barry33 wrote:

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As I said in my other post. As important as winning a gold medal is to Canadians, to Europeans as you said, "it is their dream". That, my friend, is the key difference between Canadian players and Europeans. Canadian kids like you and I , grow up dreaming of hoisting the Stanley Cup. Kids growing up in Helsinki dream of winning the world championships against Sweden. I am not in any way implying that the Europeans are wrong. It is simply a product of their upbringing. And let's be honest, for the most part, Canadians perform better in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (yes I can think of exceptions..Koivu and Kovalev being 2). Because, like the Finns and Swedes on Sunday, a Canadian who finds himself in the Stanley Cup playoffs or finals is living his dream.

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Gotta disagree. I think any Canadian who has the gold from 2002 will say it's just as important as having a Stanley Cup ring. Brodeur has both and has stated that they are equally as important in his great career. Also see Summit series in 1972, I don't think I have heard any of the Stanley Cups being talked about nearly as much as that series.

-- Edited by JohnM at 19:42, 2006-02-27