Ice Hockey 2015 - 2016 Discussion Thread

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TEAM PRESENTATIONS

  Denmark

 

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Vikings promise ‘havoc’

Extra firepower has Denmark dreaming of QFs

 

Three NHL recruits add some pep to the Danish offence as the country unveils its strongest roster in years. Could a repeat of 2010 be on the cards?

 

With Denmark getting ready to host in 2018, a good showing in Russia would do wonders for the country’s hockey program in the run-up to the big event. The Danes have shown great resilience to remain at the highest level since 2003, but it’s a long time since that QF run in 2010.

 

However, the 2016 roster features some big-name NHL talent, including a WC debut for Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets, who previously impressed at the 2015 World Juniors and posted 38 points in his rookie NHL campaign. That’s why there’s genuine optimism that Moscow might be the perfect stage for another memorable success.

 

Goalie

 

Sebastian Dahm is likely to be the #1 for Denmark this time around. He got the bulk of the game time in Ostrava a year ago, helping the country rank fourth on SVS for the tournament. With Patrick Galbraith not joining the roster in Moscow the 29-year-old Copenhagen native is the most senior of the three netminders available. He’s just completed his first season with Graz 99ers in the EBEL, maintaining a good save percentage in a struggling team. He’s backed up by Simon Nielsen of Herning Blue Fox and World Championship rookie George Sorensen of Frederikshavn White Hawks.

 

Defence

 

Defence can be a problem for the Danes. One reason for the impressive save percentage in the Czech Republic was the large number of shots on goal allowed: 239 in seven games was the heaviest fusillade endured by any team. Much will depend in Jesper B. Jensen’s performance. He spent the season with Jokerit Helsinki in the KHL and after a year playing at a higher level than his fellow blue-liners, he’ll be expected to lead the team once again here. Mads Bodker and Markus Lauridsen are other men to look out for at the back while Daniel Nielsen is set to play in his 10th World Championship.

 

Forwards

 

The big news is the availability of Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers, Montreal’s Lars Eller and Vancouver’s Jannik Hansen. None of the NHL trio were available last time as Denmark iced an almost entirely European-based roster and there’s real excitement about the extra firepower they can bring in 2016. Hansen, in particular, talked up the team’s chances prior to the competition, pointing out how rare it was for all these Viking stars to assemble on a single roster. After mustering just 10 goals in Ostrava, the additional firepower will be more than welcome here.

 

Kirill Starkov will surely capture plenty of local interest in Moscow. The 29-year-old was born in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) where his father Oleg played for Avtomobilist. The family then moved to Esbjerg, where Starkov senior played for the local team and Kirill became a Danish citizen shortly after he turned 18. Now he’s with Red Ice, a team with a strong Russian accent in the Swiss second tier, and will hope to show Russian fans more than he managed in a brief stint at CSKA Moscow in 2009.

 

Kim Staal is the most glaring absentee: now 38, the veteran forward is returning to the Danish league next season but isn’t in his country’s plans here. A shoulder injury rules out Jokerit Helsinki’s Peter Regin while Mikkel Bokren is a free agent and cannot risk injury while he seeks a new club. There are two young prospects taking their World Championship bows: Mikkel Aasgaard (Sudbury Wolves) and Mathias From (Rogle Angelholm).

 

Coaching

 

Head coach Jan Karlsson is promising to “wreak a little havoc” in Moscow after assembling his tournament roster for his fourth Worlds behind the Danish bench. It won’t be his first time working in Russia: he went to Atlant Mytishi in 2011 as assistant to Bengt-Ake Gustafsson and found himself promoted to the top job after Gustafsson’s dismissal early in the season. After finishing in the minor places in the three previous editions Karlsson, who was an assistant coach on Sweden’s Olympic and World Championship-winning 2006 teams, is hoping for a break-out result this time around.

 

Prospects

 

After dodging relegation by a single point last time out, Denmark is hopeful that a stronger roster with more NHLers can lead to a more comfortable campaign in Russia. The presence of the three Canadian-based forwards gives a real lift to the offence and could be enough to steer Denmark into more comfortable waters in Russia and get them battling with Switzerland for a play-off spot. There’s a wealth of experience in the roster as well, from captain Morten Green in his 18th IIHF World Championship and nine other players with more than 100 games for their country. That could make the difference in the clashes with fellow outsiders Kazakhstan, Latvia and perennial rival Norway.

 

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Final Results

 

A

Norway - Denmark  0-3  (0-0, 0-2, 0-1)

21:06 Nicklas JENSEN 0-1

34:12 Jesper B. JENSEN 0-2

59:45 Nicklas JENSEN 0-3

 

B

France - Germany  3-2 after GWS  (1-0, 1-2, 0-0, OT: 0-0, GWS: 1-0)

03:38 Damien RAUX 1-0

20:26 Tobias RIEDER  1-1

36:50 Felix SCHUTZ 1-2

39:10 Valentin CLAIREAUX 2-2

Winning Shootout by Damien FLEURY 3-2

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TEAM PRESENTATIONS

  Germany

 

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         Away

Calm before the Sturm

Germany follows a new direction

 

Marco Sturm hopes to make his mark on the bench of the German national team at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

 

After finishing an impressive fourth at the 2010 World Championships, Germany has not reached those heights since. A tenth place finish in the Czech Republic has brought changes, including a new coach. It is now former national team stalwart Marco Sturm to get Germany back on the right path. There are still plenty of familiar faces in the lineup, along with a few reinforcements from the NHL.

 

Goal

 

Germany goaltending is decidedly young. All three goaltenders are in their early to mid-twenties. Mathias Niederberger enjoyed a fine season with Dusseldorfer EG. This is his first time being named to the men’s team. He was named best goaltender at the 2012 U20 World Championships Division I. Felix Bruckmann is also a first timer to the national team at the senior level. Timo Pielmeier is the only member of the group with any experience at this level. He saw action in three games, all without a win, in 2015. Pielmeier was the DEL’s 2014 rookie of the year.

 

Defence

 

At the 2015 World Championship, the Germans did not get much production from its blue line. The entire defence corps did not score a goal and contributed six assists over seven games. Germany will be without the services of Justin Krueger, who has a broken finger. However, 33-year-old Christian Erhoff will add some skill and generate puck movement up the ice. Fresh off the NHL playoffs with the Chicago Blackhawks, Erhoff’s experience should upgrade the German power play and offer stability where it is needed on the blue line. When last he played for the national team at the 2013 World Championships, Erhoff led the way with three goals and five points in seven games. Korbinian Holzer, who saw action in 29 games for the Anaheim Ducks, returns after a five-year international absence. National team returnees include Torsten Ankert, Moritz Muller, Sinan Akdag and Denis Reul.

 

Forward

 

Germany will be without their leading goal scorer from last year's tournament, Michael Wolf. With that in mind, the slack needs to be picked up but other highly skilled players pm the team. Germany is carrying two NHL forwards, and both could make a difference. Leon Draisaitl showed this season why he was the highest German player ever drafted in the NHL. Draisaitl was Edmonton’s second leading scorer with 51 points. In his World Championship debut in 2014, Draisaitl scored a goal and four points. Tobias Rieder joined the team once his NHL season ended with the Phoenix Coyotes. He improved his production in 2015-16 with 14 goals and 37 points. Patrick Reimer was second in scoring and goals for his team last spring in the Czech Republic. After a two-year absence, Phillip Gogulla returns. Gogulla is fresh off an impressive DEL playoff campaign where he led Kolner Haie with 9 goals in 15 games. They reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion EHC Red Bull Munich.

 

Coaching

 

It’s Marco Sturm’s time to lead. After years representing Germany as a player, he now moves behind the bench. His time on the ice should serve him well to understand and communicate with players. It will also help build trust among these players who have skated with Sturm or have looked up to him. Sturm spent over a decade in the NHL, mostly with the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins. The Dingolfing native has a lot of work to do. Germany’s power play was not particularly strong in 2015 and their scoring efficiency left much to be desired. Equally, they gave up 24 goals. All of these areas need improvement.

 

Projected Results

 

Germany has little shot at a medal. Making the playoffs would be a big improvement but an uphill battle given the clear competition in St. Petersburg.

 

[Finnator123 342]

Only the win of Slovakia went right today so far in my predictions 

[Finnator123 342]

Big surprise from Canakhstan 

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Norway - Denmark  0-3

 

 

 

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Hot Dahm!

Danish GK stars in win over Norway

Denmark's Jesper B. Jensen #41 celebrates at the bench with Nicholas Jensen #48 after a second period goal against Norway during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Championship.

 

 

Three goals from two Jensens and a stellar display from Sebastian Dahm between the piping got the Danes off to a flying start with victory over Norway.

 

After waiting 13 years for a World Championship victory over Norway, Denmark enjoyed its second triumph in 12 months against its Nordic neighbour thanks to a fine goaltending display from Sebastian Dahm.

 

The Graz 99ers goalie was in unbeatable form in Moscow as his team weathered a first-period storm before taking control of the game on two goals in the middle frame. Nicklas Jensen and Jesper B. Jensen found the Norwegian net as Denmark justified its pre-tournament talk of pushing for a play-off place. Dahm finished with 44 saves; Denmark won it 3-0 to follow up its status-preserving 4-1 success over the same opponent in Ostrava last season.

 

And after a winning start, Dahm sounded a warning to the rest of Group A. "This is going to be a dynamite group," he said. "Any team can make the quarter finals, and any team could get sucked into the relegation battle. This is a good start for us but we have to build on it. We can't treat it as a pillow and go to sleep."

 

There was a frantic start to the action when Jannick Hansen, one of three NHLers on the first line for Denmark, rattled Lars Haugen’s post in the first minute – but subsequently it was Dahm who had the busier first period. He pulled off 15 saves in that opening stanza, most impressive getting a blocker in the path of Andreas Martinsen’s close-range effort after Mathis Olimb’s diagonal pass sliced through the Danish defence.

 

Even when Dahm was beaten, Norway’s luck was out: captain Ole-Kristian Tollefsen unleashed a mighty slapshot from the point only to see the puck slam into the bar and bounce to safety.

 

That saw Denmark through to the intermission on level terms and after going close in the first minute of the game, Jan Karlsson’s team got the perfect start to the middle session with a goal after just 66 seconds. Frederik Storm picked out Nicklas Jensen at the far post and the New York Rangers prospect took his time to force Haugen to commit himself before beating the Norwegian goalie on the stick side.

 

"It was a really good effort and if we play like we did today we have a really good chance," the double goalscorer said. "It was a team effort and our goalie did really well."

 

That goal shifted the momentum: after soaking up so much first-period pressure, Denmark was able to push Norway back. But Dahm still had to be alert and was almost beaten in a scramble around the crease after a Mathias Trettenes shot rebounded off the goalie’s pads and into the danger zone in the 32nd minute.

 

Within two minutes, though, Denmark was celebrating a second goal. Lars Eller found Jesper Jensen at the bottom of the circle and the Jokerit Helsinki D-man produced the kind of wicked wrist shot that would delight the most predatory of forwards to rattle the puck into the top corner.

 

"I don't know how I ended up in front of the net," Jensen said. "I'm a defenceman! I felt I had a lot of space and I got a great pass from Lars Eller. It was a nice goal and important for the team to take a 2-0 lead."

 

In control, but not yet assured of the win, Denmark ran into penalty trouble in the third as the pressure intensified around Dahm's net.

The shots continued to rain in, but the 29-year-old found the answers amid glove and pad saves - not to mention the occasional kindly bounce. One of those, as a shot hit the top of Dahm's stick and looped away from danger was a "defining moment" for Dahm. "I never saw that one and it would have been 2-1 with a few minutes to play," he added. "Instead at 2-0 we could play out the last few minutes calmly."

 

Indeed, once the Danes killed a double minor penalty on Eller midway through the third it was clear that there would be no way back for Norway even before Nicklas Jensen fired his second of the night into an empty net to wrap it up. 

 

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France - Germany  3-2  after GWS

 

 

 

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France edges Germany

Fleury the shootout hero as French start strong

France's Valentin Claireaux #12 celebrates with Florian Chakiachvili #62 and Nicolas Ritz #25 after scoring Team France's second goal of the game during preliminary round action at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey Championship.

 

 

In a hard-fought battle between the two co-hosts of the 2017 IIHF World Championship, France beat Germany 3-2 in a shootout in their Saturday tournament opener.

 

Damien Fleury scored the shootout winner, snapping the puck high to the glove side of German goalie Timo Pielmeier. German captain Marcel Goc got a final attempt, but was pokechecked by France's Cristobal Huet.

"It was good for me to score," said Fleury. "I had a lot of pressure since I wasn’t scoring a lot during training camp, so this goal was great for my confidence."

Working the kinks out, France prevailed despite taking a whopping three penalties for too many men on the ice.

It was a fine goaltending duel between Huet, the first Frenchman to hoist the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, and Pielmeier, a former prospect of the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks. Germany outshot France 29-23.

In regulation time, Damien Raux and Valentin Claireaux scored for France.

Felix Schutz had a goal and an assist, and Tobias Rieder also scored for Germany. Philip Gogulla chipped in a pair of assists.

"It was a battle," Rieder said. "We couldn’t get much going early in the game, and made a lot of mistakes, especially in the first. That led to turnovers and odd-man rushes against. We have to clean that up in our game."

The Germans are looking to improve on their 10th place finish from last year. France came 12th in 2015.

The French have a tight-knit, hard-working team. But they lack scoring depth this year, missing key players like the injured Stephane Da Costa and Antoine Roussel, who's still in the NHL playoffs with the Dallas Stars. So this was a heartening start to the tournament against a traditional rival.

The tempo was hot and crazy right out of the gate.

France opened the scoring at 3:38 on a nice rush. Jordan Perret exploded down the right side and stickhandled through the faceoff circle before sending the puck over to Raux, who fired it into the half-empty net.

"It was good to start with a goal," said Claireaux. "It gives everybody extra energy."

Minutes later, Perret and captain Laurent Meunier nearly converted again on a similar play. France’s Sacha Treille nailed top German defender Christian Ehrhoff with a big hit behind the net.

The Germans got momentum due to poor French discipline. Huet shone with his aggressive style during four consecutive German power plays, including a late-period 5-on-3. The 40-year-old netminder challenged, sprawled and dove to preserve the early 1-0 lead.

Huet couldn’t hold off the Germans indefinitely. Just 26 seconds into the second period, Gogulla’s power play point drive bounced off Huet's right pad straight to Rieder, who had lots of twine to shoot at.

It was Pielmeier’s turn to shine during a subsequent French 5-on-3. He came across to stone Teddy Da Costa on a golden opportunity from point blank range. Rough stuff ensued when Pierre-Edouard Bellemare went hard to the net and fell on top of the German goalie.

At 16:50, Schutz broke the deadlock when he swooped in, grabbed the puck in the slot and used French defenceman Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel as a screen, firing it past Huet’s left pad.

Claireaux tied it up at 19:50 of the second. Gregory Beron floated one from from the blue line and Claireaux raised his stick to deflect it down through Pielmeier’s legs. The play was video-reviewed and the goal stood.

In the scoreless third period, Huet stretched out to rob Patrick Reimer from in tight with a stellar right pad save. The Russian crowd at Yubileiny urged on the French during a power play with chants of "Shaibu!"

The French got a huge man advantage opportunity in overtime when defenceman Moritz Muller was sent off for closing his hand on the puck at 1:12. But they couldn't capitalize as defenders like Ehrhoff and Denis Reul courageously blocked shots.

"It was a tough game," said Claireaux. "We’ve been playing strong defensively, and we were lucky to score a couple of goals, but Huet has been playing really strong in the net. It was good to get a win tonight."

This was the tenth World Championship meeting between France and Germany, dating back to 1934, and it’s a very even rivalry. The result improved France’s all-time record to five wins and five losses.

The 2017 IIHF World Championship will take place in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany (5-21 May).

 

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18 minutes ago, Finnator123 said:

Big surprise from Canakhstan 

 

but this goal what a shame for Reto Berra, but what a moment for Roman Savchenko and btw it was a shorthanded goal, during Switzerland power play