Team USA’s collapse at the World Cup of Hockey has already been widely scrutinized. Given the poor roster selections, confusing strategy and perhaps dumbfounding quotes to the media, it was really no surprise Team USA exited early. As the team rallied behind the idea of grit over skill, they were embarrassed in memorable fashion.
John Tortorella, the man behind the bench of this ugly showing, has finally admitted that Team USA didn’t have enough skill. He explains that the team went with a mix of grit and skill because they couldn’t stand up to Team Canada and their depth. Unfortunately, Torts also blames the intangibles (momentum) for his team’s demise and supports the overall makeup of the roster.
His lengthy statement can be seen below:
Tortorella on why Team USA didn't just select most skilled team possible but rather go with mix of skill and grit: pic.twitter.com/cr0Qh2LYlF
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 22, 2016
There’s several interesting comments from Torts there.
While he is honest that Team USA isn’t as skilled as Team Canada – a fact everyone knows – he made some comments which remain troubling. Blaming momentum, and the fact Team USA couldn’t secure it, is an outdated ideology. The same can be said for grit. Skill and talent wins games while grit remains a fun way to place all of your hopes in the intangible side of the game which can’t be measured.
Need proof that skill wins out and assembling a squad around grit and momentum doesn’t work? Team USA failing to win a single game at the World Cup of Hockey should be all the proof needed.
Torts points out that skill is on the way in the lower ranks and he would have loved to have them on his squad. What about the skill which was left at home? What about the skill that wasn’t even selected for the tournament in favor of players who fall into the grinder category rather than the talented category?
It’s also worth noting that Team USA apparently built their roster purely around the idea of facing Team Canada. There’s the obvious rivalry, but the fact the U.S. roster failed to record a single win in the tournament should prove that the roster assembled not only couldn’t beat Canada, but couldn’t beat anyone.
Team USA isn’t as skilled as Team Canada. There’s no denying that fact. But, you’d expect Team USA to throw its most talented foot forward regardless of the situation. Hopefully the costly failures of the tournament will change the team’s strategies in the future.
