Ice Hockey 2016 - 2017 Discussion Thread

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2018 World Championship Program

 

WOMEN'S CATEGORY

 

IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship
*****The IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship in the top division is not played during Olympic seasons. The 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship will be played in , city and dates to be announced.
Group A: USA, Canada, Finland, Germany, Russia
Group B: Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Japan + 1 promoted team

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Division I Group A
In Strasbourg, , 8-14 April 2018
Participants: Austria, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, France, Slovakia

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Division I Group B
In Asiago, , 8-14 April 2018
Participants: Kazakshtan, Latvia, China, Italy, Poland, Korea

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Division II Group A
In Bled, , 7-13 April 2018
Participants: Netherlands, Great Britain, DPR Korea, Slovenia, Australia, Mexico

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Division II Group B
In Valdemoro, , 17-23 March 2018
Participants: Spain, New Zealand, Iceland, Turkey, Romania, Chinese Taipei

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Division II Group B Qualification
In Sofia, , December 2017
Participants: Belgium, South Africa, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Croatia

 

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2018 World Championship Program

 

WOMEN'S UNDER 18 CATEGORY

 

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship
In Nizhni Novgorod, January 2018
Group A: USA, Canada, Russia, Sweden
Group B: Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship Division I Group A
In Asiago, , 8-14 January 2018
Participants: Japan, Slovakia, Norway, Hungary, Austria, Italy

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship Division I Group B
In Krynica, , 6-12 January 2018
Participants: France, Denmark, Poland, Great Britain, China, Australia

2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship Division I Group B Qualification
In Mexico City, , 28 January - 3 February 2018
Participants: Kazakhstan, Spain, Mexico, DPR Korea, Turkey, Netherlands

 

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IIHF adds eight to Hall

Local hero Krupp among inductees

 

Today, the International Ice Hockey Federation inducted its 20th Hall of Fame class in a ceremony held at the German Sport and Olympic Museum in Cologne.

 

The event, hosted by international hockey broadcaster Gord Miller, inducted eight members whose contributions to the sport have helped transform the game as they have served as hockey ambassadors for their respective countries. The IIHF Hall of Fame opened in 1997 to celebrate a century of the game being played. Inductees have included some of the biggest names and international contributors to the sport.

 

Saku Koivu won eight medals on the international stage, including leading Finland to its first ever World Championship gold in 1995. Koivu would play for the Montreal Canadiens and, later, the Anaheim Ducks. He would become the first European captain of the Canadiens.

 

Koivu is also known for his courage off the ice. He battled Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that kept him out for almost an entire season, including the 2002 Olympics.

 

“It seems like I’ve come full circle coming back to Germany and being honoured for my career,” Koivu said, reflecting that he made his senior men’s debut with the Finnish national team at the 1993 World Championship in Germany.

 

Angela Ruggiero was a world-class defenceman and competitor for Team USA. Her contributions in hockey continue to this day as she continues to break down barriers. She earned four Women’s World Championship gold medals and gold at the 1998 Olympics. In 2015, Ruggiero was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Ruggiero could not make the event when her father Bill passed away suddenly but her brother Billy was on hand to accept the honour and pay tribute to his sister.

 

Dieter Kalt was a star player in the 1960s in the Austrian league and has been the face of Austrian hockey for half a century. He represented Austrian at the 1962 World Championships in Colorado Springs and in every major IIHF event from 1962-1972.

 

After retirement, Kalt was a referee and coach and then President of the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation from 1996-2016.

 

“This is an honor and I accept this for all that we have done for the development of our federation. We organized world championships and Olympic qualification games. We did this because we had big support from the IIHF, president, council, and delegates.”

 

Joe Sakic had an illustrious career with the Quebec Nordiques and then the Colorado Avalanche when the team moved to the United States. He captained the Avalanche for 17 years making him one of the longest serving captains in NHL history. Sakic is also the NHL’s all-time leader in playoff overtime goals. Winning World Championship and Olympic gold, along with the Stanley Cup, Sakic is a member of the prestigious triple gold club.

 

“It was always very humbling playing for your country,” Sakic said. “To be able to play in the World Championships, Olympics, World Cup, there is nothing like it. I am very fortunate for my teammates. I’ve had the good fortune to play with some of the best to play the game and learn from them.”

 

The Richard “Bibi” Torriani award was presented to Tony Hand, the greatest player in Great Britain’s modern hockey history. The Edmonton Oilers selected Hand 252nd overall in the 1986 draft, the first British player ever taken. When Hand attended training camp, Edmonton general manager Glen Sather announced that the Scottish Wayne Gretzky would try out for the team, which some might have led to think that a player who trained and played in Great Britain would be a curiosity.

 

“Turns out he was more than just a curiosity; he was a terrific player there and everywhere he played,” Miller said. “It is fair to say that very few players were better longer than Tony Hand.”

 

Hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland, Hand played professional hockey in the BHL as a 14-year-old and finally in the English Premier Ice Hockey League at the age of 47.

 

The Paul Loicq award was presented Patrick Francheterre. Francheterre has been involved with French hockey for the better part of half a century. As a pivotal builder of French hockey, Francheterre has overseen the development of the sport and his country’s ascension into the top division of the World Championships.

 

Teemu Selanne said today’s honour means so much because as a boy, his hope was to play in the top league in Finland and, maybe if things went well, the national team. The NHL was not a thought at the time. Selanne, known as the Finnish Flash, scored 684 goals in 21 NHL seasons and won the Stanley Cup in 2007 and silver medals at the World Championships in 1999 and Olympics in 2006.

 

“It has been an honour to put this jersey on,” Selanne said pointing to the legendary Finland blue. “You can’t describe this feeling of what it means to put this jersey on and play for your own country. I am so very thankful.”

 

Finally, Cologne’s own Uwe Krupp gave an emotional presentation about receiving this honour in his hometown. First noticed by Scotty Bowman, Krupp was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and would go on to an NHL career that spanned 14 seasons with honours that included being the first German to score a Cup-winning goal and the first German player to win the Stanley Cup.

 

“I am privileged and fortunate to know so many people who were able to take this awkward kid from Cologne, Germany, the first German to come to North America to help him on his way and help him learn to play hockey in the best league in the world.”

 

He spoke fondly of Franz Reindl and how he was an important person in his career and the next step in his career that has included coaching the German junior and senior teams.

 

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Canada leads World Ranking

Champion Sweden moves up to third place

 

Despite losing the final to Sweden, Canada remains first in the 2017 IIHF World Ranking thanks to the strong showing in the past three seasons.

 

Canada stays first in the new IIHF World Ranking and is followed by Russia in second place. New world champion Sweden moved up from fifth to third place after the gold-medal win in Cologne at the expense of Finland and the United States, who both dropped down one place.

 

The Czechs in sixth and Switzerland in seventh place remain in their positions after qualifying for but losing in the quarter-finals.

 

World Championship host Germany improved two spots after a strong campaign on home ice in Cologne and is now eighth – the best placing in six years. Norway moved up two spots as well and is ninth while Belarus fell from ninth to tenth place and Slovakia even from eighth to 11th.   Latvia, France, Denmark and Slovenia complete the top-15.

 

Click here for the full 2017 IIHF World Ranking.

 

Note: The groups for the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship have not yet been determined but will be announced soon.

 

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Groups for 2018

Denmark in Herning, Sweden in Copenhagen

 

The groups for the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark, have been announced.

 

Group A in Copenhagen includes new world champion Sweden along with Russia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belarus, Slovakia, France and Austria.

 

The 12,500-seat Royal Arena that opened its doors recently will serve as the main venue and also host the semi-finals and medal games. The arena is just a ten-minute train ride from the city centre of the Danish capital and the airport and just a 26-minute train ride from Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city.

 

”The two groups are very close to being perfectly balanced. Sweden and Denmark had to be in separate groups, and we wanted to have Russia in Copenhagen. They bring a lot of spectators and generally tend to be a comprehensive task for the organizer,” says Henrik Bach Nielsen, IIHF Council member and President of the Danish Ice Hockey Association.

 

“We have already received a lot of hotel requests from Russian stakeholders. We are sure that Copenhagen will handle the task while simultaneously creating a festive environment for the many spectators from abroad that will arrive – and for all the Danish fans attending the party.”

 

Host Denmark will play in Group B in Herning with runner-up Canada, Finland, USA, Germany, Norway, Latvia and newcomer Korea. The games will be played at the 11,000-seat Jyske Bank Boxen.

 

The groups are based on the new 2017 IIHF World Ranking with one minor swap to take into consideration special requirements of the host.

 

“The group in Herning will be just as interesting. Denmark is a given, but imagine the atmosphere there will be with Germany, Finland and Latvia in the group playing in Jyske Bank Boxen. And the Norwegians like to support events in neighbouring countries as well. Herning has managed big events before. They will do it again,” Bach Nielsen said.

 

“Generally speaking, I have only grown more optimistic in regards to ticket sales after having attended the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Cologne and Paris. There have really been a lot of fans from abroad, and if we can attract the same influx to Denmark, it will be a great Ice Hockey World Championship, I’m sure.”

 

The first stage of ticket sale has already started on the official website 2018.iihfworlds.com with first ticket packages.

 

The game schedule will be announced at a later date and further ticket offers will go on sale in September including day tickets.

 

Check out the official website 2018.iihfworlds.com, which is available in English and Danish, for more information about the event, to order ticket packages that are already available, to read more about becoming a volunteer and subscribe to the newsletter.

 

Group A	Group B
(in Copenhagen)	(in Herning)
Russia	Canada
Sweden	Finland
Czech Republic	United States
Switzerland	Germany
Belarus	Norway
Slovakia	Latvia
France	Denmark
Austria	South Korea

 

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The official mascot of the next years worlds has been unveiled

 

 

The official mascot is inspired by the world-famous Danish writer and poet Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale about ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and its journey from being bullied in the duck yard to being the hero of the tale.

The unveiling of the mascot also marks the launch of a voting competition that will decide the official name of the mascot for the 2018 event.

Fans from all over the world are invited to take part in naming the mascot by casting their vote on either of these selected names:

• Hero
• SlapDuck
• Ugly Puckling
• Duckly

Cast your vote and earn a chance to win VIP tickets to the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship final in Copenhagen – click here. 

 

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Pittsburgh Penguins won the 2017 Stanley Cup thanks 2 late 3rd period goals tonight 0-2 against Nashville Predators and the whole final series 4-2

 

 

 

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NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

2016/2017

 

  NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

5th Stanley Cup Title

 

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It’s two straight for Pens

Hornqvist with winner, Crosby MVP again

 

In a dramatic conclusion to the 2017 Stanley Cup final, the Pittsburgh Penguins blanked the Nashville Predators 2-0 in Game Six at Bridgestone Arena to earn their second straight championship on 11 June.

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby received his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, enhancing his reputation as the greatest forward of his era. The ultra-competitive 29-year-old from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia elevated his game in the final and finished with 27 points, including a playoff-leading 19 assists.

“Everybody understands when you get this far, you have to get through some adversity,” said Crosby. “We found a way. We’ve got a collection of guys who understand what it takes to win.”

Winning this hard-fought series cements the iconic legacy of the Penguins with Crosby and Russian superstar Yevgeni Malkin, whose 28 points topped the playoffs. This incarnation has now won one more Cup than the Mario Lemieux-era Pens, who triumphed in 1991 and 1992 with a roster featuring Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Larry Murphy, and other all-time greats. Pittsburgh also became the first NHL team to earn back-to-back titles in the salary cap era. The last team with consecutive Cups was Detroit in 1997 and 1998.

Patric Hornqvist’s Game Six winning goal was wildly unexpected. Picking up the rebound from Justin Schultz’s drive off the back boards, the 30-year-old native of Sollentuna, Sweden banked the puck off Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne’s back with 1:35 left in the third period. Predators coach Peter Laviolette used his challenge to argue for goaltender interference, but the goal stood.

You could say it’s been a good year for Swedish hockey. Tre Kronor won the Worlds in Cologne, Germany last month, and Hornqvist, who was drafted last overall in 2005 (230th) by Nashville, is the third Swede to score the Stanley Cup winner, following Ulf Samuelsson (1991, Pittsburgh) and Henrik Zetterberg (2008, Detroit). Fellow Swede Carl Hagelin iced this victory with an empty-netter with 14 seconds remaining.

“This was a team effort from the first shift to the last shift,” said Hornqvist. “I just got lucky to score that first goal. Obviously it’s the biggest goal I’m ever going to score.

After hoisting the Cup, Crosby handed it off to Ron Hainsey. The 36-year-old American defenceman, a two-time World Junior participant (2000, 2001) and 2009 World Championship team member, played a whopping 907 NHL regular season games before seeing his first post-season action this year.

Meanwhile, it was difficult for Nashville supporters to swallow defeat after Music City erupted with hockey passion this spring. The Predators grabbed the last Western Conference playoff berth with 94 points and then ousted the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Anaheim Ducks en route to their first final in franchise history. With country music stars like Faith Hill and Dierks Bentley performing the national anthem and gleeful non-stop crowd chants, the atmosphere was unparalled – until the Penguins ended Smashville’s dream.

“It stings,” said Nashville defenceman P.K. Subban. “Obviously there’s a lot of emotions and a lot of tears. There should be. We wanted to lift the Cup this year but it didn’t happen.”

Pittsburgh had to beat three tough teams to make this year’s final, including the newly ascendant Columbus Blue Jackets, the league-leading Washington Capitals, and the well-disciplined Ottawa Senators. The Penguins have endured a lot of scrutiny over the years as they forged their legend.

After losing the 2008 final to Detroit, they rebounded to defeat the Wings in the rematch in 2009 as Malkin was named the MVP with 36 playoff points. However, the Penguins were viewed as a classic example of squandered potential when they failed to reached the finals again for the next six seasons. The injury-plagued Crosby, though, would begin his renaissance in 2013/2014 when he won his second Art Ross Trophy with 104 points. He then helped Canada win Olympic gold again and defeat Russia for its first IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in eight years in 2015 in the Czech Republic, led Pittsburgh to victory over the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup final, and won the 2016 World Cup of Hockey versus Team Europe.

Nashville battled valiantly to make this one of the most entertaining Stanley Cup finals in recent memory, even though many of the scores were lopsided. Both teams achieved significantly better results on home ice, especially their starting goalies.

Pittsburgh took a 2-0 series lead into Music City with a 5-3 win in Game One (despite being held shotless for more than 37 minutes) and a 4-1 win in Game Two. Rinne, the MVP of the 2014 Worlds and Best Goalie in 2015, allowed eight goals on 36 shots and looked shaky. However, the towering Finn would find his game again in the friendly confines of Bridgestone Arena, shining in Nashville’s 5-1 and 4-1 victories in Games Three and Four to knot the series. Then it all fell apart in Game Five in Pittsburgh, as Rinne was pulled after surrendering three first-period goals in a 6-0 shellacking. Yet it was hard to fault him for the concluding loss, as Pittsburgh outshot Nashville 29-27.

Penguins starting goalie Matt Murray recorded two straight shutouts to wrap up the final. The always-collected 23-year-old Canadian took fewer playoff games to record 20 wins (28) than anyone but Montreal Canadiens legends Bill Durnan (26) and Patrick Roy (27). After missing most of the playoffs due to injury, Murray took over the reins from veteran Marc-Andre Fleury in Game Three of the Eastern Conference final and didn’t miss a beat.

Previously unknown players also made names for themselves. Rookie Pittsburgh forward Jake Guentzel dazzled with 13 goals, one shy of Dino Ciccarelli’s single-playoff record of 14 with the 1981 Minnesota North Stars, and 21 points, which tied the rookie record shared by Ciccarelli and Ville Leino (Philadelphia, 2010). The even less-heralded Frederick Gaudreau of Nashville became the first player to get his first three career goals in the Cup final since 1994.

No new members joined the IIHF’s Triple Gold Club, which consists of players who have won the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, and World Championship gold. The last addition to the 27-man club was Anaheim’s Corey Perry, who captained Canada to the World Championship in 2016.

[Finnator123 292]

NHL Draaft!! Almost 20 finns selected so far, Miro Heiskanen having the highest number (1st round , 3rd pick)  2nd YEAR IN A ROW, WHEN A FINN IS SELECTED IN THE TOP 3    

@hckosice , could you make some sort of good post about the NHL draft? Also i think that i'll be more active once more  

Edited June 24, 2017 by Finnator123

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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

DRAFT

2017

 

 

 

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Number

1.

  Nico HISCHIER

 NEW JERSEY DEVILS

 

Number

2.

  Nolan PATRICK  

 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

 

Number

3.

  Miro HEISKANEN  

 DALLAS STARS

 

 

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Hischier makes history

Devils take Swiss forward first overall

 

The New Jersey Devils made Swiss hockey history tonight in Chicago when they selected Nico Hischier as the first overall draft choice in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The previous high for a Swiss player was 5th overall, Nino Niederreiter, by the New York Islanders.

Hischier spent his career in Switzerland until 2016 before moving to Canada and had a superb rookie season in the QMJHL with Halifax, but was nonetheless surprised by the historic selection.

“On a surprise scale of 1 to 10, I'd have to say getting picked number one was a 10 because I never expected this," Hischier said. "I had no idea where I was going, but just hearing my name was unbelievable. I hugged my mom first, and she started to cry."

Nolan Patrick, the son of former NHLer Steve and long-time favourite for the number-one spot, was taken second by the Philadelphia Flyers, while Dallas selected Finn Miro Heiskanen number three. Heiskanen is expected to return to HIFK Helsinki for the upcoming season to develop further in the comfort of his own developmental system.

"He's smart. He's skilled. He makes players around him better. He’ll be a very productive player,” noted TSN’s Craig Button of Patrick.

“We’re different players,” Patrick noted of the comparison to Hischier. “He may be a little more dynamic offensively and I’m a little better defensively maybe,” he suggested.

Dallas had its highest selection ever since moving to Texas and selected a Finn with a strong background. Heiskanen, a defenceman, won gold with Suomi’s U18 team in 2016 and a silver the next year. He also played for Finland at the 2017 World Juniors.

The expansion team Vegas Golden Knights, meanwhile, accrued three selections in the first round through trades and went a long way to establishing the team’s identity. Selecting 6th, 13th, and 15th, the team selected a variety of players intended to bring a winning atmosphere to the team now while adding prospects to the radar to prepare for tomorrow.

The team selected taking Cody Glass 6th overall, Nick Suzuki13th overall, and Erik Brannstrom 15th.

By nationality, Canada led the way with 11 selections in the opening round, followed by USA and Finland with six and Sweden with four. The remainder of the selections will take place on Saturday.

The complete first round:

 

• 1—New Jersey/Nico Hischier (SUI)
• 2—Philadelphia/Nolan Patrick (CAN)
• 3—Dallas/Miro Heiskanen (FIN)
• 4—Colorado/Cale Makar (CAN)
• 5—Vancouver/Elias Pettersson (SWE)
• 6—Vegas/Cody Glass (CAN)
• 7—NY Rangers/Lias Andersson (SWE)
• 8—Buffalo/Caey Mittelstadt (USA)
• 9—Detroit/Michael Rasmussen (CAN)
• 10—Florida/Owen Tippett (CAN)
• 11—Los Angeles/Gabriel Vilardi (CAN)
• 12—Carolina/Martin Necas (CZE)
• 13—Vegas/Nick Suzuki (CAN)
• 14—Tampa Bay/Callan Foote (USA)
• 15—Vegas/Erik Brannstrom (SWE)
• 16—Calgary/Juuso Valimaki (FIN)
• 17—Toronto/Timothy Liljegren (SWE)
• 18—Boston/Urho Vaakanainen (FIN)
• 19—San Jose—Joshua Norris (USA)
• 20—St. Louis/Robert Thomas (CAN)
• 21—NY Rangers—Filip Chytil (CZE)
• 22—Edmonton/Kailer Yamamoto (USA)
• 23—Arizona/Pierre-Olivier Joseph (CAN)
• 24—Winnipeg/Kristian Vesalainen (FIN)
• 25—Montreal/Ryan Poehling (USA)
• 26—Dallas/Jake Oettinger (USA)
• 27—Philadelphia/Morgan Frost (CAN)
• 28—Ottawa/Shane Bowers (CAN)
• 29—Chicago/Henri Jokiharju (FIN)
• 30—Nashville/Eeli Tolvanen (FIN)
• 31—St. Louis/Klim Kostin (RUS)

 

 

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The Draft continued today for the 2nd-7th Round, looks like Adam Rúžička is the first Slovak chosen this year as 109th pick and by my favorite team Calgary Flames

Spoiler

 

 

 

And another Selected Slovak is Marián Studenič picked by New Jersey as 143rd

 

Spoiler

 

 

So still the highest drafted Slovak ever remains Marián Gáborík, 3rd in 2000 by Minnesota Wild