Czecho-Slovakia is the best hockey country

[arnie]

If Czechoslovakia had not broken up, it would be the best hockey country. In the World cup, Canada barely beat the Czechs alone in a game that was set up to ensure a Canadian win - it was played in front of a Toronto hometown crowd, the Czechs had to travel several thousand miles and play in a different time zone, etc, etc.

Now suppose you add the top Slovakian players to the Czech team - Hossa, Chara, Bondra, Palffy, Demetra, Gaborik, etc. These additions would likely have swing the game for the Czechs.

Further Czecho-Slovakia has a population of only about 15 million, half that of Canadia. So it produces teams that are as good or better with half the population.

The Canadians should thank their lucky stars that Czexhosolvakia broke up.

Click to read more...

 

[Le Golie]

An interesting way to look at it - Canada's second team would likely hammer Slovakia.

 

[stv11]

If Czechoslovakia had not broken up, it would be the best hockey country. In the World cup, Canada barely beat the Czechs alone in a game that was set up to ensure a Canadian win - it was played in front of a Toronto hometown crowd, the Czechs had to travel several thousand miles and play in a different time zone, etc, etc.

Every international tournament has a home team. By the way, your great Czech team lost its last world championnship game to an US team that travelled several thousand miles to play in a different time zone.

Now suppose you add the top Slovakian players to the Czech team - Hossa, Chara, Bondra, Palffy, Demetra, Gaborik, etc. These additions would likely have swing the game for the Czechs.

There always were few slovakians in the czechoslovakian national team before the country split, mainly because it was basically already a czech-made team.

And you can't take players from different coutries and except them to perform as a team. I find it hard to believe that any Czechoslovakian team would have been better than the Czech team from 1998 to 2001. Another good example is Yugoslavia's pre 1990 soccer team : despite all the talented players, they weren't better than either Croatia's or Serbia's post-1990 teams.

Further Czecho-Slovakia has a population of only about 15 million, half that of Canadia. So it produces teams that are as good or better with half the population.

This argument (weak at best) clearly makes Finland the best hockey nation, and it's not even close.

 

[Safir*]

If Czechoslovakia had not broken up, it would be the best hockey country. In the World cup, Canada barely beat the Czechs alone in a game that was set up to ensure a Canadian win - it was played in front of a Toronto hometown crowd, the Czechs had to travel several thousand miles and play in a different time zone, etc, etc.

Now suppose you add the top Slovakian players to the Czech team - Hossa, Chara, Bondra, Palffy, Demetra, Gaborik, etc. These additions would likely have swing the game for the Czechs.

Further Czecho-Slovakia has a population of only about 15 million, half that of Canadia. So it produces teams that are as good or better with half the population.

The Canadians should thank their lucky stars that Czexhosolvakia broke up.

You'll never know, if these star player would have chemistry. Canada has many players that are excellent on offensive, but can also destroy the play of their opponents.

Look at the 2003-04 NY Rangers or Real Madrid in soccer. You have many many good player, but it's not always a good team only on the paper.

Canada had a long drought before winning the World Cups and the Gold Medal in SLC, I think they deserve it. The ex-CSSR can't even come close to goaltending deepth of the Canadian nation team and arnie that's the most important position in hockey.

 

[High flyin' Habs*]

If Czechoslovakia had not broken up, it would be the best hockey country. In the World cup, Canada barely beat the Czechs alone in a game that was set up to ensure a Canadian win - it was played in front of a Toronto hometown crowd, the Czechs had to travel several thousand miles and play in a different time zone, etc, etc.

Now suppose you add the top Slovakian players to the Czech team - Hossa, Chara, Bondra, Palffy, Demetra, Gaborik, etc. These additions would likely have swing the game for the Czechs.

Further Czecho-Slovakia has a population of only about 15 million, half that of Canadia. So it produces teams that are as good or better with half the population.

The Canadians should thank their lucky stars that Czexhosolvakia broke up.

All I can say is..... :lol

 

[Streaker-man]

This argument (weak at best) clearly makes Finland the best hockey nation, and it's not even close.

The old saying says something like this:

"A team is always as good as its previous game"

And I sure remember that Finland took silver there

 

[VanIslander]

There always were few slovakians in the czechoslovakian national team before the country split

The Stasny brothers were exceptions?

 

[VanIslander]

add the top Slovakian players to the Czech team - Hossa, Chara, Bondra, Palffy, Demetra, Gaborik, etc. These additions would likely have swing the game

Hard to believe it wouldn't.

 

[stv11]

The Stasny brothers were exceptions?

They were

 

[LadyByngJeanRatelle]

If Czechoslovakia had not broken up, it would be the best hockey country. In the World cup, Canada barely beat the Czechs alone in a game that was set up to ensure a Canadian win - it was played in front of a Toronto hometown crowd, the Czechs had to travel several thousand miles and play in a different time zone, etc, etc.

Now suppose you add the top Slovakian players to the Czech team - Hossa, Chara, Bondra, Palffy, Demetra, Gaborik, etc. These additions would likely have swing the game for the Czechs.

Well, I guess if you can have those players added, Maybe we can add our 2 best defensemen (Blake and Pronger). I still like our odds.

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

The Czechs and Slovaks, as well as the Russians, Finns and Swedes have some great top line talent which can compete with anyone including Canada. What makes Canada the top hockey nation isn't it's top line talent. It's the depth. Canada could send three or four teams to a world tournament and they would all be contenders for medals. No other country can claim this. You could have a team Ontario, a team East and a team West which would all be contenders for the Gold.

 

[backatyou]

the czechs are already good, and obviously if u added the talent from slovakia they would have a sik team, but don't compare them with canada. pound for pound our team is better, we got more super stars that range from power forwards to pure finesse and can play good together. especially defence and goaltending, theres no comparison at all in those departments. we were also missing top talent at the world cup (ex. pronger, blake, jovo, kariya, bertuzzi, nash)

 

[backatyou]

like everyone else is saying, we got too much depth. we could have like 4 good teams from canada

 

[Streaker-man]

Canada is superior mostly because the game was born there. It´s the national sport and the number one choice for children who want to play something. How many people you got there? About 28M? A big country with one main sport creates superstars.

If I didn´t live in Finland I´d probably be Canadian. I have great respect for that country (and Sweden also).

 

[Bruins4Ever]

Compare the best players of each country:

Slovakia/Czech Republic: Gaborik, Hossa, Demitra, Chara, Hejduk, Vokoun
Canada: Heatley, Iginla, Thornton, Blake, Lecavalier, Brodeur

I'd take Canada over Slovakia/Czech Republic anyway.

 

[canucks666]

Compare the best players of each country:

Slovakia/Czech Republic: Gaborik, Hossa, Demitra, Chara, Hejduk, Vokoun
Canada: Heatley, Iginla, Thornton, Blake, Lecavalier, Brodeur

I'd take Canada over Slovakia/Czech Republic anyway.

game, set, match, and lock.

 

[wassup77]

Compare the best players of each country:

Slovakia/Czech Republic: Gaborik, Hossa, Demitra, Chara, Hejduk, Vokoun
Canada: Heatley, Iginla, Thornton, Blake, Lecavalier, Brodeur

I'd take Canada over Slovakia/Czech Republic anyway.

hey!

Gaborik, Hossa, Demitra, Chara, Hejduk > Heatley, Iginla, Thornton, Blake, Lecavalier.

 

[hockeyfan125]

hey!

Gaborik, Hossa, Demitra, Chara, Hejduk > Heatley, Iginla, Thornton, Blake, Lecavalier.

Blake isnt even our best d-man...

Try
Gaboirik, Hossa, Demitra, Hejduk, Chara vs. Sakic, Pronger, Iginila, Thornton, Heatley/St.Louis. etc.

This is semi-close, but Canada wins. Canada has way, way, way, way better depth.

 

[gr8haluschak]

hey!

Gaborik, Hossa, Demitra, Chara, Hejduk > Heatley, Iginla, Thornton, Blake, Lecavalier.

Did you type that with a straight face, seriously if you think that you really have no clue about hockey.

 

[DRL]

If Czechoslovakia had not broken up, it would be the best hockey country. In the World cup, Canada barely beat the Czechs alone in a game that was set up to ensure a Canadian win - it was played in front of a Toronto hometown crowd, the Czechs had to travel several thousand miles and play in a different time zone, etc, etc.

Now suppose you add the top Slovakian players to the Czech team - Hossa, Chara, Bondra, Palffy, Demetra, Gaborik, etc. These additions would likely have swing the game for the Czechs.

Further Czecho-Slovakia has a population of only about 15 million, half that of Canadia. So it produces teams that are as good or better with half the population.

The Canadians should thank their lucky stars that Czexhosolvakia broke up.

forget czechosolvkai(sp) imagine if the soviet union still existed.....

 

[hfboardsuser]

forget czechosolvkai(sp) imagine if the soviet union still existed.....

I'd have to wonder how many ancestors of famed players from former Soviet states would have been executed for whatever reason, thus negating the possibility the players would have been born.

 

[DRL]

further more:

Khabibulin
Nabokov

Zhamonov-Fedorov-Mogilny
Kovalchuk-Datsyuk-Samsonov
Ovechkin-Yashin-V. Bure
Fedotenko-Nikolishin-Bondra(ukraine)

Kasparaitis-Zubov
Ozolinsh-Vishnevski
Salei-Khanov

i am sure someone can put together a better russian team but that i best guess,
just as good if not better than a czech-solvak team

that is of course they all actually wanted to play....

 

[futurcorerock]

A Czechoslovakian Team would be a nice little boost. I know now everyone's high on the Canada high horse now that they have been able to dominate international hockey in recent years, but it wasnt always like this.

They've always had the depth and the star power. What makes them different now is that they are a tight team with good chemistry

 

[The Legend]

You can combine the Slovakian and Czech team all you want. As has been said, any team can beat any team in any given game. But when you get into the area of best hockey country, you can't just focus on the top 25 players. During the world cup, a bunch of us put together a lineup of 6 different Canadian teams. NO WAY there is even enough Czechslovakian players to even create 6 different teams. (Obviously a exaggeration, but you get the point). Someone like Gary Roberts was on the 4th team. I could make the argument that I'd rather have him then a skilled floater like Bondra or Demitra.


And just for the record, the best Canadian hockey player right now, and the man I would always pick ahead of everyone else is Joe Sakic. Every tournament he comes up big.

 

[futurcorerock]

A team's depth beyond one roster doesnt matter when they are only playing 22 on a bench. Go ahead and make 27,584 Canadian teams, the top one is the one thats going to match up with the top "Czechoslovakian" team.

Depth beyond that Olympic team is a moot point when it comes to matching these teams up on the ice