Can Belarus catch up to Slovakia ?
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erikhamren
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kudla
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Zine
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I don't see them passing Slovakia. Maybe Germany long-term.
They'll undoubtedly supersede Latvia and Denmark as the #1 country in the tier just below Slovakia/Switzerland/Germany.
They'll undoubtedly supersede Latvia and Denmark as the #1 country in the tier just below Slovakia/Switzerland/Germany.
WarriorofTime
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Keep an eye on Belarus, last few drafts are promising, will need to see how that carries over to pro ranks. Like Russia, there will always be a bit of a KHL factor where the fringe talents may stay on that side of the pond which can give a bit of an underrated perception if only looking at NHL. I think they can likely enter the Slovakia/Switzerland/Germany 7, 8, 9 tier to make it 10. I think they are probably already at that level on the youth level. "Best on Best" level though will depend on some of the draft picks pulling through. Germany can coast on "best on best" (real or hypo) for a while with Draisaitl, a '95 born bonafide superstar and Seider ('01) and Stutzle ('02) both very good young NHL players that have the potential to be considered superstars soon.
Jets4Life
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What makes you say that about Denmark ? They don’t really have any promising prospects, do they ? Only 4 active NHL skaters which is going to be similar or even less than Belarus
WarriorofTime
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Given the trajectory of Slovakian hockey, I think Belarus can definitely catch up with Slovakia by 2034 and make the top 12 in IIHF rankings. If the war in Ukraine is over.
If we're talking about 2024, Belarus has not even caught up to Denmark (#11) yet.
If we're talking about 2024, Belarus has not even caught up to Denmark (#11) yet.
Zine
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If having 3 NHL drafted players in the last 7 years is 'getting stronger', well I suppose Denmark is will soon be a hockey superpower.
Belarus may be getting better with some promising players, but in the long term I think they are still pretty far off Slovakia.
Kuracmugger
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Levshunov
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The Belarusian national team has a very interesting team on paper. Next year there will already be 5 players on one-way contracts in the NHL. Perhaps Moroz and Pinchuk will leave next year. We are waiting for progress from Sidorov and Protas Jr. I hope that Kuzmin and Klimovich will remember how to play hockey. It's a shame for Kolosov that he behaves this way, because of his behavior he himself suffers.
If you believe the Belarusian media, Eremenko could have gone to Nashville on a two-way contract. Sapego and Alistrov could have gone on a two-way contract as well, but they went to SKA. There were rumors about Drozdov, but he was traded to CSKA. Another interesting defenseman is Karpovich, who plays in the Avtomobilist system.
If you believe the Belarusian media, Eremenko could have gone to Nashville on a two-way contract. Sapego and Alistrov could have gone on a two-way contract as well, but they went to SKA. There were rumors about Drozdov, but he was traded to CSKA. Another interesting defenseman is Karpovich, who plays in the Avtomobilist system.
I personally don't see them catching up neither to Slovakia nor to Germany or Switzerland in the forseeable future. They had a good few years of prospect production lately (not as good as Slovakia though) and thats it. With the smaller nations you always have ups like that but those are usually followed by a down again. Switzerland couldnt sustain its production with the 96-99 born players long term. Germany couldnt sustian its golden generation (01/02). Therefore I don't see any reason why Belarus should be able to pull that of going forward. The fact that their national teams can't play in international tournaments right now is not helping them either.
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The one thing Belarus has over these other countries is an efficient national development program. So I do think that it's sustainable but it's a long way up.
If you look at current NHLers the verdict is pretty clear. They're miles apart and there's no guarantee for promising prospects to turn into actual NHLers. I also think that many Belarussian prospects are overrated while some Slovakian prospects are underrared. Honzek is a good example. Fully expecting him to make huge progress if he can stay healthy.
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Maybe, but that doesnt compensate the fact that they have significantly fewer active junior players than the other countries mentioned. And that is definitely the most important metric when trying to project future level of development.
That also. A lot of the more promising Belarussian prospects are still very early into their development cycle. But then some people argue that some of them are already surfire superstars with zero chance of busting.
Czechboy
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Here are the Top 10 Slovaks under 23 (not saying this is gospel, I'm sure Slovak fans will want to change orders or add/delete players)
That is a damn good looking group!
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
Nah.
1; Canada
2; USA
3; Finland
4; Czechia
5; Germany
6; Switzerland
7; Sweden
8; Slovakia
Russia nr 3 or 4 if not banned.
1; Canada
2; USA
3; Finland
4; Czechia
5; Germany
6; Switzerland
7; Sweden
8; Slovakia
Russia nr 3 or 4 if not banned.
currently no Belarusian high end forward prospect
WarriorofTime
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Yes, they basically need a "powerplay worth" of players to be dangerous, which they don't have. As is, if they can throw enough volume, someone surprising could come through like how Sharangovich is better than people thought (but someone better than that), but ideally yes they'll need to have some clear cut level superstar forward prospect that also delivers. I think it's fairly likely in a theoretical, longer-term sense based on number of solid players coming through with some positive variance, but it'd be a ways away since there is no obvious existing name at the moment.
I love how this thread pits two very overconfident countries against each other.
Slovakia, as it stands, is a clear cut #9 in the world, if Russia is counted. Slovakians thought they had an explosion of young talent pouring in, they literally talked about 15 full-time NHLers on these boards like a year or two ago. It's not going to happen. 6 NHLers, not enough high-end talent, the depth is not there. They seem to be religiously convinced that they belong to the elite of the hockey world by divine providence. Or due to them being there 20 years ago. Well, it's not 2004. However, they are still clearly better than Belarus. Slovakia is not trending upwards, though.
Germany is half a step better and just has more high-end talent. Switzerland is better by a mile, both in terms of high-end talent and depth and is not really even a comparable to be used here. Neither of these two belong in this conversation.
Latvia a clear cut #10. It has way more depth than before and has one of the most efficient programs in the world. 5 NHLers and a bunch of young prospects coming up. Trending upwards and holding their own. However, their growth is capped due to their small population size.
Denmark is #11, but has an aging core and is clearly trending downwards. 5 NHLers, not a lot of depth at all.
Belarus would currently sit at #12, but they do have a young team and they still do have room to grow. As it stands, they are clearly trending upwards and are in the process of overtaking Denmark. If we look at the 2025 and 2026 NHL draft prospects, the number of recent NHL draftees, Belarus does not seem to be poised to close in on Latvia in the coming few years. At least not yet.
However, given the increase in the number of rinks available in Belarus, their outlook is positive and they do have the potential to build on their program over the long-term.
If they stop supporting a war of aggression and there's a regime change in Belarus and Russia and they are allowed back into IIHF competitions, we would have 11 competitive teams at the Worlds capable of beating any other team on a good day. That has never been the case before.
Slovakia, as it stands, is a clear cut #9 in the world, if Russia is counted. Slovakians thought they had an explosion of young talent pouring in, they literally talked about 15 full-time NHLers on these boards like a year or two ago. It's not going to happen. 6 NHLers, not enough high-end talent, the depth is not there. They seem to be religiously convinced that they belong to the elite of the hockey world by divine providence. Or due to them being there 20 years ago. Well, it's not 2004. However, they are still clearly better than Belarus. Slovakia is not trending upwards, though.
Germany is half a step better and just has more high-end talent. Switzerland is better by a mile, both in terms of high-end talent and depth and is not really even a comparable to be used here. Neither of these two belong in this conversation.
Latvia a clear cut #10. It has way more depth than before and has one of the most efficient programs in the world. 5 NHLers and a bunch of young prospects coming up. Trending upwards and holding their own. However, their growth is capped due to their small population size.
Denmark is #11, but has an aging core and is clearly trending downwards. 5 NHLers, not a lot of depth at all.
Belarus would currently sit at #12, but they do have a young team and they still do have room to grow. As it stands, they are clearly trending upwards and are in the process of overtaking Denmark. If we look at the 2025 and 2026 NHL draft prospects, the number of recent NHL draftees, Belarus does not seem to be poised to close in on Latvia in the coming few years. At least not yet.
However, given the increase in the number of rinks available in Belarus, their outlook is positive and they do have the potential to build on their program over the long-term.
If they stop supporting a war of aggression and there's a regime change in Belarus and Russia and they are allowed back into IIHF competitions, we would have 11 competitive teams at the Worlds capable of beating any other team on a good day. That has never been the case before.
kudla
Registered User
alko
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We can look to NHL players: There are 4 wit secured place (Slafkovsky, Tatar, Fehervary, Cernak).
Nemec is still on the edge, but very close. Ok, ok, i will put him also to group 1.
Pospisil is questionable. Maybe he will cement his position this season. Maybe not
Thats it.
Then we have a group of young prospects, but they will need some time.
National Team? WCH is still a headache, nothing special from year 2012. Ok, bronze on OG 2022 is nice, but that is also a error in system.
Nation Junior Team? Last medal in 2015.
U18 National Team? Last 2 WCHs semifinals. But this is fishy. Look for all results on this tournaments.
Top Europe Leagues?
League the one who must not be named , there are 9 players.
Liiga? 0, maybe 1 if we count Elias.
SHL - 4, if we count Luka Radivojevic
Swiss League - 0
DEL - 0
Czech League is anomaly . There will be always many many Slovak players.
Overall, Slovak fans have not so much fun on big stage. We look forward to the future. But, We do this last 10 years year by year...
