2006 Olympic Rosters(non-Canada)

[Rabid Ranger]

Nice forward team on paper.Where's the defense?

Good choice of words. They'll be saying that very same thing at the Olympics.....

 

[wilka91*]

Nice forward team on paper.Where's the defense?

I don't know. I can make you a list of defensemen that I don't want to see on this team though.

Gonchar - Kasparaitis
Kalinin - Zubov
Khavanov - Malakhov

they all suck, period

 

[Corto]

Here is my prediction as of right now for Czech Republic:

Forwards:
Jaromir Jagr
Patrik Elias
Milan Hejduk
Petr Sykora
Martin Havlat
Robert Lang
Martin Rucinsky
Martin Straka
Vaclav Prospal
Petr Cajanek
David Vyborny
Josef Vasicek
Robert Reichel

Defensemen:
Roman Hamrlik
Jaroslav Modry
Pavel Kubina
Marek Malik
Tomas Kaberle
Marek Zidlicky
Jaroslav Spacek

Drop Malik and Modry and add Slegr and Fischer. And I think that's about it.
Good choices, IMO.

Edit: Maybe Prucha instead of Reichel... (?)

 

[12# Peter Bondra]

Any chance there'd be a place for Alex Steen on that team? In a couple years, I can see him being a fixture on Team Sweden like Gagne is for Canada

He wont play in the Olympics as he wasnt even picked for the prelimenary rosters for Sweden.

 

[arrbez]

He wont play in the Olympics as he wasnt even picked for the prelimenary rosters for Sweden.

oh really? that's too bad

 

[espo*]

I don't know. I can make you a list of defensemen that I don't want to see on this team though.

Gonchar - Kasparaitis
Kalinin - Zubov
Khavanov - Malakhov

they all suck, period

They better get busy then,it's going to be tough winning in the olympics without a good defense.

 

[espo*]

Good choice of words. They'll be saying that very same thing at the Olympics.....

Yep,that's what i was thinking.Their usual pattern over the last decade or so has been to bring 5-6 Oleg Tverdoskys with Kasparitis thrown in to keep things interesting.But it has'nt worked very well.I wonder if they'll try that act once again this go around?

 

[pihinalle]

Here's my guess for Team Finland (if they are all healthy)

Lehtinen - S.Koivu - Selänne
T.Ruutu - O.Jokinen - S.Kapanen
J.Jokinen - N.Kapanen - Laaksonen
J.Ruutu - M.Koivu - Miettinen

Timonen - Väänänen
Pitkänen - Numminen
Lydman - Salo

Kiprusoff
Lehtonen
Markkanen

 

[B Boarding]

oh really? that's too bad

Tell that to the Swedish coach. He picked players I'm to ashamed to mention instead of Steen. OK, here's one: Jonas Höglund! I know you can't believe it, but he wasn't the worst pick...

 

[arrbez]

Tell that to the Swedish coach. He picked players I'm to ashamed to mention instead of Steen. OK, here's one: Jonas Höglund! I know you can't believe it, but he wasn't the worst pick...

I could have sworn Mats Sundin had a restraining order to keep Hogland and his sucky net-missing hands off any team he played for...

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

Nice forward team on paper.

Exactly. Russia always looks good on paper. But they never play to their ability.

I have been laughed at on here for suggesting that teams like the U.S.A. is on par with Russia. But I don't understand this, considering that Russia always comes up flat in international tournaments. Russia hasn't been a really scary team or won a game at a best-on-best tournament when it has mattered for close to 20 years. And the smart money says that the Olympics will be more of the same.

Russia could finish 1st. But they also could finish 7th. I know as a Canadian that I fear many teams much more than I fear Russia.

 

[espo*]

Exactly. Russia always looks good on paper. But they never play to their ability.

I have been laughed at on here for suggesting that teams like the U.S.A. is on par with Russia. But I don't understand this, considering that Russia always comes up flat in international tournaments. Russia hasn't been a really scary team or won a game at a best-on-best tournament when it has mattered for close to 20 years. And the smart money says that the Olympics will be more of the same.

Russia could finish 1st. But they also could finish 7th. I know as a Canadian that I fear many teams much more than I fear Russia.

Well,they are still a handful i think.Player talent is still quite wonderful and i never go into a game with them thinking....."this will be no sweat" they are still much too good for that.But yeah,the concern i now have with them is less then in the past and they have'nt been looked at in my eyes as "the team to beat" in quite some time.For the most part they've become just "one of the gang" where in the past Canada's games with them were the ones you marked off on the calendar.

But the talent is still there for them to rise above most of the other big seven countries and maybe even establish themselves as THE top team for a run of at least a few years.Mostly,there decline has been due to the leveling of fairness in how teams can be brought together in the wake of an all world nhl(they have'nt adapted to the new realities of this very well),the ineptitude of their Hockey federation and because some of their top players have been lukewarm to competing for that federation.

If it get's straightened out then they could move up the ladder again,though hoping for Soviet Style domination is asking a bit much and from what i've been hearing the internal power struggles don't appear to be diminishing in their hockey system yet.So Yes,despite their talent................the smart money would not be on them this coming olympics.However,they still undoubtably have the talent to win it.

 

[Slitty]

Exactly. Russia always looks good on paper. But they never play to their ability.

I have been laughed at on here for suggesting that teams like the U.S.A. is on par with Russia. But I don't understand this, considering that Russia always comes up flat in international tournaments. Russia hasn't been a really scary team or won a game at a best-on-best tournament when it has mattered for close to 20 years. And the smart money says that the Olympics will be more of the same.

Russia could finish 1st. But they also could finish 7th. I know as a Canadian that I fear many teams much more than I fear Russia.

You missed the last two Olympics didnt you?
And slept through 1985-1994ish?

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

You missed the last two Olympics didnt you?
And slept through 1985-1994ish?

The Olympics in 2002 you mean? The one where they folded up like a tent and handed the semi-final game to the U.S.A.?

I admit though, that the Olympics in 1998 was a bit of an oversight. It can be said though that they got to where they did in 1998 because they didn't have to play a physically imposing team. Against physically imposing teams, Russia caves in.

And 1985-1994 Olympics don't matter, because it was not best-on-best. It isn't hard winning the Olympic title every year when you are playing against a bunch of amateurs. The 1988 U.S.S.R. Olympic Team vs. the 1988 Canadian Olympic Team was hardly a fair matchup.

 

[Bajahobo]

Blake/Rolston/Gionta would be the ultimate energy line.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Blake/Rolston/Gionta would be the ultimate energy line.

Yeah, all three of those guys are playing great this year. Too bad we don't have more natural scorers.........