Ice Hockey IIHF World Championships 2017

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WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017

 

 

 

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TEAMS PREVIEW

 

Finland

 

 

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Will Finland medal again?

This year, it’s about willpower, not star power

 

Last year, Finland won silver with hot young stars like tournament MVP Patrik Laine, Aleksander Barkov, and Mikael Granlund. This year’s team looks different.

 

Suomi, sitting third in the IIHF World Ranking, is unlikely to fill the net at the rate of the 2016 squad, which potted 37 goals in 10 games. Coach Lauri Marjamaki has a more workmanlike roster. But remember: when the Finns won their last Worlds gold in 2011 in Slovakia, captain Mikko Koivu and assistant captain Tuomo Ruutu were the only two active NHLers. Despite its small talent pool, Finland has proven repeatedly that you can never count it out of the medal conversation.

 

Goal

 

This year, Joonas Korpisalo was overshadowed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, as Russian starter Sergei Bobrovsky earned Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy nominations with a huge bounceback season. That said, Korpisalo should still have the inside track on Finland’s starting job with his 45 games of NHL experience. But if the athletic 23-year-old falters, there are two capable alternatives waiting in the wings.

 

Former Calgary Flames prospect Joni Ortio (Skelleftea AIK) posted a 2.20 GAA and 91.9 save percentage in Sweden this season, while KHL stalwart Harri Sateri (Vityaz Podolsk) was also solid with a 2.50 GAA and 92.9 save percentage. Remember, the Finns prevailed in 2011 with another KHL veteran, Petri Vehanen, in net, and they have a surplus of netminding talent that’s the envy of any nation not named Canada.

 

Defence

 

Finland’s current blueline depth doesn’t compare to the glory days of Teppo Numminen, Kimmo Timonen, and Jyrki Lumme. That said, the Finns consistently play well as a unit regardless of who’s out there. On this team, 21-year-old Dallas Stars prospect Julius Honka will need to step up on the power play, and Juuso Hietanen (Dynamo Moscow) is coming off a career high in KHL goals (12-18-30). Karpat Oulu captain Lasse Kukkonen and Atte Ohtamaa of Ak Bars Kazan will bring physicality and shot-blocking. It’s a good, solid group.

 

Forward

 

It’s fortunate Sebastian Aho is mature beyond his years, because the 19-year-old playmaker will need to shoulder much of the offensive load for Finland. The Carolina Hurricanes forward is coming off a fine NHL rookie season (24-25-49). In his second straight Worlds, Aho will likely team up with two-way centre Valtteri Filppula of the Philadelphia Flyers on the top line. Mikko Rantanen, who captained the 2016 World Junior team to gold, also impressed with 20 goals in his first year with the Colorado Avalanche.

 

After that, the scoring options off for Marjamaki’s squad. If HIFK Helsinki’s Juhamatti Aaltonen could recapture his 2013 Worlds form (4-7-11), that’d be a huge plus. Jesse Puljujarvi, who tore up the World Juniors and U18 last year, has struggled with his confidence this year in the Edmonton Oilers organization, but still has great potential. And Toronto Maple Leaf fans are excited about versatile 23-year-old forward Miro Aaltonen, who took a step forward this season with the KHL’s Vityaz Podolsk (19-25-44). Yet realistically, playing stifling defence and waiting for counterattack opportunities is what we can expect here, not run-and-gun excitement.

 

Coaching

 

Marjamaki, who turns 40 on May 29, has been one of the most successful young coaches in Finnish history. He led Karpat Oulu to back-to-back Liiga titles in 2014 and 2015. His only international hardware came in 2014 as an assistant to Erkka Westerlund at the Olympics (bronze) and Worlds (silver). Marjamaki has been feeling the heat after his disastrous debut at September’s World Cup of Hockey: the Finns scored one goal and allowed nine in three games in Toronto, finishing eighth and last overall. A top-four finish, even if it’s not splashy, would do much to boost the bench boss’s credibility. He’s assisted by longtime Karpat goaltending coach Ari Hilli and Waltteri Immonen, who serves as an assistant coach with Switzerland’s EV Zug.

 

Projected Results

 

On paper, this Finnish team isn’t anything special. Yet this Nordic nation, which has medaled at six out of the last eight men’s Olympic hockey tournaments, thrives on low expectations. The Finns will probably vie with the Czechs for second place in Group B behind Canada, and after that, anything from a quarter-final flameout to another medal appears possible. Hard work is the only given.

 

 

 

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Sweden

 

 

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Sweden focused on success

Tre Kronor looks to North America

 

With a new coach and with an abundance of NHL-tested skaters in the lineup, Sweden tries to get back into medal contention.

 

After winning gold on home ice in 2013 and then a bronze in 2014, Sweden has finished 5^th and 6^th respectively in World Championship competition. Always a threat, Sweden is focused on rejoining the medal hunt. To that end, they have assembled on paper one of their most skilled teams in recent World Championship play. With almost a dozen NHLers on the roster, the pressure is on for Sweden to put up a good showing here in Germany.

 

Goal

 

34-year-old Viktor Fasth is returning to the national team once again. Fasth was the hero for Sweden in 2011 at the World Championships in Slovakia through to the finals. He was a rock until the third period of the gold medal game against Finland. Going into the period, Sweden and Finland were tied 1-1. Fasth gave up five even strength goals on ten shots over the final twenty minutes, resulting in a 6-1 rout by Finland. Fasth has spent some time in the NHL, with stops in Anaheim and Edmonton. Carolina Hurricanes netminder Eddie Lack is making his national team debut. Niklas Svedberg spent one season with the Boston Bruins in 2014-15 before signing with Salavat Yulayev Ufa, where he now plays. 

 

Defence

 

Sweden has a talented group of defenders who can skate, pass and generate offense. John Klingberg scored a career-high 13 goals this season for the Dallas Stars. In three full seasons in the NHL, Klingberg has established himself as a top four defenseman. This season started in disappointing fashion but he had a strong second half but it was not enough to push Dallas into the playoffs. Tampa duo Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman should be a big influence on defence. Hedman put together the best offensive numbers for a Tampa Bay defenceman with 16 goals and 72 points. Hedman’s strength is being able to move from defence to offense and carry the puck effectively out of his own zone. Hedman has worked well when paired with Stralman who, over the past five years, has become a very dependable skater, first with the Rangers and now Tampa Bay. Arizona standout Oliver Ekman Larsson is another offensively skilled player who has done well in this tournament. At the 2015 World Championships, Ekman Larsson registered 12 points, including 10 assists.

 

Forwards

 

Gabriel Landeskog has a long history of representing Sweden. First at the U18 in 2009 through to his senior men’s team debut in 2012 at the World Championships in Sweden, Landeskog’s NHL season with the Colorado Avalanche was statistically the worst of his career, failing to crack 20 goals over a full season for this first time. Landeskog dealt with the inevitable expectations that come with being the captain of a team and a five-year NHL pro. There were even trade rumors. Joel Eriksson Ek is a player to watch. The twenty-year-old started the season with the Minnesota Wild and scored in his NHL debut. Eriksson Ek was reassigned back to his Swedish club Farjestad BK before coming back to Minnesota to finish the season. In all, he scored three goals and seven points in 15 games. As captain of the Swedish U20 team, Eriksson Ek led his team to the bronze medal game while leading Sweden in scoring with nine points in seven games. Denis Everberg scored 18 goals with Vaxjo. Carl Klingberg joins his brother John in representing Tre Kronor. William Nylander is the next generation in the Nylander family to play for Sweden. Nylander’s father, Michael, won two gold, three silver and three bronze medals playing for Sweden in this tournament. Nylander scored 22 goals and 61 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Linus Omark led Sweden with six helpers in 2016 and a returing member of the 2010 team that came to Germany. Carl Soderberg is representing his country for the first time at the World Championships. He participated in the World Cup of Hockey last September. Marcus Kruger, William Karlsson, Victor Rask, Joakim Nordstrom and Elias Lindholm should help. These skaters were added after their respective NHL clubs were eliminated from the playoffs. Joel Lundqvist has won two World Championship gold and two bronze medals playing for the national team. 

 

Coaching

 

Rikard Gronborg succeeds Par Marts. Gronberg served as an assistant coach on the men’s national team for four seasons. Gronberg coached the U20 national team for three seasons. Gronberg is assisted by Johan Garpenlov. Garpenlov played 10 NHL seasons for the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers. He also served as an assistant coach for Sweden’s World Cup of Hockey team in 2004 and for Djurgarden Stockholm, and worked as a scout for the Dallas Stars. Peter Popovic played for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins during eight NHL seasons. He has been working as an assistant coach for the Swedish men’s national team since 2011. 

 

Projected results

 

Sweden is a perennial contender for a medal in World Championship play. The results over the previous two campaigns were disappointing but a glance at this year’s roster suggests that Swedish leadership desires getting back to medal contending status immediately. This is one of the better teams in the Germany group in 2017 and pressure will be on to start strong in the Preliminary Round. Sweden has the talent to go deep here and possibly find themselves vying for gold. But so much will defend on quality defense to match what is a talented offensive lineup. 

 

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France

Latvia

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Canada

Denmark

Italy

Belarus

United States

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Finland

 

 

 

 

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And we are live ! yoohoo SWE vs RUS live in TV and FIN s BLR on Slovak TV WCh stream site

 

this feeling when this song is played, and you realize that finally it start. The official song played before every period

 

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Great atmosphere so far in Cologne, but too many empty seats in Paris

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Quote

 

 

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strange results untill now

Finland 2-2 Belarus

Russia 1-1 Sweden

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What a great game in Köln. And at the end Russia won 

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Results after 1st Period

 

Group A in Cologne

Sweden - Russia  1-0 (1-0,-,-)

14:40 Elias LINDHOLM 1-0

 

Group B in Paris

Finland - Belarus  2-0 (2-0,-,-)

02:43 Sebastian AHO 1-0

05:09 Oskar OSALA 2-0

 

 

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Results after 2nd Period

 

Group A in Cologne

Sweden - Russia  1-0 (1-0, 0-0,-)

14:40 Elias LINDHOLM 1-0

 

Group B in Paris

Finland - Belarus  2-1 (2-0, 0-1,-)

02:43 Sebastian AHO 1-0

05:09 Oskar OSALA 2-0

38:08 Yegor SHARANGOVICH 2-1

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Final Results

 

Group A in Cologne

Sweden - Russia  1-2 After GWS (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, OT: 0-0, GWS: 0-1)

14:40 Elias LINDHOLM 1-0

43:58 Ivan TELEGIN 1-1

Winning Shoot-out scored by Artemi PANARIN  1-2 GWS

 

 

Group B in Paris

Finland - Belarus  3-2 (2-0, 0-1, 1-1)

02:43 Sebastian AHO 1-0

05:09 Oskar OSALA 2-0

38:08 Yegor SHARANGOVICH 2-1

44:32 Yevgeni KOVYRSHIN 2-2

49:15 Veli-Matti SAVINAINEN 3-2