WC: 2016 Team Russia

[BlitzSnipe]

Want to congratulate Russia on their win.


From top to bottom you guys were the best here this year.

Always top talent.............always to be feared.

The big bear has won again.

Meh, the best were Team Canada . Maybe our team could've been the best, but as usual poor defense and coaching let us down. Still though, I am happy that Russia got bronze and I like the fact that they showed character in their last game and showed a will to make their fans happy. I hope that one of these years Russia can finally win Gold again, whether in the Juniors or in the WC, or in the Olympic Games for that matter .

 

[BlitzSnipe]

Bronze added some positive emotions to my mood. Some after-tournament thoughts:

Bobrovskiy is solid, I was a bit worried before the tournament as he didn't have the best season, but he is fine.
Sorokin and Shestyorkin - those kind of kids make me really glad with the production of young goalies in Russia.

Belov and Chudinov - as usual: brainless, but with a heavy slapshot.
Antipin - also as usual: lacks size.
Zaitsev and Marchenko - decent, but looked kind of nervous to me, which lead to unnecessary mistakes.
Emelin - very strange: makes some good defensive plays, but then suddenly falls asleep. Useless for the starting of the offense.
Voinov - decent, wouldn't call it good as he also made too many mistakes, but comparing to other defenders it wasn't that bad.
Orlov - I liked him, contributes on both sides of the ice, we need that badly.

Panarin-Shipachyov-Dadonov - looked perfect until Finland applied some pressure on them.
Ovechkin - I totally agree that he is not what he used to be especially on big rinks, still he was basically the only one who was able to create offense Vs. Finland.
Datsyuk - he still can do the magic, but it looks like his health doesn't allow him to kill penalties any more, which is very bad for us.
Mozyakin - mixed feelings: he definitely got the shot, on the other hand so much plays ended on him with just a puck loss.
Kuznetsov - some good plays from him and then he dissapears, then again makes some decent plays and dissapears again. What happened to him at the second half of the season?
Telegin and Lyubimov - revelations of the tournament, played with such a high energy, probably borrowed some nuclear fuel from Radulov.
Kalinin - not bad for a 4-th liner: some decent defense and zero offense.
Plotnikov - a biggest mistery to me: he played as a decent 4-th liner both in Pittsburgh and Arizona, but was horrible at this tournament... until the Bronze medal game, where he finally looked decent. I'm totally confused.
Sannikov, Burmistrov, Shirokov - they shouldn't be here.

Znarok - he didn't catch the moment when the game slipped away against Finland, I'd blame the 'designated coach for NT' thing here. Totally has to be blamed for the bad PP and for some bad after-faceoff plays. Partially can be blamed for PK, but here we just don't have the resources. And yes, he should've found someone better than Shirokov, Sannikov and Antipin (actually Plots and Burmi too, but at least I can understand the idea here).

Actually, I don't think Shirokov was that bad. He was the one who scored vs. Finland for chrissakes . And same with Plotnikov, people keep on dissing the guy but I will say one thing: that guy battles and knows how to put pressure on the defense.

 

[Caser]

can't agree with this summary, orlov is as much apt to brainfarts as emellin. kuznetsov and ovechkin are plain bad with no excuses. plotnikov should be in "they shouldn't be here" category. lubimov is good only against poor competition. datsyuk and shipachev's line are the only ones who left a favourable impression on me. telegin too, but i think this tourney is an exception for him, like it's with plotnikov in minsk

I somehow can't remember bad plays by Orlov at this tournament (not saying there weren't any though), but by Emelin - almost in every game.

No excuses for Kuznetsov, just wandering why he hit the wall at the end of the season.

Ovechkin didn't have a good tournament, still Vs. Finland he was the best forward not named Telegin.

If Plotnikov would've played for us like he did for Pittsburgh and Arizona, he would've been a fine 4-th liner, so I can't exactly say 'he shouldn't be there'. Instead he played like a VHL-er, but suddenly woke up in the last game - I just don't understand all those metamorphoses.

Lyubimov was good Vs CZE and USA, not the poorest of oppositions. Wasn't bad defensively against SWE and FIN too as far as I can remember. Although to be fair I'm not sure that it is nor somekind of a "one hit wonder".

I'm more confident in Telegin, as he showed some high-energy game in KHL this season, although we can never know, of course.

 

[Caser]

Actually, I don't think Shirokov was that bad. He was the one who scored vs. Finland for chrissakes . And same with Plotnikov, people keep on dissing the guy but I will say one thing: that guy battles and knows how to put pressure on the defense.

Can't agree on Shirokov: while he scored the goal (which was pretty much made by Telegin), he dissapeared immediately and soon was deservingly benched.

Plotnikov can and should've battled and should've put the pressure, but instead he forgot how to play hockey and remembered that only in the last game.

 

[BlitzSnipe]

Can't agree on Shirokov: while he scored the goal (which was pretty much made by Telegin), he dissapeared immediately and soon was deservingly benched.

Plotnikov can and should've battled and should've put the pressure, but instead he forgot how to play hockey and remembered that only in the last game.

I don't mind Plotnikov, granted he's not nearly as good as Mozyakin at scoring, but he's very physical and I think his main job is to get under the defense's skin and tire them out - he's a workhorse. I think the team needs players of this kind. Which players would you rather see instead of Plotnikov? Ok, perhaps Yakupov, who didn't look that bad in the last Eurotour matches, though he did end up causing some very bad turnovers.

 

[Caser]

I don't mind Plotnikov, granted he's not nearly as good as Mozyakin at scoring, but he's very physical and I think his main job is to get under the defense's skin and tire them out - he's a workhorse. I think the team needs players of this kind. Which players would you rather see instead of Plotnikov? Ok, perhaps Yakupov, who didn't look that bad in the last Eurotour matches, though he did end up causing some very bad turnovers.

I don't mind Plotnikov too, but at least the one Plotnikov which played in NHL this season - hard working and hard hitting, but definitely not the Plotnikov we have seen this tournament (except the last game).

I don't want to have Yakupov anywhere near the team, Gusev might be more interesting though.

 

[helax]

Did Ovi miss Bäckström? Or what was the reason for his "so-so" preformance?

 

[BlitzSnipe]

Did Ovi miss Bäckström? Or what was the reason for his "so-so" preformance?

Ovechkin was probably gassed after yet another disappointing playoff season, I think he wasn't ready mentally. He was passive and turned over the puck several times.

 

[IDeyChopNaira*]

Best forward lines for Team Russia:

Top line: Panarin / Anisimov / Kucherov

2nd: Kulemin / Malkin / Tarasenko /

3rd: Ovechkin / Kuznetsov / Radulov

4th: Lyubimov / Namestnikov / Telegin

Extra centre: Shipachyov

 

[Raptor1990]

Next year hopefully Gusev, Golyshev, Provorov, Buchnevic instead Plotnikov, Shirokov, Antipin and Sannikov.

 

[kp61c]

Top line: Panarin / Anisimov / Kucherov

2nd: Kulemin / Malkin / Tarasenko /

3rd: Ovechkin / Kuznetsov / Radulov

4th: Lyubimov / Namestnikov / Telegin

Extra centre: Shipachyov

kulemin on the second line? that's a bummer. where's dats? he's old but still better then kuznetsov, anisimov and namestnikov.

[MOD]

 

[chauron]

It would be one thing if this was a sport that Russia sucked at or wasn´t really that competetive, but since you are talking about a proud and patriotic country and its perhaps greatest team sport you will probably never see a foreigner ever coaching it.

Technically speaking that has already happened ... Oļegs Znaroks is latvian. But I understand you meant the coach will need to come from former soviet area.

 

[Yakushev72]

Technically speaking that has already happened ... Oļegs Znaroks is latvian. But I understand you meant the coach will need to come from former soviet area.

Oleg Znarok was born in a small city in the Ural Mountains near Chelyabinsk, so it is doubtful that he has any Latvian ancestry at all. He played hockey and coached in Riga, which is no doubt how he got "s' attached to his names.

 

[XokkeyGuy]

Technically speaking that has already happened ... Oļegs Znaroks is latvian. But I understand you meant the coach will need to come from former soviet area.

Well, yea you got my point. But I also wanted to point out that, as Yakushev72 wrote, that he is born in Russia and is about as much latvian as Viktor Tikhonov (the coach) could be if Latvia would be a country of its own during his time too (he also played 9 seasons in latvia), naming him Viktors Tikhonovs automatically and his grandson (the player) also has a latvian nationality, but no one would suggest they aren´t russian.

 

[Yakushev72]

Did Ovi miss Bäckström? Or what was the reason for his "so-so" preformance?

The problem with Backstrom is that he tends to disappear in the tough series', as he did against the Penguins.

 

[moropanov]

Ovechkin is baddest chocker in hockey. In key moment's /important game's he cant do anythink. Washington would definitely have atleast 1 Stanley cup by now if Ovechkin would be replaced by some real elite player like Kopitar Malkin prime Zeta etc. That money is going so badly to waste it really hurts Capitals. they should get rid of Ovie but i doubt anyone would take him with his outrageously overpriced contract so they are kind of stuck with him, if he doesnt leave to KHL

 

[Kshahdoo]

It looks like Malkin is 50/50 for World Cup, he needs an elbow surgery.

 

[Paxton Fettel]

Ovechkin is baddest chocker in hockey. In key moment's /important game's he cant do anythink. Washington would definitely have atleast 1 Stanley cup by now if Ovechkin would be replaced by some real elite player like Kopitar Malkin prime Zeta etc. That money is going so badly to waste it really hurts Capitals. they should get rid of Ovie but i doubt anyone would take him with his outrageously overpriced contract so they are kind of stuck with him, if he doesnt leave to KHL

Why do you have to be mad? Ovy is a top 3 goal scorer all-time in this league, but he's just a goal scorer, leave him alone. He does what he can when it matters, his teammates tend to disappear off the face of the earth though : Backstrom, this year Kuznetsov and so on.

Your examples are terrible for somebody who pretends to know his hockey. Malkin and Crosby play together, with Letang. Kopitar plays on a stacked team with Doughty.

The Capitals haven't had a Norris caliber defenseman in years, their goaltenders tend to get outplayed. It's not Ovy's fault the management can't get it done.

 

[Atas2000]

Why do you have to be mad? Ovy is a top 3 goal scorer all-time in this league, but he's just a goal scorer, leave him alone. He does what he can when it matters, his teammates tend to disappear off the face of the earth though : Backstrom, this year Kuznetsov and so on.

Your examples are terrible for somebody who pretends to know his hockey. Malkin and Crosby play together, with Letang. Kopitar plays on a stacked team with Doughty.

The Capitals haven't had a Norris caliber defenseman in years, their goaltenders tend to get outplayed. It's not Ovy's fault the management can't get it done.

He is that Ovechkin hater IIRC. From post #1 it's all about how much of a bust Ovechkin is with him.

 

[xxxx]

It looks like Malkin is 50/50 for World Cup, he needs an elbow surgery.

fortunately, he's ok:

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin will not require surgery on his injured left elbow, it was announced today by general manager Jim Rutherford.

Malkin will undergo rehabilitation this summer and is not expected to miss any time.

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...elbow-surgery-pittsburgh/stories/201606230117

 

[Atas2000]

fortunately, he's ok:



http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...elbow-surgery-pittsburgh/stories/201606230117

The question remains if he is 100% come September. And how much the honey moon will affect his mental and physical focus.

 

[Fantomas]

LOL @ Ovechkin being a playoff choker. Crosby does jack squat the entire playoffs while his team's fourth line can't stop scoring, and yet gets awarded the Conn Smythe for some reason. Meanwhile Ovechkin produces at a point-a-game, but gets no help from his teammates. Not his fault.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Ovi is an International tournaments choker, that's for sure.

 

[Zine]

Part of why Ovechkin is often a chokes when playing for the sbornaya is that he's a small ice player. His style isnt as effective on international ice.