Criticism & Merits of TEAM RUSSIA

[Evgeny Oliker]

now that the 26 man roster is announced, lets discuss criticism of that roster. i think you guys have been a bit too hard on COACH BILL. he went for youth, size, and healthy players instead of older and beat-up players, he was being smart.
Mogilny - too many injuries and age catching up to him
P. Bure - again, too many injuries, and one-way player
S. Kozlov - i would have taken him but they will be ok without him
Korolyuk - great player but way too small for WC
Malakhov - awesome playoffs but struggled against TB's speed
Zubov - very smart not to take him, he was awful in the playoffs and struggles on defense without a HATCHER next to him.
Zhitnik - too inconsistent
Kalinin - i would have taken him over Tverdovsky
Nikolishin - an up and down year with Avs, i'd rather have Zubrus and Chubarov
Morozov - lost a lot of confidence this season
Frolov- great player but his foot speed is not yet where it should be
Zherdev- too young i think, needs more experience in NHL

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[helicecopter]

Mogilny - too many injuries and age catching up to him
P. Bure - again, too many injuries, and one-way player
Korolyuk - great player but way too small for WC
Malakhov - awesome playoffs but struggled against TB's speed
Zubov - very smart not to take him, he was awful in the playoffs and struggles on defense without a HATCHER next to him.

C'mon!!
Mogilny - i guess it was his choice ( ) to not be there; if it's coaches' choice it's a big mistake in my opinion.
P. Bure -obviously the only reason he is not there is he is injured NOW.
Korolyuk - too small...like Saint Louis??
Malakhov -played well against Tampa too, it's just HE refused to play.
Zubov - Very MORONIC not to take him if he would like to play, but obviously HE refused to play ( ), so nothing smart and nothing moronic i guess.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

Merits of TEAM RUSSIA

If we are going to criticize this team, lets also give it some credit then. the team has a great balance of experience and youth...along with much more size and toughness than any TEAM RUSSIA of the past!

Goalies
Evgeni Nabokov, SJ - clearly should be on team
Nikolai Khabibulin, TB - #1 goalie for sure for WC
Maxim Sokolov, Avangard - will do as a backup

Defensemen
Oleg Tverdovsky, Avangard - ok for 3rd pair or as extra
Sergei Gonchar, Was. - awesome on PP and improved on D
Daniil Markov, Phi. - best choice, best +/- in playoffs!
Alexander Khavanov, Stl. - improved his all-around game recently
Darius Kasparaitis, NYR - puts the fear of God into opposition
Anton Volchenkov, Ott. - gutsy pick, superb player! big, mobile, tough, and can move the puck
Vitaly Vishnevski, Ana. - another gutsy pick, another great player! was great last year in playoffs, will be even better in WC.
Andrei Markov, Mtl. - great on PP, and improved defensively, great choice.

Forwards
Dainius Zubrus, Was. - size, great checking line winger
Artem Chubarov, Van. - size, toughness, great checking line center
Sergei Samsonov, Bos. - talented and doesnt mind physical play
Alexei Kovalev, Mtl. - size, skill, speed, everything
Sergei Fedorov, Ana. - all-around great center
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atl. - size, skill, amazing goal-scorer
Maxim Afinogenov, Buf. - was great in Olympics, deserves this
Pavel Datsyuk, Det. - coming of age, can play with Fedorov
Viktor Kozlov, NJ - size, skill, can play checking line
Alexei Yashin, NYI - size and skill
Alexei Zhamnov, Phi. - size, pretty good playoffs, good all-around
Valeri Bure, Dal. - BAD choice, extra player
Oleg Kvasha, NYI - size, skill, can play with YASHIN
Alexander Ovechkin, Dynamo - deserves a chance to show himself
Maxim Shishinski, Avangard - who is this guy?

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

C'mon!!
Mogilny - i guess it was his choice ( ) to not be there; if it's coaches' choice it's a big mistake in my opinion.
P. Bure -obviously the only reason he is not there is he is injured NOW.
Korolyuk - too small...like Saint Louis??
Malakhov -played well against Tampa too, it's just HE refused to play.
Zubov - Very MORONIC not to take him if he would like to play, but obviously HE refused to play ( ), so nothing smart and nothing moronic i guess.

Mogilny - you seem to be stuck on having as many STARS on TEAM RUSSIA as possible. exactly how many stars does CALGARY have? i think i made my point. he is injured and they have enough stars right now.
P.Bure- yes,he's injured and probably wont play ever again
Korolyuk - sorry,cant compare him to ST.Louis. why? cause Korolyuk can't pass or shoot nearly as well as ST.Louis can. Korolyuk is more of 2nd or 3rd line speed demon. if he had as much talent as ST.Louis, i would gladly put him on the WC team.
Malakhov - refused to play? give me a break. he had a great playoffs but he is 35 and his lack of speed and mobility showed against TB.
Zubov - maybe you should have watched him in these playoffs against COLORADO

 

[Preds666]

There is no need for 3(!) threads to talk about the Russian roster. I've merged two of them here. Post your thoughts and have fun

 

[Liquidrage*]

Malakhov - refused to play? give me a break. he had a great playoffs but he is 35 and his lack of speed and mobility showed against TB.

Tampa won. That doesn't mean every Flyers player sucked.

Malakov was a +4 against Tampa with 1 goal and 3 assists in 7 games.
He averaged allmost 28 minutes per game in that series. Hell, outside of Primeau he was probably the best Flyer player in the entire series. He wans't exposed by Tampa in any way and his *lack of speed* wasn't.

Not really sure what series you were watchin Malakov was actually great in that series. Now his age and his desire to play in the WC might be issues.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

Tampa won. That doesn't mean every Flyers player sucked.

Malakov was a +4 against Tampa with 1 goal and 3 assists in 7 games.
He averaged allmost 28 minutes per game in that series. Hell, outside of Primeau he was probably the best Flyer player in the entire series. He wans't exposed by Tampa in any way and his *lack of speed* wasn't.

Not really sure what series you were watchin Malakov was actually great in that series. Now his age and his desire to play in the WC might be issues.

I was not saying that MALAKHOV was horrible against TAMPA. i know he was a plus and played well in most of the games. i did not like the way he played in game 7 however. i think that taking him for the WC would not have been a bad idea because then they could have put him with D.MARKOV on a pair. however, i think that this new coach wants to have a younger team and give some of the younger DMEN a chance to show something. Malakhov is 35 and does not have as much to prove as a VOLCHENKOV does.

 

[wilka91*]

Malakhov refused to play.
Mogilny, Zubov, Zhitnik refused a long time ago.
P. Bure is injured and hasn't played hockey in more than a year.
Frolov : they made a big mistake!!! He must play. And I think he'll be added later.
Morozov and Korolyuk : probably too soft.
S. Kozlov : too soft and not too excited to play.
Kovalenko, Yushkevich ... could have been selected.

And what the hell is Sushinsky doing here? I understand he had a phenomenal season with Avangard, but ice hockey on NHL rinks is so different from the Superleague ... he's way too small and light.

 

[mach777]

If we are going to criticize this team, lets also give it some credit then. the team has a great balance of experience and youth...along with much more size and toughness than any TEAM RUSSIA of the past!

Goalies
Evgeni Nabokov, SJ - clearly should be on team
Nikolai Khabibulin, TB - #1 goalie for sure for WC
Maxim Sokolov, Avangard - will do as a backup

Defensemen
Oleg Tverdovsky, Avangard - ok for 3rd pair or as extra
Sergei Gonchar, Was. - awesome on PP and improved on D
Daniil Markov, Phi. - best choice, best +/- in playoffs!
Alexander Khavanov, Stl. - improved his all-around game recently
Darius Kasparaitis, NYR - puts the fear of God into opposition
Anton Volchenkov, Ott. - gutsy pick, superb player! big, mobile, tough, and can move the puck
Vitaly Vishnevski, Ana. - another gutsy pick, another great player! was great last year in playoffs, will be even better in WC.
Andrei Markov, Mtl. - great on PP, and improved defensively, great choice.

Forwards
Dainius Zubrus, Was. - size, great checking line winger
Artem Chubarov, Van. - size, toughness, great checking line center
Sergei Samsonov, Bos. - talented and doesnt mind physical play
Alexei Kovalev, Mtl. - size, skill, speed, everything
Sergei Fedorov, Ana. - all-around great center
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atl. - size, skill, amazing goal-scorer
Maxim Afinogenov, Buf. - was great in Olympics, deserves this
Pavel Datsyuk, Det. - coming of age, can play with Fedorov
Viktor Kozlov, NJ - size, skill, can play checking line
Alexei Yashin, NYI - size and skill
Alexei Zhamnov, Phi. - size, pretty good playoffs, good all-around
Valeri Bure, Dal. - BAD choice, extra player
Oleg Kvasha, NYI - size, skill, can play with YASHIN
Alexander Ovechkin, Dynamo - deserves a chance to show himself
Maxim Shishinski, Avangard - who is this guy?

This team can beat any team, and they will be underdogs. Watch out.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

Malakhov refused to play.
Mogilny, Zubov, Zhitnik refused a long time ago.
P. Bure is injured and hasn't played hockey in more than a year.
Frolov : they made a big mistake!!! He must play. And I think he'll be added later.
Morozov and Korolyuk : probably too soft.
S. Kozlov : too soft and not too excited to play.
Kovalenko, Yushkevich ... could have been selected.

And what the hell is Sushinsky doing here? I understand he had a phenomenal season with Avangard, but ice hockey on NHL rinks is so different from the Superleague ... he's way too small and light.

thanks for clearing things up. why did MALAKHOV refuse to play? strange.
1. who gives a damn about zubov and zhitnik, they cant play D
2. they'll be ok without Mogilny
3. korolyuk and s.kozlov are far from soft, they have become very physical this season. korolyuk is just too small, but i would have taken s.kozlov, he plays great with kovalchuk

 

[ZBORNAJA]

I believe Kozlov also doesnt want to play for russia

 

[wilka91*]

I believe Kozlov also doesnt want to play for russia

Exactly. He didn't wanna play at Nagano.

 

[Bill McNeal]

This team can beat any team, and they will be underdogs. Watch out.

I don't think anybody considers the Russians underdogs Although most of the media coverage will be on Canada as most of the tournament is held there, Russia has a great team here. No glaring weaknesses that I can see.

Going into the tourney, I'd rank the teams as follows:

1a) Canada
1b) Russia
3) Sweden
4) Czech Republic
5) Slovakia
6) United States
7) Finland
8) Germany

Of course, 1-6 could win it, and 7 can easily medal or win it. Just how I rank them on paper.

 

[wilka91*]

Does Russia's team really look good on paper?

With all the players that didn't make the team or didn't want to be part of, I have the impression that this is a very average team ... on paper.

 

[Bill McNeal]

Does Russia's team really look good on paper?

With all the players that didn't make the team or didn't want to be part of, I have the impression that this is a very average team ... on paper.

I really think so. While some people stand out (Valeri Bure) Russia has easily the most explosive offense at the tourney, ahead of even Sweden IMO. Kovalchuk, Fedorov, Ovechkin, Yashin, Datsyuk... That's insane. They also have 2 of the final 4 goalies in the playoffs, with one of them not even playing in the tourney (Esche). The D may lack a HUGE name like Lidstrom or Pronger, they are solid. Gonchar, Tverdovsky and A. Markov will take care of the offense, while Kasparaitis and Volchenkov will get in your face and make you pay.

Granted, it COULD have been better, as you say. But many teams had players that could have been added. I really see this Russian team as top class.

 

[wilka91*]

If you say so ...

 

[bert]

This team look awesome. Im glad as a sens fan that Volchenkov is going more motivation for him to shed some pounds this summer and improve his footspeed he will gain valuable experience.

Three guys I wanted to see were Saprykin, Zherdev and Frolov.

Would have liked to see Saprykin on the team a checking line of Saprykin Chubarov Zubrus would have been awesome.

Dont know about the Frolov omission though thats a tough one.

Malakhov, Zubov, Zhitnik, Mogilny all refused so I dont see a reason to get angry about these guys. Bure is not healed.

I like the team overall. My lines

Samsonov Federov Yashin
Kovalchuk Datsyuk Afinegenov
Kozlov Zhamnov Kovalev
Ovechkin Chubarov Zubrus
Kvasha Shishinsky Bure

 

[wilka91*]

I like Russia's B team :

Mogilny - S. Kozlov - P. Bure
Morozov - Kovalenko - Korolyuk
Frolov - Saprykin - Zherdev

Zhitnik - Zubov
Kalinin - B. Mironov
Malakhov - Yushkevich

Bryzgalov

 

[Canuck21t]

Does Russia's team really look good on paper?

With all the players that didn't make the team or didn't want to be part of, I have the impression that this is a very average team ... on paper.

Yes it looks good on paper. The team could be better for sure, but let's put it this way, Team Canada could also look better. Your's is due to some refusals, ours is due to... well you know. Having the best players is not always the way to go.

 

[wilka91*]

I think this whole discussion about who's better and whose defense is stronger is pointless. Belarus did beat a very strong Swedish team in 2002, the Canadians had some troulbes against Germany (2002) and Slovakia (1996).

This is all about what will happen on the ice.

 

[Canuck21t]

I think this whole discussion about who's better and whose defense is stronger is pointless. Belarus did beat a very strong Swedish team in 2002, the Canadians had some troulbes against Germany (2002) and Slovakia (1996).

This is all about what will happen on the ice.

I'm not comparing Russia with Canada here. What I'm trying to say is that rosters can always look better. If you take Team Canada, it is missing names that are better on paper than some of the ones on the current roster (i.e. Morrow vs. Lecavalier) but as we all know, big names do not always = success.

 

[SwisshockeyAcademy]

Korolyuk fits perfectly as a third or fourth liner, he is very brave and he is very skilled. Max Sushinsky is a poor man's Bure and i'd take Korky over both of them any day. No matter this team will always be a wildcard. Could lose every game, could win the thing, i only hope they put on a good show .

 

[McThome]

I said before in another thread - that on paper, the only team that can beat Canada is Russia because they're the only ones with the superstar depth (Sweden could arguably be added to the list but they lack goaltending). As a Canadian Russia scares me FAR FAR FAR more then any other team (although I always cheer for Russia against everybody except Canada and maybe the Fins)

 

[oh_canuck]

I just saw this thread and already posted this on another board, but all of the d shoot left, as a coach this is a royal pain...easy to take advantage of.

 

[helicecopter]

Tampa won. That doesn't mean every Flyers player sucked.

Malakov was a +4 against Tampa with 1 goal and 3 assists in 7 games.
He averaged allmost 28 minutes per game in that series. Hell, outside of Primeau he was probably the best Flyer player in the entire series. He wans't exposed by Tampa in any way and his *lack of speed* wasn't.

Not really sure what series you were watchin Malakov was actually great in that series. Now his age and his desire to play in the WC might be issues.