Ranking WC teams

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octopi

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Dec 29, 2004
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Well, from a very preliminary glace, I'd rank Canada as the favorite(they have Brodeur, among other things), with Russia a close second(they are very young). At this point, I don't think the other teams have rosters as talented as these two. Still very dissapointed with all the Swedish no-shows, but hey, more time for Henrik Zetterberg!(He's playing, right?)
 

Lessy

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I agree, Canada and Russia are definitely the best teams on paper, but all it takes is one hot goaltender to go in and steal a few games, and a team like Finland or the Czech's could easily win.
 

octopi

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Andrew_11 said:
I agree, Canada and Russia are definitely the best teams on paper, but all it takes is one hot goaltender to go in and steal a few games, and a team like Finland or the Czech's could easily win.

I dunno about Finland, even with Kiprusoff in goal, without many top players the apparent talent gap in the rest of the positions, winning anything significant might be on the scale of Miracle on Ice.

Then again, Sweden and Belarus in 2002 makes you think that kind of thing isn't such an anomaly....

I guess the real point is that it'd be highly unlikely for Finland to beat BOTH Canada and Russia.
 

ThinMcWhistle

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Re:

octopi said:
I dunno about Finland, even with Kiprusoff in goal, without many top players the apparent talent gap in the rest of the positions, winning anything significant might be on the scale of Miracle on Ice.

Then again, Sweden and Belarus in 2002 makes you think that kind of thing isn't such an anomaly....

I guess the real point is that it'd be highly unlikely for Finland to beat BOTH Canada and Russia.

I agree with you to an extent. However, just because the team isn't full of NHL players it doesn't mean that it isn't competitive. After all, this is a team full of players that have been playing throughout the season for the Finnish/Swedish/Swiss/German elite leagues. The Canadian team is full of players that have been sitting idle for a long time now....The rust might show in this competition.
 

stv11

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finska said:
The Canadian team is full of players that have been sitting idle for a long time now....The rust might show in this competition.

I think that's the key question. There's no doubt Canada has the best team on paper, but with a half-team who didn't play any competitive hockey since last season, it's hard to guess how strong they really are. The US, Czech, Slovakian and Russian rosters look good, while those of Sweden and Finland may lack some big names, but still look very solid to me. I really have a hard time picking a favorite.
 

time

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I think the Czechs are the sleeper of this tourney -- lot of firepower up front.
 

therealdeal

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1. Canada
2. Czech Republic
3. Russia
4. USA
5. Slovakia
6. Sweden

This I think is more just the rankings going into the tournament, this doesnt neccessarily represent how I think things will end up.
 

Shareefruck

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I think the Czechs are looking way better than Russia on paper. Sure, Russia's loaded up with more offense, but I'm not sure they even have one decent defenseman or any goalies. Meanwhile the Czech's have a pretty comparable offense, good defensive forwards, a solid solid defensive unit and top-notch goaltending in Vokoun.

1. Canada
2. Czechs
3. USA
4. Slovakia ( Always overlooked. Lasak's playing well )
5. Sweden ( Lundqvist is underrated )
6. Russia
7. Finland
 

octopi

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time said:
I think the Czechs are the sleeper of this tourney -- lot of firepower up front.

Yeah, the Czechs usually play better then they look on paper, too...
 

Epsilon

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I think the Czechs are the best team in terms of combining strength on paper with readiness and conditioning due to having their players playing all season.
 

TORRUS

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2agingmonk said:
1. Canada
2. Czechs
3. USA
4. Slovakia ( Always overlooked. Lasak's playing well )
5. Sweden ( Lundqvist is underrated )
6. Russia
7. Finland

With so much talk about him he can only be overrated...
Lundqvist this, Lundqvist that, the best goalie Sweden ever had, bla, bla...

1. Czechs (great team, a lot of experience, chemistry)
2. Russia (good team, even better coaching staff that knows what to do)
3. Sweden (Sweden is allways Sweden. Contender for the medal, great goalie)
4. Slovakia (weak defence will cost them)
5. USA (apsolutely nothing special)
6. Finland (see above, but maybe I should have put them before the US cause Finland has much more heart and allways plays like a team, but I didn't want to put both NA teams at bottom of my list)
7. Canada (too many rusty players. It would be an injustice if Canada takes a medal, but they will probably surprise me and end up 5th or something like that)
 

therealdeal

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2agingmonk said:
I think the Czechs are looking way better than Russia on paper. Sure, Russia's loaded up with more offense, but I'm not sure they even have one decent defenseman or any goalies. Meanwhile the Czech's have a pretty comparable offense, good defensive forwards, a solid solid defensive unit and top-notch goaltending in Vokoun.

1. Canada
2. Czechs
3. USA
4. Slovakia ( Always overlooked. Lasak's playing well )
5. Sweden ( Lundqvist is underrated )
6. Russia
7. Finland

I remember how lundqvist had like a .942 and a 1.something GAA last year until he played Canada and got completely lit up. NHL shooters>european league shooters.
 

therealdeal

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Apr 22, 2005
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TORRUS said:
With so much talk about him he can only be overrated...
Lundqvist this, Lundqvist that, the best goalie Sweden ever had, bla, bla...

1. Czechs (great team, a lot of experience, chemistry)
2. Russia (good team, even better coaching staff that knows what to do)
3. Sweden (Sweden is allways Sweden. Contender for the medal, great goalie)
4. Slovakia (weak defence will cost them)
5. USA (apsolutely nothing special)
6. Finland (see above, but maybe I should have put them before the US cause Finland has much more heart and allways plays like a team, but I didn't want to put both NA teams at bottom of my list)
7. Canada (too many rusty players. It would be an injustice if Canada takes a medal, but they will probably surprise me and end up 5th or something like that)

Sweden is always Sweden? You mean the same country that has one big international win in pretty much their whole history, and is now going into this tournament without their best players (Sundin, Forsberg, Lidstrom). Well, thats your opinion I guess.
 

ThinMcWhistle

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therealdeal said:
Sweden is always Sweden? You mean the same country that has one big international win in pretty much their whole history, and is now going into this tournament without their best players (Sundin, Forsberg, Lidstrom). Well, thats your opinion I guess.

Hey... I'd rather be underrated than overrated. Everyone always expects Sweden to win or finish in the top 3, and lately they have come up flat. Maybe the pressures of having such high expectations is taking it's toll.

:nopity:
 

deandebean

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Canada should not fare that well, because this is our B, heck, our C squad, + the best goalie in the world. Brodeur's presence will help, but Canada doesn't stand a chance. Too many impact players missing up front and on the blue line.
 

deandebean

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And to add on my comment, the canadian players that decided not to go could beat every team of this tourney, including the canadian team. Just to show you how important this tourney is to our country.
 

octopi

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Dec 29, 2004
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deandebean said:
Canada should not fare that well, because this is our B, heck, our C squad, + the best goalie in the world. Brodeur's presence will help, but Canada doesn't stand a chance. Too many impact players missing up front and on the blue line.

Canada doesn't stand a chance? Did you perchance, notice that many other teams beside Canada are missing their top players? As others have pointed out, Canada's big problem will be that they are probably the most rusty squad, but I think they are probably the most skilled of the teams...

BTW, the teams are all doing exhibiton games now. Canada went 1-1 in 2 games vs the US.
 

Preds666

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finska said:
Everyone always expects Sweden to win or finish in the top 3, and lately they have come up flat.

Recent World Championship Record for Sweden
2004 - Silver
2003 - Silver
2002 - Bronze
2001 - Bronze

If winning Silver or Bronze is not finishing top 3, I am pretty confused. Only Canada has been more successful in the recent World Championship tournaments, which is what we are discussing here.
 

wilka91*

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on this board everyone is just saying what he wants to hear or how he wants things to be, not how they are ...
 

Canucksrock

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Huh?

Canada is going to finish 7TH???, or maybe SURPRISE you and finish 5TH!!!
Am i missing something here isnt Canada the best hockey nation in the world, haven't we won this tourney two years in a row with less quailty of players. Okay fine Czech has a good team and so does Russia, but to say Canada is not one of the fav's going in is ridiculous. Sure Canada's missing players, which team isnt. But they still have the best goaltending in Brodeur and Luongo and then a very good defense led by Jovo, Redden, Regehr, and many more quailty D men. Forwards we are not as strong as years past but Nash and Healty will put up big numbers and Thorton, Smith, Gagne and the rest can put up points too. A very good shutdown line in Maltby, Draper and whoever else they have. How in the world can you say Canada will finish last! Either you are completly biased or have no hockey sense. Canada will medel and most likely the colour will be GOLD.
 

Riddarn

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Predatore said:
Recent World Championship Record for Sweden
2004 - Silver
2003 - Silver
2002 - Bronze
2001 - Bronze

If winning Silver or Bronze is not finishing top 3, I am pretty confused. Only Canada has been more successful in the recent World Championship tournaments, which is what we are discussing here.

Just ask Mats Wennerholm and he'll tell you how dissappointing the last few years results have been.

It makes me wish that we never should have won those gold medals in the early '90s. It raised expectations and ambitions to a unreasonable level.
 

RorschachWJK

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Dec 28, 2004
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deandebean said:
And to add on my comment, the canadian players that decided not to go could beat every team of this tourney, including the canadian team. Just to show you how important this tourney is to our country.

Here we go again. While you're at it, why don't you start lecturing about depth...we haven't had one of those lectures for...an hour.

Games are played on the ice. Period.
 

ThinMcWhistle

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Re:

Predatore said:
Recent World Championship Record for Sweden
2004 - Silver
2003 - Silver
2002 - Bronze
2001 - Bronze

If winning Silver or Bronze is not finishing top 3, I am pretty confused. Only Canada has been more successful in the recent World Championship tournaments, which is what we are discussing here.

I was really referring to the more important tournaments such as the olympics and world cup...I realize that Sweden has done well in the world championships. That you are right about. This world championships is a little bit different though, since there are some elite players playing (for some teams at least) that would normally not play.
 
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