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WC: 2019 Division I, II, III

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DIVISION II GROUP B
Round 4 results:

DPR Korea - New Zealand 5:8
Georgia - Iceland 6:3
Mexico - Israel 4:5/OT

Current standings:

1. Israel - 11 pts
2. New Zealand - 9 pts
3. Georgia - 6 pts
4. Iceland - 6 pts
5. DPR Korea - 3 pts
6. Mexico - 1 pt
 
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Kshahdoo said:
Georgia is a small and not very rich country, you can't expect a lot.
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Most countries playing hockey are small. Latvia was even poorer and even smaller in 1996, but we made the Elite tier.

So that's probably not the most important thing. They have to get the ball rolling, have to get some teams, some domestic coaches. If they need imports to do that - it's not really a problem, as long as they ween off that import titty eventually. Unlike Italy or Kazakhstan, etc.
 
Namejs said:
Most countries playing hockey are small. Latvia was even poorer and even smaller in 1996, but we made the Elite tier.

So that's probably not the most important thing. They have to get the ball rolling, have to get some teams, some domestic coaches. If they need imports to do that - it's not really a problem, as long as they ween off that import titty eventually. Unlike Italy or Kazakhstan, etc.
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Latvia had good hockey traditions even before Soviet times, and during Soviet era those traditions became even bigger. Georgia doesn't have any hockey history. Not sure, they even had any lower league teams during Soviet times, when hockey was pretty big in the whole USSR. Georian religion was, is and always will be football.
 
Namejs said:
Most countries playing hockey are small. Latvia was even poorer and even smaller in 1996, but we made the Elite tier.

So that's probably not the most important thing. They have to get the ball rolling, have to get some teams, some domestic coaches. If they need imports to do that - it's not really a problem, as long as they ween off that import titty eventually. Unlike Italy or Kazakhstan, etc.
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Except that there were Latvians playing on the Soviet teams.

I doubt there were many Georgians on those teams, if any.
 
NCRanger said:
Except that there were Latvians playing on the Soviet teams.

I doubt there were many Georgians on those teams, if any.
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We thaught the Soviets to play hockey, thanks.

I'm perfectly aware of my own nation's hockey history.

2 variables were provided by Kshahdoo. A) Population B) Economy

They are not the deciding factors. End of discussion.
 
It is hard to believe that the Netherlands and Romania have been in the top tier when there were only 8 countries. Now neither have any hope even though there are 16 countries in the top tier.
 
Kshahdoo said:
The only Georgian hockey player I remember is Georgi Gelashvili at eliteprospects.com
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There was one Georgian player (meaning from Georgia, not just ethnically Georgian) who played in the Soviet league: Kote Bakhutashvili, who was a goalie for CSKA and played one period in 1988 for them when he was 18 (he also apparently played with Kazan in 1991-92 and 1992-93, though that isn't confirmed).

The government is working on some rinks in a few cities, and the results of the team now are helping give them some notice and push to get rinks built. There is also talk of launching a bid for the Winter Olympics, so a rink would be needed for that as well.
 
Israel - Georgia 7:3
Israel is promoted to Division IIA.
The game between DPR Korea and Mexico will decide who's gonna get relegated.
 
So the 1B starts tomorrow. Poland should have a very smooth ride there, they are, by all means, a 1A nation which got here by mistake, almost. Other than that, I'd assume Dutch B team gets relegated. Nice to see Merezhko playing for Ukraine and Arrak for Estonia. Kombe isn't there which sucks. Chmielewski isn't there, not like it matters it would just be nice to see him. Japan also seems to be in full strength so they should fare way better than last year.
 
Yeah Kombe snaked us and is most likely never going to represent us in the future. However we found some random Swedes/Finns of Estonian descent who were eligible for citizenship to join the team who look like interesting additions and I'd say it's probably overall the best team that we've had in over a decade so I'm pretty excited (especially since it's in Tallinn as well).
 
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DIVISION II GROUP B
Round 5 results:

Israel - Georgia 7:3
Iceland - New Zealand 4:2
DPR Korea - Mexico 2:8

FINAL RANKING:

1. Israel - 14 pts - PROMOTED
2. Iceland - 9 pts
3. New Zealand - 9 pts
4. Georgia - 6 pts
5. Mexico - 4 pts
6. DPR Korea - 3 pts - RELEGATED
 
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HungryFrank said:
Why is there no 24-30 year old players in Lithuanian defense?
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Ališauskas is 27. But other than that, we just haven't developed any. It was a very tough stretch for Lithuanian hockey and a lot of guys, some of whom would definitely be on the NT right now (Rastenis, Nekrasevicius) just quit hockey after junior.

In general, if you don't play pro hockey the U20 guy will be taken in your place (our goalies is the best example of it) because at least he actually plays every day, is in shape etc. The guys in that age bracket (24-30), if they don't have pro aspirations, have been playing amateur hockey for 3-4 years and, subsequently, arguably worse than they have been during junior days. As you can see if Energija used to be our "base team" so now it's players are almost extinct from the roster as the club is back to Lithuanian league.
 
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Japan should be much better. If they have this much trouble against Ukraine their chances against Poland are even slimmer than I thought.

Aaaand Hirano gets 2+10 for a textbook shoulder to shoulder bodycheck. Nice to see IIHF reffing is at its usual standard. It got called boarding :laugh: Oh boy.
 
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SoundAndFury said:
Japan should be much better. If they have this much trouble against Ukraine their chances against Poland are even slimmer than I thought.

Aaaand Hirano gets 2+10 for a textbook shoulder to shoulder bodycheck. Nice to see IIHF reffing is at its usual standard. It got called boarding :laugh: Oh boy.
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What are the Estonian chances of a Lithuanian style upset this year? They do have some decent forwards. Pretty terrible goalies tho.
 
ZT said:
Koitmaa was the best goaltender of the tournament last year. He can do well at this level.
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He's barely a 0.900+ goalie in Erste liga. Both Romanians are better. 4 games is a tiny sample size and being real good last year doesn't really mean anything.
 
Welp, Romania is taking their chances, Estonia isn't. Two down after first :(
 
ozo said:
Welp, Romania is taking their chances, Estonia isn't. Two down after first :(
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A lot of puck control and very few shots on goal. How many times did they just fan on their shots, wowzers.

If the Estonians keep it up, they should equalize eventually.
 
massive difference between D1B and D2A in all aspects. I sometimes find it hard to believe they are connected.
 
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