Jason Lewis: Why You Should Be Okay with Jake Muzzin Making Team Canada

And his cap hit is...lovely.

Nice write-up on an outstanding player.

The U.S. roster looks good, but I don't see them going far. at least they didn't try to slot Brown in there

Great blog Jason, love the detailed analysis mixed with stats and vids.

Those stretch passes!

More important question however is why we should be okay with Carter making the team?

It would interesting if there was a regression for the type of system a player plays in.

In other words how would Muzzin's #s change if he were on a different team. A large bias in these statistics (especially when considering a World Cup roster) is how much their current situation favors their style and how well they would perform in various other systems. The stats might not tell you anything about a players versatility to adapting to different coaching/usage schemes which could be a very important factor in a tournament like the World Cup.

I'm OK with him making Team Canada. I'm cheering for Team USA, though, which is going to need all of the help that it can get. I'd be pretty upset if I were Canadian, especially if they don't win gold.

Some of what was said is true. Muzzin is good at transition. The same "confidence" that brings out the best in him also brings out the worst, though. He has the foolish confidence to make pinches, hits, rushes and challenges that are just plain ill-advised and result in high quality chances against. Looking past the impressive stats to some of the uglier ones, you can see this, such as how he's been the worst defenseman on his team these last few years in 5-on-5 save percentage (i.e. his goalies play their worst when he's on the ice, which points toward chance quality). He's a player who makes skillful plays, but not smart decisions. Team Canada supporters can expect to see a lot of Muzzin joining the rush and making offensive plays, but getting caught/beaten and then being late getting back to help out the partner or forward that had to cover for him.

Muzzin's game is all about offense and outscoring his mistakes. In that way, he could fit a high-powered Team Canada that has more than enough firepower (and goaltending) to stand mistakes here and there. Still, Team Canada could've had similar and better players in the Norris-caliber Subban and Letang. I believe that I know why they didn't go in either of those directions, though.

It's not because Muzzin is among the "best of the best" and equally as talented as Subban or Letang. He was selected because of his chemistry with Doughty. Canada must be thinking about going with pairs of Burns-Vlasic and Doughty-Muzzin and hoping that the chemistry between those players is an advantage in a short tournament. It's similar to why Team USA left off Kessel. If this were really "best of the best," Kessel would've made the team, but Lombardi believes that a bunch of hard workers (i.e. Callahan types) will gel more quickly. Team Canada must similarly believe that already-built chemistry will help them. If I were Canadian, I might take some comfort in that... just like how I take some comfort that Lombardi knows what he's doing with Team USA, but I would still feel more comfortable with Kessel over, say, Abdelkader, so Canadians have every right to be similarly concerned.

One of the silver linings this team has.. Muzz has come a long way from being a fringe NHL player, to easily one of our top defensemen. What i've always wondered though, when we lost Voynov, and people were saying we needed another top 2 defensemen, why wasn't jake able to take that spot? Am I over valuing him? I thought he would take that role and run with it.

It's not because Muzzin is among the "best of the best" and equally as talented as Subban or Letang. He was selected because of his chemistry with Doughty. Canada must be thinking about going with pairs of Burns-Vlasic and Doughty-Muzzin and hoping that the chemistry between those players is an advantage in a short tournament. It's similar to why Team USA left off Kessel. If this were really "best of the best," Kessel would've made the team, but Lombardi believes that a bunch of hard workers (i.e. Callahan types) will gel more quickly. Team Canada must similarly believe that already-built chemistry will help them. If I were Canadian, I might take some comfort in that... just like how I take some comfort that Lombardi knows what he's doing with Team USA, but I would still feel more comfortable with Kessel over, say, Abdelkader, so Canadians have every right to be similarly concerned.
- Osprey

i agree with your theory, but i also think DL chose team USA based on who he already made his bed with, and that's Torts as coach. kessel isn't his type of player at all, so makes sense he gets snubbed. haven't nearly all of the skilled american players all played together at various points in USNDTP and int'l tourneys? its not like they dont know each other already.

the fact that abdelkader, callahan and dubinsky are on the team...ugh. that's like canada chosing three rob zamuners...

given the playoff run, i would assume bishop gets dibs in net, but i'd love to see what schneider can do as well. quick is still a guy i'd start in a critical game, but all three have reason to deserve the nod.

i agree with your theory, but i also think DL chose team USA based on who he already made his bed with, and that's Torts as coach. kessel isn't his type of player at all, so makes sense he gets snubbed.
- hiway39

I agree, but he's also the one who selected Tortorella in the first place, and must've done so because he's compatible with the types of players that Lombardi was leaning towards. If Kessel isn't "Torts compatible," then Lombardi was probably leaning away from including him before he even made the coaching hire. His performance in these playoffs probably made him second-guess himself, so you're probably right that he eventually stood by his decision because he'd already made his bed with Tortorella. My point is simply that Kessel was likely virtually snubbed by Lombardi before Torts was even hired, more so than snubbed just recently because of Torts.

I agree, but he's also the one who selected Tortorella in the first place, and must've done so because he's compatible with the types of players that Lombardi was leaning towards. If Kessel isn't "Torts compatible," then Lombardi was probably leaning away from including him before he even made the coaching hire. His performance in these playoffs probably made him second-guess himself, so you're probably right that he eventually stood by his decision because he'd already made his bed with Tortorella. My point is simply that Kessel was likely virtually snubbed by Lombardi before Torts was even hired, more so than snubbed just recently because of Torts.
- Osprey

i do recall that part of the challenge was finding a coach who wasn't coaching at the time of the selection, which may have limited the pool. but i certainly don't disagree with you that some players likely had no shot at the team in lombardi's eye, while others were automatic.

RIP


MUHAMMAD


ALI

Mucin deserves to be there but the fact that Brodie did not make the team is a joke. I'm glad he didn't make it though. I don't want any Flames players risking injury in a pointless tournament.