Mischievious Mr. Lowe

May 17^th proved to be a shocking day for North American fans of the World Hockey Championship. Both Team USA and Team Canada were upset in the quarterfinals, as Finland edged USA 3-2, and Slovakia stunned Canada by a 4-3 score. Mired in the loss to Team Canada is the question of players neglecting invitations to play for the team (Sidney Crosby comes to mind), and the fact that Team Canada’s defense was not among the top available talent the country had to offer. Of the many questions asked by diehard (and some not so die hard) Canada fans: What is an 18 year old Junior Hockey player doing playing for his country at a world class sporting event? The player in question is Ryan Murray (not to be confused with the arguabley more attractive Ryann Murray, picture located here) of the Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips. Fans argue that he is too young for the tournament, inexperienced, and a liability on the back end. While those statements may be true or false, there is another itching question to ask. What was the Team Canada brass thinking putting Ryan Murray on Team Canada? The potential answer: An extra opportunity to scout a potential 1^st overall draft pick.

The defense of Team Canada looks like this: Duncan Keith (CHI), Dion Phaneuf (TOR), Jay Bouwmeester (CGY), Luke Schenn (TOR), Kris Russell (STL), Kyle Quincey (DET), Marc Methot (CBJ), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (SJ), and the aforementioned Ryan Murray (EVT). While this is not a desirable defense for, let’s say, Canada’s 2014 Olympic team, all those players are proven NHLers.  Other options included Johnny Boychuk (BOS), Former Olympic gold medalist Eric Brewer (TB), Chris Phillips (OTT), Dan Hamhuis (VAN), and PK Subban (MTL). But no. Ryan Murray was thought to be able to bring more to the team. Our reason why Murray was added: Team Canada GM Kevin Lowe wanted a closer look, and a bonus scouting period on the young defenseman.

Kevin Lowe, the General Manager of Canada’s 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship team has been well noted in saying he and the Edmonton Oilers, who occupy the #1 pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, have a heavy interest in Ryan Murray. Lowe was quoted saying Murray was “a top player” in the draft. Without the extra access to other top players such as Mikhail Grigorenko, Alexander Galchenyuk, and Nail Yakupov, this is a brilliant move by Lowe. A potential 1^st overall pick for an Oilers team that is desperate for a top tier defenseman could definitely use the extra experience playing against the world’s elite hockey players. Extra grooming for an NHL roster spot is never a bad thing. And if the Oilers still are not sure who they will use their top pick on, adding Murray to the roster provides Lowe with a firsthand look to see whether or not he is NHL ready.

Now, are we overanalyzing? Maybe. Would Steve Yzerman let Kevin Lowe tinker with a potential world championship team, for Lowe’s personal gain? Probably not. But Kevin Lowe has been known to be very persuasive. Just ask Dustin Penner and Brian Burke. And to Ryan Murray’s credit, he is a very good hockey player, and will be drafted in the top 10 of this year’s draft. We are not trying to discredit him or his skill. But if this highly likely scenario is true, then Kevin Lowe can be credited with jeopardizing Team Canada, and he can add this to the list of why he is a less than desired hockey executive.