This preview is dedicated to all the friends and readers that have asked me to post since my hiatus. I really appreciate the feedback, and wish I had more time to write.
Nation,
The nation's best players are coming to Ottawa this week for the
Canadian Ultimate Championships.
Yes, the best players. This is a worlds qualifying year, and although the
location for worlds is earthquake and radiation contaminated Japan, everyone seems very eager to be the team to represent Canada in their respective division.
In order to preview, I think it is important to focus on the following things
- Past worlds qualifying results this decade
- Past results this year
- Team rosters (that we know of)
As you know, I always try to "go positive", and I certainly try to avoid cliches and conventional wisdom when possible.
Open Division- 2011 Preview
It's going to be an exciting year. It's probably the deepest field of teams we have seen at nationals.
If you expect a new team to emerge and upset either GOAT and Furious in the finals, you might be disappointed. Many of the teams that could have pulled off this trick have been hurt by key losses, Phoenix has lost many players to GOAT or coed squad Trainwreck. Mephisto has been devastated by the loss of key players to coed squad ODYSSEY. General Strike might challenge, but the loss of Mark Lloyd to GOAT smarts.
It looks like a two horse race. I will personally enjoy watching how it enfolds.
The schedule is
posted here. Team Profiles are below.
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Pool A
GOAT (Toronto)
Fresh off a No Borders title, and a win over Furious at Colorado, hopes are very high for the team. Expect them to be in the finals.
Most impressive at No Borders 2011? 19 year old Tim Tsang. The pulls, the confidence with the disc, attention to coaching he was given, and his Swagger really stood out in the finals.
The Ghosts (Calgary)
Let's be honest, we don't know much about this team, or the status of ultimate in Calgary.
I think we would all love Calgary to become a more stable ultimate market with open, women's, and coed squads that make it to nationals annually.
Feed The Geese (Toronto)
A squad of solid former GOAT and Grand Trunk players. The talent is there to beat almost any team in this tournament.
Can this team hold up over three days versus teams that have practiced much longer than they have?
Their match up against The Ghosts will be the key tilt of day one in the entire division.
Newfoundland Liberation Army (St John's)
These guys are awesome, and I hope this will be an excellent experience that they can take back to Newfoundland and the rest of their leagues.
They are going to be hard pressed in such a great field of teams, but are the frontrunners to legitimately win the spirit prize
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Pool B Furious George (Vancouver)
We know they will be great. The old stalwarts are gone to Masters, so the new players will get the opportunity and task to bring home the Worlds bid.
Maverick (Kitchener/Waterloo)
I like this team. I like Andrew Higgins overall play and leadership, I like the speed of Shaw Dungate, and I like the overall team talent level.
Semis? Maybe.
Q (Quebec City)
Another team I have always liked. They would be a lot stronger if their local coed team wasn't so strong (featuring lots of former Q guys).
You better understand how to play against this team on defence, because they run the handler cuts as well as anyone.
NADS
I often wonder where North Bay ultimate will be in 5 years. For many years it has been an overachieving city, developing great teams and great players (some playing for GOAT and Furious this year)
A good friend once used the phrase "good at ultimate" to describe teams like NADS. They don't practice 3 times a week, train all year round, or attend tournaments. However, they can roll out of bed and beat the very teams that do work so hard. Experience and athleticism will again serve them well, but it will be much tougher than in years past.
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Pool C
Phoenix (Ottawa)
This team lost in the semis at CUC 2010 by one single point to Mephisto. The lost the 2009 CUC final by one point to Mephisto.
The team has lost several key players in 2011 (The Alexanader family, Kielan Way, Reynaldo Arteaga, Dave Janssen, Simon Teather, Colin Green, etc).
However, the team continues to be a strong threat for a semis berth at CUC. There is still a core of experience talent and a large group of emerging players. One player to watch is Nick Boucher, still juniors aged but playing Phoenix after dominating at World Juniors last year.
Blackfish (Vancouver)
I understand that this team has lost a lot of players to graduation (Furious), but this team really is the perfect example of why people can't judge a "B Team".
This team will be tough, benefiting from their regional competition and local talent pipelines. It will be interesting to see how they match up with both Phoenix and Grand Trunk.
Grand Trunk (Toronto)
Very strong in 2010, Grand Trunk hopes to repeat its success in 2011.
Losing many players to Feed The Geese, Grand Trunk has retooled with new players, and will feature sibling giants Kevin and Ben Horgan. Kevin, of UWO and Team Canada U-23 fame, will be tough to match up with. You can't teach tall!
Too Bad (Toronto)
Every nationals, it seems like the pick up format of Too Bad gets harder and harder to qualify for nationals and be a top 8 factor.
Squeaking in to nationals with NADS, Too Bad will have many solid veterans, and at the very least will be a factor in the consolation bracket.
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Pool D
General Strike (Winnipeg)
The team that impressed Furious George's Andrew Lugsdin the most in CUC 2007 has the top seed in its pool.
An excellent juniors program, stable leadership, and strong past results position this team well for a quarterfinals spot.
Mephisto (Montreal)
What a great history this team has. 2009 CUC champs, finalists last year, and many top 4 finishes over the past two decades.
Losing many players to co-ed, Mephisto has to moderate their expectations this year. The 2011 squad did win the Quebec regionals title, and will aim to take their familiar spot in CUC semis.
Bloody Gary (Sherbrooke)
Do not be fooled by their seed- This team could be in quarter finals as easily as they could play for 13th.
It's been an up and down touring season for this team. Most of their games against CUC teams have been close games.
Red Circus (Halifax)
Red Circus, a regular factor at CUC, had a strong Boston Invite. Conversely, they had a very tough No Borders 2011 effort.
The program relies on university students in the area, and less on the junior and league programs. Getting players like Ramsey Wright or Matt Hogel is a great help, but these players rarely stay in the town after school is done. In order for Halifax to improve CUC chances every year, they need to change that recruiting mix.
Halifax's finest have to beat Bloody Gary to stay in the power pools on day 2.
Open Division- The Past
GOAT and Furious meet in the finals. Furious spanks GOAT in the finals by a score of 17-6.
At the height of their UPA dominance, Furious is a dominant team with dominant players. The final featured two excellent teams, but Furious seemed to surprise the GOAT offense and force
turnovers.
No other teams
challenged the top two teams. Furious was the champ, and no one was close.
Four years have past, and the top two teams in the country are still standing at the finals.
GOAT had great hopes as the host squad, entering the final with many positive results leading up to the tournament. Defeating Furious in Vancouver at the Flowerbowl 2007 final. They were a revamped team, featuring many young players who would lead the team for years, and John Hassell was entering his prime as the star of the team, someone recognized as one of the best players in the world.
Whether intentional or not, GOAT adapted and learned from the 2003 finals. They adopted the multi team integrated program (First introduced by David Brook in Ottawa) and used Grand Trunk and Roy to harvest players that were younger, faster, and taller. University programs in their regions also developed players, as GOAT players got involved. This made them more competitive at UPA events and leveled the playing field with Furious.
Furious did not adopt the B team system quite as quickly, but they still had many advantages. Vancouver still had generational talents Andrew Lugsdin, Aaron Cruickshank, and Mike Grant. They also had a solid university program and a juniors program piping out talent. Vancouver also drew players from other cities for real life reasons (work, quality of life in the city, etc).
The much anticipated final was a wet affair. Advantage Vancouver. Although the teams were much more evenly matched this time around, Vancouver proved to be the better team on the day, in the conditions given, and emerged as champions again.
Overall, the division saw improvement in terms of overall depth. Mephisto, Invictus, and General Strike were able to give Furious and GOAT tough matches.
