WJC: 2021 Medal Finalists/Tourney MVP/Best D-man/Goaltender and All-Star team.

[ORRFForever]

Alrighty then!

After a decade of Round Robin perfection, Sweden is due for a Round Robin where EVERYTHING goes wrong. I'm predicting this year. Heck, it has already started with players/coacheS (plural) dropping out.

 

[novisor]

I don't think it's crazy to put Germany ahead of Switzerland or Slovakia. Slovaks lost Cajkovic, and Switzerland really just doesn't have any high end talent.

Before the loss of Seider and Reichel I would have said it would be crazy to put Germany anywhere below third. Now I can understand putting them fourth, but not much lower. I'd still peg them at third. Slovakia really seems to have fallen off the map.

 

[novisor]

After a decade of Round Robin perfection, Sweden is due for a Round Robin where EVERYTHING goes wrong. I'm predicting this year. Heck, it has already started with players/coacheS (plural) dropping out.

I'd love to see this streak continue, crazy to think their last loss was in the 2007 tournament (Dec 31, 2006). However, with or without the covid losses, they are in tough to beat the Russians, Americans, and even Czech's in a clean sweep again.

 

[ORRFForever]

I'd love to see this streak continue, crazy to think their last loss was in the 2007 tournament (Dec 31, 2006). However, with or without the covid losses, they are in tough to beat the Russians, Americans, and even Czech's in a clean sweep again.

I don't care if the streak continues - without playoff success, to me it seems silly.

I do agree with everything else you wrote, tho.

 

[Statsy]

I don't care if the streak continues - without playoff success, to me it seems silly.

I do agree with everything else you wrote, tho.

Though I do think the streak is impressive, it’s kind of an odd thing to celebrate without real playoff success. It’s like saying your team has a tremendous winning streak on Tuesdays... but then admitting you usually lose Wednesday games.

 

[ORRFForever]

Though I do think the streak is impressive, it’s kind of an odd thing to celebrate without real playoff success. It’s like saying your team has a tremendous winning streak on Tuesdays... but then admitting you usually lose Wednesday games.

To me, it's like bragging about taking the prettiest girl to the prom only to have her go home with someone else - I'm speaking from personal experience, of course.

 

[Statsy]

To me it's like bragging about taking the prettiest girl to the prom only to have her go home with someone else.

That analogy is even better!

 

[ORRFForever]

That analogy is even better!

I still don't know why I thought a top team finishing 4th was more common than it is. It really stands out in my mind as happening a lot.

Oh well...

 

[Mathieukferland]

3rd is a possibility, but don’t be surprised if they finish higher than that. And for the record, I would actually take Canada as the number one D in the tournament, but there is no denying that Sweden is absolutely STACKED at the back.

Prior to all the covid results (as you can see in my earlier prediction) I would have actually had Sweden and Canada as favourites, and though I think they can still compete for a medal I think they are no longer the clear 2nd best team.

 

[iginlafan77]

Before the loss of Seider and Reichel I would have said it would be crazy to put Germany anywhere below third. Now I can understand putting them fourth, but not much lower. I'd still peg them at third. Slovakia really seems to have fallen off the map.

See I'd say that the Swiss are my most likely 5th place. That team is really devoid of talent

 

[novisor]

See I'd say that the Swiss are my most likely 5th place. That team is really devoid of talent

It seems like the first game of the tournament then (Dec 25 at 2pm) Swiss vs Slovakia is really going to determine a lot.

 

[Habs76]

Gold - Canada
Silver - Finland
Bronze - USA

Top Forward: Kirby Dach
Top Defensemen: Jamie Drysdale
Top Goalie: Yaroslav Askarov

All-Stars:
Lucas Raymond - Kirby Dach - Cole Caufield
Ville Heinola - Jamie Drysdale
Yaroslav Askarov

 

[iginlafan77]

It seems like the first game of the tournament then (Dec 25 at 2pm) Swiss vs Slovakia is really going to determine a lot.

I'd say that's fair. But really, I wouldn't be surprised to see any combination of wins in the games between Swiss, Germany and Slovakia.

 

[Statsy]

I'd say that's fair. But really, I wouldn't be surprised to see any combination of wins in the games between Swiss, Germany and Slovakia.

That group appears pretty wide open this year. Looking forward to seeing how that Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia combo plays out. Like others have said, Germany looked to have the upper hand prior to their Covid troubles, but now it looks like an even playing field.

 

[iginlafan77]

That group appears pretty wide open this year. Looking forward to seeing how that Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia combo plays out. Like others have said, Germany looked to have the upper hand prior to their Covid troubles, but now it looks like an even playing field.

It does look fairly even, but Stutzle and Peterka are still much better high end talent than Slovakia or Switzerland can offer. I think they likely make tbe difference.

 

[SpoolCat]

I had Sweden as one of the top three teams but since Covid hit them no longer
Gold Canada
Silver USA
Bronze Russia
4th Finland

Best Forward Kirby Dach
Best D Bowen Byram
Best goalie Yaroslav Askarov

Trevor Zegras Kirby Dach Cole Caulfield
Bowen Byram Jamie Drysdale
Yaroslav Askarov

 

[Canada4Gold]

Before the loss of Seider and Reichel I would have said it would be crazy to put Germany anywhere below third. Now I can understand putting them fourth, but not much lower. I'd still peg them at third. Slovakia really seems to have fallen off the map.

Call me crazy. Actually I'll call myself crazy. But I'm going out on the limb made of air and going to predict that Finland comes in 5th in that group, and everyone 2nd guesses the stupid move of cutting Puistola some more.

They've got a pattern of every 4 years having decent teams that completely underwhelm and not even make the QF.

2009: Mikeal Granlund(and not much else that became much in the NHL TBH), Lost to SVK in the round robin finishing 4th in their pool back when only 3 teams from each pool made the QF/SF

2013: Barkov, Teravainen, Armia, Lehkonen, Markus Granlund, Ristolainen, Maatta, Pokka, Korpisalo, went 2-2, but finished 4th in the pool the weird year the swiss had 4 OT games

2017: Tolvanen, Vesalainen, Borgstrom, Nattinen, Kuokkanen, Heiskanen, Juolevi, Vaakananien, Valimaki, Saarijarvi. Went 1-3 but finished 5th in 1 of the weird years Denmark was good

Those are the only 3 years since 2000 Finland hasn't made the QF

2021: Lundell, Lambert, Jarventie, Hirvonen, Heinola, Niemela, Kokkonen, Blomqvist, some weird cuts, gets stuck in the very even group, and somehow Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland and Finland all manage to split points, and Finland finishes 5th in the group despite getting 4 points.

Am I wrong, or am I wrong?

 

[Kezaster]

Finland is not winning anything in this tourney. I will put money on Russia, betting on the professor pulling them thru,

 

[JabbaJabba]

It does look fairly even, but Stutzle and Peterka are still much better high end talent than Slovakia or Switzerland can offer. I think they likely make tbe difference.

Switzerland always seems to play well as a team. I think they have a couple of players in their lineup this year that are decent could even be good players one day (mostly defencemen). Germany may have the most talented players but after them, it is not pretty. Also, people should remember that Stutzle has been recovering from an injury this Fall and hasn't played a game so far. He is going to be rusty and in a short tournament there's not much time to find your game. Luckily for Germany, they first play against Finland and Canada, they can afford to lose those games and find their game before facing Switzerland and Slovakia. Slovakia is a mystery bag, obviously they are not a strong team but they have some quality players this year. I think they get beaten by the Swiss and the game against Germany could go either way, and it will decide which end up 5th in their division.

 

[Statsy]

Outside of a couple stacked rosters, this may be one of the most wide open tournaments I can remember.

Any chance someone can operate a “pick the winner” style game for us this year? I’ve done one on here before but won’t have time this year.

 

[Statsy]

Call me crazy. Actually I'll call myself crazy. But I'm going out on the limb made of air and going to predict that Finland comes in 5th in that group, and everyone 2nd guesses the stupid move of cutting Puistola some more.

They've got a pattern of every 4 years having decent teams that completely underwhelm and not even make the QF.

2009: Mikeal Granlund(and not much else that became much in the NHL TBH), Lost to SVK in the round robin finishing 4th in their pool back when only 3 teams from each pool made the QF/SF

2013: Barkov, Teravainen, Armia, Lehkonen, Markus Granlund, Ristolainen, Maatta, Pokka, Korpisalo, went 2-2, but finished 4th in the pool the weird year the swiss had 4 OT games

2017: Tolvanen, Vesalainen, Borgstrom, Nattinen, Kuokkanen, Heiskanen, Juolevi, Vaakananien, Valimaki, Saarijarvi. Went 1-3 but finished 5th in 1 of the weird years Denmark was good

Those are the only 3 years since 2000 Finland hasn't made the QF

2021: Lundell, Lambert, Jarventie, Hirvonen, Heinola, Niemela, Kokkonen, Blomqvist, some weird cuts, gets stuck in the very even group, and somehow Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland and Finland all manage to split points, and Finland finishes 5th in the group despite getting 4 points.

Am I wrong, or am I wrong?

Ok, but you asked for it.

Finland may have made some questionable decisions (though I maintain there were underlying reasons that we weren’t privy to), but they certainly have a lot more depth than the three question marks in that group. I would really be shocked to see them finish lower than second.

Oh, and if you’re looking for out-on-a-limb predictions, keep in mind that Finland has been giving Canada fits lately at all levels, including tournaments where they seem to have a lower caliber lineup than Canada. They could easily take top spot with a win on NYE.

 

[Czechboy]

It'd be pretty cool if Sweden had a disasterous round robin, finished 3rd or 4th and then went on a run and won the whole thing! I'd be really happy for them to be honest.

 

[AB13]

I mean Sweden arguably lost their 1C. That is a pretty substantial blow to a spot they were already relatively weak at in my opinion. I think it is pretty clear who will have the best D corps and it really isn't Sweden. I don't see them finishing 4th but 3rd makes sense.

Sweden lost their top 2 centers which is a massive blow so the final seems unlikely. But how can you seriously say their defence isn't the best? Come on now.

 

[RedWingzz]

Gold: USA
Silver: Canada
Bronze: Russia

I had Sweden up here, but too dismantled.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Sweden lost their top 2 centers which is a massive blow so the final seems unlikely. But how can you seriously say their defence isn't the best? Come on now.

Because Canada is entering a team this year. Definitely the 2nd best defense though.