Cult of Hockey
Revealed Dec 04, 2024 • Final up to date 0 minutes in the past • 4 minute learn
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Connor McDavid (97) of the Edmonton Oilers, scores on goalie Sam Montembeault of the Montréal Canadiens at Rogers Place in Edmonton on March 19, 2024. Photograph by Shaughn Butts /Postmedia
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The place did all the good French Canadian hockey stars go?
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When the ultimate roster for Group Canada got here out, there have been quite a few surprises and controversial omissions, however one which stood out was Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault getting picked over different contenders with considerably larger save percentages this yr, corresponding to Cam Talbot, Logan Thompson and Mackenzie Blackwood.
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NHL insider John Shannon stated on Oilers Now that he suspects politics performed a task in Montembeault’s choice, and never the standard hockey politics, however the good, old school regional politics, a staple of the Canadian political panorama.
Talking to Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now about Montembeault’s choice, Shannon famous the political nature of Hockey Canada, a federal group.
“It doesn’t get mentioned very much, this is Hockey Canada,” Shannon stated. “And I know it’s not a topic that gets brought up a lot in the province of Alberta, but if you look at the ratio of French-Canadian players to Anglos on the Canadian team, I don’t think they had any choice but to pick Samuel Montembeault for this roster.”
Montembeault, 28, is the one Quebec participant on the roster of 13 forwards, seven defenceman and three goalies.
Stauffer requested Shannon if this was {a partially} political resolution.
“I think everything with Hockey Canada is partly political,” Shannon stated. “That’s not a knock at Sam Montembeault. He’s a good goaltender. But the reality is that I’m looking down this list and I’m looking at how many kids from Ontario, how many kids from the Maritimes, how many kids from the West. And really I only see one player from the province of Quebec.”
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My take
1. Few no extra concerning the politics and enterprise of hockey than Shannon, a long-time producer at Hockey Evening in Canada and league insider.
It hadn’t occurred to me that Montembeault had been picked for the staff attributable to his start place and the necessity to have a Quebec participant on the staff, but when Shannon says so, I put nice weight in that evaluation.
2. I word that 4 of the seven video games of the 4 Nations Face-off event are to be performed in Montreal, so having not less than one Montreal participant on Group Canada may additionally have been a consideration.
3. Montembeault’s choice doesn’t essentially align with giving Group Canada it’s finest shot at successful.The highest Canadian goalie within the NHL thus far this yr is Detroit’s Cam Talbot, 37, of Caledonia, Ontario, who has a .915 save share in 15 video games.
Subsequent finest is Washington’s Logan Thompson, 27, of Calgary, Alberta, who’s 13 video games has a .913 save share.
San Jose’s Mackenzie Blackwood, 27, of Thunder Bay, Ontario has a .909 save share in 17 video games.
As for Montembeault, 28, of Becancour, Quebec, he’s bought a .901 save share in 19 video games.
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The 2 different Group Canada goalies Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill have .899 and .900 save percentages respectively however each have received Stanley Cups, making them confirmed massive recreation performers.
4. Few would quarrel with the choice of Binnington or Hill, on condition that massive recreation pedigree, however why wouldn’t Group Canada additionally place a guess on the most well liked hand, both Talbot or Thompson? This isn’t an enormous matter, given Canada will play at most 4 video games, and just one or two goalies is more likely to see any motion, however on advantage Thompson or Talbot ought to be within the operating for the large job. They earned it.
However in Canada, incomes it usually doesn’t have something to do with getting it.
5. What’s gone unsuitable with hockey in Quebec? There was once little bother discovering French Canadian gamers for Group Canada, given the riches in hockey expertise out of that province.
Group Canada has been fortunate to have Quebec gamers corresponding to Serge Savard, Yvan Cournoyer, Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Man Lafleur, Gilbert Perreault, Denis Potvin, Michel Goulet, Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque, Claude Lemieux, Patrice Bergeron, Marc-Andre Fleury, Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Martin St. Louis and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
So many nice gamers with so many nice performances for Group Canada, all of them binding Canadians collectively in shared glory.
There are a quite a few strong Quebecois gamers within the NHL, together with Alexis Lafreniere, David Perron, Jonathan Marchessault, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Huberdeau, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kris Letang, Thomas Chabot, and Sam Girard, however not one celebrity, and never one who simply now cracked the ahead and d-man Group Canada roster.
Danault is a wonderful two-way participant, and few would have quibbled if he would have been picked, however the lack of the very best finish expertise out of Quebec is notable.
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So did they choose Group Canada or Group November? How about choosing guys with a historical past of manufacturing within the massive video games?
Playoff scoring leaders for d-men, final 2 seasons. 5 guys of all nationalities with 20+ factors.
#1 Evan Bouchard had 21 *extra* factors than #2 Miro Heiskanen. pic.twitter.com/KrClSRFkvF
— Bruce McCurdy (@BruceMcCurdy) December 5, 2024
On the Cult of Hockey
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Photograph radar on 16 Avenue and 10 Road N.W. in Calgary. Photograph taken on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
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