They have 12 NHLers on the roster including the goalies. And a few of the NHLers are fringe ones at this point in their careers.
This team has taken a hit with veteran stalwarts retiring and the tragedy involving Pavol Demitra. Add to that 2 key cogs in Gaborik and Visnovsky out with injuries and they just don't have enough depth to compete with the top guys. They haven't been producing enough quality players either to bridge the gap with the natural decline of their star players either. It's unfortunate, but hopefully they can start developing better at the junior levels. It's going to be rough when Hossa and Chara retire. Tatar and Jurco are nice players, but they aren't going to be able to fill the void alone. If they haven't already done so, Switzerland will being taking their spot in the "Big 7" soon.
agree with this, but I put their defense right on par with Russia's overall. Slovakia has 4 NHL defenders, and arguably one of the best in the game...Russia does not have a Chara or the depth overall as well and we torched Slovakia for 7 in 2 periods.
Not saying the same result will happen against Russia, but Slovakia is a talented team despite missing Gaborik, Demitra, and Vis. Wish Satan would have been picked but whatever. The US just can roll 4 lines of doom against you, it will wear down any teams top pair and the only country deep enough at the blue line to withstand it is Canada. Sweden has a WAYYYYY Overrated blue line as well.
On a side note, man is that Tatar a great looking player. By the end I was really cheering for him to get one, he was flying out there. Hossa just looked out of place as he needs to be with a star player to be dominating, and with no Gaborik, Hossa likely makes a small impact in Sochi.