". It's late and I will start with asking you a question.

Not exactly sure what you want in an evaluation of the Woman's and Men's USA Hockey Teams. Do you want a breakdown of individual talent/specific team play, like Penalty Kill and Power Play/Goalie stats, and I think you get the point.

No team can win on purely how talented each individual on the team might bring with them. I know you have heard the words "team chemistry" said time after time when it comes to winning the BIG GAME in most any team sport.

Will come back tomorrow(or I guess it is today)and type more when I am feeling better. If you see this part you might add some specific questions I can maybe answer for you. I will say I have only seen the Woman play 1 game and only part of 1 game played by the Men's Team. Been spending lot's of hours at the hospital this week for both my wife and myself. Spent over 7 hours there Tuesday and almost 9 hours there today. Just glad to be home.

Glad to see your interest in our USA Hockey Teams. All one old enough need do is look back on the 1980 Miracle on Ice and it is quite obvious how much our country needed something good to happen, and in this case it was a Gold Medal. With the Cold War/Iran holding hostages/Gas lines miles long, and I could mention many more. This was a shot in the arm our Country needed then and I think what is happening in our country now an around the world? It wouldn't hurt for all sides in our political debates to be on the same side when it comes to hoping for our teams to bring home a Medal, preferably Gold.

Hi John and Cindy, just came to Wellness to check on you two. I'm sorry you were in hospital. Hope you both feel better soon. Buttercups

On 2/15/2014 hckynut said:

On 2/14/2014 sfnative said:

Hello John,

I've been following the Olympic ice hockey games and am wondering what your opinion is regarding the two teams representing the USA. Realizing it's quite possible that your interest is relative to NHL or local teams only, would appreciate your take, if you have one.

Having grown up in California, I had no exposure to ice hockey, but did play field hockey in college (am 66), so have an appreciate for athleticism, speed, the importance of everyone playing on the same page, having the best grounding possible in the basics before proceeding to next level, etc.

Am appreciating the team play, smarts and speed I'm seeing out of our men and women.

Would appreciate your eval of our folks.

Thank you!

Hi to you sfnative,

I spent most of my day at the hospital, for myself this time not my wife. Not exactly the way I figured on spending Valentine's Day, which also happens to be our wedding anniversary. This is now the 15th so no longer "Our Day". It's late and I will start with asking you a question.

Not exactly sure what you want in an evaluation of the Woman's and Men's USA Hockey Teams. Do you want a breakdown of individual talent/specific team play, like Penalty Kill and Power Play/Goalie stats, and I think you get the point.

No team can win on purely how talented each individual on the team might bring with them. I know you have heard the words "team chemistry" said time after time when it comes to winning the BIG GAME in most any team sport.

Will come back tomorrow(or I guess it is today)and type more when I am feeling better. If you see this part you might add some specific questions I can maybe answer for you. I will say I have only seen the Woman play 1 game and only part of 1 game played by the Men's Team. Been spending lot's of hours at the hospital this week for both my wife and myself. Spent over 7 hours there Tuesday and almost 9 hours there today. Just glad to be home.

Glad to see your interest in our USA Hockey Teams. All one old enough need do is look back on the 1980 Miracle on Ice and it is quite obvious how much our country needed something good to happen, and in this case it was a Gold Medal. With the Cold War/Iran holding hostages/Gas lines miles long, and I could mention many more. This was a shot in the arm our Country needed then and I think what is happening in our country now an around the world? It wouldn't hurt for all sides in our political debates to be on the same side when it comes to hoping for our teams to bring home a Medal, preferably Gold.

Good Morning, John:

So sorry to hear that this week has been a challenge for you and Cindy, such that your anniversay probably wasn't what you had in mind. But, hey, love conquers all, right? The best to you both in the coming year.

Decided to check in during the break after the first period and found your response. (DH and I got up at 4 this morning so we could watch the match live.) Re the 1980 game, I recall the game as if it occurred yesterday and agree with your closing sentences above.

Apologies if my query was not clear. I'm impressed with goalie Quick compared with past Olympic goalies, as well as the team play I've seen thus far, especially on the part of the men, as they've simply been thrown together for this one-off experience in the Olympics. However, I was wondering if Team USA, generally speaking, has the talent to take it all the way to gold. I know there are many specific points that you could address, but I don't feel qualified to ask the right questions. Hope you understand.

(Having said the above about Quick, Russia just made a goal...)

Thank you, John, for anything you might have to offer.

Rebecca

On 2/15/2014 sfnative said:

Good Morning, John:

So sorry to hear that this week has been a challenge for you and Cindy, such that your anniversay probably wasn't what you had in mind. But, hey, love conquers all, right? The best to you both in the coming year.

Decided to check in during the break after the first period and found your response. (DH and I got up at 4 this morning so we could watch the match live.) Re the 1980 game, I recall the game as if it occurred yesterday and agree with your closing sentences above.

Apologies if my query was not clear. I'm impressed with goalie Quick compared with past Olympic goalies, as well as the team play I've seen thus far, especially on the part of the men, as they've simply been thrown together for this one-off experience in the Olympics. However, I was wondering if Team USA, generally speaking, has the talent to take it all the way to gold. I know there are many specific points that you could address, but I don't feel qualified to ask the right questions. Hope you understand.

(Having said the above about Quick, Russia just made a goal...)

Thank you, John, for anything you might have to offer.

Rebecca

Hi Rebecca,

As far as goalies, Quick is one of the best born in the USA goalies is years now. There are several of them spread out in the NHL and when these goalies are "on", they are "on". About the only way for an opponent to score goals is to have one or more of their players "screening the view of the goalie". That is why when a team has a penalty the team with the extra player generally has a pretty big Forward Player standing in front of the goalie and moving to try to block his view.

Many times the one blocking his view also can tip in a shot coming from further out, thus changing direction and the goalie does not have a chance to react. Most NHL goalies can stop most pucks they can see, unless they are tipped close to them, and thus change directions in a split second.

Overall I think the USA Mens Team has as much talent as any of the top teams like Canada and probably Russia. The Defense Men on the USA team are much younger than on most of the other teams, but they have some very good ones. One of them plays for my New York Rangers and is wearing jersey #27. He is among the top in D-men in the NHL in my opinion.

The also have a lot of speed in the Forwards and that, at times, can make a huge difference. The D-men on the opposing team have to respect the speed of these players and especially so when playing on this Olympic Size Ice Surface(which is 15' wider than the NHL ice rinks). Gives speedy forwards much more room to use their speed to try to get around them.

I think the USA Mens Team has as good chance at winning the Gold, but many games are decided by just 1 mistake by a almost any player on the ice. Hockey is not a game of thinking it is a game of reaction. The top players play by instinct and have to be able to see a lot of the ice and be able to react to certain situations in a split second. Once again any player at this level that has to take time to think? By then their chance has come and gone.

Watched them play Russia this morning and it was a great game of hockey. Don't know if you might have recorded it so I won't say anything about the results. Hockey is a great game and the USA has finally gotten close to producing many top players that were born and played most of their youth hockey in the United States, and it was not like that a decades ago, not even for the 1980 Gold Medal winning team.

My best to you and enjoy the games,

John,

Thank you very much for the most valuable exposity piece you provided above. It would seem that your next to the last paragraph says a lot about the sport and helps me understand it ever better. As I was also involved in a sport that was "reactionary," I can really relate (fencing- fast, quick - you blink, you lose).

Am particulary enjoying paying attention to defense, which I haven't previously done, and am attempting to gather up an understanding of how our defense performs/works. As viewers, it's very easy to give all of the credit to the offense and forget about the fine work of the defense, as the eye tends to follow the puck.

Thank you, again, John. Am watching a re-play of this morning's USA 5-1 win, so will get back to that and wish you and Cindy well.

Rebecca