Olympics: 2018 Winter Olympics Qualifying

[kabidjan18]

https://authockeytxreports.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/riga-olympic-qualifications-part-2/
My take on Game 1, Austria vs. Latvia

 

[Namejs]

How sexy is to see Kulda and Bartulis on the roster finally?

Aaand Bartulis got a concussion. Latvian luck in action.

 

[ozo]

Aaand Bartulis got a concussion. Latvian luck in action.

My cautious optimism has veined. We had our ''dream team'', but Bartulis was a huge piece of it...

 

[Maverick41]

After Denis Reul, Germany will also be missing Justin Krueger due to injury.
That's two defensemen down, so far.

 

[Namejs]

My cautious optimism has veined. We had our ''dream team'', but Bartulis was a huge piece of it...

Exactly, he's irreplaceable. Now some KHL scrub will get selected probably, Cibulskis or something. That's a really, really painful downgrade. We had Ozolins, Bartulis in Sochi. We just don't have any other elite puck-moving defencemen out there.

 

[Valdemar]

Final Danish roster

Goaltender:
Frederik Andersen, Toronto (NHL)
Sebastian Dahm, Graz 99ers (EBEL)
Simon Nielsen, Herning (Danish league)

Defenders:
Philip Larsen, Vancouver (NHL)
Oliver Lauridsen, Jokerit (KHL)
Jesper B. Jensen, Jokerit (KHL)
Nicholas B. Jensen, Rungsted (Danish league)
Stefan Lassen, Pelicans Lahti (Liiga)
Emil Kristensen, Linköping (SHL)
Daniel Nielsen, Herning (Danish league)
Markus Lauridsen, Leksand (SHL)

Forwards:
Frans Nielsen, Detroit (NHL) C
Mikkel Bødker, San Jose (NHL)
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Columbus (NHL/AHL)
Jannik Hansen, Vancouver (NHL)
Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg (NHL)
Peter Regin, Jokerit (KHL)
Mads Christensen, München (DEL)
Nichlas Hardt, Malmö (SHL)
Frederik Storm, Malmö (SHL)
Morten Green, Rungsted (Danish league)
Morten Madsen, Karlskrona (SHL)
Nicklas Jensen, New York Rangers (NHL/AHL)
Mathias Bau, Frederikshavn (Danish league)

Lars Eller, Washington Capitals (NHL) is not participating of family reasons
Morten Poulsen, Pelicans Lahti (Liiga) is not participating because of injury

The camp starts August 26 and they play a friendly match against Latvia August 30 as preparation.

 

[kabidjan18]

Bernard Starkbaum is for sure going to miss the friendlies and perhaps the tournament as well now due to a pregnant wife. This is where Alpo Suhonen being a little child is super inconvenient. He's still angry at our best goalie Mathias Lange over a little quarrel over plane ticket refunds from over a year ago. Lange has already forgotten and wishes to join the team, but Suhonen is a little baby in an old man's body and will never forget. Never forget! Smh Suhonen's quarrels with federation players and staff have literally cut both in half over the past 3 years, we put up with his whining all the time but for real it's getting to the point where the benefits of keeping him around no longer outweigh the detriment of having a middle school gossip girls run your hockey development system.

 

[kabidjan18]

Few things to note from the Belarus-France game. First off are Platt others joining Belarus in Minsk? Second, seeing Bailen there after two whole years in Minsk and having represented Team USA in the past, how Belarus has fallen. Third though, to see Stanislav Lopachuk there and he scored a goal that's pretty cool. He was the leading scorer on the last Belarus team in the U18 WJC but hasn't found much of a KHL or international footing but maybe he can recapture some spark at 24.

 

[Tronador]

After Denis Reul, Germany will also be missing Justin Krueger due to injury.
That's two defensemen down, so far.

Stephan Daschner will play for Krueger. I don't think it is such a bad choice..

 

[BalticWarrior]

Our NT coach Beresņevs has been replaced by Vasiljevs only 4(!) days before the OQ, the mess that is the Latvian Hockey Federation is frankly an embarrasment to Latvian hockey and the main culprit ofcourse is our dear LHF president Kirovs Lipmans, there arent enough swearwords in the English language(or any language for that matter) i would like to hurl at this person, he has been ruining Latvian hockey for the better part of the last decade,thankfully the senile ******* is 75 so he will have to quit sooner than later.

 

[BalticWarrior]

In other news - Bārtulis will be playing in the OQ( i just hope for his sake he isnt playing through a concussion)

 

[Namejs]

It's like a bad soap opera at this point.

The return of Bartulis definitely outweighs the departure of Berja, though, so it should be fine. It's not like we have a whole new group of players every year, and the assistant coaches are probably going to stay the same anyway.

 

[QuietContrarian]

A bit annoyed Denmark will miss out on Lars Eller, we dont exactly swim in Cs.

Hope his reasons is really good, no more than a few months ago, he said he was for sure going!

Like Denmarks chances, but they have choked when being favourites before.
Slovenia are my biggest fear, while Belarus home adv. is also a huge minus.

heres hoping for the best.

 

[mrkolice]

austria just can't score. it must be coaching, the talent is there, experience as well, but it just sucks.

 

[kabidjan18]

austria just can't score. it must be coaching, the talent is there, experience as well, but it just sucks.

Our "coaches" have been trash since Manny Viveiros left in 2014 but not all fans have begun to realize it until well right about now. The Rat was awful, Salzburg won because they have the largest budget by two times in the EBEL, and Suhonen is worse. I kinda liked what I saw in that we controlled possession and got a lot of good chances but it still looks like shinny out there, though our team really hasn't changed much in the past 4 or 5 years. At least for the tournament we get our top 2 defenders Heinrich and Ulmer, but Viveiros seems to be out which is a bummer.

 

[BalticWarrior]

It's like a bad soap opera at this point.

The return of Bartulis definitely outweighs the departure of Berja, though, so it should be fine. It's not like we have a whole new group of players every year, and the assistant coaches are probably going to stay the same anyway.

Miļuns confirmed as assistant coach God i hate Lipmans, what a *******.

 

[Namejs]

Miļuns confirmed as assistant coach God i hate Lipmans, what a *******.

Miļuns isn't that bad. He's got no experience coaching pros, but he's been pretty decent with our junior national teams throughout the years.

 

[WayneSid9987]

I want to watch this since Kuhnackl is playing. I have a few questions:

[MOD]
2) I see they play a round robin. Do they have quarters/semis/finals too or no?
3) So the best team in Minsk and the best team in Riga qualify for Pyeongchang?

 

[Maverick41]

I want to watch this since Kuhnackl is playing. I have a few questions:

[MOD]
2) I see they play a round robin. Do they have quarters/semis/finals too or no?
3) So the best team in Minsk and the best team in Riga qualify for Pyeongchang?

[MOD]
2) Nope just a single round robin (3 games for each team)
3) Yes, the winners of each tournament (Minsk, Riga and Oslo) qualify for Pyeongchang.

 

[WayneSid9987]

K, thx all.
I'll be back Thursday.

 

[MardyBum]

I'm on the bandwagon. Lets go Denmark!

 

[Bagge]

Miļuns isn't that bad. He's got no experience coaching pros, but he's been pretty decent with our junior national teams throughout the years.

Apparently Latvia and Denmark plays on tuesday in Riga. Does any of you know if this game is televised or streamed?

 

[themelkman]

Also hoping on the Denmark Bandwagon for Boedker!

 

[Munchkin10]

Deutschland!

 

[Zine]

Belarus' extended roster for current friendlies being played:

G
Mikhail Karnaukhov
Ivan Kulbakov
Kevin Lalande

D
Kirill Gotovets
Evgeny Lisovets
Nick Bailen
Roman Dyukov
Dmitry Znakharenko
Nikita Ustinenko
Evgeny Nogachyov
Oleg Yevenko
Roman Graborenko
Ilya Shinkevich
Nikolai Stasenko

F
Dmitry Ambrozheichik
Nikita Yadroets
Stanislav Lopachuk
Charles Linglet
Evgeny Farafontov
Artur Gavrus
Andrei Stepanov
Alexander Kulakov
Nikita Komarov
Alexander Pavlovich
Artyom Volkov
Sergei Drozd
Evgeny Kovyrshin
Sergei Kostitsyn
Andrei Kostitsyn
Geoff Platt
Alexander Kitarov
Sergei Stas

Grabovsky, Denisov, Korobov, Kalyuzhny, Demkov and Koval will not participate in OG qualifying for various reasons.