Subject: U20 Canada National Team

The players coming from the U18 with the highest chemistry usually have 17-20 TOP as a carry-over, so it's similar. My balancing act for this is to choose certain 19yo players and stick them in the the starter lane from the get go, so they end up playing most of their first season to build chemistry, and then only sporadically (while being called up for a decent number of games even when not playing them) the following season to allow the less amazing guys their age and the more amazing younger guys to play during the friendlies.

If you look at it, I play most of the friendlies on very high, and build lines based on chemistry rather than strength, so that I can preserve the energy of the higher chemistry players that I know I will need more during the tournament. It's worked fairly well overall, with the exception of that first season I had the team because the previous manager hadn't done that.

And yes, that does mean that there are certain players that may have a small edge on the younger ones that get completely passed over in favor of "next season", and when comes time for the tournament I'd rather play the high chemistry guy I know will still be there next season.

Unfortunately, by the time they are good enough to play on the senior team (most are at least 26+), they have no national chemistry left and must start over from zero. Even exceptional players take a couple of seasons before their national chemistry is high enough to even think about starting on the "A" team. Do you factor in chemistry and experience bonuses as well when determining a player's overall value ?

Chemistry bonus is factored in, exp is accounted for as well, but the players with significant exp are quite rare at that age (even moreso at 18 than 20). Usually, the ones with more exp are the ones that have the highest OR, so they get played, either way.

Well, it's a good thing I wasn't banking on this game. We could've caught a lucky break and won on tactics, but since that did not happen, I'm actually happy I only decided to play high against Croatia. They are the strongest team in our group, and we held off pretty well all things considered. As has been the case since I've been manager of the U20, we just couldn't buy a goal. 7 powerplays and only 1 goal is disappointing for sure.

Here's to having a better game and outcome tomorrow...

Nice win today !!
Encouraging.

Yup, team came together nicely on this one. Captain Petrakis contributing with a hat trick should be a good morale boost headed into the game vs Switzerland.

I didn't realize Petrakis was so good now. I got Petrakis through my SA a few seasons ago. I didn't have the facilities to develop him though so I sent him to the market. I'm glad to see how he developed and now helps the National team

Yup, he's pretty good. About 10th in OR on the team, but his 85 exp beats anyone else by a landslide. (and then there's Dangelo Bertrand, who is almost 150 OR ahead of the 2nd best, almost +200 on Petrakis, lol). Total freak, that guy. So glad I was able to nab him even though his CL is a bit on the low side.)

Tried to give Davison a rest in goal for a day, and that seems to have bit us in the butt - not that Kochran had a particularly bad day, tho. We lost on tactics (wish it wasn't such a gamble and the other teams actually had a pattern to follow! It's easier to counter tactics when they always use the same ones, lol).

So I guess we need 2 wins to qualify. Was NOT expecting having to fight for it this season. We have a solid team, but I guess with the dwindling player base it might've made it seem like it was better on paper than it really is? I guess only the next 2 games will tell.

With a 4-way tie at 2 wins and us playing the very last position (who has zero wins) at home - meaning at least 2 of the other 3 teams will lose today - our qualification is pretty much insured.

Remains to see if switzerland can beat the undefeated croatia to determine whether we finish 2nd or 3rd.

I mean, it is still possible if we only win by 1 that we'll end up 4th, still (stranger things have happened). But I'm choosing to be positive here

Italy didn't have a great record, so I went and played Cochran in goal, figuring we'd need Davison with better energy for the next games. I looked at their past 3 games and they'd played mainly offensive tactics throughout.

So, I got majorly burned.

My apologies. I thought we had this covered. Maybe someone else should pick the tactics next season...

I do what you did....calculate all the different tactics they have used in playoffs this season and last. I also take note of which ones they didn't ever use. Then, I use the chart I sent you to improve my odds of a good matchup in tactics.

I guess my mistake was going back only a few games. Maybe they were doing it just to fool me/their first round opponent. If so, good job, ya got me.

What can you do.. we always gamble. All you can do is observe the tendencies of others and look for patterns. After that, you take a guess and hope for the best.

Especially now that Canada is more of an underdog... We can't always be satisfied with avoiding tactics. Quite often, we need to hit on tactics everytime only to have a chance. Last game against Slovakia, I nailed all tactics all game long.. we still lost 6:1...

HJUTYR%I*R?(&B *&TB )*

...

That is all I have to say about Saturday's game. I raced to get a roster setup on time and... effin' forfeit. This is not the first time it happens. It's frustrating. All the chemistry we didn't build D:

Anyways, thank you all for re-electing me. I will do my best to do better this season. Is there anyone who would like to be my tactical advisor? xD