Turkmenistan joins the IIHF

[Urbanskog]

Turkmenistan joins as 74th member.

http://www.iihfworlds2015.com/en/news/welcome-turkmenistan/

Click to read more...

 

[Exarz]

I wonder how good they can get, as they can clearly invest **** load of cash in just a hockey arena. Imagine all the money their president can/wants to invest in their hockey programs!

 

[Milos Krasic]

Kurban Berdyev hired as head coach.

 

[nizzi]

Kurban Berdyev hired as head coach.

Maybe I don't know enough, but why to hire a football coach?
Isn't there enough hockey coaches from ex-Soviet states with solid knowledge to lead this team?

 

[Milos Krasic]

Maybe I don't know enough, but why to hire a football coach?
Isn't there enough hockey coaches from ex-Soviet states with solid knowledge to lead this team?

Because he's the Turkmenistani GOAT.

 

[Urbanskog]

I wonder how good they can get, as they can clearly invest **** load of cash in just a hockey arena. Imagine all the money their president can/wants to invest in their hockey programs!

Let's hope the president's interest in the sport is there to stay, I remember he attended the WHC final in Minsk last year. A swell arena though, would like to see it host a lower-tier World Championship tournament one day.

 

[BladesofSTEELwFIRE]

Wow, that's a fancy private box! They'll probably start out in Division II or Division III?

 

[Exarz]

Wow, that's a fancy private box! They'll probably start out in Division II or Division III?

Yeah, it's their president's own box if I remember it correctly!

Most likely Division III unless the IIHF splits it into division A and B (which would be better in my opinion as the gap between the top and the bottom is huge).

 

[ozo]

If anything, they will start in Challenge Cup of Asia. No chance they participate in the real thing in near future.

 

[Milos Krasic]

NVM

Hopefully they will be able to expand out of Ashgabat in the future.

 

[BladesofSTEELwFIRE]

If anything, they will start in Challenge Cup of Asia. No chance they participate in the real thing in near future.

Couldn't they play in Division III with nations like South Africa, Australia, & Turkey?

So even South Korea could beat them? North Korea? LOL

 

[IIHFjerseycollector]

Couldn't they play in Division III with nations like South Africa, Australia, & Turkey?

So even South Korea could beat them? North Korea? LOL

we can better gauge how theyll do in a regional tournament like the challenge cup of asia, it wouldnt be good for development playing against South Africa , Turkey etc. they would lose by 20 or so .

Yes South Korea could beat them, by 50 or 60. South Korea is really good...

 

[BladesofSTEELwFIRE]

we can better Gauge how theyll do in a regional tournament like the challenge cup of asia, it wouldnt be good for development playing against South Africa , Turkey etc. they would lose by 20 or so .

Yes South Korea could beat them, by 50 or 60. South Korea is really good...

Really?? I thought Turkmenistan had some experience with ice hockey but is so small they just hadn't joined IIHF until now.

 

[Urbanskog]

Really?? I thought Turkmenistan had some experience with ice hockey but is so small they just hadn't joined IIHF until now.

I guess you aren't too familiar with the country's climate.

 

[BladesofSTEELwFIRE]

It's not a tropical country or anything. Just like most hockey nations you play on indoor rinks anyway.

From Wiki:

Turkmenistan has a cold desert climate that is severely*continental. Summers are long (from May through September), hot, and dry, while winters generally are mild and dry, although occasionally cold and damp in the north. Most precipitation falls between January and May; precipitation is slight throughout the country, with annual averages ranging from 300 millimeters (11.8*in) in the*Kopet Dag*to 80 millimeters (3.15*in) in the northwest. The capital,*Ashgabat, close to the Iranian border in south-central Turkmenistan, averages 225 millimeters (8.9*in) of rainfall annually. Average annual temperatures range from highs of 16.8*°C (62.2*°F) in Ashgabat to lows of −5.5*°C (22.1*°F) in*Daşoguz, on the Uzbek border in north-central Turkmenistan. The almost constant winds are northerly, northeasterly, or westerly.

 

[wakawakawaka]

I wonder how good they can get, as they can clearly invest **** load of cash in just a hockey arena. Imagine all the money their president can/wants to invest in their hockey programs!

that's a nice box seat where is it anyways?

 

[BladesofSTEELwFIRE]

I think it's either the owner or the president. Somebody high up. LOL

 

[Exarz]

Yeah, it's the president's box, I think it's placed on the left at the neutral zone

 

[varsaku]

That is awesome. Great to see the sport growing. Will the be able to compete in next year's tournament? They should definitely host the division III tournament in the next few years to get people to have a look at the sport.

EDIT: Nevermind, I just read that they will not participate in 2016.