Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Soccer Futbol Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
2010 men's Olympic hockey tournament
Topic Started: Feb 8 2010, 04:45 PM (2,586 Views)
Martin
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams! That is one of the best names I have ever heard of for a sports team! Hamburg Freezers is a pretty good name for an ice hockey team too.

What is a guy named Douglas Murray doing playing for Sweden? ;)

I really only follow hockey during the Olympics and I have to admit I have heard of more of the players from Canada, Czech Republic, Russia and Sweden than I have from the US team. In fact the only name I recognized for the US was Paul Stastny. Is that the son of one of the Stastny brothers who came to play in the NHL? I assume it is since his birth place is listed as Quebec City. If I recall correctly, the Stastnys were among the first athletes from the Soviet Bloc to come and play a sport in North America.

I also was surprised to read that Jaromir Jagr is still playing.

Looking forward to reading what those of you in the know have to say about these games.
Club Sportivo Desamparados
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sporting
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
I know nothing about hockey but googled Doug Murray and found this:

Quote:
 
Murray's maternal grandfather is Swedish hockey player and olympic bronze-medalist Lasse Björn. His paternal ancestors originate from Scotland. While his cousins all have Swedish names, Murray's mother preferred to be different and gave her children Scottish or English names. Murray's brothers are named Charles and Ted, with a sister named Roseanna.


By the way, it's interesting that the word "hockey" and not "ice hockey" is used in this thread by people who know the game; in Britain at least, "hockey" used alone would always refer to the game played on grass etc., and not ice. Just an observation; obviously, different countries have their own vocabulary for things.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ursus arctos
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Murray is a "physical" defenceman who plays for the San Jose Sharks, and really is Swedish born and bred, though he has Scottish ancestry. He also went to Cornell.

And you are right about Stastny. He is the son of Peter Stastny, who was the best of the three Stastny brothers who played for the Nordiques in the 80s after being smuggled out of what was then still Czechoslovakia. Peter is in the Hockey Hall of Fame and has also served as a Member of the European Parliament for Slovakia (all the Stastnys are Slovaks, from Bratislava). Paul's brother Yan also played in the NHL.

In addition to Jagr, Sergei Fedorov is playing for Russia, Peter Forsberg is playing for Sweden and Ziggy Palffy is playing for the Slovaks. All of these former NHL stars are still playing professionally (Jagr in Russia and the other three in their home countries). Fedorov is 40, and the oldest "name player" in the tournament.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ursus arctos
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Sporting, you are absolutely right about "hockey" and "ice hockey".

To North Americans, Eastern Europeans, Scandinavians and the Swiss "hockey" is what is played on ice. The grass/astroturf game is either little known or (in North America), called "field hockey" and played almost exclusively by women).

In places like Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, Australia and the Indian subcontinent where the "turf" version is much more established, one always sees "ice hockey" to distinguish the winter sport. Germany now tends to use "hockey" for both versions (though the clubs tend all to have an "E" for "Eis" in their names) and in places like Italy and France "hockey" means the winter game, as the other version is barely known.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
hobbes
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
It took me a couple of seasons to realize Doug Murray was Swedish, especially coming out of Cornell. Of course I remember a Swedish hockey player named Bobby Williams, so I guess the Swedes just like to throw curveballs at you.

I'm glad there aren't as many ex-pats on this year's Olympic rosters. The biggest foreign 'name' is probably Hnat Domenichelli who was a star in junior playing with Jarome Iginla, but never really panned out in the NHL. Now he's playing for Switzerland.

Ursus you want to break down the US team?

Here's my take: in goal Miller is arguably the best goalie in the tournament, though his recent play is a little worrisome. While he's not a guy that fills me with confidence, Jonathan Quick has been scorching lately and is a big reason the LA Kings are near the top of the NHL and had a club record win streak in January. Either way Quick or Tim Thomas are going to be the best third-string goalie in the tournament. Thomas is also in a bit of a funk, but I think goalies can get hot pretty fast especially when they completely change scenery. Excitement, international competition and two games against Switzerland and Norway might be what Miller needs.

Up front the Americans have some legitimate talent in Patrick Kane, Bobby Ryan, Phil Kessel and Paul Statsny.

Ryan Malone has 21 goals and is having a very good season. I think they'll need to find real finishers since Kane, Kessel and Parise are all a little more of provider than a finisher.

I'm curious how they use Pavelski and Kesler who centre the second lines for San Jose and Vancouver respectively. They're both important players on two of the best teams in the NHL, but I'm not sure either is top six and then it's a question of where they fit and if they play the wing. I'm not sure either is an elite centre at this international level, but I like both players.

This team also has some nice grit. I thought Callahan was excellent for NYR last year against Washington in the playoffs. Dustin Brown is the Kings' captain and is a big body, Backes has good hands and can be physical.

This is a pretty balanced team up front. It's not as explosive as some teams, but Kessel and Kane can be game-breakers despite being 22 and 21 respectively.

The intangible is the national team development program in Ann Arbour (similar to Bradenton) that means a lot of these guys know each other quite well. It could also be a negative (Kessel's draft stock dropped because it was common knowledge that no one at the NDTP could stand him, he's turned into a solid pro, so apparently HS cliques shouldn't be a big factor in draft day decisions).

It looks like the top six will be:
Parise - Stastny - Ryan: which offers some balance and play-making with maybe the most pure scorer (Ryan) that the US has.
Kessel - Pavelski - Kane: I'm not sure I would have put Pavelski here, but he'll add some defensive responsibility to Kane and Kessel and he's probably one of the few guys left that can skate with those two wingers. I could see Kessel playing centre and Malone moving to LW, but that's a pretty offence-first line.
After that it's hard to guess (and clearly this should evolve over the tournament), but a third line of: Brown-Kesler-Backes makes sense to me. Some size, some grit and some decent secondary scoring potentially.
That leaves Callahan-Drury-Langenbrunner with Malone the odd-man out, though he could also get PP time.

I believe Paul Statsny mostly grew up in St. Louis where Peter finished his career. Zach Parise's dad J-P was a Canadian NHLer, best remembered for having a meltdown and nearly swinging his stick at Josef Kompalla the East German referee for Game 8 of the 1972 Canada-USSR Summit Series. Kampella's selection was so controversial (former Boston tough guy Wayne Cashman had his tongue severed nearly in half — he needed 50 stitches — by a high stick in Stockholm and no penalty was called by Kompalla a fortnight earlier) that the game nearly wasn't played. It's always weird to me to see Parise play for the US.

Defensively Rafalski will be leaned on heavily. A veteran, a good skater and a solid puck mover, the question is who to pair him with. It will probably be with the slow, but reliable Brooks Orpik who logged a lot of minutes with Pittsburgh and makes up for his limitations pretty well (in a similar way Jay DeMerit does as long as he has the right partner) or he may be paired with young Erik Johnson who has size and a lot of skill, but is still 21.

The US has a lot of size on the back end (and they lost Mike Komisarek to injury which could be a big blow. I thought he was great last year and lousy this season, so who knows how his form would have been in Vancouver) but no real alpha male shut down guy. Jack Johnson and Tim Gleason are pretty physical, but I'm not sure Jack is there yet and Gleason isn't good enough. Ryan Whitney has some offensive upside, but I think looks like the seventh D man and maybe a power play guy. I think Ryan Suter will be the puck mover on the 3-4 pair, but I don't know who with. Probably one of the Johnsons I guess.

If you asked me last year I would have said with Komisarek and Paul Martin from New Jersey (who is also hurt) the US could put together a pretty no-name, but quietly effective defence corps. Now I think it's clearly the biggest weakness. That and their scoring depth could be an issue, but it's a young group that should have good goaltending and will get two games to find their feet before an emotionally charged game against the hosts. It's set up pretty well for them. I'm not counting the US out at all.

cheers,
hobbes

P.S. Using 'ice' before hockey in Canada would be like an Englishman putting 'association' ahead of football. It sounds jarring and is pretty redundant because there really couldn't possibly be any confusion about what was being talked about. Thanks to ursus for breaking it down though.
Saskatchewan for the CPL: multis e gentibus vires
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ursus arctos
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Hobbes, I may be a US citizen, but I've been out of the country for almost a decade and couldn't come within a light year of that level of analysis. Among other things, I hadn't realized that Zach Parise was J.P.'s son. There do seem to be a greater proportion of second and third generation professionals in hockey than in any other sport.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Martin
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
hobbes you should be a hockey writer, that was very informative!

My brother lives in Minneapolis and his son, my nephew, used to play youth hockey with Bob Gainey's son, this was when Gainey was involved with the Minnesota North Stars so that should tell you how long ago that was. But I was curious since the subject of second and third generation players came up, if Gainey's son ever made it into the pros?

I am also curious if Gordie Howe's grandsons ever made it into the NHL? If so they could become like the Boones or Bells in baseball with 3 generations of professional players.

Final question, when does the men's hockey start? Last night at the opening ceremonies they interviewed a US player with the LA Kings who attended the opening ceremonies but was flying back to Los Angeles right afterwards so he could play tonight in a NHL match with his club!
Club Sportivo Desamparados
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
hobbes
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Martin,Feb 13 2010
03:19 PM
hobbes you should be a hockey writer, that was very informative!

lol Martin. I am a hockey writer, so I guess I found my calling. :)

Yeah Bob Gainey’s son Steve is still plugging away in the minors last I head. He’s played a little with Dallas, but was never a regular. Bob’s daughter Laura was lost at sea in the North Atlantic a few years ago and her body was never found.

I don’t think any of the Howe grandkids made it, but I agree with Ursus that there are a lot of second generation players who make. There are a lot of Sutters out there. Canadian women’s player Gillian Apps is the granddaughter of hall of famer Syl Apps who used to captain the Maple Leafs in the 40s.

cheers,
hobbes

Saskatchewan for the CPL: multis e gentibus vires
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Martin
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
You certainly have found your calling hobbes! I am looking forward to reading your comments on this Olympic hockey tournament.

Thanks for the info on Steve Gainey, that is what my brother had thought had become of his professional career too. And yes, I do remember reading the sad news about what happened to Bob Gainey's daughter. Tragic. Speaking of Gainey I just saw this week in the paper that he is stepping down as the Canadiens GM.

My apologies for the thread drift.
Club Sportivo Desamparados
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Yogi
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
OK hobbes great work on the US team preview, do you care to do the same, even if briefer to save time, on some of the other top medal contenders? If not do you have a link with a good preview of the competing teams?

I would make an "Old fashioned hockey, eh coach?" crack but I do not think the Hanson brothers style of play would go over well in international hockey! :lol:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Winslow
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Well, consider this famous incident when Canada met the USSR in the 1987 world junior hockey championships:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjcr0_NKEA

Gordie Howe was a near-neighbor of mine in the late '70s (friends and I rang his doorbell and met him twice, and he actually gave me a used stick--not his). I was hoping to see him in the opening ceremonies, but apparently he hasn't been well.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
hobbes
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Ahhh the Punch-up in Piestany. Always enjoyable. It helped turn the world juniors into a major event in Canada (the Canadians beat the Soviets in Moscow a year later in a very intense game) and with Glasnost taking the edge of the rivalry, Piestany served to throw gas on the fire of the rivalry before the 1987 Canada Cup which provided two of the three best hockey games I've ever seen.

It's only fitting that two Moose Jaw Warriors - Theo Fleury and Mike Keane - were at the heart of that. And I always felt bad for Everett Sanipass that this became his only claim to fame.

Gare Joyce wrote a book about this game and there's some interesting subtext. Evgeni Davydov was the first player off the bench. But Davydov was from Chelyabinsk in the middle of nowhere and had a chip on his shoulder and the coach was always trying to push his buttons. Davydov was one of the least likely guys to ever start a bench clearer, but clearly he felt he needed to show something to his coach and defend his teammates.

Even Davydov admits he's the first off the bench (and actually he was alone in going first, the rest of the Canadians piled off and then the rest of the Soviets went), but the Norwegian ref Ronning still insists he saw the Canadians go first. Ronning was seriously out of his depth and apparently only got the game because Lillehamer just got the Olympic bid and they were trying to build up Norwegian hockey. You know you're out of your depth when your response as a referee is to leave the ice and turn the lights out.

Both teams were kicked out of the tournament.

Pierre Turgeon stayed on the bench for Canada and some people never forgave him. Stephane Roy got double-teamed and someone kicked him because Turgeon wouldn't go over. Fleury said that Turgeon couldn't fight and he didn't blame him since it wasn't his game. The other Canadian goalie Jimmy Waite didn't fight either because he wanted to stay in the game and was afraid Canada would lose if both goalies were tossed. Since 18 players were ejected from Canada it was moot.

There were some great players in that game: Shanahan, Vladimir Konstantnov, Fedorov, Mogilny. Konstantinov man-handles Fleury in the fight and breaks Greg Hawgood's nose with a head-butt. Keane ran around punching everyone he could find.

Yogi I was going to throw together some thoughts on the other teams, but I was enjoying doing it too much and it got out of hand. I'll post it soon.

cheers,
hobbes
Saskatchewan for the CPL: multis e gentibus vires
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
hobbes
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
CANADA

Goal: I don’t think it’s any secret that Martin Brodeur is on the back end of his career and that he isn’t what he used to be. He isn’t as consistent and hasn’t produced in the clutch the way he has. The Devils haven’t won a playoff series in two years. Last night Brodeur was pulled. All of that being said if Brodeur can turn back the clock for two weeks Canada has to be favourites for gold.

I’ve liked Roberto Luongo since he was 17. He’s loved in Vancouver and is a technically superb goalie. But he’s never really won much. I don’t know if that has to do with being in Florida for so long, but it does make you nervous. M-A Fluery is very competent and could probably do the job. It’s not a weakness, but goaltending is often a Canadian trump card and I’m not sure it is this time around. All three have been in a funk in the last two weeks. Not a good sign. Luongo’s getting the nod against Norway and so the tournament is already starting with a surprise and a possible controversy.

Defence: Chris Pronger was abysmal in 2006 and he worries me a little here. Other than that I loved the group they picked. And TBH I knew Pronger was a lock, I was just hoping he wasn’t. It was guys like Green and Phaneuf I was really hoping would get passed over.

Niedermeyer didn’t impress me the last couple of Ducks games I saw and the Seabrook-Keith pair haven’t been dominant with Chicago, but all three are very good. I really like Shea Weber and while he’s probably going in as the No. 7, Drew Doughty is ready to step in to any role IMO. He might only be 20, but I love this kid. Pronger and Niedermeyer are the only ones with Olympic experience, but I think this group can do the job. It’s a nice mix of skill, toughness, speed and shutdown defensive play.

Forwards: with the collection of talents up front you would think that scoring should be a strength. But in 06 Canada was shut out in three of their last four games. Some of the most important players this time around (Iginla, Nash, Thornton and Heatley) are all back.

I have few arguments about the group chosen, but my main one is a big one — Patrice Bergeron. I wouldn’t have had Bergeron on the team. He’s going to be on the top line. Bergeron had eight goals last year. Eight. He’s got 12 in 54 games this year. He had 39 points last year and has 37 this year. Seriously. What are they thinking? Well Bergeron was the U20 MVP when he lit up the tournament playing with one Sidney Crosby. Apparently them being together for two weeks in 2005 means they have chemistry. Meanwhile Steven Stamkos has 34 goals this year . . .
It should be Nash-Crosby-Bergeron; the Sharks line of Marleau-Thornton-Heatley. I’m expecting Iginla-Getzlaf-Perry and a fourth line of Staal-Richards-Toews.

I’m hoping they re-unite Nash-Crosby-Iginla which they used in camp, but the talk before they announced the team was that they liked Bergeron.

Getzlaf sprained his ankle and was nearly dropped, but Sunday night he put up four points in his return to the Ducks and should be fine for the Games.

Overall this is the deepest and most balanced team in the tournament and they’re playing at home. I think they have to be the favourite, but they’re pretty young and not terribly experienced. There aren’t a lot of real proven winners in the group. GM Steve Yzerman is already deflecting a little by calling the Russians the favourites (given back to back world championships) and saying the pressure is on them. To me that looks like Hockey Canada is a little worried about the pressure.

RUSSIA

Goal: Ilya Bryzgalov will likely be the starter. He’s been a big part of Phoenix’ huge turn around this season. After him is Evgeni Nabokov who is having another great regular season with the Sharks. The worry is that Nabokov has always been pointed at as a reason why the Sharks are perennial regular season greats and playoff disasters. Third stringer Simeon Varlamov is there for experience. None of them have had a good playoff run in the NHL, which is maybe a worry, but the talent is there and Bryzgalov was the man at the worlds last year, so I think goaltending isn’t a huge issue and could be a big strength. Nabokov and Bryzgalov are arguably having better seasons than Brodeur.

Defence: if there’s a weakness in the Russian team this is probably it, but I think that belief is over-stated. In their top four, the Russians have two sensational offensive defencemen (Markov and Gonchar who had 64 and 65 points respectively the last season each was healthy) and Anton Volchenkov one of the most under-rated players in the NHL. The reason this group is so discounted is because they have three KHLers (Nikulin, Kalinin and Korneyev) in their ranks. I think the KHL is becomming a very good league and those three could all play in the NHL if they wanted. Nikulin and Korneyev were on both of the last two world championship winners (held while the NHL playoffs are going on so some of the top players are unavailable, though it is still a very good tournament).

This isn’t a great defence, but they have some experience and some skill. And most importantly they have good goaltending behind them and some ridiculous offence in front of them.

Forwards: Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk, Kovalchuk and Semin. Those five and probably Alexander Radulov from Ufa could be the top six. Of the NHLers no one had fewer than 30 goals last year. In fact Datsyuk had the fewest with 32, but he made up for it with 66 assists. Kovalchuk was the best player on the ice at the last two worlds. He’s scored the game winner in the last two world finals (both against Canada btw).

Then add in character and leadership from Fedorov (who is the Franz Beckenbauer/Lothar Mattaeus of his generation, too old to score a ton, he reinvented himself as a two-way centre who is great defensively. Fedorov is one of the greats IMO). Morozov will captain. Viktor Kozlov brings size and a lot of experience.

This is a great forward group. Maybe not as deep as some, but no one can even come close to their top six. No one.

SWEDEN
Goal: It’s up to Henrik Lundqvist and he’s going to have to be great. He’s capable and while I don’t think he’s truly an elite goalie, he’s pretty consistent and he tends to be at his best in the playoffs. He also was very good in leading the Swedes to gold in Torino. The Monster Jonas Gustavsson will back up and veteran Swedish league goalie Stefan Liv should be No. 3.

Defence: They’re the champs and they’re talented, so you can’t count them out, but man the Swedes have issues. There were some odd choices and one of the obvious ones was 36-year-old Magnus Johansson who plays in Sweden and looked very ordinary in his short stay in the NHL. I’m not sure 19-year-old prodigy Victor Hedman was ready, but the 6-6 rookie has a man’s body and if you’re bringing eight defencemen why not bring the future?

Lidstrom is their best player and a huge key. I like Ohlund a lot, but he’s had a bit of a tough go in Tampa, though that may not be all his fault. Kronwall has been fighting injuries and adds a nice physical element along with Murray. I think Enstrom is pretty under-rated and I’m curious to see if he can contribute offensively at this level. I don’t see Atlanta a lot, but I like him every time I do.

I think Tallinder and Murray can both quietly do a pretty good job (especially Tallinder, who should be the other top-four d-man), but I’m not crazy about Oduya. If they go six deep they’re not a bad group. They don’t have a lot of flash, but they have some effective players. But Oduya and Johansson could be liabilities. At the high end I’m not sure they’re much better than Russia if at all and they’re probably worse than a few other big six nations.

Forwards: After Daniel Alfredsson, arguably the best three Swedish forwards are all centres — Zetterberg, Henrik Sedin and Backstrom. Tomas Holmstrom got hurt and was replaced by the Mule Johan Franzen. Franzen has played six games this year after coming back from knee surgery, but I think they’re going to have to lean on him to be in the top six.

On the upside Henrik Sedin is leading the NHL in scoring with 80 points and he and his brother are playing at home in Vancouver, so they could be one of the most dangerous lines in the Games. I think you maybe put Backstrom on their wing? And then use Franzen-Zetterberg-Alfredsson and really front load the top six.

Loui Eriksson and Patric Hornqvist are both having decent offensive seasons and could find their way onto a higher line, but in my mind are going to be secondary scorers.

After that it gets sketchy. Freddy Modin is 35 and having a terrible year. I can’t believe he was chosen. Wienhandl is having a huge scoring season in the KHL, but I’m not convinced. I guess I’m not convinced he deserves a spot in the top six, but maybe he does. Maybe he pairs with the Sedins and they let Backstrom play his natural centre spot and play with Eriksson and Hornqvist? That would provide three pretty balanced scoring lines potentially.

Pahlsson is good defensively, but they don’t have a lot of guys in that mold (Freddy Sjostrom would have been a nice pick, so too Mikael Samuelsson who has Stanley Cup experience with Detroit).

Then there’s Peter Forsberg. Sweden were one of a few teams who took 8 and 12 instead of the normal 7 and 13. Maybe teams are going to roll four pairs of D, but I would want my top four defencemen on the ice a lot more than that, so I don’t know why you have two extra defencemen. Especially since it leaves no cover for injuries up front. That’s an important point when you consider that they took Forsberg who is chronically injured.

This is a team that made some puzzling choices and I’m not sure are as good as they could be, but they’re the defending gold medalists and they’ve got talent, so I’m not discounting them. My gut tells me they’re too old and not good enough to win, but we’ll see.


FINLAND
Goal: This will be a very interesting decision. Kiprusoff made waves when he milked an injury and missed 2006, but didn’t miss a game with the Flames. In 2002 he turned down the call to establish himself in the NHL. It’s believed he told Jari Kurri and his staff that either they’d start him in Vancouver or don’t bother selecting him. I don’t think he’s the fans choice in Finland and I know some people were mad they chose him at all. Even if he is the most talented option.

In the meantime Antero Niittymaki was the star of the Finnish team in their silver medal run of 06. Based on their NHL form Kipper would get the nod, but I’m not sure. Niklas Backstrom is a pretty solid goalie in his own right. This could be the Finns’ strength or it could be a huge distraction.

Defence: It’s not a great defence, but it’s probably better than it looks. In fact it might not be far off from Sweden’s or the Americans’. Timonen and Salo are a nice top pair. After that talent drops, but it’s not bad. Lydman and Pitkanen have had better years, but they’re solid at 3-4. It drops off from there, though Lepisto of Phoenix isn’t bad. I don’t expect much from Kukkonen, though he’ll probably be in the last pair while Niskala is probably off to work the power play.

They’ll need to be better than the sum of their parts, but their forwards will help out and they should be a good system first group that will make it easy for their defence to play a simple game. And I think this group can do that so long as Timonen and Salo can deal with other teams’ real high-end guys. Seeing how they fare against the Swedes’ decent offensive depth will be a good indicator if the Finnish back end can has the horses to contend.

Forwards: I won’t pretend to guess what Finland’s lines might look like. Goal-scoring looks like a problem. Simply put the Finns don’t have as much talent as any of the other contenders and they really don’t have the scoring of any other big nation.

Niklas Hagman is going to have to score because no one else is doing it. The Finns as a nationality are struggling to score this season in the NHL. Saku and Mikko Koivu, Selanne, Tuomo Ruutu and Oli Jokinen are scoring less than usual. Filppula in Detroit has been hurt (and isn’t exactly prolific anyway).

Jussi Jokinen has as many goals as Hagman and is behind only Mikko Koivu in points but wasn’t chosen. In fact he’s gone off since not being chosen, though it wasn’t like he was playing poorly before the teams were named. He also had a great playoffs with Carolina last year after being out-right released by the worst team in the NHL. I can’t believe you’d leave a clutch guy like him off. He’s a streaky player that will drive you crazy over an 82-game season, but when he’s in the mood he can be great. For two weeks he could be money. I guess we’ll never find out, though some Finnish fans are trying to figure out which guy they can ‘injure’ before the tournament starts to get Jussi into the team.

Jere Lehtinen isn’t what he used to be, but is an important leader despite being 36. Ville Peltonen at 36? I’m not so sure. Jarkko Ruutu is a pain in the ass to play against and they will need plenty of guys like him to be hard to play against while staying disciplined.

The Finns are full of gritty two-way players. They should be defensively responsible and that got them a long way in 06. They’re going to be very scrappy and that has held them in good stead over the years.

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czechs are on a really rough stage in their history. They’ve struggled to really develop elite players and don’t have the depth that some countries do. In fact I think the Slovaks are a better dark horse to win the whole thing than the Czechs are. But then I started really looking at their team and thinking about it and I don’t know. There’s holes, but if it comes together . . .

Goal: Tomas Vokoun has spent a lot of his career on bad NHL teams. He doesn’t have much playoff experience and yet is consistently a very good NHL goalie and is a two-time all star. He was fantastic when the Czechs won the worlds in 2005. He’s got enough international experience and is one of the most experienced NHL goalies in the tournament. He can run hot and cold, but in the right form, he could steal games the way a Kiprusoff, Niittymaki or Miller might. Ondrej Pavlec is a competent back up and is having a good season, but the Czechs need Vokoun to stay healthy.

Defence: This is an interesting group. At first I wasn’t overly impressed, but the more I thought about it I realized they have seven defencemen who are top-four NHLers on their team. I’m not sure anyone beyond Canada and the U.S. can claim that. That’s not a huge compliment, but these guys have a lot of good defencemen. they just don’t have any great ones.

Pavel Kubina is having a good year and has 34 points. A guy you don’t notice a lot, Zbynek Michalek, is having a very steady year on a very good Phoenix team play with Ed Jovonovski. He might be the steady stay-at-home guy to pair with either Kubina or Tomas Kaberle who has a whopping 46 points already this year with Toronto (though a lot of that must come on the power play).

After that I like Zidlicky better than Hejda, Polak or Kuba, but they don’t drop off much. Even Miro Blatak from the KHL is a pretty defensively responsible guy who can move the puck.

Kubina and Kaberle (especially) aren’t great defensive defencemen, so I wonder if the high end talent is there to deal with the forwards of Canada, Russia and Sweden. But they might be good enough to get them to the semis.

This is the other team that used 8 and 12. And they still didn’t have room for Jaroslav Spacek or Roman Hamrlik from Montreal.

Forwards: On paper this group is average, but probably not good enough to contend. But there’s a few burning questions tied to each other: how good are the KHLers? and most importantly how good is Jaromir Jagr going to be?

Jagr’s 37, but he’s having a good year with Omsk Avangard netting 22 goals. He was good for nine points in seven games at the worlds last year. If he can find his best form he could help the Czechs spring an upset. I’m not picking the Czechs to make the semis, but they’re really one good performance against a top team away from doing it. And all they may need is a win over the Russians in the opening round or an upset of the Finns in the quarters or something to do it.

There are a few countries that passed over decent NHLers because they liked their KHLers better. It will be an interesting subplot to see how that works out. Clearly their scouts feel the KHL players are better than some of the NHLers. Amongst the other KHLers, Josef Vasicek is having a good year with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl leading them in scoring with 44 points so far. Tomas Rolinek is leading Magnitogorsk Metallurg in goal-scoring (Fedorov’s team).

The Czechs have really been hurt by injuries as Ales Hemsky and Milan Hejduk are both out. That would have really changed their dynamic up front.

Still Tomas Plekanec is having a breakout season with nearly a point per game (60 points, 43 assists) centering Montreal’s top line. Milan Michalek has been consistently around the 60 point mark as a top-six guy on San Jose’s perennial contenders and should be around 50 this season in Ottawa. He has 20 goals which should help and he adds some size to a small forward core. Martin Erat is a similar level player and has 18 goals for Nashville.

Tomas Fleischmann has 18 goals and 43 points with a great Washington team. Havlat had 77 points last year on a good Chicago team and he’s only 28 (he seems a lot older than that to me). Elias had 77 points last year and is a good two-way player to boot.

Vasicek needs to have a good tournament because he’ll likely centre one of the top lines. You could see Elias-Vasicek-Jagr and I’m thinking maybe Fleischmann-Plekanec-Havlat. Which isn’t bad really. Maybe Michalek takes Fleischmann’s spot (I know Fleischmann, so I’m biased), but there’s some possibilities to create offence depending on who’s playing well.

Roman Cervenka is the best player in the Czech Rep. and he could be in the NHL by next year if he wants. He is supposed to be one of the best players not in the NHL in the world and consdering the talent that left for the KHL that’s pretty high praise.

Krejci’s numbers aren’t great this year (only 11 goals), but I like his grit which might be a characteristic in short supply for the Czechs. Petr Cajanek is a pretty good two-way player too.

The Czechs are going to need some forwards to step up and as deep as the defence is I’m not sure it’s good enough. A lot will depend on whether Vokoun can get hot and steal a game or two. I think he can do it. Still for a country that has exactly one player drafted in the first round of the NHL draft in the last 10 years (Michalek) on their roster, this roster is better than expected. The perception is that young Czech prospect after young Czech prospect has flopped in the NHL, yet this team isn’t ancient and they aren’t no-hopers.

This team kind of fascnates me because they could do anything and it wouldn’t surprise me. They should probably finish second in their pool, win their second round game and then lose to someone like Sweden in the quarters. But they tend to either over-achieve or totally flame out. You could imagine them beating the Russians to win their pool or pulling an upset in the quarters . . . and I can also conceieve of them losing to the Slovaks, finishing third in their pool and be faced with a tricky game against the Swiss or Germans in the second round . . .

SLOVAKIA

Goal: Jaroslav Halak. After having a shockingly good forward group and no goaltending, the Slovaks have a game-breaking goalie. Unfortunately he can also be awful. He had a rough outing Saturday and was pulled and he’s been battling with Carey Price for the starting job this season, but at times this year he’s been sensational. Around Christmas he went 6-1 with two shutouts and was maybe the hottest goalie in hockey. Right now he’s not playing as well, but if he can find that form, the Slovaks could have a shot at a medal.

Peter Budaj saw action in 2006 as he played three games and did well, but he’s backing up in Colorado and I don’t think he’s likely to put in the kind of performance the Slovaks need. Ratty Stana has international experience and plays for my boys Cherepovets Severstal in the KHL. He’s a former Moose Jaw guy too, so I have a lot of love for Ratty, but I’m sure he’s No. 3.

Defence: Not terribly deep, but they have some high end guys and match up better than they have. Obviously it all starts with Zdeno Chara. The 6-9 defenceman is the tallest player in NHL history and is the best defenceman in the NHL. It’s somewhat rare for a player to log a ton of minutes internationally, but if I’m the Slovaks, Chara gets 25-35 a night.

Lubomir Visnovsky hasn’t been as good since he left LA, but he has 10 goals and 30-some points from the blue line and is an elite offensive defenceman at the NHL level. I like Andrej Meszaros but he’s not playing that well with TB. I’m not crazy about Jurcina (he’s very slow) or Sekera, but if they double shift Chara I can see a guy like Sekera doing enough.

Martin Strbak had a cup of coffee in the NHL, but the big, decent skating vet is a career Euro who is having a good KHL season. At 34 he may have lost a step though, I haven’t seen him in a few years.

Forwards: They're getting a pretty long in the tooth, but there is some talent up front. The question what they can get out of it. Seven of the 13 forwards are from outside the NHL, but all of them made the NHL and some (like Ziggy Palffy and Jozef Stumpel) were pretty good NHLers.

It's amazing to me that Marian Gaborik at 28 is the second-youngest forward there (Kopecky is only three months younger). Gaborik and Marian Hossa are going to have to drive the forwards group and really provide a lot of offence because Demitra and Satan have been fighting injuries and may be past it. There are a lot of 'name players' but not too many of them have done a whole heck of a lot recently.

The biggest worry right now is the fact that Marian Hossa, Gaborik and Satan all got hurt before the start of the Games, but all were left on their team’s roster.

What do guys like Richard Zednik, Stumpel, Palffy or Lubos Bartecko have left to give? Can one or two of the eight forwards over 30 that they have play at the level they need to to give the Slovaks the offence they need?

The Slovaks do have some size up front which could help. Michael Handzus will offer good two-way play and may add some offence. Marcel Hossa may be able to add to the scoring too, but overall I'm not sure they can get enough out of this group.

You like to have some experience, but I think young players have proven that they can step in and fill big roles and have been amongst the biggest players in the NHL. It’s becomming a young man’s game and the Slovaks having a lot of things going against them right now.

I was going to brief up the rest, but ran out of time. In short:

Germany not as good as usual, still might be eighth best. Added Joachen Hecht as an injury replacement which should make them better. A handful of NHLers make them the best of the rest, but inconsistency means they may not ultimately make the quarters.

Swiss has goaltending (Hiller from Anaheim), some defence (Streit for NYI and U20 Luca Sbisa), but can't score. Still were second in their in 06 pool and beat Canada so who knows. Could be a tricky team for contenders starting with the U.S.

Latvia has a lot of teammates from the KHL. That continuity still probably won't help in deep pool. Skrastins and Bartulis only NHLers, though they could have had others.

Belarus lost two NHLers to injury (Andrei Kostitsyn and Mikhail Grabovsky). All told they had to change six players from their initial roster. Andrei Mezin (the hero of their semi run in 02) can't save them here.

Norway plays Egil Olsen hockey. They qualified with defence-first approach, it shouldn't do them any good here. First time back since Lillehamer.

If anyone read all of that, congratulations! It was for me as much as for you, so hopefully someone enjoyed me gathering my thoughts.

cheers,
hobbes
Saskatchewan for the CPL: multis e gentibus vires
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Merengue
Administrator
[ *  *  * ]
That was wonderful hobbes, I do not know much about hockey but am anxious to watch it in these Olympics after reading this comprehensive preview. Superb.

So I take it the KHL, the Russian hockey league, (what does the "K" stand for anyway?), is now the world's #2 league behind the NHL. is it backed by wealthy hockey loving oligarchs?
http://twitter.com/#!/SocrFutbolForum
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ursus arctos
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
"Kontinental", and yes, there is significant oligarch involvement.

Truly a superb piece of work by hobbes. Better than anything I've read in the Globe & Mail or on the CBC (not to mention US sources).
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Create your own social network with a free forum.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Olympics · Next Topic »
Add Reply