Croatia National Thread

[dcro 10,210]

Edi Dadić is apparently in excellent shape. This weekend he placed 2nd in sprint and 1st in 10km free in Ramsau. He was also 1st in the sprint qualifications. There was quite a strong field in Ramsau, more than 100 skiers in both races. Apart from that he won some very useful FIS points, especially in sprint, where he apparently improved a lot!

 

If he can lower his FIS sprint points average to the 67 pts that he scored here he should surely make top 300 in Olympic FIS sprint points list and therefore unlock the second male quota for us. The other condition is that we need to have another athlete with A standard, however that shouldn't be a problem at all for Krešimir Crnković, even though he is primarily a biathlete.

Edited December 4, 2016 by dcro

[crovitlaci 177]

Just read that some girl from Rijeka won FIS race of slalom in alpine skiing. @dcro you know more?

 

http://www.24sata.hr/sport/mlada-hrvatska-skijasica-prva-u-slalomu-najbolja-na-svijetu-502589

 

[prso1000 728]

It is Ida Stimac. Her first season as senior, 16 y old. Big talent, but too early to say something. We had many talents in recent years who did not mange to have a breakthrough in junior/senior category.

but with 25 fis points after few races it is already very good. 

[dcro 10,210]

11 hours ago, crovitlaci said:

Just read that some girl from Rijeka won FIS race of slalom in alpine skiing. @dcro you know more?

 

http://www.24sata.hr/sport/mlada-hrvatska-skijasica-prva-u-slalomu-najbolja-na-svijetu-502589

 

 

Yep, it's still way too early to tell, however these results are good, nevertheless.

[prso1000 728]

Good season start for Stipe Žunić 

20.68m in the USA

[hckošice 15,825]

Back to EBEL

Medvescak Zagreb plans to switch leagues

 

Full house during a KHL game of Medvescak Zagreb.

 

Croatia’s leading hockey club, Medvescak Zagreb, is set to compete in Austria’s cross-border EBEL next season after four campaigns in the KHL.

The team, which also played in the EBEL prior to stepping up to the KHL in 2017, was officially accepted as a member on 15 March.

Towards the end of last season Medvescak faced some well-documented financial problems and, after a fire sale of players in the closing weeks of the campaign, suited up just 14 players in its last games. With the team heavily reliant on sponsorship to provide a sustainable budget, the decision to return to a league closer to home than the pan-Eurasian KHL was anticipated some time before this week’s announcement by both Medvescak and the EBEL.

Erste Bank Eishockey Liga president Peter Mennel welcomed the team back to the competition. “Medvescak was part of the league for four years and left lasting memories,” he said. “I’m happy that our current teams have voted in favour of the return. Fans can get ready for some more great games at Dom Sportova.”

Club president Damir Gojanovic talked up the prospect of a bright future for Medvescak in the EBEL. In an interview on the club’s website he said: “We will have an opportunity to compete against the best teams from Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. I believe we will be able to gather a competitive team and that our fans will enjoy good games and good results. I am grateful to the EBEL clubs and league Presidency for accepting our application.

“The EBEL was the starting point of the revitalization of Medvescak and without the league, the new-look Medvescak that we have today would not exist.”

Gojanovic also confirmed that the club was working hard to resolve various outstanding debts and – despite criticism from some quarters – insisted that the long-term future was secure.

“We will meet all the obligations,” he added. “I'm sorry some are delayed, but that is the reality we live in... But, I can assure you, the club will not collapse or disappear due to those obligations. Furthermore, supported by our partners we will enter EBEL with a clear and viable financial plan.”

Medvescak’s four seasons in the KHL saw the team – and its enthusiastic fans at Zagreb’s Dom Sportova – win friends across the competition. However, results on the ice were less impressive, with the team making the playoffs just once in four seasons. Gojanovic, though, regarded the experience as a success and was thrilled to have brought some of the world’s best players to Zagreb.

“Dom Sportova witnessed the best possible hockey we could see or imagine and there is nothing better than it outside of North America,” he said. “Medvescak welcomed some of the biggest and best in world – clubs like SKA, CSKA, Dynamo Moscow, Spartak, all true institutions of hockey, and players like Radulov, Kovalchuk, Mozyakin or Cheechoo, to name but a few. We brought some great players to Zagreb. If someone had told me we could do something like this in Zagreb, I’d have laughed in his face. But we did it, and our fans got to see top-class hockey.”

Alexander Medvedev, then the KHL president who welcomed Medvescak into the league, also felt that the club offered plenty during its time. “Medvescak created a competitive team in a North American style and offered a good test for our teams,” he told championat.com. “Let’s not forget how Medvescak started out, hammering CSKA 7-1 in its first game.

“But the Croatian business community could not generate the kind of money to help the team compete effectively in the league, and trying to subsist on bread and water isn’t a realistic way forward for any team. The way Medvescak had to sell off almost all its players to clear its debts, and played the last couple of games with just two lines, is far from ideal. On the one hand, the club fulfilled its obligations and completed the season; on the other, the necessary foundations to play in the KHL, sadly, disappeared.”

For the KHL, the news comes at the end of a season where the league’s future has been the subject of much debate. Last year, comments from KHL President Dmitri Chernyshenko about the possibility of reducing the number of teams in the competition prompted a flurry of speculation, although the league was quick to point out that this was merely one of many options under consideration as the organization looked at how to develop in future. Meanwhile, other reports from Russia suggest that Medvescak’s place next season might go to a second team in St. Petersburg, a representative from Estonia or an ambitious new franchise based in London, England.

Although the club announced to return to the Central European competition, Medvescak head of media, Ranko Vucevic, told Russian website championat.com that there was still a possibility of KHL action in Croatia.

“The deadline for clubs to submit applications [to play in next season’s] KHL is 30th April,” he said. “Any application for Medvescak to play in the KHL... depends on the responses of our sponsors and especially on whether there will be further cooperation with our partners in Russia.

“This week’s confirmation of participation in the EBEL in no way effects our plans for the KHL. The competition in which Medvescak will play next season will be announced by the end of May.”

However, Mennel’s statement on the EBEL website continued: “The participation of Medvescak Zagreb stands firm.”

Prior to joining the KHL, Medvescak spent four seasons in the EBEL. On two occasions, it reached the playoff semi-finals and in 2012 it finished second in the regular-season table. The club’s youth team still plays in the junior section of that competition.

[prso1000 728]

What is the situation with the Zaninovic sisters? does anyone know it?

Did they retire or they are injured?

 

As it looks right now they will not qualify for the next WCH in Korea according to the internal criteria of the Croatian federation.

 

[prso1000 728]

Matej Vidovic ended as 3rd in Slalom Europe Cup, which means he secures a fixed spot for him personally in the World Cup for the whole next season.

In total that means we could have up to 4 athlethes in SL next year in the WC races.

 

Unfrtunately this information is worng

there was a sprint slalom in the evening and Matej finsihed in 10th place, 5th overall, no fixed place for him

 

Edited March 19, 2017 by prso1000

[dcro 10,210]

Bruno Erent broke his own 50km walk NR by more than 15 minutes in Dudince this weekend. He clocked 4:13:01, what is very close to big championship standards!

 

Looks like we should have our first walker at big events soon.

[prso1000 728]

For Korea it seems we will be represented only in two sports again.

 

Cross Country: according to current status it is 2 quotas (1 male and 1 female), i think we will have one more male. Kresimir Crnkovic just has to do two more decent races until end of January 2018, and he will have A standard and as Dadic is within Top 300 it means another quota. In ladies Skender i think has no chance to reach A standard, which would give us another quota.

 

Alpine: currently only 4 quoatas (2 male and 2 female), but i guess this will change after reallocation. Istok Rodes did some good resluts in AC recently which should move him up significantly in the Allocation list. Natko next year should have injured status, which means he will be in Top 30 in AC and hopefully he can keep that until January. Overall i guess it will be at least 6 quoata or up to 8. Of course a lot will depend on results next season.

 

In other sports it is going to be very diffcult.

 

Biathlon: Crnkovic still has a chance, he is fighting against Japan and Poland for the remaining 4 places, maybe Great Britan and South Korea can join that fight. Two places are already gone (Belguim and South Korea). Currently he is the first below the line. If he can repeat Oberhof he would be in. But anyway he will qualify via Cross country i guess. Still would be great for him to start in biathlon.

 

Luge: Obratov, she is probably out, i dont see an impovement there.

Bob: our team is not good enough.

Figure skating: Vrdoljak is without a chance in my opinion, unless all others have a very bad day and he has a great day, which will not happen. Petranovic/Sousa only with chances if Germany and France do not use their 2nd quota. If they do it is hopeless.

Snowboard: Jugovac currently in 36th place, 30 qualify. It is going to be very tough, probably not, unless some NOC do not use their quota in SS/BA. Stojak to far away, maybe 2022.