WC: General Talk '12 — Belarus

[kunabai]

I want ask belarussian fans,what are your expectations in this wc?
Is it possible that maybe,just maybe belarus makes it to QF?

we all hope for that, quarters seems fine not only for the fans but also for our hockey federation
there is nothing impossible in beating either slovakia, switzerland or even usa, though they are all tough teams to beat
and it's hard to forget last year loss to france which we play this year again, plus kazakhs won't be easy with giving points away also
so final outcome is pretty unpredictable and there are many either pessimistic or optimistic voices but we really need to jump somehow into the quarter-final

as for me, i really hope that our teams upsets usa

 

[kunabai]

I like Grabovski very much as a player but as a person as well. In one of his interview he said that he is never too "tired" to play for his country and that will always join Belarus when it is possible. That is atitude.

And he is almost ppg player at Elite division, in 37 games has 33 points.

yeah, it could be all better if we had 6-8 grabovskis

in the latest interview he said that there is a possibility of getting medals. that's what i call motivation

 

[BalticWarrior]

we all hope for that, quarters seems fine not only for the fans but also for our hockey federation
there is nothing impossible in beating either slovakia, switzerland or even usa, though they are all tough teams to beat
and it's hard to forget last year loss to france which we play this year again, plus kazakhs won't be easy with giving points away also
so final outcome is pretty unpredictable and there are many either pessimistic or optimistic voices but we really need to jump somehow into the quarter-final

as for me, i really hope that our teams upsets usa

I think that your best bet would be winning switzerland and/or slovakia. not sure about USA this year they have pretty solid lineup.

 

[kunabai]

I think that your best bet would be winning switzerland and/or slovakia. not sure about USA this year they have pretty solid lineup.

agree, it's just my personal wish

 

[Phion Keneuf]

if you have read this thread you didn't ask that
yes, he is
posted 2 assists in 2 exhibition games playing in the first line
actually, he is supposed to be the leader of the team

yea i read it, but some sources from Toronto said we only had 4 players playing in the tourny: Schenn, Phaneuf, Kulemin, Crabb

just wanted to make sure there wasnt another Grabovski that you guys were talking about or something

 

[kunabai]

heikkila said in an interview that tomorrow he'll announce two names of those who won't go to finland - place you bets
also said that kalyuzhny will be added to the team at wednesday in helsinki

edit: and it looks like koval will be number 1

 

[ozo]

edit: and it looks like koval will be number 1

It really comes as no surprise. Koval has been immense in the last months.

 

[kunabai]

It really comes as no surprise. Koval has been immense in the last months.

many fans have been demanding this move for a long time saying that mezin is on decline
though andrei made a lot for the team, many feels that koval is far better not only for last months, but for the last 2-3 years
there are still many argues
no surprise for me too, btw

 

[Couturier]

heikkila said in an interview that tomorrow he'll announce two names of those who won't go to finland - place you bets

I guarantee, that one of them will be Pavlov, but infiltrate the second one is a bit harder.

Very importat thing, that from this year Belarus will be though team, who plays the man, not the puck. Some guys like Denisov is pretty good at hits, so that would be nasty.
What about USA - they have a better lineup this year, but as far as I see, they'l finish at one of the down spots in the group(3-6). Just because in Europe the court is larger.

 

[BalticWarrior]

many fans have been demanding this move for a long time saying that mezin is on decline
though andrei made a lot for the team, many feels that koval is far better not only for last months, but for the last 2-3 years
there are still many argues
no surprise for me too, btw

Koval was just phenomenal in khl playoffs against Riga.

 

[ozo]

I guarantee, that one of them will be Pavlov, but infiltrate the second one is a bit harder.

Very importat thing, that from this year Belarus will be though team, who plays the man, not the puck. Some guys like Denisov is pretty good at hits, so that would be nasty.
What about USA - they have a better lineup this year, but as far as I see, they'l finish at one of the down spots in the group(3-6). Just because in Europe the court is larger.

See you in the final because we are a nastier side this year as well. If only things would be that simple.

Btw, how many Russian born players will be on your roster this year?

 

[kunabai]

final roster announced:

goalies: andrei mezin (dinamo minsk), vitaly koval (torpedo nn), dmitri milchakov (metallurg zhlobin)
defense: vladimir denisov, oleg goroshko, dmitri korobov (all - dinamo minsk), pavel chernook (shakhtyor), andrei antonov (neman), ilya kaznadei (metallurg zhlobin), viktor kostyuchyonok (avtomobilist), nikolai stasenko (severstal), roman graborenko (drummondville (qmjhl))
forwards: andrei mikhalev, dmitri meleshko, alexander kulakov, alexander kitarov, andrei stas, sergei drozd (all - dinamo minsk), andrei kolosov (gomel), konstantin koltsov (salavat yulaev ufa), andrei stepanov (amur khabarovsk), evgeni kovyrshin (severstal cherepovets), mikhail grabovski (toronto maple leafs), alexei ugarov (torpedo nn), alexei kalyuzhny (avangard omsk)

so, those two who were cut earlier today are kirill gotovets and alexander pavlovich and there is no any sign of demkov

 

[kunabai]

See you in the final because we are a nastier side this year as well. If only things would be that simple.

Btw, how many Russian born players will be on your roster this year?

koval, mezin, antonov, stasenko, kovyrshin, stepanov, ugarov

i really like them all except stasenko, really there is nothing more than size in him imho

 

[ozo]

koval, mezin, antonov, stasenko, kovyrshin, stepanov, ugarov

i really like them all except stasenko, really there is nothing more than size in him imho

Thanks. There really are quite a few of mammoths on your roster this year.

 

[kunabai]

oh, forgot to say that if there are 25 players in the list already it means that nobody is waiting for kostitsyns. heikkila has already used his maximum of 22 skaters and 3 goalies which iihf allows to add

 

[Couturier]

Denisov will be a captain on this team, lokks like good choice for me. Thoughest player in the team, solid D.

 

[smitty10]

Denisov will be a captain on this team, lokks like good choice for me. Thoughest player in the team, solid D.

Really? Based on his on-ice hustle, I would have thought Grabovski would be captain. Although, I remember Denisov being quite the gritty player when he played in the AHL a couple years ago. I thought he would have been a 6-7th defenseman in the NHL, but he never stuck.

 

[kunabai]

Really? Based on his on-ice hustle, I would have thought Grabovski would be captain. Although, I remember Denisov being quite the gritty player when he played in the AHL a couple years ago. I thought he would have been a 6-7th defenseman in the NHL, but he never stuck.

no doubt, there is no any tougher player we have in this team than denisov
i still think he has this 5-6th nhl d-man upside
he plays now in minsk khl team and fans love him and his dedication, they're really lighting up it with karalahti - consistent hitting, no love for the opponent, blocking shots with all parts of the body and so on
he had 3 or maybe 4 shifts in pp-unit all season long and still managed to get two pp goals

grabovski and kalyuzhny are assistants, btw

 

[kunabai]

oh, heikkila revealed the fact that he didn't include in official roster mikhalyov, kaznadey and antonov. in case kostitsyns will become free from nhl playoffs, they can be added.

 

[Sokil]

http://hcdonbass.com/home/news/news/17926?lang=ru

seems that Mezin has ditched the team without notice

 

[malkinfan]

Wow Mezin really let his team down, they could have used him today. Not impressed with coaching. Kostitsyns played less than 10 minutes, interesting healthy scratches, poor overall performance. Not only did they get pounded by good teams, but they also lost to bad teams which whom they should have beat. Can Heikkala.