Home Leafs News Thursday Mashup: Bernier on IR, Babcock Named Team Canada Coach + more

Thursday Mashup: Bernier on IR, Babcock Named Team Canada Coach + more

Nov 5, 2015

Mike Babcock an easy pick, but roster very much in flux: What Canada’s World Cup of Hockey team might look like (NP)
While Babcock was almost everyone’s pick to once again lead Canada, the rest of the roster is very much in flux. Sure, Sidney Crosby will likely once again return as captain and Carey Price will be the starting goaltender, but it is not as simple as sending the same team that won in Sochi.

Canadian coaching staff brings winning pedigree (TSN)
At the helm is Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock. In his first year with the Leafs and 13th in the NHL, Babcock is the only coach in history to have led his team to a Stanley Cup (2009 with the Detroit Red Wings), an Olympic gold (2010 in Vancouver and 2014 in Sochi) and a world championship (2004 in the Czech Republic). The 52 year-old native of Manitouwadge, Ontario also coached Canada to a gold medal at the 1997 World Junior Hockey Championships.

Matthew Tkachuk a spitting image of his father (Sportsnet)
Matthew Tkachuk, a six-foot-one, 195-pound forward, joined the Knights for his draft season and is shaping up an intimidating power forward much like his father. “You see (Keith’s) stature, he could score goals, played hard and again, a lot like Matthew,” Hunter said. “He finds good areas to score and he plays hard, and he’s hard to play against. (Keith) was very hard to play against, he’s a lot like his son, they’re sort of a spitting image.”

Joffrey Lupul Has Been Solid for Maple Leafs (Today’s Slapshot)leafs/joffrey-lupul-has-been-solid-for-maple-leafs/”>
Who knows if this type of regimen will really help Lupul avoid injuries. The feeling that it will get him more in shape so far has been 100% correct. This is a winger who looks like he is in the best shape of his life. However, the whispers will always be there.

Maple Leafs’ Bernier to miss at least two more games (Sportsnet)leafs-place-jonathan-bernier-on-injured-reserve/”>
“I’ve got to be better. Every time you give up four goals, obviously it’s not a good game,” Bernier said after Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was in that game that the goalie “got bumped,” according to Babcock.

Garret Sparks picks up shutout in 5-0 Marlies Win (TLN)marlies-win”>
The great thing about numbers is that, in the long run, they’re typically less deceiving than your eyes. After all, they don’t measure how you get it done; they measure if you do it, which is the primary object of the game. With that said, numbers can be just as useless, if not more useless than the “eye test” at the start of a season; the samples are often much too small to gain any real insight from.